Travel Podcasts, Discovered
The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.
100 most recent episodes displayed below
Visit website →The more I travel (and the older I get!), the more I realise how little I know, and how wrong I've been about so many things! In this episode, I chat with three guests about various ways their travel experiences have transformed their thinking and pe
Iceland is a place many travellers dream of visiting; if, like me, you've been lucky enough to see Iceland, you probably desperately want to return. In this Chats with Locals episode, I talk with three Icelanders about their country: why they like li
A decade ago to the day - 25th March 2016 - I launched the first episodes of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. Somehow, I have just kept interviewing great people about their thoughts on travel, put together episodes almost every week, and magically, I'
Some travellers have a much keener sense of adventure and embracing physical risk on their travels, and others just stumble into a travel drama they didn't anticipate; we have all kinds on this episode about things going wrong!
First up, Tudor Morga
It's International Women's Day again and I've got a different focus this year: some of the ways history and travel is not the same for women!
When we travel, especially on our own, we can be confronted with cultural differences and people's opinions
This special episode is the audio of the live-streamed February 2026 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting with author Hannah Kent about her book "Always Home, Always Homesick" - https://amzn.to/3Kxcb7M
If you'd like to join the
We often focus on the visual when we travel ... after all, travellers go sightseeing, not "sound-hearing" or "taste-tasting"! But when we look back on our travel memories, it's often a smell, taste, sound or feel that actually has the most long-lasti
One of the most memorable parts of travel is the people that we meet - not just the friends we make or the people we stay with but also the incidental encounters along the way. Speaking with people on our travels is one of the ways we learn the most
We need some light relief in these tricky times and I found these stories just perfect! Finding love while you're travelling sounds like it belongs in a romantic comedy, but even those must be inspired by truth: this episode has stories from three co
Various statistics suggest that more than half of travellers want to see animals when they travel: that's why we keep returning to the topic of animal tourism and how we can do this in ways that both keep humans interested in caring for animals but w
It's (somehow!) six years ago that we started to learn about this new virus and then find ourselves caught up in a global pandemic. While there were some truly tragic parts to that crisis, it turns out there were also some good results, too. Quite by
Can you imagine that we didn't used to talk about overtourism? It's really only a decade since this word entered common usage but it seems we hear about it constantly now. In this episode I chat with two guests who have great perspectives to add on t
I last saw South Korea's fabulous capital Seoul way back in 2002, so when my 15-year-old son spotted a great flight price in November I was very keen to take him there! This podcast episode reports back on our week in Seoul, and I even persuaded my s
How often do we go somewhere with a preconceived idea and find it hard to really see other perspectives ... well, speaking for myself, pretty often! In this episode I share three stories which highlight ways to learn about and understand different pe
This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the December 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, chatting about book "The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner - https://amzn.to/47KtLea
If you'd like to join the Though
The end of 2025 is imminent and it's time to look back on our discussions and travels and then get ready for a thoughtful and fun 2026! In this episode I'll tell you which episodes were the most downloaded during 2025 and share some other podcast hig
Chris Christensen had the foresight to start a travel podcast before almost anyone had even heard of podcasts - way back in 2005. The Amateur Traveler podcast is still going strong - and is approaching its one thousandth episode.
Chris and I chatte
When I learnt that past guest Renae Ninneman runs a business providing cultural intelligence assessments and intercultural training I was immediately fascinated. And when Renae offered to guide me through a CQ - cultural intelligence - assessment com
Travelling to observe animals in the wild is a huge reason that we move around the world. The best case scenario is that we can see them without disturbing their environments or habits, perhaps take some photos, and head home. The worst case scenario
One of my favourite outings in Bangkok last month was heading north to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed historic city of Ayutthaya for a day, together with my friend Vincie. Since we are both deeply into contemplating thoughtful travel - Vincie is th
The new year is coming at us fast: 2026, here we come! At this time of year the reports and articles about travel trends are rife, and I like to look through them all and see what might be happening in tourism and whether or not I like it (by which I
In this final episode of the Van Life Diaries: Europe 1985, we return to England, drive through Scotland and Wales, and catch a ferry to Ireland. Then it's back to London, a farewell to our beloved campervan, on to Singapore for a few days and finall
Travel and learning other languages often go hand in hand, whether we're cramming in a few words before we visit somewhere for the first time or we are intentionally travelling to practice a language, perhaps even heading to a language school for ful
This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the October 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking with author Monisha Rajesh about her book "Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train" - https://amzn.to
Bangkok called my name again in September, and this episode recaps my experiences spending five days in the Thai capital, for a mix of work and fun purposes (of course, even the work parts were fun!).
