Alfie Boe on his best hidden holiday spots and the airport prank he loves to pull

Alfie Boe, the English singer, recalls childhood holidays as the youngest of nine, and reveals why he and Michael Ball are like yin and yang. 

I didn’t visit the US until

...I was 26 and auditioning on Broadway with Baz Luhrmann for La Bohème. I was put up at the Paramount Hotel on Times Square. One of the first things I did was grab a hot dog from a vendor on a street corner. I got the good news when the production team was taking me for a night out in Manhattan. On my second visit to the States, I met my future wife Sarah – so it was fate.

I have very fond memories

...of childhood holidays in the Lake District. I’m the youngest of nine children, so big trips abroad were out of the question. We grew up in Fleetwood, just outside Blackpool, and the Lakes were only 90 minutes away. We’d stay in a hostel and spend the week trekking and swimming.

I call Salt Lake City home

...at the moment. I’ve been based in Utah on and off for 10 years. There’s a great social scene with a wide choice of restaurants and bars. The fantastic snow conditions make for great skiing, which we love as a family. When the snow melts, the mountains turn into picture-perfect Alpine scenes with blankets of wild flowers. Southern Utah is the polar opposite, with the red rocks and barren desert of the Canyonlands National Park.

We’re moving back to the UK

...this year and my children – Grace, nine, and Alfred, six – are excited. Grace wants a pony, but I’m hoping she settles for a rabbit or a hamster. The move will make touring a lot more convenient because it won’t be so far to travel. I’ll be able to bring the family with me more. The kids are great travellers now they’re older.

I love my motorbikes

...and have a Ducati and a Harley-Davidson. It’d be my dream to ride the coastal route up from Seattle to Alaska. My wife grew up there but moved away with her dad’s work. In the 15 years we’ve been together, I’ve never been there.

Idaho is where I switch off

...when we stay in a remote cabin owned by my wife’s family. We’re in the Sawtooth Mountains, surrounded by forests and near the Big Wood river which teems with trout. The nearest town is Ketchum [where Ernest Hemingway lived the last years of his life and did a lot of his writing], 35 minutes away, and we’re properly off-grid with no internet and no phone. If I’m expecting a call, I have to drive down the track for at least 10 minutes.

We went on holiday to Punta Mita

...in Mexico recently. It’s just north of Puerta Vallarta, and the Four Seasons is a great family destination. The food was incredible, and the kids spent most days playing in the ocean. We even went deep-sea fishing.

My travelling priorities have changed

...now that I have children. Disneyland and kids’ clubs are the foreseeable future.

My fans are animals

– literally. Twenty years ago I went touring around Scotland in a van with four other singers and a pianist, and we ended up performing in a village hall near Oban, on the west coast. The doors of the hall had been left open so Highland cattle piled in and a sheepdog did a duet by barking with me – straight out of Monty Python!

Michael Ball and I are like yin and yang

...when we travel together for performances. On any journey he will lose at least three personal items, such as his wallet or passport. I now check his seat while disembarking from a plane to make sure he hasn’t forgotten anything. If I find anything, I’ll keep it to see how long it takes him to twig he’s lost it, just to see him fly into a panic.

One of my favourite places to perform

...with Michael has been Tokyo a few months ago. The audience was amazing and we loved the culture and food, so I’ve scheduled another tour there next year. I’d love to see more of it.

The best food I’ve ever had is

...at The Hidden Treasure, run by Mamma Agata in Ravello on the Amalfi coast. I was in Positano three years ago and I travelled an hour up the coast to visit the cooking school. Lessons began at 10am with fresh Italian coffee and beautiful lemon cake. Mamma then demonstrated various dishes, which we sampled out on the balcony overlooking the sea, with an Italian drink in hand. There’s an adjoining deli which sells outstanding Italian produce.

I was disappointed by Macau

...when I was there for several months doing an opera. I’m not a big casino guy, even though I love Vegas. Macau felt contrived; I couldn’t wait to leave.

In the bag | Alfie Boe's favourite travel accessories

But I was pleasantly surprised by Hong Kong

...recently. There’s so much to do, the people were wonderful, and our audience there was fantastic.

India is top of my places to visit

...next for the culture and food. Friends have sold it to me. I have a busy summer of touring ahead too, including the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in July.

Interview by Sarah Ewing

Copy of The world's 50 best countries - according to you

See Alfie Boe on tour in the UK this summer. For more information, visit alfie-boe.com.