Unpacked by Afar

Unpacked by Afar

Unpacked by Afar tackles one tricky topic in travel each week. Whether you want to hack your points and miles, figure out where to travel next, or need advice on an ethical dilemma, we're your expert travel guides. Because the travel world is complicated. We're here to help you unpack it.

Episodes

How Two Years of Phone-Free Travel Rewired the Way I See the World

April 9, 2026 • 40 mins
What if the secret to a great trip was leaving your phone in airplane mode — forever? Journalist Lisa Abend has been doing exactly that, arriving in cities she's never researched, GPS turned off, without a hotel reservation or itinerary of any kind. The result isn't chaos; it's the kind of travel that actually surprises you. In this episode, Lisa makes a compelling case for leaving the phone out of the travel process. Meet this w...
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In the Age of AI, This Is What Only a Travel Advisor Can Do

April 2, 2026 • 38 mins
You've got more booking tools than ever — so why would you hire a travel advisor? In this episode, Afar editorial director Billie Cohen sits down with travel journalist and matchmaker Wendy Perrin, founder of wendyperrin.com, to answer the questions travelers actually have: What can an advisor do that you can't do yourself? When does it make sense — and when doesn't it? How do you find a good one, interview them, and understand wha...
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An Architect's California: From LA's Secret Garden to the Magic of Joshua Tree

March 27, 2026 • 43 mins
This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit California in Dallas, Texas. The event celebrated California's extraordinary creative landscape, and today's guest has been shaping the way Californians live, work, and gather for three decades. Barbara Bestor is the founder of Bestor Architecture, a Los Angeles studio she's led since 1...
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He's Been Designing California's Outdoors for Decades. Here's What He's Learned.

March 26, 2026 • 44 mins
This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit California in Dallas, Texas. The event celebrated California's extraordinary creative landscape, and today's guest has literally shaped the ground beneath many Californian's feet. Roderick Wyllie is an award-winning landscape architect and founding partner of Surfacedesign Inc. A rare S...
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The Naturalist Who's Been Decoding—and Painting—California's Wild Spaces for 30 Years

March 26, 2026 • 48 mins
This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit California in Dallas, Texas. The event celebrated California's extraordinary creative landscape, and today's guest is one of its most original voices. Obi Kaufmann is a naturalist, writer, and illustrator whose California Field Atlas series has redefined what a nature book can be. His b...
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Drama, Geopolitics, and Glory: Inside the World Cup

March 19, 2026 • 41 mins
Show Notes The World Cup is more than a soccer tournament — it's a mirror for geopolitics, national identity, and the power of global fandom. In this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene sits down with British journalist Jonathan Wilson, author of The Power and the Glory: The History of the World Cup, to explore the drama, corruption, and beauty that have defined the tournament across a century. In this episode, you'll learn:...
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This Theater Was a Refuge for Queer Americans. Now It's Been Reborn.

March 17, 2026 • 19 mins
She’s 104 years old, newly renovated, and she’s ready for her close-up. On this episode of Unpacked: America 250, host Aislyn Greene talks about the newly renovated ⁠Castro Theatre⁠ in San Francisco, a $41 million transformation of one of America’s most beloved LGBTQ+ landmarks. Aislyn sits down with Mary Conde, SVP at ⁠Another Planet Entertainment⁠, the independent concert promoter behind the renovation, to explore what it took ...
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The Hidden History of the World's Most Powerful Travel Document

March 12, 2026 • 34 mins
Before you board an international flight, before you cross a border, you need a passport. But how much do you really know about the little book that controls where you can and cannot go in this world? On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene sits down with Patrick Bixby, an English professor at Arizona State University and author of the book License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport, which explores how a bureauc...
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The Military Secret That Could End Your Jet Lag Suffering

March 5, 2026 • 25 mins
Jet lag doesn't have to ruin your trip. On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene shares her game-changing experience using a jet lag protocol originally developed for Navy SEALs—and digs into the fascinating science of why it works. She speaks with Dr. Jamie Zeitzer, one of Stanford's leading circadian rhythm researchers, and Andrew Herr, the founder of Flykitt, who transformed military sleep science into a practical travel ...
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Beyond the Canals: An Insider’s Guide to Amsterdam’s Real Neighborhoods

