8 Travel Podcasts to Download

Perfect for in-transit moments like daily commutes or long flights, these podcasts cover travel topics from all angles. From a food-focused podcast to one about all things adventure travel, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite travel podcasts.

The Dirtbag Diaries

This podcast has brought listeners stories of outdoor adventures and since 2007 when Fitz Cahall first started it. With stories from trails, roads, rivers and other wild places, The Dirtbag Diaries is worth a listen whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast yourself or simply enjoy hearing great stories.

Airplane Mode

Founded by two former Warby Parker execs, Away has started out as a luggage company but is quickly becoming much more. Their carry-on has basically been the “it” suitcase for the last year, with travel bloggers, celebrities and travelers of all ages (they recently launched a kids' carry-on) praising this travel essential. In addition to collaborating with popular bloggers like The New Darlings, celebrities like Rashida Jones and brands like West Elm, Away has ventured into other areas of the travel world, including an online magazine called Here and now, a podcast called Airplane Mode. Hosted by Will Warren, Airplane Mode’s episodes focus on certain themes like wellness or business travel and include interviews with people from different industries who are passionate about travel.

The New Paris

This podcast, as the name suggests, focuses solely on the popular destination of Paris. Hosted by the author of The New Paris, Lindsey Tramulta, and fashion journalist Alice Cavanaugh, this podcast brings listeners conversations about Paris that help expose the new, innovative aspects of a city once known as place resistant to change. Each episode focuses on a certain topic or theme such as breakfast, fashion, lodging, language and more. They interview local experts and innovators in the fields of these respective topics. In a recent episode titled "Image Vs. Reality in the City of Light," they pose questions about how much of our image and understanding of Paris is formed by what we see on social media and whether or not locals have a responsibility to present all sides of the cities – good and bad. Questions like these and ones they raise in other episodes can easily be applied more broadly beyond Paris. 

On She Goes

Hosted by Aminatou Sow, also the co-host of the popular Call Your Girlfriend podcast, On She Goes is a new podcast by and for women of color. Through the podcast and the website of the same name, On She Goes shares travel experiences from women of color, tips, travel hacks and more to help women of color travel more confidently, more adventurously and more often.

Travelogue

From Condé Nast Traveler, Travelogue is a roundtable-style discussion on different travel trends and themes like sustainable travel, the impact of home sharing on the hotel industry, the best places to travel during fall months and whether it’s ethical to travel to North Korea. The editors often disagree, and the range of perspectives makes for interesting discussions. Also, the theme music is another reason to love this podcast.

The Switchback Kids

If you’re planning a trip to a national park, this podcast is for you. Elizabeth and Cole Donelson (aka the Switchback Kids) visited all of the 59 national parks, and in this podcast they share what they experienced while exploring our country’s public lands. They cover the national parks from all angles, including deep dives into specific parks, top lists, budgeting tips and more.

Gravy

Gravy is a James Beard Award-winning podcast with a counterpart print magazine under the same name produced by the Southern Foodways Alliance. It explores the changing American South through the foods we eat. Although Gravy is not specifically a travel podcast, food is such a huge part of travel that I learn something new in each episode about places across the South and how food has shaped the region’s history. A few of my favorite episodes from the archives include “The Jemima Code,” “Separation of Church and Coffee” and “The Mason Jar Pickle.” In each episode, host John T. Edge reminds listeners of the sound advice to “make cornbread, not war.”

Location Indie

For people who wonder about what it’s really like to quit your nine-to-five and make a lifestyle of traveling the world, this podcast will give you the answers – or some of them anyway. Hosted by the two founders of Location Indie, a global community and network, they share what it's like to live a location-independent lifestyle. Also, check out their individual podcasts, Zero to Travel and Extra Pack of Peanuts.