A great travel podcast stokes your wanderlust while giving you a serious education in the process. It’s a delicate balance. Not all that long ago, you’d have to trudge down to a library or bookstore to grab a Lonely Planet or Frommer’s if you wanted to know anything about your dream vacation or travel spots. Today, you can throw on a podcast and get great, current information about almost any destination around the world.
Hopefully, all that info also arrives with some storytelling and maybe a few jokes — something fun and engaging to keep you coming back for more. Again, it’s a balance.
For those who love travel, now feels like a great time to download a few pods. Travel isn’t fully open here in the US and there’s no telling when international travel will feel safe again. Entire continents are reeling with new COVID strains. Borders are opening only to close again as quickly. Vaccines are slowly rolling out but even that isn’t a magic bullet.
Still… it’s fair to say that we’re in the “it’s cool to start planning bigger trips” stage of the pandemic. Finally.
That’s what these 30 podcasts are perfect for. In one way or another, each of them invites you to dream about future adventures and to envision your next big trip. Find the ones that speak to you and let them help you wait out this last stage of pandemic-travel limbo.
Let’s Go Together
What It’s About:
TV host, pilot, diver, and all-around adventure-seeker Kellee Edwards’ podcast is one of the best in the travel world. Edwards tackles deeply moving issues related to travel through guests recounting searching for their roots in Africa or finding a place in the travel world as a deaf person or decolonizing travel. The show is a truly unique and thoroughly engaging travel pod that goes well beyond just talking about the cool places to eat or swim when you’re on the road.
Where To Start:
On Reclaiming History as an Indigenous Hiker Edwards talks candidly with Indigenous Women Hike founder Jolie Varela to speak out re-ordering the way colonial settlers think about the continued erasure language of Native Americans, the racist nature of John Muir and why we still cling to his racist legacy, and how Indigenous women are traveling in a non-colonial way.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Nomads at the Intersections
What It’s About:
Cohosts Noami Grevemberg and Anaïs Monique have created a space in the podcasting and vanlife world for BIPOC and LGBTQIA voices to share their travel stories and experiences. While the show has vanlife at its core, Grevemberg and Monique cast a wide net and speak with people living and working in every corner of the travel world.
Where To Start:
Home vs. Homeostasis is a great place to get the vibe of the show while also going inside flight attendant life. Co-host Anaïs and Naomi are joined by Raena Rice, a U.S.-based flight attendant, to talk about creating in the travel world, working on planes every day, and making a safe travel environment during a pandemic.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
The Atlas Obscura Podcast
What It’s About:
We’ve all gone down the Atlas Obscura rabbit hole during one or two sleepless nights. The publication’s penchant for looking at the world of travel through the quirky, unique, and downright weird is what makes it so enduring, engaging, and truly unique. That whole vibe is distilled into a podcast that’s hard not to binge, especially in times when travel is hard.
Where To Start:
Jump in at Pyramiden. The episode covers an abandoned mining town in rural Russia that’s “frozen in time.” This really is a quintessential episode of Atlas Obscura that feels like you’re going down a rabbit hole on the website in the most entertaining and engaging way.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Women Who Travel
What It’s About:
Condé Nast Traveler’s Women Who Travel is hosted by travel editors Lale Arikoglu and Meredith Carey. The show takes a deep look at travel as an experience through female experiences on the road. It’s less about giving you practical Lonely Planet-type travel tips and more about how travel can change your life and maybe even help you live a better one.
Where To Start:
What We Wish We Knew Before Moving Abroad is a great place to start as it’ll give you the core of the shore while also providing great, practical information. The show focuses on guests Rachel Coleman and Katalina Mayorga who took the leap and moved to Berlin and Bogota respectively. They break down why and how along with what they wish they knew before they moved abroad permanently.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
America’s National Parks Podcast
What It’s About:
With local and outdoor travel becoming more prescient in the era of COVID, America’s National Park Podcast has become essential listening. The show takes a deep dive into the practicality of the nation’s national parks and lands, as managed by the parks system. If you’re looking to get real, current, and in-depth information for an upcoming trip to a park, this is a no-brainer listen.
Where To Start:
A great place to dive in is 100 Years of Hot Springs, New Filming Rules, National Park News. The episode covers how the parks got by in 2020 during massive closures, what’s new in the rule book for travelers, and what to expect in 2021.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
On the Wind
What It’s About:
Sailing is one of the purest (and least environmentally impactful) forms of travel. Hosts and pro sailors Andy Schell, August Sandberg, and Emma Garschagen bring on fellow salts to talk about the world of sailing and travel, the devotion it takes, and the trials you encounter out there at sea.
Even if you’re not into sailing as a form of travel, it’s still a fascinating and edifying listen that’ll be sure to stoke your wanderlust.
