How I Travel: Basketball Legend Chris Bosh Might Go RVing with Usher
If you’re one of NBA Hall of Famer Chris Bosh’s five young children, you typically need to keep your tiny carry-on bag packed at all times. “As a family, we’ve always loved traveling,” says the eleven-time NBA All-Star. “We’ve taken our kids to the Vatican, Rome, Florence—we’ve done the whole Italian backpacking experience.” Since last March, though, they’ve been staying closer to home in Texas. “We’ve done more hiking and things locally here in Austin that keep the kids active,” Bosh says.
Kids are the focus of his new book, Letters to a Young Athlete, in which he shares hard-fought lessons from his life on the court and via fellow legends like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. In anticipation of the book, out now, Bosh chatted with Condé Nast Traveler about his first unforgettable first-class flight, missing New York, and the city in France more Americans should see.
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His go-to plane outfit:
Both Greg Lauren and Ralph Lauren make very comfy sweats, and they look great. I try to look stylish and still try to be comfortable at the same time, and put on some comfy sneakers as well. It depends if I’m landing in a business situation. I don’t mind wearing business casual attire on the plane either, but if I had my choice, you’re probably going to see me in some nice, stylish, comfy sweats. Tom Ford makes some good ones, too.
His strategy for sitting comfortably on a plane at nearly seven feet tall:
I’m lucky that I can afford first-class seats. That’s a big plus. In business situations, that’s usually what I’m going to request and require, because they have the leg room. If I’m going to be comfortable, I want to have everything within arm’s reach. I want to make sure I have my carry-on right there with me. I can grab my book, I can grab my iPad and start sketching on it or writing if I want to. If everything is right there within my reach, I’m good to go.
His first-ever first-class flight:
It was right after college, when I declared for the NBA draft and teams flew you out to work out. They had the warm mixed nuts, and man, I mean, they had the movies right there. It was a Boeing 777; it was a big plane. It was just phenomenal. It was just experiencing a whole other world for me, especially at 19 years old.
Of all the cities he’s played in, the one he misses the most:
I’m going to have to go with New York. I have not been to New York [since the pandemic began]. New York was always that trip where—whether it was business or whether it was playing in the league—New York just has that flavor. It’s got everything you could want in the food scene. You could go hang out. We have a lot of friends there, and it’s just such a fun city. That’s definitely, definitely one of the cities that’s easy to miss right now.
The best vacation he’s ever taken:
The Amalfi Coast. My wife and I, we’ve been there as much as we can go, three or four times. You can’t go wrong. The food is amazing. The people are amazing. Seeing hotels and beaches on the side of cliffs and waves crashing in, it’s just spectacular.
An underrated destination he thinks more Americans should see:
The first thing that comes to mind is Avignon, France. From Paris, you’re going south, but it’s not all the way to the south [coast] of France. It’s right there in this wine country sweet spot. We took a trip there about two, three years ago. We had an amazing time. I’m always going to refer to food, the food was really good. The people were so nice, and just to see old castles built back in the 1700s and 1800s—it was just amazing to see all the old architecture, and how the river systems work. It’s just a whole vibe in that countryside. It was just unbelievable.
How he travels with five kids:
Be ready! If you can’t tell, we’re big on travel etiquette. Everybody has to have their carry-on together. A lot of wipes, a lot of disinfectant, hand sanitizers—especially now—headphones, and multi-jack chargers. We always use those. They like their devices. They want to watch their movies and play their games. We want to make sure they’re charged and ready to go. Their mother gives them a custom backpack. I love looking like a team when we travel. We’ve got all our stuff, got our comfy sweats, comfy shoes, and we can roll.
The hotel amenity he looks forward to:
Man, if they have a good lounge. If the hotel has a vibe-y lounge, if there’s a fireplace down there, and the ability to order drinks and snacks, or meet some friends for coffee, those are always the best places. That’s the best amenity, because I’d use that the most. The robes, they don’t fit me.
Where he’s longing to travel post-pandemic:
Pre-pandemic, Portugal was definitely on the list. Lisbon, and there’s some wonderful places right outside of Lisbon on the coast we wanted to go to. I think now we’re looking more locally, in Texas and within the United States, because there’s so many hidden gems that we feel are out there. As things start opening back up, we’ve been thinking about—not so much the staycation, but maybe something an hour or two away, or maybe a day drive or something. There’s so many cool places just within Texas. We’ve had some friends that went RVing. Usher is a great friend of ours; he went on an RV trip, and he’s been trying to convince me we should do one. We’re looking forward to seeing what’s out there.
His wish for his fellow travelers:
Whether you’re having a good day, bad day, you always want to be respectful of the people around you. That’s one thing I would say—be respectful to the people to your left and your right. It’s all our responsibility that we get to where we want to go, and try our best to have a decent experience. And people know when they’re being a little extra.
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