Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

Dozens of flights and ferry sailings have been cancelled due to strong winds and heavy rain. British Airways cancelled its first wave of domestic departures, while Aer Lingus Regional has grounded many flights between Great Britain and the island of Ireland – Belfast City and Dublin. Most Irish Sea ferry sailings are cancelled. And on the trains, ScotRail has imposed speed restrictions on lines to Carlisle, Inverness and beyond.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

I have been hitchhiking for half a century. But in that time thumbing rides has shrunk from the mainstream method for budget travellers to get around to the most minority of sports – on the periphery of transport, with most people never having stood by the side of the road hoping for a lift. Adam Renak and Dan Smith are two engineers seeking to transform hitchhiking with an app called Hitchr. This is their story.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

What's the best strategy for booking your travel to attend the FIFA World Cup next summer in the US, Canada, and Mexico?As soon as the draw is made, prices for flights and accommodation will skyrocket.My hack? Well, you'll have to listen to today's episode to find out that!This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

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.