Where To Start:
Sea Shanties and Storm Weather Shanty Choir is a fun and very educational way to get into this podcast. The show takes on old-school sea shanties (yes, it’s having a moment) and digs into why these songs exist and how they still resonate. It’s light-hearted while still being very informative.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Great Adventures
What It’s About:
Uproxx contributor Charles Thorp hosts this deep-dive travel podcast. The show centers around a single guest interview with a focus on adventure travel in extreme conditions (think filming sharks or being a stunt pilot for a major Hollywood movie). The show offers a first-hand glimpse into the wider and more dangerous world of travel that’ll have you itching to get out there and experience the globe for yourself.
Where To Start:
A great place to jump in is Episode 62: Phil Keoghan (Emmy-Winning Host) On “The Amazing Race” & New Zealand. If you’re at all interested in The Amazing Race (or its new NatGeo sister show), this is the show for you — as it offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the iconic challenge’s origins.
Plus, Thorp and Keoghan dive into the beauty of New Zealand as a destination, which is always fun.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Rick Steves Over Brunch
What It’s About:
Rick Steves Over Brunch is the perfect balance of entertaining and educational. At its heart, the show is a TV rewatch pod where hosts and travel writers Stephanie Craig and Christopher Mitchell rewatch and break down the now-iconic episodes of the Rick Steves’ Europe TV series. It’s very light-hearted at its core while also bringing along a real sense of place and delivering more current travel information from the hosts’ own experience in the various destinations.
Where To Start:
Give “Iran: Historic Capitals” a listen. You’ll get a full feel for the sense of sympatico that exists between hosts Craig and Mitchell while also getting a great feel for how they break down Steves’ shows. It’s fun, easy-listening that’ll whet your appetite to travel again.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Van Life with Tom Green
What It’s About:
Last year, Tom Green and his trusty canine companion Charlie set out around America’s Southwest to live the vanlife. Green has been documenting his (and Charlie’s) experiences through a podcast, video series on YouTube, and lots of analog and digital photography. The podcast is a mix of interviews Green conducts on the road with practical check-ins between stops and guests. It’s an endlessly fun and engaging listen that’ll get you thinking about finally buying that van or RV and setting out on your own tour.
Where To Start:
Brent Underwood – Ghost Town Living is a fun starting point. Green interviews Underwood about his venture of restoring an Arizona ghost town and living in the desert solo while he toils at the reconstruction. It’s a fascinating listen of someone truly going their own way on the road and finding a deep passion along the way.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Get Lost Podcast
What It’s About:
The Get Lost Podcast from travel writer and all-around bon vivant Joe Sills is an easy and enticing listen — no, I’m not just saying that because I was on the podcast talking about sailing across the Indian Ocean. Sills is a great interviewer who draws stories out of his guests that always make for fun listens.
Where To Start:
Season two, episode four of the show simply titled “Iraq” is a great introductory episode. Travel writer Rebecca Holland drops by to talk about visiting Kurdistan in northern Iraq. It’s an illuminating listen from start to finish.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Spotify
The Travel Diaries
What It’s About:
Holly Rubenstein’s The Travel Diaries is one the most listened-to travel podcasts out there. And with good reason. This is a well-put-together and intriguing pod, to be sure. The show offers a chance to look at travel from a non-U.S. perspective, which is one huge advantage. Rubenstein also has a seriously deep roster of guests, from actors to explorers to the biggest names in the travel industry.
Where To Start:
The episodes are broken up into “long hauls” and “short hauls.” The former is closer to an hour in length while the latter is closer to 20 minutes. Our advice, start with the “short haul” like actor Dev Patel’s episode. It’s a great way to get a taste for the show and hear some short-form travel storytelling.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Spotify
Armchair Explorers
What It’s About:
Host Aaron Millar’s Armchair Explorer is a classic traveler interview show with storytelling and high-level production values. Millar is an award-winning traveler and host of National Geographic in the U.K., which again offers a unique, non-U.S.-based look at the travel world.
Where To Start:
“John Herrington Astronaut: Space Walk On Board the International Space Station” is the place to start. The episode tells the story of a spacewalk from an astronaut’s perspective filtered through the broader idea of space-voyaging-as-a-travel-experience.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Spotify
The Big Travel Podcast
What It’s About:
The Big Travel Podcast is hosted by British travel journalist and filmmaker Lisa Francesca. The show takes on almost a talk show feel with two people simply chatting about travel, what it means, and telling interesting stories from all over the world — making it one of the easiest listens on this list.
