GoNOMAD Travel Podcast

The Star Clipper is one of three elegant schooners that sail the seas around the world, part of the Star Clippers line. We interview Captain Yuriy Slastenin about what it takes to be a ship captain and man the helm of these great ships and what the world of sailing is like.

Take a tramp steamer, up the massive Amazon and Rio Negro in Brazil! GoNOMAD Contributor Johnny Motely shared his tale of time spent on the Greyhound of the river in South America, with tips on taking the most inexpensive cruise in the world. Read more https://www.gonomad.com/159687-amazon-river-cruising-to-see-the-rainforest

Norm Bauer and his wife recently took a 47-day marathon motorcycle trip across Greece and Turkiye. They were thrilled to discover how inexpensive Turkiye's beach resorts are with no dinners costing more than $25 for two. Climb aboard a BMW motorcycle and take a journey with us today on GoNOMAD. Read the story here. https://www.gonomad.com/217100-crossing-turkiye_motorcycle

Guanajuato is in the very center of mountainous Mexico, it's both a state and a city and it offers Spanish colonial cities, ATV and kayaking adventures, and the special charm of the less-touristed interior of wonderful Mexico. Read Irene Thomas' GoNOMAD story https://www.gonomad.com/217734-guanajuato-the-mexico-you-havent-seen-yet

Muscle Shoals is famous for the sounds that came from the two legendary recording studios there, the region of North Alabama is also home to Helen Keller's birthplace, WC Handy's home museum, and a stunning house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Visit Northern Alabama today on GoNOMAD!

Forest Bathing, or Shinrin Yoku in Japanese, is the art of walking into a forest and taking stock of every sense...the sights, the sounds, the smells and the feel of what you're experiencing. We meet two women who are forest bathing guides and find out details about this popular practice. Read more https://www.gonomad.com/216657-forest-bathing-a-mindful-woodland-journey

Punta Gorda is a throwback to the Florida of 1940s and before, when Disney wasn't there and towns like this were the main attraction. Find nature, art and fun people in this town, read more https://www.gonomad.com/216054-punta-gorda-florida

Normandy, France is famous for Mont St. Michelle, the abby atop a hill off the coast, and for the D-Day Beaches and Caen Memorial. Come find out more reasons to visit this seaside province of France, Normandy, today on GoNOMAD. Read more about Normandy: https://www.gonomad.com/216718-normandys-brilliant-historical-and-touristic-sights

Roosevelt Island lies between Manhattan and Queens and makes for a fun day trip in NYC, where you can enjoy great views, historic buildings and lunch. Find out more about the island, today on GoNOMAD Travel.  Read Tab Hauser's story https://www.gonomad.com/216349-roosevelt-island

San Antonio has become the top city for transplants in the entire country with 13,000 people moving there over the past few years. A new collections center featuring artifacts collected by rock drummer Phil Collins has just opened, and the city is a great place for a bike ride. Find out more about San Antonio in 2023 today on GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

The newest airport terminal in the United States opened in February 2023 with the Kansas City International Airport, replacing three ugly buildings with one gigantic terminal with 40 gates and a host of people-friendly amenities.

The island of Iceland is crazy for the unique flavor or licorice because for decades it was the only sweet imported to the island. Take a tasty tour of the many places you'll find licorice in coffee, ice cream and in baked treats in Iceland. Read more https://www.gonomad.com/215440-six-places-in-reykjavik-about-licorice

Playing a sport in a foreign country is a big challenge, and a great way to see the country. Jakobi Bonner shares his story as a professional basketball player who is living and working in Albania. 

Worcester Massachusetts is the second largest city and one of the most diverse...listen to why Worcester, with the Woo Sox, the Woo Ha Ha Comedy Club and the city's many historic buildings is worth a second look, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast. Read more about Worcester: https://www.gonomad.com/139720-worcester-massachusetts-getting-noticed-finally

Equatorial Guinea in West Africa is a two-part country, made up of an island a section of the West African coast about the size of Maryland. Find out more about this seldom-visited nation where Spanish is the main language, unique to the entire continent of Africa.

Travel is really back...and there are already nine new international travel routes that have been announced by major airlines. Find out where you can go in 2023 on this edition of the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast. HT: Conde Nast Traveler

Where are the hottest destinations and trends for 2023? GoNOMAD Editor Max Hartshorne makes bold predictions for the year in travel.

There is just something about the mountaintop town of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas Mexico that draws people in, many come and never want to leave. Find out about the town with the laid-back spiritual vibe in Mexico's far south, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast. 

