Travel with Amateur Traveler Podcast
Since 2005, Amateur Traveler has been talking about different destinations every week. It covers destinations all over the world with an emphasis on culturally rich travel. Learn more about your world. Amateur Traveler won its creator, Chris Christensen, a Travel+Leisure award as the "best independent travel journalist" and entry into the "Podcast Hall of Fame."
Episodes
December 6, 2025 • 49 mins
In this episode of Amateur Traveler, Chris talks with returning guest and friend of the show Lee Moore, author of "China's Backstory: The History Beijing Doesn't Want You to Read" and co-host of the Chinese Literature Podcast. Lee returns to share his love for Northern Taiwan, a place he first lived in more than a decade ago while studying Chinese literature in Taipei, and a region he revisited in 2023 with his wife and two young c...
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November 29, 2025 • 65 mins
In this episode of Amateur Traveler, Chris talks with travel writer and guidebook author Joshua Zukas about planning an immersive trip through Central Vietnam, a region filled with imperial history, dramatic caves, ancient cultures, beaches, wildlife, and some of the country’s most distinctive cuisine.
Joshua has lived in Vietnam for nearly 20 years, first in Huế and now in Hanoi, and has authored multiple guidebooks.
This week's...
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November 22, 2025 • 71 mins
In this solo episode of Amateur Traveler, Chris takes you along on a Yangtze River cruise from Yichang to Chongqing, an upstream journey through China’s legendary Three Gorges.
Along the way, you’ll hear about naked trackers of old, a poet whose death inspired a festival celebrated across China, engineering marvels, hanging coffins, misty karst cliffs, and the modern rhythms of cruise life on the Victoria Sabrina, a ship from Vict...
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November 15, 2025 • 49 mins
Hear about travel to the south of England as the Amateur Traveler talks to Heather Cowper from HeatherOnHerTravels.com about hiking the Thames Path National Trail.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you walk the Thames Path National Trail?
Heather says, "There are some people like me who are avid wa...
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November 8, 2025 • 55 mins
Hear about travel to Kosrae and Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Lexie Brown from @lexienicolebrown on Instagram about her explorations of this remote island country.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you go to the Federated States of Micronesia?
Lexie s...
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November 1, 2025 • 53 mins
Hear about travel to Bhutan as the Amateur Traveler talks to Dorji Dhratyul, the former head of Tourism for the Kingdom of Bhutan.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you go to Bhutan?
Doji says, "I think when you're talking about globally in terms of tourism, we are talking about over-tourism. The t...
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October 25, 2025 • 54 mins
Hear about travel to Kansas as the Amateur Traveler discusses a recent trip to Wichita, Kansas, for a conference and a post-conference Old West themed press trip.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you go to Kansas?
Chris says, "This is a state that surprised me. I wasn't planning on doing an episod...
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October 18, 2025 • 56 mins
Hear about a road trip across the North Shore of Lake Superior as the Amateur Traveler talks to David Adler about an area that he fell in love with through a summer camp.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you drive this road trip?
David says, "I think what makes it really unique is that it's a place ...
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October 11, 2025 • 54 mins
Hear about travel to Cairo, Egypt, as the Amateur Traveler talks to Neil Laird, TV producer and the author of the Prime Time Travelers Series, about his favorite city.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you go to Cairo?
Neil says, "I've traveled to some 70 countries and I've been an international docum...
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October 4, 2025 • 64 mins
Hear about traveling to Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as the Amateur Traveler discusses a biking trip around the lake to explore its historic, cultural, and natural sites.
The Lake Constance International Tourism Board sponsored this trip.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
...
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September 27, 2025 • 57 mins
Hear about travel to Marseille and Provence in France as the Amateur Traveler talks again to Audra Morris of The Nerd Traveler about her visit to France's second-largest city.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should someone travel to Marseille and Provence?
Audra says, "Marseille in Provence is the oldest ...
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September 20, 2025 • 63 mins
Hear about travel to the top half of New Zealand's South Island as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jonty Crane from Jonty Travels about his adopted country.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you visit the top half of New Zealand's South Island?
Jonty says that this area has "spectacular scenery, natur...
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September 13, 2025 • 50 mins
Hear about travel to Solomon Islands as the Amateur Traveler talks to Chris Shorrock from Travel Obscure about his adventurous trip in these remote Pacific islands.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you go to the Solomon Islands?
Chris says, "There's lots of reasons. One of the reasons we didn't r...
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September 6, 2025 • 50 mins
Hear about travel to the Galapagos Islands as the Amateur Traveler talks to Michael from Rochester about doing this bucket list trip as a budget traveler.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
Why should you go to the Galapagos?
Michael says, "It is a world location that should not be missed. And you do not have to ...
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September 3, 2025 • 29 mins
In this episode of the Amateur Traveler podcast, host Chris Christensen talks with Bart from Trip Tailor, a travel agent and former train steward who has been working with European rail for decades. Bart shares his deep knowledge of night trains in Europe, from their practical benefits to the romance of waking up in a new city.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with he...
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August 30, 2025 • 59 mins
Hear about a road trip in Oman as the Amateur Traveler talks to Max Walton from Sloths with Latitude about the country he thinks is the best in the world.
This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here.
In this episode of the Amateur Traveler podcast, we explore a two-week road trip through Oman, a country offering dramatic mo...
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August 23, 2025 • 57 mins
Hear about travel to Turkmenistan as the Amateur Traveler talks to Abdylla Geldiyev, Managing Director of Undiscovered Frontiers, about an itinerary for one week in this seldom-visited country in Central Asia.
Turkmenistan remains one of the least explored destinations in the world. From Ashgabat, a city of Guinness World Records and futuristic white marble architecture, to ancient Silk Road cities and surreal desert landscapes, ...
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August 16, 2025 • 83 mins
In this episode of the Amateur Traveler podcast, host Chris Christensen recounts his immersive experience cruising the Peruvian Amazon on a nine-day "Amazon Riverboat Adventure in Depth" with G Adventures. This small-group journey, involving ~24 travelers, offers a deep dive into the culture, biodiversity, and challenges of life in the Amazon Basin.
The trip began in Lima, Peru, and then took the group via domestic flight to Iquit...
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August 9, 2025 • 41 mins
Hear about travel to the tiny country of Andorra as the Amateur Traveler talks to musician Eli Lev about this small country in the Pyrenees Mountains, where he lived for three years.
Why should you go to Andorra?
Eli says, "I just fell in love with the country. First of all, it's in the middle of these magnificent mountains of the Pyrenees, so that means in winter you've got skiing, snowboarding, Aper ski, lots of festivities. Be...
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August 2, 2025 • 54 mins
Hear about travel to the Silk Road as the Amateur Traveler talks about his recent trip to the Gansu province of China, Buddhist Grottos, stunning landscapes, barren deserts, and the original Great Wall of China.
More than 2,000 years ago, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty sent his prodigy general Huo Qubing to seize the Hexi Corridor from the Xiongnu nomads, founding four fortified outposts—Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang—that a...
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