Where To Start:
Jump in when fellow travel podcaster and author Oliver Gee drops by to in episode 95 to talk about Paris, East Africa, and American road trips. The episode is a fun listen all around, especially when the two discuss American regional accents and travel in the U.S. from a foreign POV.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Spotify
The Trip
What It’s About:
Road & Kingdom’s The Trip comes from Anthony Bourdain’s old travel, food, and drink publication. Bourdain’s partner on the project, Nathan Thornburgh, carries the torch that he and Bourdain began and interviews artists, travelers, chefs, bartenders, writers, and more on this engaging podcast.
Where To Start:
Full disclosure, several episodes are behind a paywall at Luminary. Of the free episodes available, we’d recommend listening to the current Tijuana mini-series which covers everything from deportees to cocktails to journalism on the US-Mexico border.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Spotify
The Offbeat Life
What It’s About:
Debbie Arcangeles’s very popular The Offbeat Life podcast covers travel in a very specific way. Arcangeles takes you behind the curtain to see how travel influencers, content creators, and writers make a living out of travel. Most episodes are in-depth interviews covering how that travel-content-creator got started and found success. It’s a fascinating behind-the-scenes look that also offers real tips for doing it yourself.
Where To Start:
“How to create inclusion and diversity in the tourism industry with Dr. Kiona” is a good first episode. “Dr. Kiona” joins Arcangeles to talk about how colonialism is still a huge part of travel, especially travel influencing, and how to shift the focus to locals and allow them to define their narratives.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Spotify
Overheard At National Geographic
What It’s About:
Hosts Peter Gwin and Amy Briggs bring a very fun and novel concept to podcasting with Overheard at National Geographic. The idea is the hosts pick up threads of stories heard around the NatGeo offices and bring on a guest to talk about these takes of adventure. It’s a great behind-the-curtain look at the inner workings of NatGeo, alongside wonderfully rendered storytelling focused on travel big and small.
Where To Start:
Season two, episode three “The Hidden Cost of the Perfect Selfie” looks at wildlife tourism and the darkness behind it. National Geographic writer Natasha Daly joins the hosts to take a sobering look at how animals are abused, largely, just for photo ops around the world.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Spotify
Travel With Rick Steves
What It’s About:
Travel with Rick Steves is the gold standard of travel advice in radio-podcast form. Known mostly for his guidebooks on Europe, Steves’ podcast covers the entire world via interviews with experts and locals. The podcast has high production quality and Rick Steves’ notoriety allows him the opportunity to get big names on the show to talk about their travel adventures.
Where To Start:
Any episode is going to be enlightening. We like “Curry Nation; Young China” wherein Steves welcomes guests to talk about the immigrant food movement in Britain and, then, about how China is changing and the tourism industry. It’s a fascinating place to get a taste of Steves’ engaging style.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
She Explores
What It’s About:
She Explores has a knack for telling amazing stories of adventure and travels through diverse female guest’s voices. The show takes a unique and refreshing view of the travel experience with a clear focus on spending time outdoors.
Where To Start:
Jump in on episode 89, Lost & Found. The episode welcomes guest Lydia Sturgis who recounts when she got lost in Montana’s backcountry. Then helicopter nurse Krista Elkins gives tips for preventing getting lost in the woods and what to do if that does occur. It’s essential listening for any adventure traveler.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Zero To Travel
What It’s About:
Jason Moore wants to give you the tools to not only travel more but to live on the road. Zero To Travel covers topics that are bread and butter for the young traveler. Where Moore lands a cut above the rest are his deep dives into the realities and practicalities of actually moving abroad, finding a job, and starting a new life.
Where To Start:
A great place to dive in is Should I Go Location Independent? It’s a fantastic guide to finding a job while traveling.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Amateur Traveler
What It’s About:
Chris Christensen is the Amateur Traveler (though that title is a definite misnomer these days — he’s got over 600 episodes to choose from). Each pod is formatted as a simple location guide, with Christensen bringing in an expert on each location to give an in-depth interview about getting to a place and how best to experience it. It’s like an entire Lonely Planet guidebook in 20-40 minutes.
Where To Start:
With hundreds of episodes to choose from, picking a single one is really up to you and your tastes. A favorite of ours is about getting to and around Greenland.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
The Season Pass
What It’s About:
Theme parks are serious tourist destinations. They combine travel and entertainment. What could be better than that? The Season Pass is hosted by three guys who love theme parks. In fact, they love them so much that they obsess over all aspects — from the rides to the temporary installations to the tricks of the trade.
Where To Start:
Hosts Doug, Brent, and Robert geek out on rides and attractions for an hour or two on every podcast with a big list of recurring guest hosts. A great place to start is with the hosts’ personal experience as kids going to Disneyland, paired with a history of the park.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Travel Tales
What It’s About:
Mike Siegel is a comedian by day and a travel junkie by night. There are a lot of comedy podcasts out there. So Siegel decided to focus his in on more than just cracking wise when he created Travel Tales. The show is really a travel companion piece where you feel like you’re on the road with your best pal.