Read the full story here. https://www.gonomad.com/215298-san-cristobal-de-las-casas-might-change-life

What do Cubans think of how their country is run? Jamey Melcher visited Cuba in Dec 2022 and found people who were unhappy and trying to leave. 

A visit to the Czech Republic, or Czechia as it likes to be called. What else is there to see in Czechia if you don't visit Prague. How about Kutna Hora, Kolin and Malesov, where ossuaries, castles, and towers await?  Find out more about Central Bohemia today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast. Read the full story by Max Hartshorne here https://www.gonomad.com/213979-central-bohemia-ring-around-prague

Today, Beth Reiber shares her story of visiting a remote eco-lodge in the vast jungle along the Amazon river in Colombia.  Water levels are low and there is fear that the jungle's diversity of plants, insects, and animals is threatened. Read more here https://www.gonomad.com/213952-colombias-fantastic-and-wild-amazon

A new airline called Invivo Air offers guests a chance to taste 8 wines while flying from Auckland to Queenstown New Zealand. What does wine taste like at 33,000 feet? Find out all about spirits in the air on this episode of the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Electric Vertical Take off and Landing Aircraft are the newest rage in flying.  EVTOLs are being purchased by United and Delta Airlines to take passengers to airports.  Find out when a flying taxi might just be picking you up in the years not very far ahead.

Amtrak is getting a lot of new improvements...including whole new train sets of both their high-speed Acela Trains and the regular train lines that run up the Knowledge Corridor and around the U.S. See what's new for Amtrak this year on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Jersey and Guernsey are the two main Channel Islands, between England and France, but they are both independent nations. Find out what to do and some of the history of the Island of Jersey, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast. Read more https://www.gonomad.com/207737-jersey-saint-malo-france

Every year we pick our ten best stories of the year, here is our annual compilation with details about each winner and its author. 

In Gascony, south of Bordeaux France, we walked in the woods to a unique hunting lodge where traditional methods are used and the food makes it all worth the trip. Today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast, learn about this old tradition and foods that go with it.

Providence is famous for WaterFire, a fiery series of bonfires that light up the river and living sculptures that make the April to December annual events unforgettable.  Take a visit to Providence with GoNOMAD Writer Christine O'Toole, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Read the story https://www.gonomad.com/211001-a-super-weekend-in-providence-rhode-island

There is something about Bend, Oregon that draws so many retirees, tourists, and skiers.  Learn about what makes this central Oregon city so special, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Today on GoNOMAD, we visit cities that were built to fight pirates, in Saint Augustine Florida, Cartagena Colombia and San Juan Puerto Rico. 

I took the Valley Flyer train from Springfield to New Haven, then Metro-North to Grand Central and finally NJ Transit to Princeton Junction NJ. How to take the commuter trains and save money on a long trip. 

Did you know you can sleep in a treehouse?  Here are two unique treehouse stays, one in central Ohio and the other in South Carolina, that offer serenity, isolation, and a little bit of adventure. 

The Camino de Santiago is the famous pilgrimage route across France and Spain. But did you know there is a shorter 'winter way' that avoids the mountains? Take the shorter Camino hike, with many of the same benefits, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Erik Burns takes travelers on trips around the midwest to view the massive force of nature that creates supercells, damaging winds and tornadoes. Find out what it's like to go on a storm-chasing tour with Tornadic Expeditions.

A day in the desert of Dash' e Kavir in Iran. As the bus drove out of Tehran, my feelings became more and more relaxed. A trip to a caravansary learning about life in Iran for young people and how they rebel against the rules.

Kyte is a new company that offers a new take on car rentals...you pick the car, they bring it to you, and even if you're under 25, you can still rent a car from Kyte. Find out about this new service, drivekyte.com today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

The Scenic Eclipse is a 550-foot discovery yacht that travels the world, offering just 200 passengers or less a luxurious cruise experience with a ship small enough to dock at many ports and even take on the Drake Passage in Antarctica.  Take a cruise off the coast of South America, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Tom Goetter is in charge of all food and beverage operations for the Scenic Ocean cruise ships, with hundreds of employees and 3000 recipes. We interviewed Tom about sustainable cooking, dehydrating and reusing food scraps and other details of this vast operation at sea.

Today I visited "The poor man's Galapagos" the Ballestras Islands in Southern Peru.  These islands are a home to millions of birds and tons of guano, and many sea lions lounge on the rocks and breed here. Take a boat trip to these popular islands, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Take a trip to some of the best military museums in the U.S. at the service academies and Washington DC with GoNOMAD Senior Writer Rich Grant.

