Travel with Amateur Traveler Podcast

In this episode, friend of the show Gary Arndt turns the tables on host Chris Christensen and asks him questions about Amateur Traveler, giving a behind-the-scenes view of the podcast. Here are some of the questions that this episode will answer about the Amateur Traveler podcast: Origin Story: "How did you come up with the idea of the Amateur Traveler?" "What was the format originally?" ... https...

Hear about travel to Stuttgart, Germany as the Amateur Traveler talks again to Kristin Montgomery from growingglobalcitizens.com and mycornerofgermany.com about her corner of Germany in the Baden-Wuerttemberg region.  Why should you go to Stuttgart?  Kristin says, "Stuttgart is the car capital of Germany. It's home to Porsche and Mercedes Benz. It's a wine region. In fact, there are actually viney...

Hear about travel to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kathy Condon from the Palm Springs Insider Guide about this desert tourist area she calls home. Why should you go to Palm Springs? Kathy says, "Imagine living in a place where you have 350 days of sunshine. It's hard to explain that how alive Palm Springs is with the arts." Kathy highlights the region’s yea...

Hear about travel to off-the-beaten-track regions of Colombia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Justin Barnes about multi-color rivers, granite monoliths, giant palm trees, and deserts. Why should you go to these places in Colombia? Justin says, "These locations are all extremely unique. Caño Cristales is unlike anything we've ever seen. It's full of colors, red, green and gold in the river. The ar...

Hear about travel to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates as the Amateur Traveler talks about an unexpected trip to the region. Why should you visit the UAE? The United Arab Emirates is an odd combination of new and old. It is a multi-cultural country where 90% of the people who live there are guest workers from around the world. It is very modern, but if you look closely, you can find historic site...

Hear about travel to Timor-Leste as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jonty Crane about this small out of the way tropical country where he is doing volunteer work. Why should you go to Timor-Leste? Jonty says, "... Because nobody else goes if that's your thing. It was quite a shock when I went to Australia, and there were tourists. Whereas going around Timor, there's almost no tourists. So that's a b...

Hear about travel to the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia as the Amateur Traveler talks to James Schomburgk about his adventures in this out of the way destination. Why should you visit the Eyre Peninsula? James says, "Because of its remoteness, it's probably the lowest number of tourists in Australia. And yet it's listed as one of the biggest hidden gems in the world because of the scenery. The...

Hear about travel to the Languedoc Region as the Amateur Traveler talks to Craig from Dallas about his road trip through the historic cities of Southern France, including Montpellier, Albi, Sete, Beziers, Carcassonne, and Toulouse. Why should you visit the Languedoc? Craig, says, "We've been trying to spend more time in smaller regions [of France]. I think this is a really, specific and unique reg...

Hear about travel to Machi Picchu as the Amateur Traveler talks to Michael from Rochester about his bucket list visit to this famous Inca site and more in Peru. Why should you visit Machu Picchu? Michael says, "I'm going to tell you why I wanted to go to Machu Picchu. First, as I have to say, probably a fifth-grade student, it was just one of those iconic historical places that I remember from my...

Hear about travel to Paraguay as the Amateur Traveler talks to Alex from AdventureToEveryCountry.com about this lesser-visited country that he has come to love. Why should you visit Paraguay? Alex says, "So Paraguay is more about the culture than anything else. It's not a country that you come to for bucket list tourist attractions. That's something where you might go to neighboring Brazil for Rio...

Hear about travel to Menorca, Spain, as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kristin Henning from travelpast50.com about her visit to the northernmost of the Balearic Islands. Why should you visit Menorca? Kristin says, "In a nutshell, it is so appealing because the entire island of Menorca is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It is just stunning, nature wall to wall. It's just a small, relaxed island. It's on...

Hear about travel to Ushuaia, Argentina, as the Amateur Traveler talks to Naomi Linford from "Forever Out Of Office" about her winter trip to the southernmost city in the world. Why should you go to Ushuaia? Naomi says, "I think it has the kind of status as one of those places that you go to, to say you've been to the most southern city in the world. But there's just so much more to see: glaciers,...

Hear about Hiking in Europe as the Amateur Traveler talks to travel writer Cassandra Overby from exploreonfoot.com about how and why to see Europe from its trails and paths. The podcast episode features Cassandra Overby, a travel writer and author of Home Base Hiking Europe and Explore Europe on Foot, discussing hiking as a unique way to explore Europe. Below is a summary of the episode's key high...