Where To Start:
A great place to dive into the show is comedian Tom Rhodes’ episode about being an L.A., stand up, and working comedy clubs in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. It’s the comedy grind meets intense international travel and the perfect example of Siegel’s engaging style.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Extra Pack Of Peanuts
What It’s About:
Extra Pack of Peanuts is hosted by travel expert Travis Sherry. Sherry started out by heavily focusing the pod on using credit card rewards and frequent flyer miles to optimize major discounts for travel. Over the years, the podcast has evolved to cover all travel topics from road trip playlists to the state of the industry by the numbers and everything in between.
Where To Start:
Dive right in and listen to Travis’ interview with Bo Cordle — who went all-in on his dream to sail around the world. From there, you’ll find hundreds of episodes that’ll both inspire and give you practical information.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox
Travel Today With Peter Greenberg
What It’s About:
Travel Today with Peter Greenberg has been a standard-bearer for all things travel for as long as we can remember. Greenberg is able to take a bit of pre-internet radio talent and infuse it with amazingly pertinent travel information for any kind of traveler. Given the radio show aspects, Greenberg also covers travel news and insider tips that many of us are simply too green to have experienced. The man is a professional with a lifetime of travel behind him. You’ll come away from his show smarter with every listen.
Where To Start:
Greenberg has been talking about travel for so long that finding an enticing episode is simply a matter of scrolling through his massive archives and starting with the travel experience that jumps out at you.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
JUMP
What It’s About:
JUMP (formerly The Budget Minded Traveler), hosted by Jackie Nourse, is a quintessential travel podcast. Overall, the show is a solid balance of practical and real. That makes it a must-listen for itchy travelers waiting to strike out on the open road.
Where To Start:
You can choose from in-depth interviews with travel experts, experiential tales, travel tips, and guides. We like How to Plan a Trip to Patagonia as a starting point to get the vibe of the show.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Location Indie
What It’s About:
Location Indie is a unique travel podcast that focuses on living abroad as a digital nomad. Jason Moore and Travis Sherry live and work abroad and have created a platform to help all of us who dream of living that dream. Their show is a step-by-step guide to making your vagabond fantasies into realities.
Where To Start:
This is probably the only one on the list that we’d recommend starting with episode one and just working your way through. Think of it as getting a full-on degree about living and working abroad in the 21st century.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Deviate With Rolf Potts
What It’s About:
Rolf Potts is one of the most esteemed travel writers of his generation. Since his 2003 book, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, Potts has been the voice to follow in the world of travel (the story “Storming ‘The Beach‘” is legit legendary in backpacker circles). Potts has parlayed that into a dynamite podcast that trades in travel but dips into art, music, politics, and the joys of life from those who follow their hearts.
Where To Start:
While digging through the archives is a blast, we’d recommend something a little more recent. Backpacker, Go Home: How Tourism Is Ruining Everything (or Not) is a great place to get a handle on Potts’ style and voice while also learning about overtourism around the world.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
The Thoughtful Travel Podcast
What It’s About:
Amanda Kendle’s The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is an intimate look at someone who’s devoted their life to living abroad and traveling. Kendle’s prowess is in her accessibility as a travel buddy behind the mic. You feel Kendle’s ease with travel which makes her the perfect travel guide to help you on the road.
Where To Start:
With well over 100 episodes, you have a lot of choices. We recommend hitting episode 149 – Class and Privilege When We Travel. It’s a great place to get into Kendle’s headspace and get a feel for the flow of the show and guests.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
One More Road For The Beer (On Hiatus)
What It’s About:
Author and editor Joe Stange joined forces with me, UPROXX Life deputy editor Zach Johnston (me!), to talk about the great beer cities of Europe. One More Road For The Beer looks at an iconic European city through the travel and beer lens. They talk beer styles and then take you on a walk around the city to the best beer bars, hidden food spots, and beer-centric hotels to spend the night sleeping all of that beer off.
The show is planning a comeback/season two covering classic beer cities around the U.S.!
Where To Start:
Start with episode one, The Best Places To Drink Beer In Brussels. Stange co-authored CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide To Belgium, so you know it’s going to be the best of the best that makes his cut.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox
Travel With Meaning
What It’s About:
Mike Schibel’s Travel with Meaning is a well-structured podcast about travel. The aim is to bring people together to speak to their strengths in the world of travel. It’s absolutely wanderlust-inducing but also offers real information about making travel a bigger part of your life.
Where To Start:
UPROXX Life’s own Editorial Director, Steve Bramucci, was on an episode last year and though the audio is a little choppy, it’s a great place to start. You’ll get a chance to learn about Bramucci’s travel history before he and Schibel dive into what they see travel looking like in the near and far future.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Spotify