The Science of Traveling Well

In the Science of Traveling Well, we share great experiences which leave a positive impact and ask experts about the science behind what makes these experiences so enjoyable. In this episode, we head to the Serbian city of Novi Sad to enjoy visiting one of the world's largest forts. To help us understand what makes a visit here so fascinating, my colleague Dr. Jelena Farkic and I explain our findi...

Our second episode from a little getaway in Rotterdam, in this episode we see if taking photos makes a vacation better or worse. To help us figure this out, we have some old, barely functional and very weird cameras :) and happiness psychologist Dr. Jaime Kurtz, expert on vacation experiences and photographing. Works cited: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1096348013491606?casa_token=...

This video is aimed at people who are currently in a romantic relationship. There's only one expert in the world on the link between vacationing and romantic love, and here he explains why–and how–you should vacation with your partner. We apply this knowledge to understand a romantic wintry visit my wife and I took to Rotterdam. Works cited: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00472875198...

In this video, we're going mountain biking. Perhaps a strange idea in a region with no mountains, but fear not, there are several lovely trails in the forests around Breda and we are going to joyfully explore them together. It's a great way to stay close to nature even in the colder months. To explain the many benefits of mountain biking, we are joined by Peter Ward, professor at Brigham Young Uni...

For many folks, the last couple of months of the year are defined by…shopping. What makes shopping fun for some people? Does it mix well with a vacation? What effect does it have on local residents? We answer these questions and more with my colleague Dr. Jeroen Klijs, economist and Professor of social impacts of tourism. We discussed my experiences shopping last year just before Christmas in my h...

Is artificial intelligence a good travel guide? Should you get your travel advice from machines or humans? In this episode I travel to enchanting Bled, Slovenia , and ask two AI-powered systems, ChatGPT and Travel With Zoey , to help me find coffee and bike routes. It works… not quite as expected. Join me in a conversation with Travel With Zoey CEO Rajneesh Badal to find out why, and more importan...

In the Science of Traveling Well, we share great experiences which leave a positive impact and ask experts about the science behind what makes these experiences so enjoyable. In this second episode, we partner with the Zuiderwaterlinie––the Southern Water Defense Line––to bring you a bike ride to Geertruidenberg, a small fortified city about 20 kilometers north of where I live. Today we explore ho...

In the Science of Traveling Well, we share great experiences which leave a positive impact, and ask experts about the science behind what makes these experiences so enjoyable. In this inaugural episode, we explore the benefits of doing something for the first time––novelty. What is the feeling of novelty, where does it come from, and why is it enjoyable? More importantly, how can you have more nov...