The Kinmen Islands are part of Taiwan, but they are located just a few kilometers off the coast of mainland China. Find out what makes these islands worth visiting and meet the Wind Lions who guard the windy archipelago. 

The most popular sport in Afghanistan is Buzkashi...a bloody and hectic spectacle where riders try to catch a dead goat and run through the goal lines.  Find out what it's like and why so many people in Central Asia love the violent sport. 

Cunard is the storied cruise line that goes back 180 years. Their newest ocean liner, the Queen Anne, will bring a new level of comfort and luxury to this popular cruise line. Get a peek at the the new ship today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Portsmouth is a historic and tiny city of around 22,000 on the coast of New Hampshire. Explore this art-filled tourist destination that's becoming one of the most popular places for arts and culture on the East Coast, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast. 

Gorlitz in the eastern part of Germany, is a movie-making capital, with more than 100 films shot here over the years. It's a perfectly preserved town with 500 years of different architectural styles and a tall tower above the town hall. 

Disney's animated 2021 movie, 'Encanto' relied heavily on the magical realism of Colombia for inspiration. Today we go to the places the movie's creators visited that helped shape the popular movie's look and plot. 

Richard Glover was moved when he spend time with the Berber tribespeople in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Find out the wisdom that comes from centuries of living in a harsh desert, on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Portugal has become one of the top destinations in Europe for American travelers. And one of the best places in Portugal is in the south, the famous Algarve. Find out what to eat, see and enjoy there today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Show your boarding pass on Alaska Air and get a free ski lift ticket!  This and hundreds of other discounts on spas, dining and more if you show your airline boarding pass, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Princeton, New Jersey is famous for the university of the same name, and a place full of very smart and interesting people. Take a trip to Princeton and find out why, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

The Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic is a collection of bones...millions of them, all formed into elaborate art pieces in the cellar of a chapel. Take a nighttime visit to this eery and remarkable place today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

One is an ancient spa town, and the other is a strange place with white foam that looks like snow. Discover Pamukkale and Hieropolis and find out the new name of the country once called Turkey, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Massachusetts has two capes, and Cape Ann is made up of Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea. Find out what Motif #1 is and where you can get whole belly fried clams in this lovely part of Massachusetts today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

What do those numbers used to designate airlines and flights mean? Patrick Smith of Ask the Pilot, helps us explain.

Malta is the capital of Moviemaking in Europe, with 150 movies and TV shows filmed there so far. Learn why the Island of Malta is such a hot spot.

The Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey are bailiwicks of England...and both are fun islands to explore with a wealth of history and great traditions.

Erik Trinidad lives the RV life but with only his small SUV and some cool products like the Carsule car camper kit, the NOMAD Kitchen and more. Find out how he does it.

Colorado is famous for its narrow-guage steam train lines. Join railfan and Senior Writer Rich Grant as he takes us on a train tour of Colorado, today on GoNOMAD.

In Hortobágy, eastern Hungary the Csikos, or Hungarian Cowboys, have been riding the range and performing tricks with horses for thousands of years. Meet the cowboys of Hungary today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Oman is green and different from most of the other nearby nations. Find out why today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Saudi Arabia's lesser known cities provide a glimpse into the traditional ways of living in the hot desert. 

Airbnb is great for a weekend getaway or a weeklong trip, but Rene Cizio lived in 21 different Airbnbs for 15 months in two countries. Learn about long-term Airbnb living today on GoNOMAD.

Elba is a small island off the coast of Tuscany. Its most famous resident was Napoleon. Learn more about visiting Elba with John Henderson on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Why are so many people falling in love with San Juan?  And what is boriqua?  Find out today on the GoNOMAD Travel podcast about San Juan's many charms, featuring GoNOMAD Travel Writer Dana Armstrong.

Couchsurfing: Would you be willing to sleep in a strangers' house? Thousands of travelers use this website to find places to stay for free. Find out more today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Verdun might be the saddest town you can visit in France. That's because of what happened there. Find out about World War One sites in Northern France on this episode of the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

River cruising has never been more popular. Why? We talk with river cruising expert Elliot Gillies about the business and about Scenic Cruises.

Travel Expert Ramsey Qubein is on the road 95% of his life and so far he's been to 166 countries. He has great advice on saving money and other travel tips in this short interview.

