‘Dancing With the Stars’ Icon Derek Hough Is a Total Adventure Junkie When He’s Off the Dance Floor — and He Told Us All About It

While Dancing the the Stars icon Derek Hough is known for his intensity and passion on the dance floor, he just so happens to bring that same energy to his travels.

His most recent journey? The dancer was in Iceland in August with his wife Hayley Ebert where they hiked on glaciers, explored ice caves and waterfalls, went puffin watching, and even ventured inside a volcano.

“We love adventure. We love going on walks. We love nature,” Hough told Travel + Leisure in a recent interview. “So our travels are always very active. We would rarely be like, ‘Let’s go travel and sit on the beach and relax.’ We are more ‘Let’s go explore this place! Let’s go see everything that it has to offer.’”

Which includes tasting all the food.

“We’re trying anything and everything, he said. “I love trying different foods, and I love spicy food. I love spicy food so much.”

However, even the adventurous traveler takes a bit of caution and packs Pepcid Max Icy Cool Mint in case of heartburn after a spicy meal.

He even partnered with Pepcid as Hough mentioned he takes it on a plane as the combination of the altitude and plane food leaves him with heartburn. The peptide supplement may also just be his secret weapon on Season 33 of DWTS as well — the dancing pro joked that he keeps some under the judge’s table and shares it with fellow judge Bruno Tonioli during commercial breaks. 

Transitioning from dancer on the competition show — after 17 seasons — to judge, Hough considers his new role to to be the best of both worlds.

“What I love about it is it allows me to be part of the show and to give back to the show, and to give my experience, and my background to these contestants, but also it gives me some free time to do my other passion projects,” he said.  

One of those passion projects includes his upcoming 40-city holiday dance tour, Dance for the Holidays, which kicks off on Nov. 1. He’ll be performing on tour through the end of December while also flying back and forth to Los Angeles to film DWTS — which sounds exhausting, but Hough isn’t phased.

He says a routine of eating right, ice baths, physical therapy work, and some snacking on the couch with his wife helps him stay balanced. He is also super excited because Ebert will be part of the holiday tour, which means more time traveling together.

“Going to the different cities is really cool, especially during the holiday season,” he said. “All the cities are really charming and they have the decorations up. It’s such a wonderful time of year to like to travel.”

To prepare for the tour, Hough noted he’s been deep into holiday music since July.

Though he has been a part of many Disney Christmas television events, including Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade — which he co-hosted with his sister, fellow DWTS alum and now host Julianne — this is his first holiday-themed dance tour. He says the audience can expect new fun takes on classic songs like a Latinized version of “Winter Wonderland.”  He will also pay tribute to classic dance legends.

“I always have a little like Gene Kelly moment in my show,” he mentined. “We’ll have a homage. I’ll tip the hat to him.”

Having Ebert as a co-star on the tour will also be wonderful, Hough told T+L.

“Traveling with my beautiful wife, and performing with her on stage is so special, especially during the season,” he said.

Ebert, who had a cranial hematoma at the end of 2023 and had to have emergency surgery, is recovered and ready for the next trip, even if Hough is a little weary. As for their future adventures, Thailand and Vietnam are on the docket, swimming with the humpback whales in Tonga, and swimming with orcas — per Ebertson’s request.

“That makes me a bit more nervous, but she wants to go, right?” he said. “I’m like, ‘Girl, you’re amazing.’ She’s like, ‘Let’s go in the freezing, dark, murky water with orcas.”