Kathy McCabe: Travel Expert and PBS Travel Host

[Kathy was profiled in The New York Times June 7, 2015]

Kathy McCabe makes Italian travel dreams, and European dreams too, come true. She’s America’s #1 Italy travel influencer with an audience of 10s of millions on viewers PBS alone. Kathy is the host of two award-winning TV series Dream of Italy, whose third season premiered in December 2023, and Dream of Europe whose first season premiered in January 2025. McCabe founded the award-winning travel magazine and website Dream of Italy in 2002. She launched the Substack Kathy McCabe Dreams…at Midlife in 2025 to explore the ways in which we can make our dreams come true at middle age. “For a long time I thought I was in the content business or the travel business, but I am really in the business of dreams,” she says. McCabe plans to expand the “Dream of” family of brands in the coming years.

Since 2002, McCabe and Dream of Italy have been producing authentic, insider travel advice focusing on what to do, what to see, what to eat, where to stay and who to meet across Italy’s 20 regions. McCabe believes Italy can change and transform your life whether you choose to travel there, live like an Italian at home or move to Italy – a growing trend and the focus of Kathy’s Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive Special for PBS. Kathy’s TV series are known for this same authenticity with a dash of star power as Sting, Trudie Styler, Francis Ford Coppola, Andrea Bocelli, Marisa Tomei, Frances Mayes and Massimo Bottura have appeared on Dream of Italy.

Dream of Italy’s three seasons and two TV specials are currently airing on PBS stations, the PBS app, Create and PBS Passport. All episodes and specials can be also be found on the Dream of Italy YouTube Channel. Season 3 of Dream of Italy with special guests including celebrated tenor Andrea Bocelli (a travel and music episode called Andrea Bocelli’s Tuscany), Academy Award-winning actress Marisa Tomei (visiting her ancestral Campania in search of the Black Madonna) and 3-Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura (who loved us so much he filmed not one but two episodes in Modena and Italy’s food valley) has won three Telly Awards.

In 2021, Dream of Italy was the #1 most watched program (of any genre) distributed by American Public Television to Amazon Prime with 5 million unique downloads. The television series, which airs in more than 97% of U.S. TV households, shares authentic travel advice on where to go, what to do, who to see, what to eat and more, just like Kathy’s magazine and membership website, Dream of Italy, that she founded in 2002.

Kathy is also the host of the Dream of Italy Podcast, which The New York Times recommends as one of “13 podcasts for wandering souls.” Kathy is widely quoted in the international media on topics related to travel and Italian culture.

Her 2021 PBS pledge special Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive (which is still airing) explores the 11 essential elements of the Italian lifestyle – the land, food, family, art & culture, beauty, pace of life, passion, movement, community, celebrations and sense of home– through the stories of full- and part-time expats Sting & Trudie Styler, Francis Ford Coppola, Under the Tuscan Sun author Frances Mayes, best-selling financial author David Bach, retiree Sally Carrocino and interior designer Arlene Antoinette Gibbs. Italian-American actor Joe Mantegna joins Kathy for the special’s pledge breaks inviting the audience to support their local public television stations. Kathy is also the author of the 276-companion book to the special about transforming the Italian way.

The most popular episode of the TV series in terms of viewer feedback is the Castelvetere sul Calore episode from season 2 where McCabe brings her (now late) parents back to her mother’s ancestral hometown to explore the mysteries of her heritage and the miracles of the town’s Madonna. It was Kathy’s first trip to Italy to find this mythical town that fulfilled her grandfather’s “dream of Italy” and later inspired this brand. Viewers describe McCabe as “warm,” “genuine,” “authentic” and “filled with joy.” Many watch the episodes again and again and say the series “helps us dream” and “inspired us to plan a trip to Italy as soon as we can.”

McCabe has published more than 200 editions of the award-winning subscription magazine Dream of Italy, helping 10s of thousands of people enjoy more authentic and rewarding travels in Italy with insider advice on where to go, what to see, where to stay, where to eat and who to meet. Dream of Italy has been recommended for its savvy travel advice by National Geographic Traveler, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, BusinessWeek and numerous other media outlets.

McCabe has made frequent appearances on podcasts, radio shows and local news shows around the U.S. and has been profiled by and quoted in The New York Times multiple times and has appeared recently on NBC News Daily, Good Day New York, Great Day Colorado and been quoted in articles in/on CNBC Travel, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, Forbes, CNN.com, Elle Decor and more.

McCabe has spoken about Italy, Europe and the transformative nature of travel for the Smithsonian Museum, The New York Times Travel Show, the Travel & Adventure Show, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco (with Riccardo Illy), Georgetown University, the National Italian American Foundation and the National Organization of Italian American Women.

As a travel writer, McCabe has contributed travel articles to numerous other publications including Cruise Critic, Saveur, USA TODAY, Global Traveler, The Huffington Post, Budget Travel, Fodor’s Travel Publications, The Travel Channel Online, AOL Travel, The Baltimore Sun and The Boston Herald.

McCabe began her career in journalism at ABC News where she was part of an Emmy-Award winning investigative team linking money and politics during the 1996 presidential election. She holds a M.A. in non-fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S.F.S. in European Studies from Georgetown University. McCabe is a graduate of the Stanford University Publishing Program for Mid-Career Professionals. McCabe’s other great passion in life, besides Italy, is dogs, particularly her beloved breed, wire fox terriers.