Best Travel Podcasts (2024)

I love podcasts because I can download a bunch to my phone and have them ready to listen to on long travel days! Podcasts are like portable radio shows, little snippets of audio on all sorts of topics and hosted by all sorts of people.

Travel podcasts, as a genre, are really fun because they usually give me tons of ideas and tips for my own travel plans– and it’s also nice to listen to interviews with other travelers and travel professionals.

Here’s a selection of some of my favorite recommended travel podcasts. I prefer smaller podcasts with independent producers (generally), so I think this list is quick different from the usual recommendations.

As for what I use to listen to them: Overcast is my favorite podcast app (iOS only) but many podcasts are also available on Spotify and Youtube as well.

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Top 5 Travel Podcasts

My favorite podcasts (as of right now, anyway):

1. Curious Tourism: Responsible Travel Podcast

Hosted by Erin Elizabeth Hynes of Pina Travels and truly a gem for talking about all the other stuff related to travel: how to do it responsibly and sustainability. Currently slow updating because Erin is on a big trip!

Episode to start with: How To Visit Museums Responsibly with guest María Elena Ortiz, a curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Covers the history of museums and their role in tourism, including the more unsavory parts. I visit a lot of museums during my travels so I found this episode particularly interesting!

2. Deviate

Hosted by travel writer Rolph Potts (whose book Vagabonding inspired me to go on my world tour) who dos some very good interviews with other travelers who’ve gone on fascinating adventures.

Episode to start with: Essential tips and strategies for telling travel stories, with Andrew McCarthy. Maybe I just like this one because I’m trying to be a travel writer, too! But it’s got some good tips for crafting a narrative without being disingenuous.

3. The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Short, fun episodes focused on different aspects of traveling, from making friends to figuring out where to go to weird experiences abroad.

Episode to start with: Homestays When You Travel, a short but sweet episode about the benefits of staying super local rather than a usual hotel situation.

4. Travel with Rick Steves

Short clips and interviews focused on European travel, especially Western Europe. If you like Rick Steves’ guidebooks or audio tours, then this is an excellent supplementary materials. I also like how he includes info specifically for female travelers. There’s over 750 episodes available so you could probably listen to it for a year and not run out of material!

Episode to start with: The French; Hidden Gardens in Paris; this is the sort of typical thing you’ll find in this podcast. A mix of local culture, recommendations and travel tips. France info is particularly timely because so many people are going there for the first time this year for the Olympics.

Related: Exploring France

5. Women Who Travel

Hosted by Condé Nast Traveler so it’s a little more corporate than I usually like, but has very good discussions with all sorts of women travelers. They also have some profiles on historical women travelers and adventurers which is fun, too.

Episode to start with: Walking Across Morocco, a feature with travel writer Alice Morrison who spent 7 months walking across Morocco.

Other Favorite Travel Podcasts

Melanin and Miles Travel Podcast

Very informative, especially about credit card miles and using them to travel around the world. Not updated frequently this year but still has over 160 episodes to listen to.

Pay Me In Plane Tickets

Interviews with people who go to interesting places, with an emphasis on connecting with the local culture and having unique experiences.

Wild Ideas Worth Living

Hosted by REI (so another corporate podcast) and has a lot of topics centered around the outdoors and various activities you can do there.

A Few More Recommended Travel Podcasts

These podcasts are no longer updating, but they have some excellent episodes in their archives:

Once Upon a Wander

From WanderJobs; a podcast for and about seasonal workers who use temporary jobs as a means to both travel the world and pay for their travel expenses.

Related: Best Budget Resources for Long-Term Travel

Solo Travel with Victoria Rose

A podcast by a solo female traveler in her late 60s, talking about how she travels safely and cheaply, and how you can do the same.

There She Goes: Solo Travel with Kathryn Sullivan

An interview podcast talking with solo female travelers and their experiences.

Ticket for One with Kate Wills

Another podcast for solo female travelers with some really interesting interviews with working travelers.