Melanie May

Biography

Melanie May is an award-winning Irish travel journalist and food and wine writer based in Dublin, Ireland, specialising in gastro-tourism, wine tourism, skiing, adventure and solo travel, road trips and driving holidays.

Endlessly curious about different countries, cultures and cuisines, she is especially drawn to understanding communities through their food history. She has eaten her way around the world, and her gastro-travel website, Travel Eat Write Repeat, brings readers the amusing adventures of a hungry traveller.

A professional writer for over 15 years, Melanie is a versatile storyteller with a flair for wordplay and the ability to paint a vivid picture for her readers. Her bylines include The Sunday Times, Irish Independent, Sunday World, Irish Daily Mail, Cruise International and Atlas, Etihad Airways' in-flight magazine. She also publishes selected travel, food and wine work at melaniemay.com.

Melanie hosts Talk Travel, a weekly travel radio show on 103.2 Dublin City FM, reaching a station audience of over 400,000 listeners. Alongside interviews with travel-industry experts and guests, the programme draws on destinations, journeys and practical travel issues she has researched or experienced first-hand.

At the 2018 Travel Extra Travel Journalist of the Year Awards she received The Gerry O'Hare Memorial Award for Best Newcomer Journalist for "Insider Guide: Tokyo" (The Sunday Times, July 2018). At the 2024 awards she won the Best Ski and Adventure category for "Lapland is for Life, Not Just Christmas" (Irish Daily Mail, December 2024).

In the motoring world, Melanie spends significant time on the road testing cars and designing epic road trips, and is Content and Social Media Editor at CompleteCar.ie.

She holds WSET Level 2 and Level 3 Awards in Wines and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers and the Irish Food Writers' Guild. She has judged for the Travel Media Awards and brings her expertise to tasting and judging panels for The Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards, The Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, and The Big Grill Festival's Pit Masters BBQ competition.

Melanie holds an MSc in Psychotherapy, which adds another dimension to her understanding of people and places. She is also a keynote speaker on blogging, writing, food and travel, and storytelling. When not travelling, she can be found in her kitchen, recreating and refining dishes from her journeys to share with her readers.

Recent & Upcoming Trips

Upcoming: Albania road trip and Cyprus group press trip

Destination Expertise

United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, Northern Ireland, Europe, Central America, South America, Mexico, New Zealand, United States of America (USA)

Specialisms

Adventure Travel, Budget Travel, Culture & History, Ethical or Responsible Travel, Food & Drink, Hotel Reviews, Scuba Diving, Solo Travel, Skiing & Winter Sports, Slow Travel, Sustainable Travel