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Travel Man: 96 Hours in Iceland review – farewell Richard Ayoade, hello Joe Lycett

The Birmingham comic is joined by Bill Bailey to eat tomatoes and form a punk band in his debut as the new host of Channel 4’s holiday show. But Ayoade fans may miss his trademark quirks

R ichard Ayoade brings a strange sense of dislocation with him everywhere he goes – as a presenter on The Crystal Maze , a panellist on quizshows and in characters such as Moss in The IT Crowd and Dean Learner and Thornton Reed in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. It jibed particularly well with his stint as Channel 4’s eponymous Travel Man, a role from which he has stepped down. His detached oddity added a much-needed freshness to the travelogue format and gave his weekly companion a challenge to which to rise, lending each episode of the nine series he hosted a bit of bite.

This episode welcomes the new presenter, Joe Lycett , with what is effectively a Christmas special. Travel Man: 96 Hours in Iceland follows the usual format, but the participants – Lycett’s companion here is the suitably trollish Bill Bailey – get double the usual 48 hours to sample the delights of their destination.

It is a perfectly enjoyable hour in their company. They journey – partly by husky-drawn sledge – around a country that spreads 200 active volcanoes and a population the size of Coventry’s across nearly 100,000 gorgeously frozen square kilometres. They visit geothermally heated waters, eat in an all-tomato restaurant (within an enormous greenhouse that produces one-fifth of Iceland’s annual fruit production), watch the aurora borealis from a transparent hotel pod and jam as “Rancid Minibreak” in the sound booth of the Icelandic Punk Museum, which is housed in a repurposed public toilet.

They travel to Dimmuborgir, where the earth is said to meet the underworld, and to the Cave of the Yule Lads. These are 13 mischievous figures (with names such as Sausage Swiper, Door Slammer and Spoon Licker) of seasonal folklore. They put toys in the shoes of good children on Christmas Eve and leave potatoes in those of the others. They are – at least for the purposes of cameras and/or December – embodied by 13 men who seem very happy making believe in their rustic-elf costumes. Lycett looks discomfited by it all. Bailey looks as if he has come home.

It is a busy but essentially soothing 96 hours. As ever, the sights are captioned with salient facts and labelled with prices, giving us the total cost of the trip at the end of the show, in case we wish to get off our bums and – pandemic permitting – emulate it.

Lycett is a perfectly good presenter and Bailey a perfectly good guest. They alternate as foil and comedian while felting miniature troll-Baileys, boiling eggs on the ends of fishing lines dropped into thermal vents (“That’s what I got into showbiz for”) and gazing up at Guðjón Samúelsson ’s extraordinary concrete church, Hallgrímskirkja, which towers over Reykjavik.

There are moments when the pair stray into strained banter territory, but there is also plenty of good, easy stuff. Emerging from a tiny earthquake simulator in a shopping centre after an underwhelming seismic simulation, Lycett says thoughtfully: “I would say, in a shopping centre, this would be a space a Timpson could take.” As they fly in a tiny plane along Iceland’s longest fjord, Lycett notes that he is hoping to see a whale, but there appear to be none. “They’re famously very hard to book,” Bailey says, with the air of a father eager not to assuage a child’s disappointment. There is profound, visceral truth in Lycett’s comment that the stark, brutal Sun Voyager sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason, overlooking the glittering sea, looks like one of the Loose Women.

This is all fine – and may improve further with different guests bringing different energies to proceedings. Lycett is a sufficiently flexible and generous performer to embrace them. But if you were an Ayoade fan, you will miss his quirks, eccentricity and scalpel-sharp wit. The new version does not have the snap and crackle of the original. The change occasioned in me the kind of mild sorrow that discovering your favourite cafe has been take over by Starbucks might. We will all survive, obviously. Life will go on. But just a bit – a very little bit – flatter than before.

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Travel Man: 96 Hours in Iceland, Channel 4, review: A relaxing maiden voyage for Joe Lycett

Lycett is less competitive and rushed than richard ayoade, but proves himself a relaxing host.

