Our Favorite Storytelling Travel Podcasts

Podcasts are a great of entertainment and education. They are so accessible and convenient — you can listen to them on your commute to work, while you cook, during your work-out, before you go to bed… the list goes on. You can learn amazing things! Plus, podcasts are usually free so there exists an endless wealth of knowledge at your fingertips.

The best podcasters are great storytellers too. And as you know, here at PWT I don’t just offer travel; I craft stories. Stories you can enter and experience yourself. Memories you can treasure and share. And the best stories surprise you and delight you — the stories you'll hear on your voyages, the histories you'll learn from your guides, and the tales you'll collect for yourself and share for many years. Stories are what connect us.

So, of course, we love podcasts on travel! That's why we've curated a list of the best of the best here. They are equal parts entertaining, inspiring, and informative. Discussing travel through a primarily auditory medium is actually (and ironically) visually stimulating because travel topics evoke exotic places in our mind’s eye. Furthermore, travel podcasts are so helpful and treasured now because they are form of escape during a time when travel is constrained.

Listening to these following podcasts can serve as a reminder of better times and inspire you to plan a future holiday ::

1 || Eye on Travel with Peter Greenberg

Renowned Emmy Award-winning travel news journalist Peter Greenberg is the host of Eye on Travel, a podcast news show dedicated to unveiling under-appreciated travel gems with local travel experts. Greenberg is the CBS News Travel Editor and former Travel Editor for NBC, who also hosts the TV show, “The Travel Detective,” from which he earns his eponymous nickname. In his television series and his podcast, Greenberg shares cutting-edge travel news, insider secrets, and must-know information related to navigation and the industry. He updates his content weekly, so tune in because you won’t want to miss out on his invaluable tips!

You can listen to Peter Greenberg’s podcast on iTunes or Spotify.

2 || Get Outta Here!

Radio and television personality Warren Levinson hosts the aptly named Get Outta Here! podcast, a series that covers travel news, contemporary trends, and potential trip ideas. In each episode, he summons his colleagues and Associated Press correspondents to offer advice on niche travel topics like being a staycation traveler or a strictly sports-related traveler. Other interesting themes include dark tourism, scorpion hunting, and flying with pets aboard. Those who are feeling a bit more adventurous with their vacations will find the Get Outta Here! podcast to be a rich treasure trove of novel ideas you probably never even considered!

You can listen to Warren Levinson’s podcast on iTunes or Spotify.

3 || Leave Our World a Better Place

From one of our favorite tour operators, &Beyond launched this podcast to highlight their conservation and sustainable mode of travel. You can listen to the stories of people who’ve dedicated their lives to preserving wildlife, local communities and natural resources. Recent episodes feature Oceans Without Borders’ Tess Hempson and how we each can make a difference to safeguard our oceans; Toby Sinclair on filming tigers in India and other thrilling moments capturing footage for Animal Planet, National Geographic, the BBC and more; and Mark Wheeler with insider tips for exploring the Galapagos Islands and how to follow in Darwin’s footsteps.

You can listen to &Beyond’s podcast on iTunes or Spotify.

4 || The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is perfect for travel lovers. Amanda is a social media consultant whose travel blog sparked her present full-time online career. This podcast features like-minded “travel addicts” who discuss their personal experiences, like using foreign languages, getting lost, and interacting with locals. From these diverse and engaging stories, Amanda weaves valuable lessons and reminds us of what we can learn from our journeys abroad.

You can listen to Amanda Kendle’s podcast on iTunes or Spotify.

5 || Travel Genius

Bloomberg’s travel experts Nikki Ekstein and Mark Ellwood host Travel Genius, a very informative podcast. In every episode, Nikki and Mark discuss contemporary topics that affect the travel industry, whether it be the Zika virus or coronavirus, holidays and price fluctuations, or global warming. They also feature in each episode an experienced “globetrotter” who offers his or her travel hacks, like obtaining a flight upgrade, dining at exclusive restaurants, and entering secret airport rooms. You’ll learn so many new secrets and quirks about traveling that you’ll reevaluate how you vacation through a new lens!

You can listen to Nikki Ekstein and Mark Ellwood’s podcast on iTunes or Spotify.

6 || Travel with Rick Steves

Travel with Rick Steves features hour-long episodic conversations between host Rick Steves and his guests. Everyone knows Rick Steves to be one of America’s leading authorities on travel to Europe and elsewhere. In addition to this podcast, he is a best-selling author, activist, and television personality who stars in Rick Steves’ Europe, a documentary series broadcast since 2000. In this specific podcast series, Rick interviews numerous experts and connoisseurs in the travel industry who offer their advice, expertise, and stories about unique destinations across the globe.

You can listen to Rick Steves’ podcast on iTunes or Spotify.

7 || Women Who Travel

Condé Nast Travel editors Meredith Carey and Lale Arikoglu host Women Who Travel, a podcast that focuses on the art of traveling from a female perspective. They cover topics ranging from road trips and girls’ trip weekends to the struggles of travel moms and safety precautions for solo travelers. In each episode, they also host a female guest who speaks on a subject related to travel, like a chef abroad who shares her culinary skills or a designer who founded her own hotel chain. Many listeners rave about how this podcast exudes an aura of relatability and camaraderie other podcasts do not, probably due to its unique conversational style that is written by and for women.

You can listen to Meredith Carey and Lale Arikoglu’s podcast on iTunes or Spotify.