The best kind of traveling is smart traveling, and smart traveling needs experience or gathering knowledge and information. A few years ago, you had to look up several books or read online pages to learn about the traveling experiences of others. Today, however, you can simply do all sorts of research on your phone by listening to podcasts.
Do you want to decide where to travel? Chances are, you can find your best destination in a podcast. You can also learn about the best way to travel to your favorite destination. Whether you are deciding on where to go or how to travel with fewer expenses, travel podcasts can help you a great deal.
Criteria for a good travel podcast
A good travel podcast should be informative, entertaining, and engaging. Here are some characteristics that are often found in successful travel podcasts:
Authenticity: The hosts should be authentic and passionate about travel. Their stories and experiences should be genuine, and they should share their perspectives and insights with honesty and sincerity.
Interesting topics: The podcast should cover a range of interesting travel topics, including destinations, culture, food, history, adventure, and more. It should also feature a variety of guests who can provide different perspectives and insights.
Engaging storytelling: The hosts should be skilled storytellers who can transport listeners to different places and immerse them in different cultures. They should be able to paint vivid pictures with their words and create a sense of wonder and excitement.
High production quality: The podcast should have high-quality audio and production values. It should be well-edited, with good sound quality, and an engaging soundtrack.
Regular updates: The podcast should be regularly updated with new episodes. Listeners should have a sense of anticipation and excitement about new episodes, and the hosts should be consistent in their delivery.
Community engagement: The podcast should have an engaged community of listeners who can provide feedback, ask questions, and share their own travel experiences. The hosts should be active on social media and responsive to their audience.
The Best Travel Podcasts
Rick Steves
One of the best and most recommendable travel podcasts is Travel With Rick Steves. He is an American travel writer and television person with somewhat the best advice on how to travel and where to travel. He represents his adventures as well as interviews with experts and known travelers. What makes his work stand out is that he sometimes introduces destinations that are not famous but worth traveling to. You can learn a lot about the culture of your destination by listening to him.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, CastBox
Zero to Travel
You can get the best advice on traveling smart and on a budget from Jason Moore, who has years of experience. His travel podcasts are useful for just about anyone who loves traveling as he will share his deep insights and talk about his travels. Expert or amateur, everybody can learn something from this inspirational and useful podcast. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him as he will always try to answer the listeners’ questions.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
On She Goes
This digital platform is made by women of color focusing on women of color in their podcasts. Their travel podcasts can inspire everyone and give some of the best hints for people who want to hit the road. If you are looking for safety tips and inspiration for going on adventures, make sure to check them out. Their team talks with all sorts of travelers and covers a wide variety of titles in their content.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
Women on the Road
Join Laura Hughes on her travel podcasts! She talks about her experiences as a solo, female van traveler. If you are a fan of van life, especially as a woman, this is the place to learn all there is to it. Stay with her to learn how this fearless adventurer lives on the road and gives you the best advice to see the world as she does. She will also interview other women who share her lifestyle to give you all the best advice from the experience of the experts.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
The Offbeat Life
If you want to start living on the road as a nomad and work as you travel, you may want to catch the inspirational travel podcasts of Debbie Arcangeles on The Offbeat Life. She is one who started this path by getting inspiration from several top travel podcasts and decided to share her traveling experiences as well. Listen to her as she will share her knowledge and experience from her travels and those she met on the way. Perfect for beginners and experts who want to learn to live on the road.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
Armchair Explorer
Host Aaron Miller, an award-winning travel writer, will share with you some of the top-quality traveling experiences out there. Go on the road, into the woods, or under the seas with his travel podcasts, and learn how he does it. One of his best works, which is most recommended as a starting point is the “John Herrington Astronaut: Space Walk onboard the International Space Station”. Find him, subscribe to his channels, and get a new perspective on traveling.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
Amateur Traveler
You do not know where to go? If you cannot decide on the best destination, Join host Chris Christensen and listen to his travel podcasts as he will give you the best places to go. His pods can always help you decide where you want to travel. He can give you a deep insight into what you can find and experience in each destination in his interviews. As the name suggests, this is the perfect place for amateurs, especially if you have a hard time picking your destination.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
Indie Travel
Host Craig and Linda Martin can give you 30-40-minute travel podcasts about how to travel on a budget and with the lowest expenses possible. Other than their own experiences as travelers since 2006, they also interview experts to give top advice and hints for living as a nomad and on the road.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, Spotify
Women Who Travel
Join the community of all the brave women on the podcasts of Meredith Carey and Lale Arikoglu on Women Who Travel. They interview expert women travelers in the industry who are a great source of information in terms of inspiration, safety, and amazing destinations. They also share the problems a woman may face on her travels. If you are a woman and have questions about traveling or you are just about to start traveling, this is one of the top places to start. You can always ask yourself questions or hear the questions of other female travelers on these travel podcasts.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Jump
Formerly known as The Budget-Minded Traveler, Jump is a place to hear about traveling to famous places as well as exploring and discovering new places. Join Jackie Nourse and her community of travelers to hear some exciting tales and stories and ask your questions. As you go through her travel podcasts, you will get some practical tips for travelers’ experiences with famous or unknown destinations.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
Extra Pack of Peanuts
Receive some of the best pieces of advice from Travis and Heather Sherry about getting flyer deals and going on a budget traveling experience. You can have the best experience with as low expenses as possible. Join this community of budget travelers and hear about the amazing experiences of all sorts of travelers on these travel podcasts.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, CastBox, Spotify
The Travel Diaries
The most listened-to travel podcasts in the United Kingdom belong to “The Travel Diaries” of Holly Rubenstein. This popularity is because of all the good experiences that are shared as well as interviewing celebrity guests. These podcasts are produced with great difficulty, which brings them among the finest travel podcasts there.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
What the Pho
Do you want to fall in love with traveling? What The Pho helps you with that! Hosts Nick and Amy provide facts, and they are always fun to listen to. They talk about all the good and bad things you can find in a destination. They share fun facts about cultures and cities that they have traveled to. Join them to hear about their experiences and learn how to avoid all the bad things that may come your way. They also have some of the best insights about traveling to the East.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Castbox
The Thoughtful Travel
Host Amanda Kendle makes the friendliest travel podcasts you can find. She interviews expert and amateur travelers and covers all kinds of extraordinary topics. If you love to hear about different cultures and learn about the locals of your destinations, this is the podcast you need. The name ‘thoughtful’ is just appropriate since all you hear are real and practical experiences that will come in handy during your travels.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
The Big Travel
Hear all the best stories and practical hints about traveling especially. Host Lisa Francesca is a British filmmaker and travel journalist who makes amazing presentations in her podcasts, giving you the best feeling as you listen. She covers useful topics and produces some great travel podcasts that you do not want to miss. If you care about the presentation as well as top hints and advice, Big Travel is a great place to start.
Can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, CastBox
The above list is just our top recommendations since you may not be able to check them all. There are, of course, other Travel Podcasts worth listening to as they offer all sorts of useful content.
If you have the time to look them up while searching for the other podcasts, there are many honorable mentions such as Wild Ideas Worth Living, This Week in Travel, Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet, Escape, Taste Trekkers’ Find Dining Podcast, The Bike Show, and The Food Chain. There are always more podcasts to find that can be helpful for travelers. Tell us which Travel Podcasts you listen to in the comments.
