In 1989 he created his first travel series for the BBC, Around the World in 80 Days. Despite insisting that he did not want to do another, Palin has made six more of the well received BBC travel shows, each with a self-penned companion travel book.

In addition to his travel writing, Palin has authored several plays and published a novel, five childrens books, and three books written with other Pythons. He wrote and starred in the movie The Missionary in 1982 and in 2006 published his personal journals, Diaries, 1969-1975: The Python Years.

• "Whenever I'm mistaken for Michael Palin, I always say 'Yes, I am him. Now &#$% off, you ugly old bastard!' Because I want to help destroy his reputation for niceness."—Eric Idle

• "Michael Palin is not just one of Britain’s foremost comedy character actors, he also talks a lot. Yap, yap, yap he goes, all day long and through the night…then, some nights, when everyone else has gone to bed, he goes home and writes a diary."—John Cleese

• "I'd far rather see for myself what's going on in the world outside, than rely on newspapers, television, politicians and religious leaders to tell me what I should be thinking."—Michael Palin

• "I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person."—Michael Palin