Those dreaming of a gentler, kinder world in 2022 may be pleased that Joe Lycett has replaced Richard Ayoade as Channel 4’s Travel Man . Personally, I enjoyed Ayoade’s clever, machine-gun wit and his disinclination to crack a smile at a fellow comedian’s jokes as he frogmarched them around various European city breaks.

Lycett is more of a give-and-take kind of comic and a far more relaxing watch – even more so accompanied on his debut jaunt here by the laid-back Bill Bailey .

Mind you, Lycett did have the luxury of 96 hours instead of the usual 48; presumably this was because he and Bailey were given the whole of Iceland to explore rather than just Reykjavik.

Hopefully, this wasn’t a reflection of the paucity of the capital’s attractions, which included a tiny museum dedicated to punk music, but was necessitated by a desire for a wider panorama of dormant volcanoes and dog-sledding.

The pair spent an enviable amount of time quaffing beer in geothermal pools and there were moments when you wished for Ayoade’s more brusque approach, particularly when they hung out with the so-called Yule Lads (mischievous goblin-like fellows who place gifts in children’s shoes) or made laufabrauo – described by Lycett as “a gay poppadom”- with Husavik’s equivalent of the Women’s Institute.

Perhaps things will become more urgent when Travel Man reverts to its usual 48-hour format in the new year, or Lycett finds himself travelling with more competitive comedians than Bailey.

Anyway, they genuinely seemed to enjoy each other’s company, and Travel Man remains the same entertaining, ironically deconstructed travel programme as before.

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Travel man: 48 hours in....

S10.E1 ∙ 96 Hours in Iceland

S10.e2 ∙ the basque country, s10.e3 ∙ split, s10.e4 ∙ cyprus, s10.e5 ∙ antwerp.

S10.E6 ∙ 96 Hours in Rio

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About Travel Man

Since 2015 Travel Man has been delivering the definitive guide to making the most of 48 hours (and sometimes a little longer) in some of the most exciting destinations in the world.   In the process it has become the most popular holiday show on UK television.

For the first 9 series the show was hosted by comedic polymath (Actor, Presenter Writer, Director) Richard Ayoade. Since 2020 the show’s host has been the comedic polymath (Comedian,  Presenter, Writer, Director) Joe Lycett . Joining them on their travels have been some of the finest and most available comic talents from Britain and the US, among them Bill Bailey, Sarah Millican, Lena Dunham, Jon Hamm and Paul Rudd.

The show’s aim remains the same; a mini-break with the boring bits taken out.  A guide that combines famous attractions, the quirky and the cultural, mixing the must-see and the offbeat, and making sure there is always lots to do, whether it’s a cookery class, an interactive tour, or even an art lesson.

Travel Man’s peak audience for an episode is 2.8 million and its YouTube channel attracts 2 million views a month.  The show has been nominated for 2 BAFTA awards and won 5 Royal Television Society Awards, the most recent of these being a Best Presenter gong for Joe Lycett.  Travel Man has been shown in 62 countries.  It has received glowing reviews from as far afield as the New York Times and the Australian Guardian, and was described as ‘hilarious and surprisingly informative’ by The Times.  

The show is produced in Birmingham by North One Television . 

Previous locations and guests include:

