Travel Podcasts, Discovered
Travel, at its best, changes the way we see the world. Join us each week as we dig into stories from people who took a trip—and came home transformed. Travel Tales by Afar is your ticket to the world, no passport required.
39 most recent episodes displayed below
Visit website →Author Charmaine Craig had always felt mysteriously drawn to India—pulled by childhood family legends of ancestors who arrived there centuries ago and copper plates inscribed with ancient privileges that still hang in a Kochi synagogue. But it would
When 16-year-old Jayla Nicholas from New York City packed her one carry-on suitcase for Guatemala, she thought she had everything figured out. A seasoned city kid who loves the smell of airports and dreams of seeing the world, Jayla was ready for her
When polar bear biologist Alysa McCall was growing up in Kamloops, British Columbia, watching black bears raid fruit trees outside her living room window, she never imagined she'd dedicate her life to their Arctic cousins. But sometimes the most prof
When Santi Elijah Holley, writer and author of An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created, was 25, he took the ultimate travel leap of faith: He hitchhiked 400 miles from Northern California to Portland through small-town Oregon. But
Dr. Jessica B. Harris, renowned food historian and author of High on the Hog, which later became a hit Netflix series of the same name, reveals the shocking truth about American cuisine—it's not what you think. From her couch in Brooklyn with a Siam
This is a replay episode from Season 4 featuring Ryan Knighton's journey to Kaua'i.
Ryan Knighton, AFAR contributing writer, TV writer for Billions, and author of Cockeyed: A Memoir, takes us on an extraordinary adventure to surf Hawaii's legendary
Jim Kitchen, professor of entrepreneurship at UNC Chapel Hill, has visited all 193 countries, rocketed 66 miles into space with Blue Origin, and descended seven miles to the ocean's deepest point—but his most important journey was learning to connect
Mickela Mallozzi, Emmy award-winning host of PBS's Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, transforms strangers into dance partners across seven continents.
Whether learning sean-nós in Ireland or celebrating Matariki in New Zealand, in this episode of Tra
Jaymee Sire, host of Food Network Obsessed podcast, trades tasting menus for throttle grips at the legendary Sturgis Motorcyle Rally in South Dakota.
Whether riding two-up through the Black Hills or bonding over leather stamping and welding with a
Kentucky native and comedian Katherine Blanford takes us on a hilarious journey across America, sharing how different regions react to humor and why the Pacific Northwest has become her performing paradise. From childhood road trips to Cracker Barrel
When Métis writer Debbie Olsen heard the haunting sounds of Inuit throat singing for the first time, she felt an unexpected connection to her own Indigenous roots. In northern Quebec's remote Inuit region of Nunavik, she discovered how an entire comm
When Turks and Caicos native Mario Rigby landed in Cape Town with nothing but a backpack, a pair of worn-in sneakers, and a dream to walk the length of Africa, he thought maybe he'd made the worst mistake of his life. But actually walking across Afri
Antoni Porowski, our favorite culinary expert from Queer Eye, takes you behind-the-scenes of his new National Geographic show, No Taste Like Home (premiering February 23, 2025). In this episode, he shares the connection that sent him crying off camer
No plan. No luggage. Five weeks in India. Joe Diaz and Greg Sullivan, dreamed up Afar on a beach in Goa more than 15 years ago. In this candid episode from our sister podcast, Unpacked, they reflect on what they’ve learned by helping people travel de
Not only can you swim in the rivers of Bern and Basel— but thousands of locals regularly take the plunge. From a morning commute to a relaxing weekend escape, discover how rivers are at the heart of everyday Swiss life. In this episode of Travel Tale
Tom Turcich and his dog, Savannah, completed their world walk in 2022. On this week’s episode of Travel Tales, we hear their story.
We first talked with Tom and Savannah back in 2021, when they were in Kyrgyzstan, six years into their journey, which
Road trips are such funny things. They allow more room for whimsy and spontaneity. They can inspire frank conversation, sitting side by side with someone, looking out at endless stretches of highway. And they can be dull (all that endless highway) in
Deesha Dyer never thought she’d wind up in the White House. As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, she desperately wanted to travel but it always felt out of reach. Until she landed a coveted internship in the Obama administration, working in the offic
Imagine this: You’re slowly driving through Etosha National Park, Namibia’s renowned conservation area. There are elephants and zebras and antelopes and lions all around you. In fact, you’ve been warned not to exit your car because of those very lion
Some of our favorite travel moments are the ones you’d never in a million years expect. These are where the best travel stories are born. And this week, Afar’s executive editor, Billie Cohen, has a very delicious, very serendipitous story for us.