In Zeeland, in the northern part of the Netherlands, an ingenious and gigantic barrier protects the land from flooding. Find out more about one of the most complicated projects in history that the world is now studying to protect more coastlines against rising sea levels.

Winter Rafting is a thing. Find out what is so much fun about taking a rafting trip in the freezing winter of Northern Michigan.

NEOM is an audacious and huge project being built in the Northwest desert of Saudi Arabia. What will it be like?

Jeju Island South Korea is one of the most popular islands in Asia. Why do more than 15 million people visit each year?

What are the origins of some of the three-letter airport codes in the U.S.?

Advice for people who want to go away longer than just a week. 

La Paz, in Baja California, Mexico, offers wonderful whale watching without Cabo's crowds.

VIDEO PODCAST Enjoy this famous drink in a store and bar full of absinthe, in Antibes, France.

Tips on taking your small dog on a flight with you.

In Laguna Beach every summer, art comes alive at the Pageant of the Masters, a spectacle for the ages. Find out why it's so great. 

The TSA has some good news. Their new CAT scanners can eliminate the stop to show the TSA agent your ID at the airport. 

Antibes is a famous French seaport on the Cote d'Azur. It's one of the places people who own superyachts like to dock. Explore why Antibes is so popular, today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast.

Oktoberfest starts in Germany at the end of September. Here are five cities where you can enjoy the beer and fun.

Las Vegas is open for business, and here are some new attractions to enjoy there in 2022. VIDEO PODCAST, listen to this on Spotify to see the video and the music. 

Sumo--the mind art--is woven into the culture of modern-day Japan. Find out what takes place behind a sumo match in Tokyo.

Nice is the capital of the Cote d'Azur, near Cannes and St Tropez in the south of France. What can you find in this city by the Mediterranean? 

Grasse, in Provence, is the world's perfume capital. Learn about the scents and the makers and how you can even create your own scent today on the GoNOMAD Travel Podcast. 

Cannes is famous every May for its world-renowned film festival. But what else can you see and do here?  Learn more about Cannes, today on GoNOMAD.

Around the Table, Stories of the Foods We Love is a new exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx that is all about the food we grow and the many interesting aspects of growing it. GoNOMAD Senior Writer Cathie Arquilla takes in this very cool exhibition https://www.nybg.org/event/around-the-table-stories-of-the-foods-we-love/

In southern Spain's Andalucia province, there is a fantastic walking experience like no other. It's the Caminito del Rey, where you hike along a suspended walkway on the sides of a cliff with a 100-meter drop down into a ravine with a rushing river. 

Gaspe Peninsula, also known as Gaspesie, is a fantastic and out-of-the-way destination in Quebec Canada. Find out what's there.

Helsinki, Finland, is that perfect combination of urban and outdoors, lively yet laid-back. Helsinki was established as a trading town in the Middle Ages to be a Swedish rival to other ports on the Gulf of Finland. It remained a small fishing village for over two centuries.

I visited Saudi Arabia and I had an interesting moment outside a mosque in the city. 

The modern world is full of gigantic megaprojects that many people have never even heard of. In this episode, we take a look at some of the biggest construction projects both completed and ones that are still being built.

Underwater hotels: A round-up of hotels you can visit where you sleep underwater, including the Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo Florida, The Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland in China, the Manta Resort on Pemba Island Tanzania, The Muraka Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and others. Some require SCUBA gear and others don't require a swim to visit. Episode based on a story in Conde Nast Traveler by Caitlin Morton and Noah Kaufman.

Jackson Mississippi is the state's capital and a center for blues, barbecue and most of all, civil rights.  We visited Jackson in April and got a chance to visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the Mississippi History Museum and the large art museum. We toured the home and learned a lot about the famous author and Pulitzer prize winner Eudora Welty, who lived in Jackson. We also explored the history of voter's rights, segregation and the Jim Crow era and how so many people, both black and white, resisted the laws and finally created change.  The city is in some ways down on its luck, with high crime and a water problem, but there are great blues clubs, some really tasty BBQ and a friendly vibe that made our trip memorable. Jackson, the City with Soul.

Today on GoNOMAD we interview Heather Mikesell, an expert on health, spas, and wellness. She told us about six interesting trends that are guiding wellness retreats around the US including at Carillion in Miami Florida and Kripalu in Lenox, Mass. Non-touch services that eliminate the need to have physical contact is growing, as is breathwork, where you study and perfect the art of breathing. We also discuss silent retreats, adaptogens and battling burnout. 

