Eugene Levy is clearly a well-seasoned traveler. The Canadian actor has gone ice fishing in the Arctic Circle in Lapland, searched for the Big Five in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, island-hopped in Greece, and ventured deep into the Costa Rican jungles around Arenal Volcano. Even so, he claims that he still lives up to the title of his Apple TV+ original show The Reluctant Traveler, which premiered with its third season on Sept. 19. 

“I’m much less reluctant of a traveler than I was since I’m getting much more out of the experiences of being there, but getting there is still an issue,” he admitted to Travel + Leisure in September. “I’m sorry, it’s the airports, the security, the dirty buckets, and the jet lag you have to go through coming and going. But once I’m there, I’m having a ball.”

Eugene in Jodhpur, India.

Ian Gavan/Apple TV+

And this season, he’s upped the ante by creating the ultimate list of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. “I don’t naturally have an affinity for anything that would be interesting to do, so I put myself in the shoes of a more experienced traveler and did some homework and research to try to come up with a bucket list that I thought any experienced traveler would want to go on,” the 78-year-old said. 

On his list: Oaxaca for Day of the Dead, Vienna for the Vienna Philharmonic Ball, Jaipur for a cricket game, and Seoul to learn about the K-wave. But it’s not just about the places you go—it’s about the people you meet, and he aimed for the stars, and even the royals. 

In arguably the most-anticipated episode of the season, he followed regal footsteps in London, staying at The Goring Hotel, which is the only accommodation to have a Royal Warrant for hospitality services from Queen Elizabeth II, having hosted royals on the eve of major occasions, including the queen’s mother before her 1953 coronation and Princess Kate Middleton before her 2011 wedding. But most impressively, he got an exclusive tour of Windsor Castle with Prince William himself. 

Interior of The Goring Hotel.

The Goring

“How many people get a chance to say they spent a day with him? Not many. I’m one,” he said. “He’s such a nice guy, might I say, a prince of a guy.”

Levy was especially taken by how “smart” he is, as well as his “great sense of humor,” which is showcased in the trailer, when the royal asks the comedian, “Was getting drunk with Prince William on your bucket list?”

He joked back to William that it’s “the bucket,” and he emerged from the day calling the heir “incredible” and believing that once he ascends the throne, “It’ll be a different way to go for the monarchy.”

With Eugene Levy

Most unexpected destination in season three?
Maybe Vienna. We were in a white-tie-and-tail situation going to these very formal balls. I actually loved that formality, not that I would do it every day, but I love their sense of tradition.

Favorite filming location?
Monte Carlo [for Once Upon a Crime (1992)].

Best Canadian destination?
Skoki Lodge [in Lake Louise, Alberta].

Favorite relaxing vacation? 
A golf vacation on the Monterey Peninsula.

Best way to pass time on a long plane ride?
I’d love to say I would pick up a book and skim through it, but there’s a simple word game I play on my phone called Wordscape that I can do for hours. I’m up into the 3,000 mark. It’s just something I can do for one hour to the next, and it utilizes your mind. 

Another highlight was heading back to his home country to bond with fellow Canadian Michael Bublé. A longtime fan, Levy was awestruck when the singer showed up on a Ski-Doo on Grouse Mountain to show him the ropes in Vancouver. 

“I think we had the most laughs of the season,” Levy said, adding that there was a comfort factor in being in his own backyard. “I mean, I got to sing with Michael Bublé—you want to talk about a bucket list! It was really quite amazing.” 

On a personal level, Levy felt most connected to the episode where he spent St. Patrick’s Day in Galway, Ireland, with his daughter and Schitt’s Creek costar Sarah Levy.

Eugene and Sarah Levy celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Galway, Ireland.

Ian Gavan/Apple TV+

“When [Sarah and son Dan Levy] were kids, we would go on family trips to the beach or whatever, and the main thing was, are they having fun—that’s the key thing to a family holiday,” he said. But with his daughter keen to explore her Irish heritage on her mother’s side, this trip had a deeper meaning, with Levy saying, “the operative word is family.”

“My family has a way of making sure that I’m put in my place, and they do it in an extremely funny way,” Levy said. “Sarah certainly did that on the trip in Ireland, and she’s got a very dry, really funny sense of humor, and that came through.”

With so many more passport stamps than he ever imagined, Levy has started to get into the travel groove, perfecting his own routines. “I’m a pretty good packer,” he said. “I’m a good folder. I have a good sense of organization in the actual suitcase. I know where everything goes, what goes in first, what goes in second, what goes in third, and how you squeeze things in all the little cracks along the way—and I can do it relatively quickly.”

Despite being an over-packer (he likes to have options), he always unpacks completely, whether he’s in a place for a night or a month. “The worst experience in the world is living out of your suitcase,” he said. “Everything has to be hung up and put away. I hide the suitcase, and then I feel I’m at home.”

These expert travel moves are all far cry from Levy’s old persona, when he was “quite content to say, ‘No, I don’t travel.’” In fact, he used to be so adverse to the process that he wouldn’t even want to hear other people’s travel stories. “I’m really not that interested—if it’s good for you, wonderful, but it’s not for me,” he said of his old self.

But the star has decidedly changed his tune. “That’s not really a positive thing for a human being to be that stubborn about it,” he admitted. “Go there, experience it, do the traveling thing, and then decide whether you like it or whether you don’t like it, but don’t make the decision before you travel.”

After all, what he’s taken away from the three seasons has been life-changing. “You have a home, but this planet is also your home,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with getting a chance to see the world that you live in.”

Eugene Levy with his grandson James Eugene and daughter Sarah Levy during a ceremony honoring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Valerie Macon/Getty Images

Now he’s also ready to pass that passion on to his grandson, Sarah’s son, three-year-old James. “I could easily go back to South Africa to one of the national parks to let him see all the amazing wildlife I saw there—he might get a kick out of that,” the proud grandpa said. “On the other hand, he might appreciate some of the fine cafes and restaurants of the more cultured cities in Europe. But any which way, if he wants to go, I’m there.”