As
When Afar editorial director Sarika Bansal was 22, she moved to Mumbai. As you’ll hear in her Travel Tale this week, she grew up in New York and visited India (where her parents were born) frequently. Yet the visits often felt cloistered. But many ye
When it comes to relationships, often there’s the planner—and then there’s the go-with-the-flow-er. And today’s episode of Travel Tales by Afar is all about what happens when the planner hesitantly chucks the travel to-do list and lets serendipity le
This week, we’re replaying one of our favorite Travel Tales episodes: Comedian and actress Michelle Buteau—and her best friend—fly to Paris to meet their supposed French boyfriends. Only things don’t exactly go to plan . . .
Michelle Buteau is a come
In late 2016, Daniel Troia was struggling with grief. Grief over the loss of his parents and grief over the division he saw unfolding on his TV, night after night. It made him angry, and that made him want to do something to change things, or at leas
When poet Tess Taylor’s son, Bennett, was three years old, he heard the violin for the first time. For weeks afterward, every day he asked her for a violin, so finally she took him into a local violin shop and asked for help. The shop owner put a tin
When most of us think about nature in Argentina, our minds go immediately to Patagonia—which is a spectacular place worth visiting (it’s one of the most memorable places I’ve been to). But in this week’s episode, we’re exploring two regions in Argent
Today we’re launching Travel Tales, season five. And we’re kicking off this season with a roar, although the subjects of today’s episode (polar bears) are much quieter than you’d imagine.
Nearly two years ago, host Aislyn Greene attended a TED Talk
How often do you do something that scares you? This week on Travel Tales by AFAR, Jeff Jenkins—host of the National Geographic show Never Say Never—reminds us that life begins where our comfort zone ends.
On his show, Jeff tests the limits of his phy
The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the most spectacular, pristine protected places in Canada. But it wasn't always this way. Kevin Smith, a boat captain who grew up in British Columbia and now owns and operates Maple Leaf Adventures, was instrumenta
Can geometric shapes heal the world? That's what the artists of the De Stijl movement—which came of age in the Netherlands after World War I—believed. Piet Mondrian is one of the most famous members of this group, which forbade circles and embraced l
For writer Ryan Knighton, surfing is one of the rare occurrences where he feels completely free. Because, in addition to being an excellent writer, a dad, and a curious individual, Ryan is blind. But that's never stopped him from exploring the world.
What's it like to eat your way along France's Vallée de la Gastronomie, a 400-mile food trail that begins in Dijon and ends in Marseille? That's the question we're exploring in this week's episode of Travel Tales by AFAR. Host Aislyn Greene, who spen
The Great Smoky Mountains have had an outsized impact on Dolly Parton—they shaped the way she grew up, influenced her music, and are the only place where she feels truly restored. Which is why she has spent her adult life giving back to the region, p
After 15 years of living in the United States, food writer—and author of the new cookbook My Everyday Lagos—Yewande Komolafe finally revisited her home city: Lagos, Nigeria. In this episode of Travel Tales by AFAR, we hear the story of that journey a
Writer and avid hiker Peggy Orenstein is exactly the kind of person you should send off into the wilderness with an iPhone and a pair of hiking boots. And for this episode, we did just that. In October 2022, Slovenia rolled out the 167-mile Juliana T
How does a place change when the person who defined it for you is now gone? That's the question we're exploring in this week's episode of Travel Tales by AFAR. Author Shruti Swamy grew up in the United States, but her parents grew up in Mumbai, India
50 years after Picasso’s death, AFAR associate editor Mae Hamilton traveled to Spain and France to retrace his life in Europe. She started in Málaga, Spain, where Picasso was born, and ended in Mougins, where Picasso spent his final days. As an art l
Comedian and writer Baratunde Thurston wants to tell a better story of us. The narrative around the United States is often one of fracture and discord. So in his PBS show, America Outdoors, he travels around the United States to better understand Ame
Tales Tales is back! Starting Thursday, October 5th, each week, we’ll share a story of someone who took a trip—and came home transformed. We’re going to be hearing about a whirlwind Picasso art pilgrimage, what it’s like to eat your way through Franc