My holidays: John Creedon

What's your earliest holiday memory?I remember frantically holding on to cutlery in the back of a huge caravan as my mother and father towed 12 of us around the country. I have 11 brothers and sisters, and this is the first family holiday I remember.

What was your worst holiday?I booked a last-minute holiday to Brittany, in France, in 2003, and I paid way over the odds for the ferry and house. On arrival there was a 40-degree heatwave. I ran down to the beach and it was full of sludge. So there was no swimming, crazy temperatures, an overpriced house, a yucky beach, sunburn and no pub for miles.

What was your best holiday?My most recent trip, to Norway, was fantastic. I was up there for RTÉ's No Frontiers. We flew to Oslo and travelled by road to the top. We went dog-sledding and started filming at 12.30am in minus 29 degrees. There was no wind; just silence. It was one of the most romantic things in the world. The whoosh of skis, the beautiful yellow moon on the snow-covered valley and five dogs. After that we got on a cruise ship, but it was also a ferry, with local people getting off with cargo and furniture. So you had a sense of the community. We also went swimming in the Arctic Ocean at Kirkenes, on the Russian border. People there are great: helpful, friendly, polite and good fun. It suits the Irish temperament. I'd recommend the holiday to someone like me. It has adventure and the comfort of ship but is really in the wilderness.

If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?I have a hankering to go to South America. I love the music and the food, but I've heard mixed reports. I love ships, so maybe the Antarctic.

If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?My daughter Meg, as she's well organised, on time, has a good sense of humour and is great fun.

What's your favourite place in Ireland?West of the Shannon, such the Beara Peninsula, or Inis Oírr, in the Aran Islands, where I go to practise my Irish, and Westport.

Your recommended holiday reading? Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle, and John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley.

Where will you go to next?I tend not to go back to places, but I am tempted to go back to Malta next. Last year I stayed in an apartment owned by a family who ran a cafe in Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing village. The family is the nicest you ever met. On my first morning I met a guy at the coffee counter who brought me on a fishing trip. We were hauling nets for the day on traditional broad-beam boats. It was stunning watching the sun come up at 6.30am and catching octopus.

The John Creedon Showis on RTÉ Radio 1 from Monday to Friday

* In conversation with Genevieve Carbery