The Elliott Podcast

We got the wrong impression of Bali. For the first two weeks, the weather was sunny. Then it started raining … Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: Has bad weather ever ruined your vacation? I’m talking rain on a ski vacation or a hurricane when you’re trying to visit the beac...

They call Bali the land of a thousand temples, but it is really the land of a thousand hotels. And this week, we checked out a few of them. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: Have you ever done something on vacation that you regretted? As you’ll hear in this week’s podcast,...

Well, hello Bali! Our next destination is the Island of the Gods, and we have a lot to report today. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: We’ve experienced a real climate (and culture) shock, coming from Auckland, New Zealand, to Canggu, Indonesia. Tell us about your most jarr...

Today we are bidding farewell to New Zealand. After two months of exploring Middle Earth, we’re leaving with many happy memories — and a little decision paralysis. Here’s this week’s question: Have you ever had decision paralysis when it comes to choosing a destination? Some countries offer so much that choosing just one place is impossible. I imagine the United States is like that for a lot of fo...

Kia Ora from Auckland, New Zealand. This week, we explored indigenous Auckland — and we got high. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: Tell us about your most memorable indigenous travel experience. Whether you went to a luau in Oahu or toured a Maasai village in Kenya, we wan...

Hello from Auckland, New Zealand. We’re thrilled to be back with another podcast, and this week we’re exploring the North Island of New Zealand. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: Tell us about a time you visited two cities in the same country and had a radically different e...

Greetings from Christchurch, New Zealand. This week was all about the food. We did a whirlwind tour yesterday of our favorite vegetarian and vegan restaurants — and lived to tell the tale. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: What’s your favorite meal when you’ve been on the r...

Hello from the hills of Christchurch, New Zealand. We took a hike this week and we can’t wait to tell you about it. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to this newsletter. Here’s an original question: Since we’re talking about hiking in this episode, what’s your favorite hike of all time? We’ve gotta know. Please leave a co...

Greetings again from Christchurch, New Zealand. This week we survived our first New Zealand earthquake. They don’t call this place Quake City for nothing! Kiwis are some of the friendliest people on Earth. Which brings us to this week’s question: What’s the friendliest place you’ve ever visited? It’s autumn in Christchurch, which means cooler weather and rain. But the rain is often a fine mist ins...

Kia ora from Christchurch, New Zealand. The tourism authorities don’t want us to talk about New Zealand, but when has that ever stopped us? Here’s this week’s question: Have you ever been to a “forbidden” destination? For us, New Zealand was “off limits,” as I’ll explain in this podcast. We have a small rental near Hagley Park in Christchurch. The park’s crown jewel is a botanical garden with plan...

It’s our last week in Australia. Our visa runs out next week, so we have to leave. But before we go, here are a few parting thoughts about our time Down Under. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to the newsletter. Here’s this week’s question: Have you ever visited a destination that defied an easy description? (You’ll hear...

Hello from Melbourne, Australia. It’s early fall here, and the Grand Prix is in town. We’ll give you a quick tour. Welcome to the Elliott Confidential podcast. To get the full Elliott Confidential experience, please subscribe to the newsletter. First, this week’s question: Have you ever visited a destination with weird weather? I’m talking about four seasons in a day, like Tasmania — or South Dako...

We’re back! This week’s podcast is about Tasmania, a remote island off the southern coast of Australia. Before we take you there, here’s this week’s question: Have you ever visited a destination that you don’t want to talk about? And if so, why? (We did, which is why you haven’t heard from us in a while.) Here are a few photos from this week: It’s a baby Tasmanian devil. They’re cute and curious,...

Hello again from Perth, Australia. It’s been three weeks since our last podcast. (Blame jetlag and a cold that would not go away, which on second thought, was probably COVID.) Before we get to it, here’s this week’s question: Tell us your favorite climate change story. And by “climate change,” I mean traveling from one extreme to another — summer to winter or dry to wet. We just did that from Anta...