Along with explaining what activities I got up t
Now that we're worried about crowds and overtourism, the idea of visiting lesser-known places is a real winner. I've always loved to go to the places that aren't listed frequently on travellers' itineraries and maintain that many of the best experien
Is travel good for your mental health? If you believe my guests in this episode (and me), then it's a resounding yes. I chat first with Kaila Yu who explains some of what she thinks helps your mental health when travelling, including some chat about
Chatting with author and journalist Monisha Rajesh was just as delightful as I expected (and I had high expectations!). Long-distance train travel is basically synonymous with being a thoughtful traveller, and our chat ranged from a favourite train (
In this episode of the Van Life Diaries: Europe 1985, we move on to Scandinavia. Starting off in Denmark, we looked for Lego, noticed the size of the Little Mermaid, and enjoyed spending time in Copenhagen. From Denmark it was a short ferry ride to S
Di Westaway is the founder of Coastrek and Wild Women on Top, and she has had the most fabulous career building up these businesses - topped off with many well-deserved accolades like an Order of Australia medal for services to women's health, fitnes
Creativity is an important part of my life, and I have so often observed that when I'm travelling, and also on my return, my creative thinking gets a huge boost. In this episode I chat with other travellers who feel the same.
First up, I talk to aut
This special episode is the audio of the livestream of the August 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking about Chris Broad's book "Abroad in Japan" - https://amzn.to/4pVg7yj
If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Boo
Getting to know new people is one of the fun parts of travelling, and sometimes these encounters turn into long-term and even lifelong friendships. In this episode, my guests have wonderful stories to tell about the friends they have made on a trip -
When my friend Tracy Collins messaged me to say hey, I'm doing a new series on the Global Travel Planning Podcast and I want to interview you first - I said yes as fast as I could. Tracy had an idea to guide me through a chat about a number of my ver
This is the fourth part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormo
Solo travel might seem daunting, but as you'll hear from my guests today, the benefits can be amazing. While this episode features women who travel alone, the advantages they talk about are definitely relevant to anyone.
First up, Heidi Brown share
Did you know that one in ten jobs worldwide is in the tourism industry? I think we're all sometimes guilty of merrily going on our travels without giving much thought to the people behind the scenes that make this possible. In this episode I chat wit
Two of my favourite things in life are reading novels and travelling, so it's about time they appeared in a podcast episode together - especially since so many other people love this combination of joys, too!
Starting with a bunch of wonderful "nove
This is the third part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormou
When you're given an intriguing invitation or an interesting opportunity on your travels, do you say yes?
I try to whenever possible, and that's led to some very memorable experiences - and the same is true of the three guests in this episode of The
Whether it's a bus, train or subway, using any kind of public transport or transit system when you're travelling can be very eye-opening (and a lot of fun!). In my opinion it's a much better way to get to know a place you're visiting, and of course i
This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the June 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking with author Ash Bhardwaj about his book "Why We Travel" - https://amzn.to/3EvnwSW
If you'd like to join the Thoug
There's no single definition of mindful travel, but in this episode we talk about various ideas: from travel where we intentionally take time to practice mindfulness like on a yoga or meditation retreat, through the kinds of trips where we are really
This is the second part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormo
It rarely takes much experience of travel to collect an experience of someone you meet while travelling being surprisingly kind. While we're often trained to think the worst, countless tales from travellers tell of strangers helping out and showing k
We all take hundreds of photos on our travels these days, but I was keen to chat with Nicole Smith, founder of Flytographer, about how their network of photographers take this to the next level in many popular travel spots around the world. Nicole is
This is the first of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous imp
Travelling on foot is the ultimate slow travel and you can have some amazing experiences when incorporating a walk, hike or run into your travel plans.
In this episode I start by chatting with Chelsea Gruber, a big fan of solo travel who's had quite
Most of us want to make more sustainable and ethical choices when we travel, but it's not always easy to do! Avoiding plastic straws and disposable shopping bags is one thing, but how can we choose our accommodation in a way that does more good, or t
My dear friend, the Barefoot Backpacker, is a thoughtful traveller, but they often approach travel in different ways to me. We've chatted many a time about our varied styles and decided that making a collaborative podcast episode about just this woul
Learning languages, in the early days, is all about making mistakes, and then as we improve, we can see the benefits of really getting to know people and cultures by having common words and expressions. We still make mistakes though! In this episode
Happy ninth birthday to The Thoughtful Travel Podcast! To celebrate, I've gone back to three of the early guests and interviewed them again to see what's changed in their lives in the intervening years. It was so fun to do!
