The TV personality and entrepreneur also revealed which Bravo “Housewife” she’d take a trip with.

As the ultimate multi-hyphenate, Bethenny Frankel is constantly switching gears between different roles. One moment she’s the entrepreneur behind brands like Forever Young Wines and Mingle Mocktails, and the next she’s sassily mouthing off on her Just B podcast. Her latest venture? Acting in the Lifetime movie, Danger in the Dorm, which premiered in June.

But whatever endeavor the former Real Housewives of New York City star is focused on, the one constant is that she’s always jetting between destinations.

“Travel is a huge part of my life, and I approach it like an adventure,” she told Travel + Leisure on a call earlier this summer. “I don’t plan a lot ahead of time and I don’t listen to any concierge who may be getting kickbacks or is going to tell everybody the same touristy place. I just land somewhere, see what I think looks interesting, sniff around, and figure it out.”

And there’s one person she most enjoys sharing the process with: her 14-year-old daughter Bryn.

“You need the right travel friend,” the 53-year-old star said. “I have certain friends that I wouldn’t travel with and some that are amazing. [Bryn is] a good travel friend, trained by me.”

The proud mom said that she can just tell Bryn what the schedule is and her daughter will always be ready within five minutes of it. They’re also on the same page with their routines. “We always sit down, we make a plan, and then a loose plan for the next day,” she explained. “We can roll — she’s a great wing woman and travel companion.”

Frankel called Bryn “a very seasoned traveler,” having been to Mexico, Australia, and Italy, as well as California and the Hamptons many times, among other places. But the most memorable trip so far was to Paris.

“She always wanted to go, and it landed the way you envision in a movie,” Frankel said. “There was a romance to us finding restaurants, her getting the French flan every day and [going] to the vintage stores.”

The teen even has perfected her travel prep. “She takes pride in packing herself,” the podcaster said, mentioning that the teen even uses packing cubes, like her mom. “She has her own process for packing and traveling.”

Bethenny Frankel

Aisle or window?
Window.
Destination you unexpectedly enjoyed?
Abbotsford, Canada. It’s a forgotten small town. Every single person who knew I was going there said, what are you gonna do there? I got there and it had a lot of interesting little coffee places, a cute store with Boheme clothes — it was just surprising. I’m not saying it’s a vacation spot, but It was really an interesting place.
Souvenir you collect on your travels?
We get ornaments everywhere we go. I think in Hawaii, it was a surfboard — that’s just fun. [Bryn] and I have a ritual to buy a special one locally in the Hamptons every year. When we hang them, we remember the stories.
Which Real Housewife makes the best travel buddy?
Kyle [Richards]. We’ve been through the Housewives sphere. Sometimes the game makes us think we’re in a different place in our friendship than we are. But we’ve always laughed, gotten deep, gotten serious, respected each other, trusted each other, and believed in each other. Her kids are great and she’s great. We get along really well.
What are your in-flight essentials?
I always bring sheet masks, hydration packets, fuzzy socks, lavender spray, a good Tempur-Pedic pillow, noise-cancelling headphone, and wipes. I’m also always wearing a scarf that can function as a blanket. I’m big on compression pouches and getting your carryon purse down in size.

While Frankel dreams of taking Bryn on a getaway “some place that has huts over the water,” she often lets her work dictate their next getaway. “Australia was a work trip that became an adventure for us for a week,” she said. But the destination is less important than the experience. “It could be Atlanta, it could be just another city that she doesn’t know of. I kind of like the pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey of it in that regard. It makes me say yes and take her anywhere — I love that!”

One place Frankel’s work recently took her was Vancouver, where she filmed the Lifetime movie. Unfortunately, Bryn wasn’t able to join because of school, but it gave the television personality the chance to pour herself into the art of acting. While Frankel’s a longtime reality TV and talk show pro, the process turned out to be entirely different.

“That experience was unexpected,” she said of there being an extra “pressure.”

“I don’t like to keep anybody else waiting or be the person who doesn’t know what they’re doing — or any of that any extra special treatment.”

Despite the demanding role with quite a bit of dialogue, Frankel tried to relish every bit of the learnings. “I gained this appreciation for actors,” she said. “I don’t know what I thought it was going to be, but it was a lot. It’s definitely hard work.”

Always being open to new experiences has also turned Frankel into an influencer — whether it’s highlighting products on her curated The List or sharing items on her social media or podcast. Her favorite is being able to help elevate small businesses.

After all, what makes Frankel’s influence so powerful is that she never holds back, like on her podcast’s Just B Rants. If there was a travel one, she said it would be about flying back from Aspen on Christmas Eve years ago on a trip that took almost 21 hours because of the weather.

“We were chasing Santa Claus and Bryn was hysterical that we were going to miss him,” she remembered. “I was in the plane looking out the window, like Santa’s probably out there and we have to beat him.” Thankfully it worked out and Santa arrived Christmas morning. “But I was dying — and we were both exhausted!”

Now that Bryn’s a teen, she appreciates her even in a different way. “For me, this age is so good because I have a companion,” she explained. “I’m not bringing an eight year old on a trip and dragging her and pretending it’s going to be fun for her.”

While she’s so often on the go, Frankel is also setting up roots with a pied-à-terre of sorts in New York City’s Upper West Side. But she’s still using her travel instincts, treating the new home like a new travel adventure, sniffing her way to favorite spots.

“It’s so charming and it’s cleaner than the rest of the city,” she said of the uptown neighborhood. “Each little restaurant is like a cute discovery that you would never have heard of,” she said.