Is your travel location driven by your favourite film/tv series? There are pros and cons to visiting film sets. Pros include you get to pretend you are a celebrity (me), it makes you appreciate how much work goes into filming just 30 seconds and it drives business for that economy. Cons for me are the area sometimes gets exploited (Thailand being an example) and if not monitored and well-organised there is a chance you could get conned and end up paying a fortune.
Here are some of the locations Kev & I have travelled to as a result of TV series or films we have enjoyed.
Hawaii: Kev was a big LOST fan and despite already visiting Hawaii once we returned to go on the tour. (Anyone remember the shrimp truck from Lost? )Hawaii is also home to Kualoa Ranch where several films have been shot including Pearl Harbour, Karate Kid, Godzilla & Jurassic Park. Read more about our visit to Hawaii here.
Dubrovnik: Any Game of Thrones fans here? Well, Dubrovnik is a must. Not only is Croatia a beautiful town but there are several scenes from GoT that you can recognise. You can also go and see the Iron Throne at Lokrum Island. Find out more here.
Star Wars, The Last Jedi was filmed here too however blink and you will miss it because it looked very different in real life.
Thailand: We paid a visit to James Bond Island which is known for The Man with a Golden Gun. This is one of the old James bond movies and to date, I have not watched it. The area is called Khao Phing Kan and it is beautiful. I remember having a dip in some of the clearest waters there whilst in the area.
The Alps: If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some of my holiday photos in June when we toured the Alps. The Swiss and Austrian Alps are home to many film locations as we discovered whilst on our road trip. The beautiful views make it a perfect location for movies like Mission Impossible, Spectre and Sound of music. Mountain sceneries are also very popular for Bollywood movies. The thought of wearing a sari in the cold gives me the shivers but it is done quite often and great movies are produced as a result.
Lucerne and Interlaken are also known for their Bollywood movies (including Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge) and I believe you can take a tour to see the sites.
Villa Del Balbienello (Lake Como) was where parts of Casino Royale was filmed along with the wedding scene from Attack of the Clones (Star Wars). Do you think we did a good job of reenacting the scene (big laughs)?
You don’t need to go far in the UK to see some lovely filming locations too. Here are just a couple of the recent ones I have spotted
After a visit to Mayfield Lavender Farm, I discovered the Bollywood Movie London Bridge was shot there. Bollywood movies have been filmed in many flower farms and this one is of them. The tulips farms are a popular one too.
St Pancras Renaissance: Everyone knows the Grand Staircase and if not that you know the song that has a bit of “Zig-a-zig-ah” (Yup Spice Girls). I am guessing if you have been to see the Grand Staircase at St Pancras Hotel you have given it a good shot to be a Spice Girl (well I have anyway). Batman Begins, Bridget Jones Diaries and Gomorrah (Italian series Kev watches) have used the same location for some of their filmings.
Over to you…Has a movie/book/TV series inspired you to travel or have you visited set locations in a certain destination?
Neha
x
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Ooo some ace movie locations here! I’d say Hawaii is somewhere I’d love to go because of Lost oh and of course Croatia for GoT!
cool that you visited Dubrovnik and saw the GOT locations:) #travellinkup
I loved reading this! So many great destinations. We had hoped to get to Croatia for our family holiday this year, we are all GOT fans in my house. Maybe next year. We have been to a few locations inspired by films, I have to say, including The Bellagio (Oceans 11) New York (SATC) Salzburg (Sound of Music) and I have many more on my list to get too! Thanks for sharing, an enjoyable read x
So many stunning locations! I didn’t know the St Pancras Renaissance hotel was a film location on so many occasions. Also, I need to check out London Bridge now – I’m sure the lavender fields looked amazing in it!
Once when I was planning a trip to Hawaii I had the ranch on my list of places i wanted to see! I know if I ever make it one day I’ll for sure go see it!
Right now, I don’t have too many film locations on my list to travel to. Perhaps that will change in the future. I live in Spain and I love telling Spaniards that most of Friends was shot in LA. Many people just assume it was all shot in New York.
It would be so fun to travel to some of the places where my fave shows were filmed! I actually love that show Lost!!
Great locations! I’ve never been to these sets before but i’ve been to hobbiton movie set. very cool
You have me wanting to do all of these trips. Croatia especially has been on my list to visit forever.
I haven’t really done much intentional visiting to filming locations. I live near the Top Gun house so have been there many times not to see it but because you have to because it’s by the beach. But definitely want to visit James Bond Island, missed out each of the times I’ve been to Thailand.
I am a huge GOT fan and Croatia is on my bucket list as one of the places to go.
My favorite movies also influenced me on any travel destination. I love Thailand, coz it is cheaper to travel and so many places to enjoy.