Hear about travel to Cáceres, Spain, as the Amateur Traveler talks to travel writer Troy Nahumko, who literally wrote the book on this unexplored corner of Spain. Why should you go to Cáceres? Troy says, "It might have made the news over there, this anti tourism backlash that you might have been seeing here in the big cities like Barcelona, Malaga. It's just not the story throughout the country. O...

Hear about travel to Central China as the Amateur Traveler talks to Larry Fan, who was born in the city of Zhengzhou and recently returned to explore his birth country. Why should you go to Central China? Larry says, ” “I think it’s particularly special because it’s considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. Xi’an was the first imperial capital of China. Zhengzhou also happened to be one of th...

Hear about travel to Central Asia or the 'Stans as the Amateur Traveler talks to Megan Cox from Meg the Rolling Egg about her trip to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Why should you go to Central Asia? Meg says, "Whilst there was , 'Oh my God, this place is amazing. I don't know why people aren't talking about it more. I don't know why people aren't coming here more often.' It h...

This episode features Tiffany Funk from Point.me, a tool that helps travelers maximize airline points for flights. Host Chris Christensen and Tiffany discuss how to earn, manage, and use airline points effectively. Here’s a summary of the key points: Overview of Points and Miles Why Points Matter: Airline loyalty programs incentivize consumers and fill unsold seats. Points programs are massive pro...

Why should you go to Lyon? Audra says, "It's a magical town. It is a little bit like Paris in the fact that it has, in fact, two rivers, so maybe a little bit better than Paris, two rivers running through it, a beautiful church on a hill, beautiful French architecture, wonderful museums, wonderful cathedrals, and it's also known as the Culinary Capital of France." Audra's 7-day itinerary for visit...

Hear about an itinerary for travel to Bolivia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jayne Dear from The Only Way is Not Essex about her recent trip to this landlocked South American country. Jayne says, you “should go to Bolivia because it’s a very diverse country. It has the largest salt flats in the world. Uyuni, which I visited, and I did that on a three-day tour. Also, go because it’s a great way o...

Hear about trips from Manila as the Amateur Traveler talks to Justin from justin-travel.com about where to go after visiting the Philippine capital. Justin's recommended itinerary for day trips from Manila includes a variety of locations within a one to three-hour drive, each offering a different experience. Here's the suggested route: Day 1: Exploring Manila Intramuros: Begin with a visit to the...

Hear about travel to Mallorca, Spain, as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kristin Henning from travelpast50.com and Courtney Drake McDonough from realfoodtraveler.com about our recent press trip to the island. In the podcast, Chris, Kristin, and Courtney share various recommendations for a trip to Mallorca, Spain: Palma: The group suggests starting in Palma, the main city, known for its historical si...

from the Zero to Travel Podcast: How to Start Planning Your First (Or Next) Career Break Today (Using 5 Simple Steps) with Cali O´Connor Have you thought about hitting pause on your career to travel the world but are unsure how to make it a reality? It’s not as unattainable as you may think! Cali O’Connor shares her experience of taking multiple career breaks and offers 5 practical steps to start...

Hear about travel to Savannah, Georgia, and the vicinity as the Amateur Traveler talks to Yvonne Johnson about her adopted hometown. Why should you go to Savannah? Yvonne says, "Savannah is just this perfect mix. There's beautiful weather if you come at the right time, and there's great history, and there's great restaurants, and there's just so much to do, and I've raised my children here, and I...

Hear about travel to Door County in Wisconsin as the Amateur Traveler talks with Bailey Freeman from atravelingbee.com about our recent press trip to the "Cape Cod of the Midwest." Here are the key things to do in Door County, Wisconsin, based on our experiences: Outdoor and Adventure Activities Hiking and Nature Exploration Peninsula State Park: Features a watchtower atop limestone cliffs with pa...

Hear about travel to the West Indies, to the islands of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin, Anguilla, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, and Sint Eustatius, as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jeff Ohlfs about his island-hopping adventure. Why should you travel to these 5 islands? Jeff says, "Some of them are not visited at all. Some of them are overly visited. They're all near each other, so it makes for a nice little...