Can’t stop yourself from lusting over past holidays and dreaming of trips in the future? Stick your headphones in and immerse yourself in the stories of these great travel podcasters who are bringing us the escapism we need in 2021. The best travel podcasts don’t just churn out travel tips and hacks (although these are incredibly useful, too), but they also tell us stories from their own crazy adventures which inspire us to explore more and create our own epic travel memories. Listen to these podcasts while you walk around your hometown, do the chores or workout, and feel yourself switch off from reality and get lost in the words of these storytellers. These are our favourite travel podcasts of 2021.
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1. The Travel Diaries
In this podcast, entertainment and travel journalist Holly Rubenstein speaks to a new guest each week from famous TV stars to travel editors of huge publications. In each episode, Holly goes through her list of travel-related questions which are always guaranteed to give us listeners a real feel of each guest’s travel likes and dislikes, and induce serious wanderlust. She starts by asking what their earliest childhood travel memory was to their all time top destination and their favourite hidden gem with plenty of fascinating anecdotes along the way. Go through the archive and listen to well-known travellers like Rick Stein, Ed Stafford and Sir Richard Branson talk all about how their love for travel first started. We love how the Travel Diaries is a guaranteed 45 minutes or so of escapism wherever we are in the world.
2. Let’s Go Together
Let’s Go Together is Travel + Leisure’s weekly travel podcast, hosted by award winning travel expert and solo adventurer Kellee Edwards. Every Wednesday, listen to Kellee speak to a different special guest about their fascinating adventures and the obstacles they have had to overcome to achieve their goals. The main driving force for her conversations are tackling the issue of inclusivity in the travel sphere. She interviews people from all walks of life from a wheelchair user who climbed Machu Picchu, transgender travellers and the constant challenges they are faced with, the first black woman to visit every country in the world and countless more. Listen to their stories and be inspired by their drive to go wherever they want in the world despite the challenges.
3. Zero to Travel
With over 15 years of travelling the world under his belt, this digital nomad’s podcast is the place to go for advice and inspiration about work and travel. Jason Moore runs his own business from wherever in the world he fancies, and on his podcast he speaks all about this way of life and prepping for travel on a limited budget. From how you can travel for free, the best budget travel strategies, backpacking and planning your next epic adventure, there are hundreds of episodes to listen to. Scroll back through the Zero to Travel archives and listen to past episodes with special guests, often including his wife Anne, and learn Jason’s secrets to travelling with next to nothing.
4. Women Who Travel
Conde Nast Traveler’s podcast Women Who Travel is all about empowering females in the travel sphere. Hosts Lale Arikoglu and Meredith Carey speak to women with all sorts of backgrounds linking to travel, each and every guest on this podcast series has an inspirational story to tell. Literally every topic you can think of surrounding the subject of travel, these women will have covered in an episode or two whether it’s tips on travelling to Antarctica, the challenges of being a female cruise ship captain, travelling as a woman of colour, bad airport habits or the best meals they’ve ever eaten, their topics vary from being important and hard hitting conversations to travel chit chats with other amazing women.
5. Extra Pack of Peanuts
Prepare to be filled with wanderlust after listening to an episode or two of Travis Sherry’s Extra Pack of Peanuts podcast, where he and a special guest chat about all their best (and worst) travel experiences from around the world. Got a place in your head that you can’t stop thinking about? Take a look back through the archives at their episodes between now and 2015 and we bet you’ll find an episode dedicated to that place you’re craving. We love this podcast for offering simple escapism to cities and countries around the world by sharing stories with special guests and talking about everything from the food, wonderful people and the unforgettable experiences that are sure to provide a spark of wanderlust.
6. Armchair Explorer
Be transported by the words of Aaron Millar and his amazing guests in his incredibly eye opening podcast, Armchair Explorer. This adventure travel podcast is relatively new, but since early 2020 the award winning travel writer and journalist has published countless fascinating episodes with guests talking all about a specific travel experience that has changed their life and helped shape the way they travel today. Great white shark cage diving with writer James Stewart, visiting the world’s most dangerous countries with Youtube star Drew Binsky, trekking across Africa from Cape Town to Cairo with explorer Mario Rigby; the diversity of these unique stories are so inspiring, and the way Aaron interviews his guests make you feel as though you’re experiencing these mind blowing adventures alongside them.
7. Explore the World Travel Podcast
Explore the world through your headphones with Matt Long’s weekly podcast appropriately named Explore the World Travel Podcast. Matt is a travel blogger, writer, photographer and now podcaster releasing a new episode each week on all things related to adventuring across the world. This upbeat series ranges from destination reviews to interviews with travel experts and useful travel tips for all types of travel from budget to luxury. We particularly love listening to his episodes on ‘weird travel’, where he and his guest talk about the stranger things they’ve seen on their journeys.
8. The Big Travel Podcast
Get lost in the travel tales of special guests on BBC Radio 4’s podcast, The Big Travel Podcast hosted by Lisa Francesca Nand. In each podcast episode, Lisa explores the lives of her guests through their travel stories from growing up with camping holidays to working in exotic locations on life changing projects. Each and every guest will have you feeling inspired, giving you a real urge to get online and research your next adventure however big or small. Some stories are really down-to-earth and relatable tales from family holidays, while others are all about being pushed out of your comfort zone, so might just make your heart drop. Switch on the Big Travel Podcast for a 45 minute escape from reality.
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