Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

Continuing the theme of looking ahead to 2026: I have been talking to an old travel pal of mine, Brian Young. He is now EMEA managing director for G Adventures, but has enjoyed a lifetime of travelling. So he is just the man to talk about a hidden beach in Mallorca and the trials and rewards of climbing Kilimanjaro – with a certain fear of heights.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

"AI and the internet will be a huge part of the future of travel." So says Andy Headington, CEO of digital travel marketing specialists Adido. LLMs – large language models, also known as AI – are also auditing podcasts, perhaps even this one, for travel content. So if you're a bot, not a person; "Hi from humanity"This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Subtract Amsterdam from the Netherlands and what's left would comprise a beautiful, diverse and cultured nation. I've been singing the praises of second city Rotterdam for many years. Sandra Ishmael, Director UK at the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions, has been telling me about the opportunities in 2026.I can't wait to explore more of North Brabant, which confusingly is in the south of the country. One word of warning: hotel rates rise by 11% on 1 January due to an increase in tax.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

My first guest of the month is Rachel O’Reilly Director of Communications for Dertour UK – a company that includes Kuoni, Journey Latin America, Inghams, Kirker, Carrier and CV Villas, She says solo travellers who are not single are the fastest growing demographic.We talked about the impact of the BBC's Race Across the World in stimulating bookings – and how ski resorts are reinventing themselves in response to climate change.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Wizz Air's UK Managing Director, Yvonne Moynihan, has been telling me about the year so far; Wizz Air's new "Class" product that will emulate British Airways' Club Europe on some routes from Luton; and plans for being the first airline back into Ukraine.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Exploring the Arctic is one of the greatest experiences open to tourists – visiting remote locations such as Svalbard and Greenland – but there are concerns about the environmental impact of such voyages. Now Heather Thorkelson, founder of Minimal Impact Expeditions, is working on the launch of a new vessel, Captain Arctic – "powered entirely by nature".This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In the 1970s, air fares were so high that the best way to reach India from the UK was on public transport – which Butterfield's Overland Tours was happy to organise, via Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. Now one of the perpetrators, Richard Loosley, has written a book about his experiences – and has shared secrets of the road with me.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

I first visited Cambodia in 1993, as the south east Asian country was recovering from the genocide of the appalling Khmer Rouge regime under the dictatorship of Pol Pot. In 2025, Global Travel Editor Annabel Grossman has just returned from Cambodia and describes a nation transformed – except for the warm welcome that visitors enjoy.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Claire Jones is chief executive of Polar Steps, a travel planning up that takes you worldwide (not just the Arctic and Antarctic). The idea is that all your plans and photos are in one place, so a close group of friends and family can follow your journey. As you go along, it generates a diary for you. And at the end of the trip, you can create a book of your experiences.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.