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
May 3, 2025 • 62 mins
Hear about travel to Auckland, New Zealand, as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jonty Crane from Jonty Travels about a city that he called home for a decade.
Why should you go to Auckland?
Jonty says, "Many people go to New Zealand, but spend almost no time in Auckland. It's a bit like a little sister or brother to Sydney in Australia, but with some unique New Zealand characteristics. There are over 50 extinct volcanoes. It's betwee...
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April 26, 2025 • 67 mins
Hear about travel to the Queensland Outback as the Amateur Traveler talks to Melissa from Queensland about a destination she discovered during the pandemic when she could not leave her home state.
Why should you go to the Queensland Outback?
Melissa says, “Firstly, I think when most people think of Queensland or plan a visit to Queensland, they’re thinking Great Barrier Reef, maybe Gold Coast, theme parks, beautiful beaches, and I...
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April 19, 2025 • 59 mins
Hear about traveling to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, as the Amateur Traveler talks to a longtime Disney expert, former attorney, host of WDW Radio, and Podcast Hall of Fame inductee.
Why Visit Walt Disney World?
Nearly 87% of Americans visit a Disney park at some point—it's a "rite of passage."
Offers a wide range of experiences for all types of visitors—first-timers, families, superfans, and solo travelers.
The sheer...
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April 12, 2025 • 61 mins
Hear about travel to Kolkata, India (formerly Calcutta) as the Amateur Traveler talks to Sam Sarkar from Travels with Dr. Sam about this city built by the British East India Company.
Why should you go to Kolkata?
Sam says, "It's a real hidden secret. This is a city that has grand colonial buildings. It used to be the second city of the British Empire for the longest time. The first US consulate in the world was set up in Kolkata ...
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April 5, 2025 • 51 mins
Hear about travel to Cuba as the Amateur Traveler talks to 3 listeners of the show who joined this year’s trip to explore this beautiful and sometimes challenging country.
Here’s a summary of the 2025 Amateur Traveler's Private Hola Cuba itinerary:
Trip Overview
Trip Name: Amateur Traveler's Private Hola Cuba
Duration: 9 days / 8 nights
Start & End Location: Havana, Cuba
Group Size: 17 travelers
Travel Style: Comfortable, imme...
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April 2, 2025 • 36 mins
In this episode, Johnny Jet shares his deeply personal story of overcoming a debilitating fear of flying before becoming a travel expert.
A dream trip to Australia in high school was derailed when, at the airport, he had a panic attack and refused to board the plane, devastating his family and himself. He spent the next three years struggling with anxiety and fear—not just of flying, but even of leaving home.
Learn what triggered...
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March 29, 2025 • 45 mins
Hear about travel to Germany’s Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg as the Amateur Traveler talks to Matt Kepnes (Nomadic Matt) about his visit to the hills and woods of southwest Germany.
Why should you go to the Black Forest?
Matt says, "You'll find incredible hiking, lots of lakes, waterfalls, and cute little quintessential German towns with beautiful architecture. There are also a lot of hot springs around the Baden Baden area. ...
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March 22, 2025 • 56 mins
Hear about travel to the Basque Country in France and Spain as the Amateur Traveler talks to Craig Anderson about his recent trip to the home of the Basque.
Why should someone go to the Basque Country?
"It's a very unique region so it's got some unique architecture, it's got unique history. The culture is unique and fairly compact, so you can get around and explore the whole thing in a week. There's obviously other things that yo...
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March 15, 2025 • 69 mins
Hear about travel to Genoa and Liguria in Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Enrica, Ligurian food expert from ASmallKitcheninGenoa.com about her home region in Italy.
Why should you travel to Liguria?
Enrica says, "Liguria is a wonderful region, not just because this is my region, but there are many reasons for traveling here. First of all, for its spectacular scenery. We have a mix of mountains and sea with dramatic cliffs, h...
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March 8, 2025 • 52 mins
Hear about travel to Duluth, Minnesota as the Amateur Traveler talks to travel photographer Autumn Carolynn about this city on Lake Superior that has captured her heart.
Why should you go to Duluth?
Autumn says, "There are so many reasons why Duluth to me is a place that someone can go and feel like they are at home, I feel like it is just so unbelievably beautiful, but it's also a place where you feel at peace and you feel calm. S...
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March 5, 2025 • 42 mins
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://amateurtraveler.com/questio...
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March 1, 2025 • 53 mins
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 vineyards within the city, which is pret...
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February 22, 2025 • 58 mins
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 year-round sunshine, boutique hotels, ...
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February 15, 2025 • 57 mins
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 area near Inírida called Mavecure is ...
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February 8, 2025 • 61 mins
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 sites.
Travel on this trip was sponsore...
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February 1, 2025 • 71 mins
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 bonus. And it has world-class snorke...
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January 26, 2025 • 71 mins
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 scenery is magical. If you're looki...
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January 18, 2025 • 69 mins
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 region to try to go to because it does...
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January 11, 2025 • 74 mins
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 childhood. Always saying, 'I'm goin...
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January 4, 2025 • 63 mins
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 or Iguazu Falls on the border with...
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