Great Diamond Island is one of many islands in Casco Bay, near the city of Portland, Maine.  There was a fort built in the 1800s on Great Diamond Island that's been transformed into a series of townhouses, condos, and a luxury hotel. 

In Wuppertal, Germany, a city of 350,000 near Dusseldorf, there is an upside-down train, called the Schwebebahn. The train runs for twenty stops along an 8-mile, 35-minute long route, with the tracks and wheels above the train, and the passenger compartment hanging below. The Schwebebahn is a beloved tourist attraction in Wuppertal and carries 80,000 passengers every weekday through the city. It was built and began operation in 1901, following an 8-mile route that takes riders above the Wupper River to the Wuppertal Zoo.

As the war in Ukraine goes on, so many ripple effects are being felt after the U.S. and EU's harsh sanctions, especially on the Russian aviation industry. After Boeing and Airbus stopped supplying the nation, Russia retaliated by taking control over leased airplanes in the country. How the ban on flying over Russia affects other airlines.

Have you ever wondered what those series of numbers, letters and codes mean on your airline boarding pass?  We did too. 

Bird Strikes are something that every airline pilot is concerned about.  More than 10,000 bird strikes to aircraft are reported every year, at all 850 airports across the USA.

Learn about how airports keep birds away from runways and the many different ways they use to scare them as far away as they can from aircraft on runways and in hangars. 

The Most Annoying Things People Do in Airplanes. After an extended time off due to the pandemic, many people are traveling again. With this return to air travel, we are reminded of all the annoying things people do on airplanes. Only Wanderlust conducted a survey asking over 1500 travelers to rank the top 20 airline passengers annoyances. From the person who kicks your seat to the man spreader, this list is sure to ring true for you.

Robots are now serving customers all over the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. The autonomous delivery robots are called Ottobots, and they bring drinks, snacks, sandwiches, and even new sets of AirPods to customers who order on their mobile phones and wait for the robots to bring them their purchases right at the gates.  The company that makes the robots, Ottonomy, equips them with 3D laser scanners, seven cameras, and safety sensors. They can travel in both indoor and outdoor environments. Someday soon you'll be able to order your next preflight snack from a robot in an airport near you.

Traverse City Michigan is well known by most Michiganders. It's a special place about 100 miles south of the Upper Peninsula, and it has 40 nearby wineries, a famous cherry growing tradition, a busy downtown with two independent movie theaters, summer festivals, and the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, along with Fishtown and many other fun places to recreate.  Learn about what makes Traverse City one of Michigan's most popular destinations.

In Middleton, Wisconsin, you can visit a museum dedicated to one of the world's favorite condiments...it's the Mustard Museum, founded by Barry Levenson. He was so sad after the Red Sox lost the World Series in 1986 that he went right out to the store and realized that there were more than 1000 different kinds of mustard, and a lightbulb went off...if you build it, they will pay to come. So today you can see antique mustard jars and more at the Mustard Museum.

The Jacob Javits Convention Center is the largest space in New York City, and is famous for hosting hundreds of large conventions each year in lower Manhattan. The center has recently added a rooftop vegetable garden, much more exhibition space, and many other innovations to keep it green and ahead of the convention game. Find out about what's new at the Javits Center in 2022. 

What's new for Eurail passes in 2022.  A guide to everything you need to know about this 63-year-old train travel tradition that can take you all over Europe. Where you can use the passes, and where you cannot, how much passes cost, various options including Flexi Pass, continuous pass, the single country passes, Swiss Pass, and Greek Islands Pass.

The Connecticut shore is closer to my home in Western Mass than any other beach. It's a place with dozens of beautiful sandy beaches, excellent dining, fun towns like Mystic, New London, and Essex to visit, and clam shacks right on the water that provide a unique dining experience. 

Airline Livery is what colors airliners are painted. It's an important aspect of any airline's marketing and there are many who have strong feelings about good and bad airline livery. We spoke with an airline livery expert who recently designed the livery for an Alaskan airline and an airplane pilot who has strong opinions about airline livery, both good and bad. 

In Las Vegas, a strange round arena is being built right near the monorail, attached to the Venetian hotel and resort. What is it?

Freighter travel is one of most popular articles on GoNOMAD.com, people are looking for a way to travel across the oceans without the glitz and expense of a modern, crowded cruise ship. Find the answers to your questions about what freighter travel is like, what to expect and how you can do it. 

What Took Place Underground Rome's Colosseum? Listen to Episode 1 of The GoNomad Podcast.

Discover more travel articles at https://www.gonomad.com/