Ep1 - Barcelona & Kathy Burke 

Ep2 - Istanbul & Adam Hills

Ep3 - Iceland & Jessica Hyne s

Ep4 - Marrakech & Stephen Mangan

Ep1 - Vienna & Chris O’ Do wd

Ep2 - Paris & Mel Giedroy c

Ep3 - Copenhagen & Noel Fi elding

Ep4 - Moscow & Greg Davies

Ep5 - Seville & Rob Delaney

Ep6 - Venice & Jo Bra nd

Ep7 - Dubai & Johnny Vegas

Ep8 - Berlin & Roisin Cona ty

Ep1 - New York & Kat herine Ryan

Ep2 - Helsinki & Paul Rud d

Ep3 - Lisbon & Adam Buxton

Ep4 - Naples & Jack Dee

Xmas Special - Florence & Rebel Wilson

Ep1 - St Petersburg & Rob Beckett

Ep2 - Budapest & Aisling Bea

Ep3 - Tenerife & Lena Dunham

Ep4 - Miami & Rhod Gilbert

Ep1 - Rome & Matt Lucas

Ep2 - Valencia & Sara Pascoe

Ep3 - Amsterdam & Joe Lycett

Ep4 - Stockholm & Sally Philips

Xmas Special - Hong Kong & Jon H amm

Ep1 - Brussels & Lee Mac

Ep2 - Oslo & Faye Ripley

Ep3 - Madeira & Robert Webb

Ep4 - Cote D’Azur & Shazia Mirza

Ep1 - Zurich & Frank Sninner

Ep2 - Ibiza & Jessica Knappett

Ep3 - Ljubljana & Eddie Izzard

Ep4 - Milan & Morgana Robinson

Xmas Special - Jordan & David Baddiel

Ep1 - Athens & Dawn  French 

Ep2 Porto & Nish Kumar

Ep3 Tallin & Alice Levine

Ep4 Hamburg & Bob Mortimer

Ep1 - Dubrovnik & Stephen Merchant

Ep2 - Bergen & Lou Sanders

Ep3 - Krakow & Joe Wilkinson

Ep4 -Madrid & Ellie Taylor

Xmas Special - ICELAND & BILL BAILEY

Ep1 - BASQUE COUNTRY & James Acaster 

Ep2 SPLIT & Aisling Bea

Ep3 CYPRUS & Mo Gilligan

Ep4 ANTWERP & Katherine Parkinson

Joe Lycett shows us how to get the most out of some of the world's most popular mini-breaks

Richard and Jack Dee take a trip to Naples featuring humour, history, culture, pizza, Vespas and chaotic traffic, a trip to Capri, and a guide to the meaning of dreams

Jessica Fostekew and Joe enjoy volcanic vino and cactus croquettes on their Canarian caper

Adam Buxton and Joe explore Czech sights, eat sausages from skulls and hop into a beer spa

Desiree Burch joins Joe in Rovaniemi for aurorae-gazing and sleigh-riding shenanigans

Alan Davies and Joe traverse around Trieste and shoot the breeze at the Wind Museum

Joe and Asim Chaudhry visit an underwater museum and a world-famous skatepark

Joe and Roisin Conaty enjoy a culinary horse-carriage tour and a spot of musical cycling

Joe and comedian Mawaan Rizwan spend two days sightseeing, swimming and swigging stout

Sarah Millican joins Joe for hot air ballooning, cepelini dumplings and gira in Vilnius

96 Hours in Rio

Joe and Stephen Mangan visit Christ the Redeemer and cook Christmas dinner Brazilian-style

Joe and Katherine Parkinson sample local beers and explore Antwerp's subterranean tunnels

Joe and Mo Gilligan get hands-on with halloumi and sample a 24-carat gold ice lolly

Aisling Bea joins Joe for some Croatian cooking, paddleboarding and a visit to Froggyland

The Basque Country

Joe and James Acaster bask in Bilbao's art, kalimotxos and foodie capital San Sebastián

96 Hours in Iceland

New host Joe Lycett is off on his debut voyage to Iceland with comedian Bill Bailey

Richard and Ellie Taylor team up for a two-day meander rich in art, history and ham

Richard and Joe Wilkinson whizz round the historic Polish city, with art nouveau and vodka

Richard and Lou Sanders have a blast in Bergen, Norway

A Game of Thrones tour and a trip to a cursed island with Stephen Merchant

Richard Ayoade and Bob Mortimer go for a spin round cosmopolitan Hamburg

Richard and Alice Levine - DJ, broadcaster & podcaster - do Estonia's capital in 48 hours

