Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

France attracts more international visitors than any other country, and in summer its capital is usually rammed – particularly with big tour groups from Asia and North America. But this year they are staying away from Paris during the Olympics. In today's pocast, Simon Calder gives you the lowdown on his budget weekend in France's capital, and why you too should visit before the end of the Games....

As planned, I am at London St Pancras International station, the UK hub for Eurostar trains to Paris. I had intended to report on the great getaway to the Olympics, but sadly once again I am reporting on travel chaos – after sabotage on the high-speed line between Lille and Paris closed the main route. Trains are heavily delayed and cancelled – though most get through eventually. This podcast is f...

I’m celebrating the Olympics – no, not Paris 2024 but Chamonix 1924, the first Winter Games. Skiing has had an intriguing history, as I’ve been discovering in the company of Nic Oatridge of the Ski Club of Great Britain. Our location: the club’s archive at De Montfort University in Leicester. This podcast is free, like the Independent Travel newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday to your inbox....

Lots of aviation news this week, so a good moment to catch up with Paul Charles, chief executive of The PC Agency and former communications director for Virgin Atlantic. Sign up here for our Travel newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm in wonderful Walthamstow, northeast London, in the company of one of the UK's foremost thinkers on transport: Thomas Ableman, founder of innovative bus start up Snap, recent director of strategy at Transport for London and now a leading consultant. Sign up here for our Travel newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the calamitous busiest weekend of the year so far for UK airline passengers, these are your rights if it all went wrong. Sign up here for our Travel newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Independent ’s  travel correspondent  Simon Calder  has explained what your rights are if your flight has been cancelled or delayed by the global IT outage. A botched software update brought down systems worldwide on Friday (19 July), resulting in a massive disruption to flights across the country. I explain your rights as a passenger caught up in the resultant mayhem. Sign up h...

As the summer rush gets fully under way, I'm at London Gatwick talking to Nick Williams, head of passenger operations at the world's busiest single-runway airport. On a really busy day, there are more than 900 take-offs and landings: around 50 in a typical hour, or one every 72 seconds. The wait for security, says Nick, is rarely more than five minutes. This podcast is free, as is Independent Trav...

For today's travel podcast, I'm at London Liverpool Street station – the busiest in Britain – ahead of the King's Speech, in which Labour's plans for reforming the railways will be revealed. Nationalisation on its own will do little to improve the ramshackle service and mad fares that passengers endure at present ... good luck, transport secretary, Louise Haigh. This podcast is free, as is my news...

Many people are organising holiday money. These days, paying with plastic or contactless is getting more and more universal – but cash can still be handy. I've been talking to Kaya Niedenthal of Currency Online Group about how to get a good exchange rate, even if you live a long way from hypercompetitive London. and why you shouldn't buy many Turkish lira in advance. This podcast is free, as is my...

Join Natalie Wilson, Annabel Grossman and Ben Parker from The Independent's travel team who discuss where in Europe (if anywhere) cash is still king. This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New EU border checks and travel for the Olympics will make the Port of Dover “exceptionally busy” this summer, its boss has warned. In today's travel podcast, I talk to Doug Bannister, the port's chief executive, about the great exodus that begins next weekend, and how to beat the queues. This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here . Hosted on Acast....

As the late, great Leonard Cohen so rightly predicted: "First we take the Netherlands – then we take Berlin." Want to be in the German capital on Sunday for the Euro 2024 final? Here's my guide. This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I've been taking a walk – and a train – in the Black Forest of southern Germany. I visited the ticket office in the town of Triberg, where the person behind the counter is sitting at a desk 20 miles away. Remote ticket office staff are already a reality on German railways, as staff are still able to give advice, take money and print tickets. But could video ticket kiosks catch on in the UK? This p...

Today I'm with Eddie Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair DAC, the main operating division of Europe’s biggest budget airline. He's in Tangier, announcing a big expansion in Morocco. I talked to him about the plan. This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yet more carnage of airline schedules on Sunday, with British Airways and easyJet both cancelling 32 flights in and out of their main hubs, London Heathrow and London Gatwick respectively. Booking a flight departing early in the day is a good plan – but if your trip is grounded your airline must get you to your destination as soon as possible. This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it deli...

Are you in line to be the next transport secretary? You're in luck. In just 10 minutes, I’ll give you free advice on everything you need to tackle, from road, to rail, to air. Tune into today's podcast for a concise guide to transforming our transport system. This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

Three weeks tomorrow, the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 takes place. Yet I think the French capital will be a bit of a ghost town. Air France has just said: “International markets show a significant avoidance of Paris. Here's my take on what will be happening in the city – and how you could benefit. This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing u...

I'm Simon Calder, and in today’s podcast, I speak with Ian Jeffrey, who leads Great British Rail Replacement. This new company aims to improve the often-dreaded experience of rail replacement by enhancing bus, coach, and taxi services during disruptions. We discuss how they plan to make this service more efficient and customer-friendly. This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up he...

I'm Simon Calder, and today’s guest is Gediminas Ziemelis, chair of Avia Solutions Group. With peak holiday season underway, we discuss how his organisation is tackling the aircraft shortage affecting airlines like EasyJet and British Airways, ensuring that flights operate more reliably for travellers across Europe. This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it every Fr...

I'm Simon Calder, and on today's podcast, Chris Hancock, CEO of Avioxx, discusses how his company is pioneering new methods to produce sustainable aviation fuel, potentially transforming the aviation industry's environmental impact. This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a miserable week it has been for air passengers. Monday saw Manchester airport hit by a power outage, train delays caused problems at Stansted and now today a plane stuck on the runway caused major disruption to the Gatwick airport. I take a look at what's gone wrong. This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

The day began with an announcement by easyJet of new flights from Edinburgh and Liverpool to City of Derry in Northern Ireland. Also this week, Delta announced a winter series from London Heathrow to Orlando. And Jet2 will offer Manchester, Leeds Bradford and Birmingham to Jerez from May 2025. In today's travel podcast, I assess these new routes. This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter....

I'm Simon Calder. Today, Aer Lingus pilots start an indefinite work-to-rule and plan a strike on June 29th. I discuss the reasons behind this action and its impact on passengers. This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to receive every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you believe it's six months until Christmas Day? Never too early to plan your 25 December travels, and so today I have enlisted the support of Lyn Hughes, founding editor of Wanderlust magazine. Listen to her surprising choice of Christmas getaways. This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to receive every Friday.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...