Hello from Perth, Australia. This was one of the craziest weeks ever . We flew from the southern tip of Argentina to remote Western Australia. Kids, don’t try this at home. We’ll tell you how we survived our marathon flights in this episode. And don’t worry, I’ll publish a story with even more tips on surviving long-haul flights soon. We’re almost fully recovered now. Speaking of recovery, here’s...

Greetings from Antarctica! This week’s Elliott Confidential podcast is coming to you from Neko Harbour, an inlet on the Antarctic Peninsula's west coast. We’re on the Hurtigruten MS Fridtjof Nansen , and we are so excited to be exploring one of the most remote places on the planet. Before we get to the photos, here’s this week’s question. In our last podcast, we talked about our favorite destinati...

What’s your favorite destination of 2022? In today’s Elliott Confidential podcast, we’ll reveal our top picks. The boys and I will talk about the most fascinating places of the year — and we’ll tell you why we loved them. How about you? Please share your favorite destination in 2022. What did you like about it? Who should consider visiting, and when? The comments are open. Here are a few photos fr...

Ola from Barcelona! It’s been three weeks since our last podcast. We’ll explain the reason for the delay and I’ll tell you about the ski accident that nearly ended our trip . Tell me about your worst accident while traveling. While we’re on the subject of mishaps, I’d love to know about your worst travel accident. What happened to you? Did insurance cover you? (Were you even insured?) Here are som...

Greetings from Basel, Switzerland! For the last two weeks, we’ve been touring Switzerland, including Basel, Zürich and the Alps. We can’t wait to tell you about it. What’s your most outrageous holiday travel experience? We’ve been on the road during Thanksgiving. It’s been a relatively smooth experience because they don’t celebrate the American holidays here. But it’s a great opportunity to rememb...

Hallo from Switzerland!🇨🇭 This week we toured the western part of the country, including Basel and Zürich. We’ll tell you more about Basel in this podcast and we’ll get to Zürich in the next one. What’s your most expensive vacation? Since we’re in Switzerland, we want to know about your most expensive travel experience. Have you ever returned from a destination will less money in your account than...

Grüezi from Basel, Switzerland. This week we visited eight countries. We can’t seem to find the “off” button in our lives. No wonder we’re so exhausted! Have you ever been to a destination that has changed your life forever? I felt that way after seeing Jerusalem. Visitors from every Abrahamic religion converged on this small walled city, bending the nature of reality for me. This week’s episode o...

Χαίρετε from the mountains of Cyprus! It feels like late spring here, which is probably why everyone wants to be on this island. We’ll tell you what it’s like. We’ll also give you all the information you need to decide if Cyprus is worth visiting. And we’ll also take a little detour and eat delicious, fresh-baked tahinopitas . But before we get to the photos, here’s this week’s question: What is y...

It’s independence day in Nicosia, Cyprus — and it’s a hot one! It’s 98 degrees and sunny today. What happened to fall? (I have the answer in my latest Forbes column .) This week, we’re exploring the Cypriot capital, including the Cyprus Museum, the parks and the old town. We’ll have a full report. Cyprus is a divided capital. The Greeks on one side, the Turks on another — and a heavily guarded bor...

Greetings from Larnaca, Cyprus. This week, we found ourselves in a seaside resort with the Russians. The signs are in Cyrillic. Borscht is on the menu — but also very good Greek food. I had no idea this place existed. Have you ever visited a place where you were not the target demographic? That’s our question of the week. In this podcast, I’ll share the funny anecdote of a family that accidentally...

Hello from Dubrovnik, Croatia! Our whirlwind tour of the Pearl of the Adriatic was a real adventure. We took the catamaran from Split and arrived in a city that looked almost too perfect. We’ll explain in this week’s Elliott Confidential Podcast. What’s your favorite historical city (real or fake)? That’s our question of the week. You can leave a comment here. We’ll read it in our next podcast. He...