I am in love with the idea of podcasting. With making them, and listening to them. And sin of all sins, I don’t have an iPod. But I do have a great recorder. So, while I quickly write to Santa and tell him that not only do I want an iPod, but also a Mac guy to format and tutor me on how to get my Olympus data into my Audacity so I can start podcasting as easily as doing a blog post—let me give you 12 travel podcasts to get you started…
HINT FOR TRAVEL WRITERS: This would be a terrific pitch/article if you have a writing outlet. So would interviewing the podcasters.
TRAVEL PODCASTS
Gadling: Erik Olssen interviews travel enthusiasts, travel writers, and gives you the latest news from travel magazines and current travel related events.
Lonley Planet: The One and Only Don George interviews Lonely Planet authors about destinations, spotlights to cities, and why people should travle there now.
La Times Travel Podcast: Columnist Jane Engle reports on what you need to know to travel well.
Virgin Atlantic: Destination info on Johannesburg | Las Vegas | Cuba | New York | Shanghai
Fly with Me: A perspective from pilots and flight attendants.
iPod Traveller: Nick & Opal are your hosts for the weekly digest of Europe In Your Ears.
Geography for Travelers: A weekly, approximately half hour podcast of news and social science perspectives on travel and tourism, hosted by Alan A. Lew
My Travel Review: Gary Bembridge reviews places, hotels, planes, trains, books and everything to do with travel.
Road Less Traveled: Scott Ahlsmith is the president of the Travel Institute and presents news and opinion from a travel industry perspective.
Travel Commons: Observations and comments on the travel industry and travel experiences, sometimes from hotel bathrooms.
Amateur Traveler: A podcast for people who love to travel.
WDW Today: Podcasts from Walt Disney World.
Travel Podcast Directories
PodBlaze
PodcastDirectory.com
PodcastingNews.com
I started out small with an iPod shuffle. They’re not too much on the pocketbook and will help you bring your podcasts on your travels. I am proud to say I am the new owner of an iPod video and spend more time watching episodes of LOST than is socially acceptable. 🙂
Thank you for mentioning my “Road Less Traveled” podcast.
Connecting your Olympus recorder to Audacity is straight forward. You’ll need an audio cable with two male ends that are the same size as your recorder and computer or mixing board audio jacks (Radio Shack, Frys, Best Buy, Comp USA, etc.).
One cable end plugs into the ear phone jack on your recorder and the other into the microphone or line-in jack on your computer.
Next, click select ‘Mic’ from the device input pull-down menu in Audacity and then click ‘Record.” Once Audacity is recording, press, ‘Play’ on your Olympus and watch the audio data get sucked into Audacity. Once your file is in Audacity, ‘Stop’ the Olympus, save the Audacity data as a Project, and trim the beginning and end of the file. Stir well. Transfer to a 2-Qt. oven-proof casserole, and bake in a moderate oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
Sorry, it appears my Adult ADD kicked-in. I’m better (somewhat) now.
Please let me know when you release your first podcast. I want to be your first subscriber! –Scott
Thanks for mentioning my podcast! Hope people enjoy it. I focus on global travel destinations each week
I can’t believe it! You left the best travel podcast off your list! I’ve been listening to iToors (https://www.itoors.com) for 4 years and they are heads above all others! My favorite is the Subversive Scribes in London.
Helen.
Thanks for promoting my show (Amateur Traveler). I am doing or trying to more interviews. This sounds like a group that might have some particularly interesting travel stories. If you are looking for a podcast to share them on, then come on by.
Chris
I think you’ve suggested a good cross-section of travel podcasts and I thank you for including mine (TravelCommons) in your list. In August, in TravelCommons #12, I reviewed a number of travel podcasts and classified them in two ways. First, were they original podcasts or repurposed content, from radio programs or travel columns read out load? Second, were they about the act of travel or about a destination? I ended up with a 2×2 matrix that I posted in the show notes for T/C #12. Looks like you’ve selected a good mix across both of these dimensions.
A bit late in my comments (85 days after the post!!), but thanks for the mention. Readers may be interested in several other things that I have online, including:
(1) a list of Travel, Tourism and Education Podcasts – though I avoid the single destination podcasts (mentioned by Mark above);
(2) a new blog that I just started called Web 2.0 Travel Tools. Suggestions for that site are more than welcome; and
(3) I now have a second podcast: Travelography: Travel and Tourism News from Around the World at Podcasternews.com.
Cheers, Alan
I’ve launched (long after your survey… http://www.iAudioguide.com in May, free city podcasts/audioguides (50 minutes each) on London, Paris and Barcelona. More cities and languages will follow.
It is my fantasy that travellers download several episodes of my podcast to listen to on their transatlantic flights to Budapest as a kind of supplement to other guidebooks, etc. they read before their trip.
However, regardless of all the buzz on podcasting it has yet to really take off. And it also seems as if even the big publishers, like Lonely Planet, are tentative about whether or not they’ll continue podcasting in the long term.
If you want to visit Vienna -Austria, check out this site: http://www.your-friend.info .You can download a free walking tour through ancient Vienna. (As a podcast)
Also available: Videos of viennese sights.
I couldn’t agree more with your post. My travel podcast show – PodAsia – was designed to be a blend between the publishing world and technology.
Visit and subscribe for free to http://www.podasia.net
The biggest challenge for travel writers is being able to not only write/photograph for their manuscripts but to also be able to work out a production schedule to bring their work to life through the podcast medium.
Matthew Holden
Singapore