First up, I chat with pho
Joining a tour connected to any special interest you have is bound to result in a memorable trip and when I heard about Political Tours, I was instantly attracted! This episode is a deep dive interview with founder Nicholas Wood, who used his skills
Confession time: I'd long assumed that virtual travel was a very inferior cousin to in-real-life travel. But then Covid hit, I experienced a couple of virtual tours, and really did feel transported to Thailand and China for an hour or two. Those kind
Since 1911, International Women's Day has been a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
To celebrate International Women's Day on 8th March 2025, I've gathered some of my favourite women travel po
Living abroad by choice can be such a wonderful experience - I was lucky enough to be able to spend time teaching English in Japan, Slovakia and Germany and these years were truly life-changing.
In this episode, three guests share some of the fun, s
Hostel life can be great fun and easy on the travel budget, too. I'll always remember my Dad, in his 50s or 60s, explaining to me that hostels weren't just for young people anymore, and anyone could stay there - a philosophy I have long enjoyed and u
Travellers will all have their special memories about the wonderful learnings they've had from travel: from tiny things like a new way to enjoy a favourite food, to enormous life-changing epiphanies inspired by other cultures or someone they meet. In
Encountering new and interesting people is part of the magic of a good trip. Chatting with a stranger on a train or making a new friend at a hostel or bar is often what you remember above the sights you've seen.
In this episode, I start by chatting
I'm excited to share this episode of Curious Tourism, a fabulous podcast about responsible travel, which I recorded recently with host Erin and producer Kattie, who generously agreed I could also share it here in my feed.
We start off by chatting ab
Want to know how to be the favourite aunty or uncle? This episode about taking your nieces and nephews travelling will give you plenty of ideas!
Mike Day, a wonderful uncle, starts off by explaining how he really hoped he could give his nephews some
Overtourism is a buzz word of late, but not a good one. We've all read about the cities and regions being overrun by tourists, who might be damaging natural or historical sights, or making an area unaffordable for its original residents to stay in. I
If you're a sports fan (and as one guest will prove, even if you're not), travelling to play or watch sports can be a great combination of two enjoyable pastimes. It's one way you can immerse yourself in something that local people enjoy as well, and
Learning more about being a responsible traveller when it comes to seeing or interacting with animals on my trips is one of the biggest learning curves running this podcast has given me over the past decade. In this episode, I hear from three profess
2024 is reaching an end, and I'm honestly looking forward to getting on with 2025!
This year was a bit of a bust: the sudden loss of my Mum tainted most of the year with various repercussions, and even this podcast suffered from some neglect! But wi
Like many parts of travel, in recent years I've started to rethink some aspects of museum that I just took for granted in my early years of travel. In this episode, I chat with three guests on a variety of aspects of the ethics of museums, which all
Almost 40 years after my first trip to Hong Kong, I returned in November with my teenager son. Back as a nine-year-old, Hong Kong was the very first place I'd been to outside of Western Australia, so it made quite the impression.
This time, I was t
A huge reason many people travel is to get away from city life and into nature. In Episode 327 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast we don't just get into nature - we hear about some really rare and unique encounters with the natural world.
First up, I
This episode is a joyful collaboration with Tracy of the UK Travel Podcast.
When one of your best friends invites you to his wedding in the Lake District in England, you say yes!
We first met Cham in Cambodia - back in Episode 114 - and we've holid
If you think of Australia, you're bound to imagine a few stereotypes of what life here is like: sun and sand might feature, and you will perhaps imagine we're a laidback nation of permanently relaxed people. Over the last year, the topic of what peop
Meeting new people is one of my favourite parts of travelling, and when these chance encounters turn into long-term friendships, that's just perfection! My most recent trip, three weeks in England and Wales, came about because my son and I were invit
Learning other languages can be really hard - especially if you're sitting in your home country trying to learn from a boring textbook. The guests in this episode all decided that they'd learn another language - Thai, French, Polish and Welsh - by tr
Although I never studied abroad myself I have no doubt at all that I would have loved every minute of it - and my three guests today certainly remind me of all of the many ways a study abroad experience can be life-changing.
I start off chatting wit
For travellers like us, knowing a tourism business we are about to use is properly thoughtful, taking into account the impact we will have on the community and the environment, is important. But with an industry full of greenwashing and unsubstantiat
This is an episode I never imagined I'd need to make; family lore was that my mum June would live to a hundred. But very sadly, after a sudden terminal cancer diagnosis in late January, my beautiful mum passed away early in February. As the biggest f
Staying in someone’s home is the ultimate in starting to understand the local way of life when you travel, and I’ve had some brilliant homestay experiences in the past. In this episode devoted to homestay accommodation, I first tell you my own tales
When I was first introduced to Gevorg Babayan and his company LikeLocal.io, which matches travellers with local experiences, I knew he'd be a good guest for The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, but as I got to know him more through interactions in the Thou
Tales of things going wrong - or almost - are always popular, and I think if you throw in the trickiness of a border crossing, these stories are top-notch entertainment! In this episode, I start off chatting with Michael Jensen about a triple-border
I am absolutely convinced that taking kids travelling is one of the best things you can do for them, and in this episode I've gathered together the thoughts of four fathers who agree with me!
