Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

Uganda and northern Argentina are off the tourism mainstream, but high on Annabel's recommendations for the year ahead. Adventure travel in Africa and South America sounds a joy – can't wait to find out for myself.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...

Avanti West Coast is providing a glorious workaround to the closure of the main rail line between Preston and Carlisle: a scenic train diversion along England’s most beautiful line, the Settle-Carlisle Railway. I went on a test run with Avanti West Coast managing director Andy Mellors, and talked to him when the train paused at Appleby.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it de...

Right at the end of 2025, tens of thousands of passengers had their New Year plans wrecked when a problem in the Channel Tunnel.

30 trains linking London St Pancras International with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Paul Charles, chief executive of the PC Agency, used to be director of communications for Eurostar – and gives me his no-holds-barred view of how events unfolded.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel...

To start 2026, I'm talking to Mark Tanzer, well respected chief executive of Abta, the travel association – about reasons to be cheerful, challenges from the EU entry-exit system and the environmental impact of tourism.

As well as: What's the point of Abta?

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Hosted on...

I'm talking to Mike Vincent, General Manager of the Langdale Chase Hotel overlooking Windermere in Cumbria – who has been working through the festive season along with his staff.

"We're nice people looking after nice people," he says.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

I've been talking to Chris Woodroffe, managing director of Manchester airport, about plans for the future in terms of passenger numbers – and also public transport connectivity to MAN. With a brief mention of the thorny subject of drop-off charges.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See a...

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy the PC Agency, flies more than anyone else I know.

So in the first half of a two-part interview, I’m talking to him about the best and worst of aviation in 2025.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

For people living in the UK without a car, Christmas Day has long been a problem.

No trains are running, and in most areas local buses remain in the depot too – leaving car-less people dependent on friends, family or taxis to get around.

But this 25 December things are getting better, according to Graham Vidler, CEO of the Confederation of Passenger Transport.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsl...

Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive of Dubai Airports, used to run Gatwick airport. In the third and final part of our conversation, the boss of the world's busiest international airport offers advice on expansion at both Heathrow and Gatwick.

"The boost that will give to the economy, the advantages it will drive for trade for the UK are all desperately needed. Make the decision, stick to it,"

This podcast is free, as is In...

In the second part of my exclusive conversation with Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive of Dubai Airports, we gaze deep into the future of aviation.

Not only does Dubai International expect to be the first airport in the world to handle 100 million international passengers – along the road, Dubai World Central airport is planned to outpace the DXB and the rest of the world.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekl...

Today and for the following two days, I am bringing you a conversation with the man who is responsible for more "passenger miles" than anyone else on the planet: Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports.

For the first of three parts, we talked about how Dubai International airport has blossomed into the biggest hub for international passengers in the world.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly new...

I'm joined by The Independent's US travel editor, Ted Thornhill, for his insights on the tricky business of reclining seats, sharing armrests, stowing baggage and whether you can ever upgrade to the business class bathroom?

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Travel writer for The Independent Amelia Neath has compiled a brilliant list of best-value European city breaks for 2026. It's another two-parter: today she is counting down from 10 to six, and tomorrow the top five will be revealed.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

Travel desk Tuesday, and today senior travel writer Natalie Wilson is reporting on the Belmond British Pullman Christmas lunch trip from London Victoria to Kent – and looking ahead to Interrail travel for 2026. The current 25% discount offer, for passes that you can start any time in the next 11 months, ends at 9am GMT on Wednesday 17 December.

This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to g...

Starting a new year with a journey to a new destination is always rewarding, and one of the most memorable 1 January departures took me to Guatemala. As you will hear from Harris Whitbeck, minister of tourism for the Central American nation, diversity awaits from Maya culture to pizza baked freshly on volcanic rock. Yet the Foreign Office advice for Guatemala is strident – and Harris has plenty to say about it.

This podcast is f...

Could Edinburgh airport be the first in the UK to offer pre-clearance for travellers to the US? That's the hope of today's guest, Gordon Dewar – chief executive of the Scottish hub. Allowing passengers to go through US Customs and Border Protection before they board a flight to America "would be incredibly powerful for Edinburgh, and we are pursuing it", he tells me. "If the two governments can find common ground and sign the agree...