Travel Style: Gina & Scott Gaille

Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.

Name: Gina & Scott Gaille

Occupation: Gina: stay-at-home mom; Scott: lawyer & professor

Hometown: Gina: East Lansing, Michigan; Scott: Port Isabel, Texas

Residence: Houston, Texas

Website: strangesttravel.com

Instagram: strangest_travel

Short bio: Gina and Scott Gaille grew up in small towns in central Michigan and south Texas. Even then, both dreamed about exploring the farthest corners of the planet. Gina’s favorite TV show was Hart to Hart, whose globetrotting detectives—played by Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers—journeyed to South America, China and Australia. Scott spent Sunday evenings glued to Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, whose safari-jacketed host, Marlin Perkins, introduced him to exotic landscapes and their peoples. Gina is most passionate about Africa, where she once served as a missionary in a remote part of Kenya. Scott’s career as a lawyer and academic at the University of Chicago and Rice University has taken him to more than 100 nations around the world, including 30 in Africa. It was their shared passion for experiencing the world that brought them together.

How often do you fly? Once a month.

How many countries have you been to? 136

How many continents have you been to? 6

Favorite American city: New York.

Favorite international city: Marrakesh.

I have no desire to go to: Gina: Iraq; Scott: North Korea.

Friendliest people in the world: Tanzania.

Country with the meanest immigration officers: Scott: Saudi Arabia.

Favorite World Heritage Site: Great Wall of China.

Favorite airline: Gina: Air Canada; Scott: United.

Favorite aircraft type: 787.

Aisle or window: Gina: window; Scott: aisle.

Favorite U.S. airport: LAX international terminal.

Favorite international airport: Dubai.

Favorite hotel: Gina: Amantaka, Luang Prabang; Scott: Four Seasons Bora Bora and andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge.

Favorite travel credit card: AMEX Centurion.

Favorite island: Seychelles.

Favorite beach: Gina: Four Seasons Seychelles beach; Scott: Hulopo’e Beach, Lanai.

Favorite National Park: Gina: Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda; Scott: Ngorongoro Crater.

Favorite fancy restaurant: Gina: Maaemo, Oslo; Scott: Alinea, Chicago.

Favorite hole-in-the-wall: Soggy Dollar Bar, Jost Van Dyke.

Favorite airport restaurant: Ruby’s Diner, Houston Bush airport.

Favorite bar: Churchill Bar in the La Mamounia, Marrakesh; Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island.

Favorite fruit: Gina: blueberries; Scott: pineapple.

Favorite food: Tex-Mex.

Least favorite food: Sushi.

Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Gina: water; Scott: Napa cabernet.

Favorite travel movie(s): Gina: Romancing the Stone; Scott: The Beach.

Favorite travel book(s): Gina: “The Paris Wife,” Paula McLain”; Scott: “Dark Star Safari,” Paul Theroux.

Right now I am reading: Gina: “Girl, Wash Your Face,” Rachel Hollis; Scott: “Sapiens.”

Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines/blogs: National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure.

What do you like least about travel? Gina: fear of flying; Scott: waiting in immigration lines.

Favorite travel app(s): Flightradar24.

Most embarrassing travel moment: Gina: In the midst of turbulence, I grabbed a stranger sitting next to me and asked him to look me in the eye and tell me everything was going to be okay; Scott: I was trying to cross-country ski in Lake Louise and then winded up flat on my back, looking like a turtle. 

Worst travel moment: Gina: marathon flight(s) back from India during the India-Pakistan conflict in March 2019; Scott: Oman Air emergency landing in Muscat.

What’s your dream destination? Antarctica.

Best travel tip: Ask the people you meet abroad questions, such as “What’s the strangest thing you have ever seen here?” (Editor’s note: Their book is a compilation of answers to this question.)