Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

After airlines, domestic railways and a cruise line, the bearded billionaire is set to bring better service and lower fares on international trains to the Continent – but not until 2030. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack's Flight Club is an enterprise that specialises in finding exceptional deals on tickets to Europe and beyond. I've always been intrigued about how it works – and Head of Community and Content, Katy Maclure, has been revealing the inner workings. “We're the guys who do the hard graft and let you know when the price is right.” This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter....

In the Moldovan capital, deep set in autumn, I've been enjoying a walk and talk with Irina – who helps tourists make the most of a beautiful and intriguing city. Just search for "free tour Chisinau" – and of course tip, between 100 and 200 lei (£4.50-£9). This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

The latest UK regional airline to closed down is Eastern Airways, which linked Aberdeen with Teesside, Humberside and Wick airports as well as flying between Gatwick and Newquay. What happens next? This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the weekend I was in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, to report on the finish of the latest Lupine Travel race across Europe. Chatting to past winner and pal of mine Bram Houtenbos, I learnt he had a fabulous city-centre apartment with a spare room. Yes, I could split the cost with him – a real win-win! Except that in the early hours of the morning, things started to unravel... This podcast is f...

Aviation analyst Sean Moulton tells me about some of the new routes, which include Pakistan International returning to the UK. Aberdeen to Paris and Manchester to Ljubljana are among his other highlights. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The British Library, right next door to London St Pancras International, has a new exhibition – opening tomorrow, Friday 24 October – about the way that cartography has been used to conceal and confuse through the ages. I toured a preview with Tony Wheeler, co-founder of Lonely Planet, who has supported the project. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here t...

My guest today is Richard Hammond, founder of Green Traveller – an organisation that aims to provide news and inspiration about lower-carbon holidays. We're talking at a time when the Berlin-Paris sleeper train is about to come to a shuddering halt. But Richard says competition between rail firms can lead to the kind of growth we saw with low-cost airlines. And we bonded with our mutual fondness f...

Travel desk Tuesday – and my colleague, senior travel writer Natalie Wilson, has been writing about a Visit Sweden initiative that seeks to promote physical and mental well-being for the traveller to Scandinavia (as well as boosting the fortunes of the local travel industry). Travel anywhere, in my experience, is always a restorative. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newslet...

That's the claim from aviation analyst Sean Moulton, who I met in his home town, Manchester. We talked about the way Britain's third-biggest airport – after Heathrow and Gatwick – is getting more intercontinental links, and becoming a hub between Asia and North America. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Aca...

In the year 2000, two travel professionals with experience across Africa teamed up to create a safari camp that brings together nature, community, energy and inspiration in Kenya's Maasai Mara. A quarter-century on, my guest Greg Monson and his partner Paul Goldstein are still working their socks off to provide great travel experiences that support the community and preserve the environment. This...

On a shiny 21st-century train with just one careful previous owner, I am talking to Richard Allan – managing director of Chiltern Railways – about new rolling stock for a network that currently relies on trains nearly half a century old. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

At London St Pancras International, hub for Eurostar – and one of three locations in the UK where passport control is carried out before departing for France – I caught up with Alex Norris, Minister for Border Security and Asylum. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

My colleague, senior travel writer Natalie Wilson, has been telling me more about the making of a film about training to be cabin crew. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm in Prague, tackling the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the new Schengen area digital borders scheme. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weekend it's not exact all change for British holidaymakers going to the European Union and wider Schengen area – but some of us will have our fingerprints and facial biometrics taken. I've been talking to Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs for Abta, the travel association, who – like me – has been reading EU directives and regulations on the subject for the past few years. This po...

Today I'm talking to Alex Smith – who has lived and worked in the travel industry in Mallorca for two decades. Five years ago she created the YouTube channel Mallorca Under the Sun, helping prospective visitors to our favourite Mediterranean island. She's been telling me about the highlights of the island – and why it's worth getting out of the resort of Magaluf. This podcast is free, as is Indepe...

Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel and Internova Leisure, tells me that this chain of travel agencies grew from a single branch in a suburb of Glasgow half a century ago. Its key difference: staying open later, seven days a week, which in 1975 was revolutionary. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted o...

So says Jessica Harvey Taylor, head of press for the Spanish Tourist Office in the UK, who's been telling me about the increased appetite among British travellers for northern Spain – namely Galicia, Asturias and the Basque country. And on 12 August 2026, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the north of the country from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, before ending at sunset on the island o...

Meet Dr Nick Brown, resident of Palma in Mallorca. His day job is as data sleuth, but he also does all he can to help tourists make the most of the island that he has made his home. He offers tours on an entirely  pro bono  basis – with a request that satisfied customers donate to a homeless charity. More details here:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563615153343# Nick al...

That's the discussion I've been having with my excellent colleague, global travel editor Annabel Grossman. In September we both had flight cancellations, and without a buffer that can trigger stress and disappointment. It's worth politely and respectfully pushing back to ask for better replacement flights. Best of all, have your flight cancelled on your homebound leg, with a day available. This po...

Rob Burgess, founder of the frequent flyer website Head for Points, explains how to benefit from this quirk: could status with one airline earn you the equivalent of British Airways Silver with the help of a $199 payment? This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's the belief of Rhys Jones of the frequent-flyer website Head for Points, who explains why the economics of the extra long range narrow-bodied twin jet makes it the perfect plane for many unserved routes. But watch out for meal times ... This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

The carrier is telling passengers: “All flights have been cancelled.” Around 500 staff have lost their jobs. It follows former Icelandic carriers Primera Air and Wow Air into aviation oblivion; those airlines failed in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Last summer I talked to the chief executive, Einar Örn Ólafsson, who set out his vision. Sadly, it was not to be. This podcast is free, as is Independent...

That's the message from Yann Leriche, chief executive of Getlink – the company that runs Eurotunnel and LeShuttle car-carrying operation between Folkestone and Calais. He's been talking me through the planning and the experience once the EU's digital border scheme begins. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on A...