The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust

Dream of days wandering Italy’s Amalfi Coast? In our first episode of 2025, we are taking you there with Australian-Italian author Maria Pasquale.

Maria’s new book, Mangia: How to eat your way through Italy, explores the food histories and dishes across regional Italy, including Campania, which includes the Amalfi Coast, and is famed for its fragrant lemons and San Marzano tomatoes.
So let’s go explore some of the vi...

This is our last Summer Series before we return to normal programming! Tune in for a masterclass on how to fly first class with Chris Chamberlin of Points Hacks. Chris has travelled more than two million kilometres in first or business class (that’s to the moon and back, twice) and shares his insights on which loyalty programs to focus on, and how to strategise your spending to switch your seats from beside the toilets to the champ...

Do you go on holiday, only to come back feeling like you need ...another holiday? How do we come back rested from a getaway? Journalist, author and co-founder of Life Unhurried Celeste Mitchell talks about how to slow down when you travel, and the best places to do it, lifeunhurried.com

Then all aboard for The Orient Express, The Ghan, The Flying Scotsman or The Rocky Mountaineer with train aficionado and travel writer Tim Richards....

Let's take you completely off the beaten track and to the ends of the Earth.

Jenny Gray is the force behind Intrepid Travel’s women-only expeditions, which it runs in seven countries including Saudi Arabia. Jenny chats about travelling as a woman in the kingdom, exploring its deserts and meeting its people, merging two of the hottest trends in tourism at the moment - women-only travel and Saudi Arabia, intrepid.com

Welcome to our Summer Series for 24/25. We're kicking off with our islands edition, and we're taking you to Indonesia and Italy!

Let's go to a remote tropical island in the Indonesian archipelago, where young Aussie couple, Jess and Dan Baldock have built Alamayah, a luxury boutique retreat. Designed by Jess and built by Dan along with the people of Sumba, the tiny, six-suite retreat has been a cultural expe...

Fly up the pointy end of the plane with air mile loyalty specialist, Adele Eliseo of  The Champagne Mile. 

“Points collection is less about flying and more about where you can maximise your points on the ground," says  Adele, "In almost every area where we spend money there’s a way to get points, so start by analysing your spending and where you could collect points.”

And she walks the talk, having flo...

Southern USA rings with the sweet sounds of blues, soul and R&B – this week, we’re designing the perfect musical roadtrip through the southern states with iconic rock journalist Glenn A Baker.

“Memphis really is the centre of the journey,” says Glenn, who suggests starting in New Orleans and driving through four or five states – with even a river cruise in the mix – to find the places of legend. We're talking the crossroads...

“The thing I like most about Bali is [it’s] like one big resort, and when you go on holiday you leave all your baggage behind… so everyone is enjoying themselves, it’s very optimistic,” says esteemed Australian designer, artist and owner of Pineapple Hill, Stuart Membery.

Stuart, the former head designer of Esprit, now splits his time between Bondi, Australia and Bali, Indonesia. He talks to us about his new boutique luxur...

Solo sailor Lisa Blair has sailed around Antarctica not once, but twice, and her book Facing Fear records that first, near-fatal expedition. Lisa has a rack of world records under her belt – just this year alone, she set the fastest time Sydney to Auckland and first woman solo monohull record, slicing an incredible four days off the previous record; and is the first person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around New Zealand, a...

Is the 'Land of the Long White Cloud’ on your travel to-do list? This week, our resident Kiwi, co-host Kirstie Bedford chats about all the reasons you should head to New Zealand’s far north.

From a moving cultural experience to bedding down in the ultimate luxury at Rosewood Kauri Cliffs, pretty Northland ticks many a box and you’ll leave with a new appreciation of this sacred land to Māori, the Indigenous Peoples of ...

Love a cruise but just can’t choose? 

Cruise expert Honida Beram has sailed the seven seas on more than 50 cruises; she explains the best cruise for you to choose.

Also, Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel list – the breakdown of where to travel in 2025 and why, see lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel

And if you’re heartbroken and footloose, we reveal the best places to travel after a break-up, with travel blogger Miss Tourist giving a ...

“Food is our love language,” says Lima-born chef Alejandro Saravia, who takes us on a culinary adventure through Latin America.

The chef, who recently opened Morena, two Latin American restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, admits he didn’t like ceviche until he was 18. “It was a sacrilege for a Peruvian. At the same time, I’m not a soccer fanatic. But I learned to love it, and every time I visit Peru, I order beautiful fres...

Love islands?  Australia has thousands of them to choose from, and Emma Shaw, author of Ultimate Islands Escapes (Hardie Grant), can help you find the island of your dreams. From such all-stars as Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays to the far-flung Cocos Keeling Islands, nearly 3000km north-west of Perth, there’s an island to suit every taste and every budget. See hardiegrantgift.com.au; @exploreshaw

Belle and Kirstie also chat abou...

Co-host Belle takes us to Greece and Bulgaria, travelling by rail on a slow food, slow travel journey of these neighbouring countries, eurail.com She travelled on a Eurail pass, which criss-crosses 33 European countries, all without flying. She also gives us a peek at the new Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino on the Peloponnese peninsula, on the Greek mainland - and it's as glamorous as you would expect! mandarinoriental.com

Living a nomadic life; the ‘not-hot’ list and airport departure times

Have you ever dreamt of packing it all in and travelling the world? That’s what Tim and Sharyn Nilsen have done and the only retirement plans they have are to keep ticking off the list of countries they visit – well, those that are left.
This week, Sharyn gives some great advice as to how you can do it too.
https://catchourtravelbug.com

We also cover Intr...

When was the last time you really soaked up the night sky? Spotted a full moon? Admired the Milky Way? Saw an aurora?

Marnie Ogg joins us to talk about astrotourism. Marnie designs and leads stargazing tours, and she is also the founder of the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance, which educates people about light pollution. So stay with us to learn the best places on Earth to go stargazing, aurora hunting and spotting all sorts...

Would you let yourself be dropped on a remote island, for total solitude?  That's explorer and entrepreneur Alvaro Cerezo's job - he drops willing travellers on deserted islands in the most remote corners of the globe.

"We give fake names to protect our islands so they are secret to protect them from mass tourism.. [otherwise] we will destroy the feeling of isolation for the client… so that’s important to u...

Done Saigon and Hanoi, ready to explore more of Vietnam? Co-host Belle Jackson talks about why you should have the water cities of Hue (on the Perfume River), Kê Gà (on Kê Gà Bay) and Can Tho (on the Mekong Delta), on your must-visit list. She also shares the cultural tourism of the Azerai hotel group, and new flights from Melbourne into Hanoi with Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet, azerai.com, vietjetair.com

To celebrat...

Want to get the best airfare to Europe or the US? We're going full #avgeek as flight booking expert Mark Trim shares insider secrets on airlines to watch, alternative routes and the best time to buy. He also shares tips on booking in shoulder seasons and the Asian gateways offering great lie-flat deals.

The co-founder of the Complex Travel Group, which specialises in round-the-world fares, adds that the 'best&ap...