Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

I'm talking to Bernard Donoghue OBE, director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. Today he has revealed the stars of the visitor attraction world, led by the Natural History Museum in London. And he looks ahead to the most exciting openings of 2026.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

On a typical holiday plane with 160 passengers, one piece of checked baggage will go missing. That’s the shocking statistic from Sita, the IT provider for the aviation industry.But Georg Oschmann, VP Product Management for Sita, has been telling me how tech will reduce the number of stray bags and improve the response when cases do go missing. His colleague, Nick Batchelor, VP Strategy & Innovation (Airports), says that airports can increase capacity and reduce disruption by using smarter technology.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

I am reporting from Abu Dhabi airport, where I have been transferring between Etihad flights. Even though the Foreign Office is warning against travel to anywhere in the UAE, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, many British travellers are taking the chance. I have been hearing from them.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Today I'm reporting from London Heathrow Terminal 4. This is the main Middle Eastern hub at the UK's busiest airport. But with so many of its regular airlines axing most or all of their flights right now due to the Iran conflict, it feels like a ghost terminal.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Today I'm reporting from on board an express train on the Indonesian island of Java. It's a relaxing and fun way to get around this fascinating nation, as well as being very good value. Buying tickets online is also reasonably straightforward and in my experience the trains are ultra reliable.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In the second half of our focus on the lens, this top cinematographer reveals the mistakes that people most often make when shooting video. Hoping your footage will be shared widely? Make sure you are filming in a landscape rather than portrait.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In the first of a two part series, top cinematographer and photographer Douglas Bolton tells me how to take better stills – even if you are using your phone rather top of the range camera equipment. Just don't touch that digital zoom.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

“People will think, maybe I’ll fly Singapore Airlines next time.” So says Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler, in the last episode of a travel trilogy about the impact of war in the US. But he predicts travellers will soon leave their fears behind.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

The attack on Iran that began on 28 February closed the nation’s airspace, as well as that of neighbouring Iraq. But within hours, the whole Gulf region was out of bounds for civilian aircraft. In the second of a three-part series, Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler assesses the damage so far.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.