First up, I chat with Rupert Grey, who took his daughters
Connecting with local people when we travel is a true joy for me - whether it's just a quick conversation in a queue, or a deeper day or more spent together, learning about how our lives are the same and different - I love it all! In this episode I c
If you decided to escape the corporate world, would you buy up a plot of land in an isolated part of Japan? It's not my first thought, but this is what Walk Japan CEO Paul Christie did at the age of forty, and with many good consequences.
One of the
It's common knowledge that train travel beats air travel in the sustainability stakes, but in recent months I've put this to the test a bit more than usual, in a country where it can be hard to do: my homeland, Australia.
It all began when Dr Susan
The statistics tell us so: more and more of us want to give back and do good when we travel. This is heartening, right? Now we just have to start figuring out the best ways to contribute to the places we visit, in genuinely useful ways - and some of
I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Micah Kamohoali'i when I was in Sydney for SXSW recently, and I knew immediately we would need a LONG chat! This discussion was a pleasure from start to finish: we start off discussing how Micah found himself wo
I'm not alone in finding Japanese museums about earthquakes and tsunamis interesting and impactful; I know my friend Catherine who travelled with me in Tohoku last month is the same. This episode will test out whether it's just the two of us, or if m
Here it is! This is the live recording of our panel at South By South West (SXSW) Sydney, from October 2023, on the topic “Why We Need Travel More Than Travel Needs Us”.
It was such a thrill to be on the podcast stage at SXSW with Catherine Marshall
There are many, many ways to see Japan, but I think I've just experienced my favourite: on foot. In late September/early October 2023, I undertook a six-day trip with Walk Japan, on the Self-Guided Basho Wayfarer walk around Sendai. And it was brilli
It's a strange phenomenon, but podcast episodes full of stories of things going wrong on our travels are always popular! For Episode 307, I've got two stories of strange goings-on while my guests are at sea. Enjoy?!
First up, Antonio Cala tells the
If we want to be mindful of our carbon footprint when we travel, a good way to do this is to consider more carefully the kinds of places where we choose to stay - like focusing on eco-accommodation. This is a part of my travel I definitely haven't gi
Travel experiences should be accessible to everyone - I strongly believe that's an important part of the whole thoughtful travel ethos. As part of the Year of Accessible Tourism in Queensland, I've put together this episode about accessible travel on
Bangkok is a city which rewards many repeat visits and my recent trip there proved it! Putting together Episode 304 was a special chance for me to chat with several friends, old and new, who I had the joy of travelling with on our recent trip to Thai
Thank you internet: you've made many things possible, two of them being podcasts, and working as a digital nomad. In this episode on digital nomading, I've got three guests who all bring quite different perspectives on digital nomad life, and I hope
Ah, finally, I've made it to Chiang Rai! I've wanted to visit this most northern part of Thailand my whole life, as my dear late aunty came from Chiang Rai. Spending a few days up there was delightful, and full of really fascinating experiences, but
In July 2025 reports were published by The Observer (UK) suggesting significant parts of Raynor Winn’s story are untrue. This is a really sad development for books that both I and my listeners have held dear.
You can read the main Observer article a
Community-based tourism experiences are one of my favourite things to seek out when I travel, and this episode is a great explanation of what CBT is, illustrated with fabulous examples from Thailand, Jamaica and Australia.
I first chat with Justin M
Thailand was calling, and I had to go!
Three and a half years after my last pre-Covid adventure abroad, I finally managed to get out of Australia for a short media trip to Thailand. I'm home again now and celebrating that trip along with the milesto
Travelling in some kind of van - a campervan, a caravan, an RV, a motorhome - is a unique and fabulous way to see the world. I was lucky enough to spend many months in a campervan as a child, exploring both Europe and Australia, and it was completely
There are so many ways we can try to do better when we travel, and looking for tours or activities that have a conservation angle is one that, with a little research, can be surprisingly easy. In Episode 298 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat w
City names like Mosul, Karbala and Basra - and of course the capital Baghdad - are familiar to us all, but not from seeing people's holiday snaps, unfortunately. Tourism in Iraq is a very small-scale affair, but I've been curious about it recently af
Making connections - either brief or lasting - with local people when you travel can often be the highlight of a trip. In this episode, three guests tell stories about people they have befriended on their travels and I hope it inspires you to be open