February 27, 2026 • 58 mins
Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most overtouristed cities—but it’s also so much more than the crowds in the city center suggest. On this episode of Unpacked—part of Afar’s ongoing Off the Tourist Trail series—host Aislyn Greene is joined by journalist Blane Bachelor, who moved to Amsterdam during the pandemic and has spent years navigating life as a resident. She shares how to experience the real Amsterdam—the neighborhoods, restauran...
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The Lowdown on 2026: Everything You Need to Make It Your Best Travel Year Yet

February 20, 2026 • 67 mins
Is it okay to watch a violent movie next to a stranger's kid on a plane? Should you abandon your airline loyalty card? And wait—is March actually the real start of the new year? On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene is joined by Afar editorial director Billy Cohen and deputy editor Michelle Baron for a wide-ranging conversation tied to Afar's annual Plan Your Travel Year package on afar.com. Together they break down what...
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Why Spain’s Star Chefs Are Setting Up Michelin-Starred Restaurants in Tiny Towns

February 17, 2026 • 30 mins
Welcome to Unpacked, Five Questions, a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of one great travel story. In this episode, host and Afar executive editor Katherine LaGrave sits down with contributing writer Lisa Abend, a Copenhagen‑based journalist known for her deep reporting on food, culture, and the ways travel shapes communities. For her latest Afar feature, Lisa embarked on an ambitious road trip across northern Spain to vis...
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Where to Go in 2026: The Five-Square-Mile Caribbean Island That's Nothing Like Its Neighbors

January 16, 2026 • 21 mins
It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales to explore this year. Places like Saba, a tiny Dutch Caribbean island with no beaches, no cruise ports, and the world's shortest commercial runway—just 400 meters long. What it does have: lush volcanic landscapes, 20 hand-built hiking trails, and a population of just over 2,000. In this...
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Where to Go in 2026: East London's Olympic Park Has Transformed Into a Cultural Powerhouse

January 15, 2026 • 23 mins
It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠: 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales to explore this year. Like East London, where a billion-pound investment has transformed the 2012 Olympic Park into a creative powerhouse. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with ⁠Nick DeRenzo⁠, Afar's editorial director of newsletters (sign up here!) and a self-described Londoner ...
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Where to Go in 2026: The South Australian City That Punches Above Its Weight

January 14, 2026 • 29 mins
It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠. And in 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. So our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Places like Adelaide, Australia, a city within a park that punches above its weight with...
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Where to Go in 2026: The Texas City Getting a Juneteenth Museum, FIFA World Cup Matches, and a Cowgirl Museum Expansion

January 13, 2026 • 20 mins
It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠—24 emerging regions and overlooked locales to explore this year. Like Fort Worth, Texas, a city that blends its cowboy heritage with world-class museums, a thriving food scene, and major developments on the horizon. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with ⁠Nora Walsh⁠, a travel writer and podcast host who fell hard for the "...
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Where to Go in 2026: Malaysia's Most Overlooked Island Is a Feast for Every Sense

January 12, 2026 • 32 mins
It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. In 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. So our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Places like Penang, Malaysia, a small island with one of Southeast Asia's most fascinating...
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Where to Go in 2026: The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing

January 9, 2026 • 22 mins
It's a fresh new year and this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list—but this year's picks are different. In 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. Our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Places like Da Nang, Vietnam's fifth-largest city and a coa...
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Where to Go in 2026: The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better

January 8, 2026 • 25 mins
It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠. And this year's list is a little different. Because in 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. Our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Like the Columbia River Gorge, a Pacific Northw...
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Where to Go in 2026: Trade the Serengeti Traffic for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari

December 17, 2025 • 30 mins
This month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's just-released ⁠Where to Go list⁠—but this year's picks are different. In 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. Our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. For Laikipia, that means looking beyond the overcrowded Maasai Mara to discov...
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