This was published 4 years ago
My travel life: Rhiannan Iffland, professional cliff diver
By Sue Williams
Rhiannan Iffland.
Rhiannan Iffland, professional cliff diver and current world champion, who is now defending her title. Keep up to date with how she's doing on her YouTube series, Unfiltered.
NUMBER OF COUNTRIES VISITED
I can't remember exactly, but around 35 or 40 would probably be a good guess.
ANY PASSPORT MISHAPS/MISADVENTURES?
There's three that I can really remember. One time was in Munich, Germany: I turned up to the wrong airport with not enough time and missed the flight. The second one was losing my wallet in Dubai and never seeing it again. And the third was turning up a day late for my flight in Mexico.
I GOT MY FIRST PASSPORT WHEN I WAS 14 years old.
MY PASSPORT PHOTO IS very unflattering. I got off a red-eye flight and went straight to the post office to get a new passport photo so you can imagine how good I looked.
I CAN'T STOP GOING BACK TO Cinque Terre in Italy. It's one of my favourite places to visit. The food is amazing, there's so much to do, there's great cliff diving and it's just an absolutely beautiful place. Every time I go back I'm blown away at how gorgeous it is.
MY LAST TRAVEL DESTINATION WAS Polignano a Mare in Puglia, southern Italy. I spent around five days there for the third stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, and it's beautiful. I love to visit this place – I usually find myself going there every single year.
MY NEXT TRAVEL DESTINATION IS the Azores Islands in Portugal in June for around five to six days, where I'll be competing in the fourth stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO trying the local Portuguese wines when I visit the Azores. I love being there because it's islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – you're surrounded by mountains on one side and ocean as far as you can see on the other. It's so beautiful
WHAT I REALLY WANT FROM MY NEXT TRIP IS the chance to eat delicious food and nice, sunny weather. Those are the two things I pretty much always look for out of any trip I plan.
I LOVE TO TRAVEL BECAUSE it's always exciting. Nothing is ever the same and I love to be surrounded by new people and enjoy the different cultures and ways of life. It's an eye-opener all the time and I know I've really grown as a person as a result of the amount of travelling I've experienced over my career.
MY TRAVEL PHILOSOPHY IS to keep an open mind always, embrace everything and to try to never say, "no" to any new experiences.
THE ONE TRAVEL MISTAKE I ALWAYS MAKE IS packing way too much!
THE ONE THING I REALLY DO GET RIGHT WHEN I TRAVEL IS being fast and efficient through the airport. I've had plenty of experience and think I'm also pretty good at filling in time at airports, too.
IF I HAD TO SIT IN THE MIDDLE SEAT THE OTHER PASSENGERS I'D WANT ON EITHER SIDE OF ME WOULD BE my boyfriend on one side so I can lean on him, and on the other side [the late lead singer-songwriter of Queen] Freddie Mercury. He would be a super interesting person to chat to, and it would be a really cool plane trip.
THE ONE FAMOUS TRAVELLER I REALLY ADMIRE IS [American Olympic diver] Greg Louganis – he is the first diver to win Olympic medals on both the spring diving board and the platform, in successive Olympics. Greg has been through a lot and is such an inspiring man to talk to. He is so humble and always trying to guide the younger generation of athletes.
THE ONE FAMOUS PERSON I'D LIKE TO TRAVEL WITH IS [American singer-songwriter] Jack Johnson, just so I could listen to his tunes all day long.
AIRLINE FOOD IS two things: hit or miss and beef or chicken
AIRPORT SECURITY IS a pain in the butt but totally understandable and very important, so it's a welcome pain in the butt.
HOTELS ARE good, depending on which one, but I always enjoy a hotel that has a pillow menu.
I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO Cuba, it looks like paradise. Also, Montenegro in south-east Europe for its history, architecture and beauty. I did a project on this country in high school and ever since then I've been very interested to visit.
I'VE NEVER WANTED TO GO TO China because I don't particularly like to see pollution and I don't really like a small town that has a population of 5 million.
AISLE OR WINDOW? Window for sure. You're disturbed less and I love to watch take-off and landing – it never gets old no matter how many planes I've been on.
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