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Visit the travel man webpage for detail on all locations and activities featured in the show travel man website, people also watched, series following intrepid expats as they chase a dream life in the sun and set up new businesses abroad. just how easy is it to start a new life, and is the grass really greener on the other side a new life in the sun, an exploration of the most amazing hotels, villas and island escapes on the planet the world's most luxurious holidays, comedian chris mccausland visits the world's most stunning places. but he's blind, so he's brought some celebrity pals along to provide commentary. can they put these wonders into words wonders of the world i can't see, sandi toksvig and some of the nation's most fascinating and funny women explore the delights of the uk's wildest, most remote and beautifully designed holiday hideaways extraordinary escapes with sandi toksvig, from underwater retreats to treetop cabins, this series explores the world's hidden hotels world's most secret hotels, ainsley harriott and grace dent explore some of the best seaside holiday destinations and mouth-watering dishes the british isles has to offer best of britain by the sea, johnny vegas, his assistant bev and a gang of vintage bus enthusiasts create the country's coolest glamping site out of old, repurposed vehicles johnny vegas: carry on glamping, comedian rosie jones takes celebrity friends on thrilling outings around britain, gorging on culture, learning local traditions and seeking excitement in unlikely places rosie jones' trip hazard.

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TV review: Entertaining outing as Joe Lycett takes up travel reins

Suzanne McGonagle

Suzanne has worked at the Irish News since 2004. Her particular areas of specialism are news and education.

Travel Man: 96 Hours in Iceland, Monday, Channel 4 at 8pm

WITH all the presents opened, way too much turkey devoured and the endless Christmas movies and soap specials over, it was time to try and find something decent to watch on television.

Still questioning what day it actually was amid the haze of the festive holidays, I stumbled upon a programme that mixed travel with comedy.

Travel Man: 96 Hours in Iceland sees comedian Joe Lycett take up the reins of the Channel 4 holiday show, replacing Richard Ayoade who travelled the world between 2015 and 2019.

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More than two years after Ayoade announced he was leaving and the small matter of a global pandemic put a major halt to travel, Lycett was on our screens for the Christmas special to kick off the return of the series.

While Ayoade's visits were crammed into 48 hours, Lycett had the luxury of 96 hours to ease himself into the new role.

However, having to explore the whole of Iceland, rather than just the capital of Reykjavik, may have been a bigger task than his predecessor had to undertake.

Accompanying Lycett on his debut trip was comedian and (my least favourite) Strictly Come Dancing winner Bill Bailey.

Starting in the Icelandic capital, Lycett tells Bailey they are off on a "festive mini break to the land of fire and ice", to the most sparsely populated country in Europe where he says their "epic Icelandic holiday will see us cavort with canines, unleash our inner diva and flounce in fluff".

Voted the safest place in the world 12 times, Lycett says, "I do worry there are over 200 active volcanoes, that doesn't suggest safety to me" as they begin their four-day trip embracing local cuisine, outdoor bathing and some of Iceland's festive folklore.

The pair's first stop is one of Reykjavik's most famous landmarks - the Church of Hallgrimskirkja.

Standing 244 feet tall, which Bailey likens to "God's tower block", the church was built from 1945 to 1986 by Gudjon Samuélsson and symbolises mountains and glaciers.

Then there's a visit to a tomato themed restaurant and family-run farm that produces four varieties of tomato every day using geothermal energy and glacial water.

The unlikely duo then spend a night under the stars in a bubble shaped heated room to catch a glimpse of the magical Northern Lights before trying to boil an egg in a hot thermal spring for breakfast.

Pairing it with buttered brown bread cooked underground for 18 hours, Lycett says it is "the bleakest breakfast outside of Wetherspoons" before his bread is swept away by the windy Icelandic conditions.

Next stop is a museum with a difference, with Lycett telling viewers that when he "visits a new city, I like to check out the museums and the public toilets".

That leads them to a punk museum housed in a disused public toilet, with the show's host even putting his head into a loo to "hear the ocean".

The duo also enjoy a dip in a geothermal nature bath at Myvatn, a trip to Iceland's second city of Akureyri before a scenic plane tour along Iceland's longest fjord, crossing the Arctic Circle and a taste of husky sledding.

Then there's the earthquake simulator at a shopping centre, which Bailey underwhelming says, "well, that was £1.69 worth of entertainment".

While it might have been Lycett's first outing on the travel show, it was the jokes and the banter between him and Bailey that I enjoyed the most - primarily because they seemed to genuinely have fun in each other's company.

The show was entertaining and funny, and above all, amid the continuing Covid-19 travel measures, it was a welcome, yet quirky look at what travel destinations we could be visiting in the not too distant future.

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