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Great Travel Podcasts: Five Diverse Voices To Listen To

Written by Naureen Kazi | August 25, 2020

The world of travel is a diverse place. It’s vital that everyone in the industry listen to voices beyond their own bubbles. A great way to expand your horizons is via the ever-expanding podcast universe. It's here that the challenges and pleasures of traveling are being discussed in detail. Below, we’ve gathered just a handful of great travel podcasts hosted by diverse voices. Tune in!

Let’s Go Together

Kellee Edwards isn’t just an award-winning travel expert. She’s also a licensed pilot, an advanced open water scuba diver and an explorer who’s been to more than 50 countries. Now, she can add podcaster to her CV. This spring, Edwards launched Let’s Go Together, a new travel-centric podcast created in collaboration with Travel + Leisure.  It’s devoted to spotlighting diverse voices in the travel world — the ones you don’t often hear from in mainstream publications. “As an African American woman in the travel space, I’m all about breaking down barriers and showing the world that there’s no one way to be an adventurer,” Edwards says.

Recommended Episode: The first episode of Let’s Go Together focuses on Jesse Billauer’s inspiring wheelchair journey to Machu Picchu in southern Peru.

Blackpacking

Blackpacking, hosted by solo traveler Jarika, takes a deep dive into how Black people experience vacations in new countries or trips back to their national country. During each episode, Jarika talks to travel bloggers, photographers, and tour operators about race, culture and simple human interaction. “The world is a beautiful place, and this podcast encourages travel, but not for the reason of a good Instagram picture,” Jarika writes. She encourages “travel for empowerment and eliminating our fear of stepping out of our comfort zone.”

Recommended Episode: Don’t miss the interview with Keem – AKA the Passport Abuser — a solo traveler from New Jersey who has made it to 50 countries and counting.

Misadventures of an Outdoorsy Diva

Lauren is a Tampa-based blogger, traveler and lover of the outdoors. On her Misadventures of an Outdoorsy Diva blog and podcast, she ably demonstrates how you don’t have to sacrifice style and comfort while you explore the natural world. The podcast is just one part of the Outdoorsy Diva universe; check out Lauren’s website for a wealth of travel content (not to mention her very cool Instagram profile).

Recommended Episode: As part of the Outdoorsy Diva’s Black Outdoors Spotlight, check out an interview with Demiesha Dennis, founder of Brown Girl Outdoor World.

Chronicles Abroad

We’ve all dreamed of it. But Nubia Younge and Frantzce Lys actually did it. The pair ditched their day jobs to travel full-time, exploring the world one fascinating destination at a time. On their Chronicles Abroad podcast, they inspire other 35-and-older professionals to travel with purpose and passion. You’ll hear about their own adventures, alongside interviews with other fellow wanderlusters, who talk about living, working and traveling abroad.

Recommended Episode: Listen to an in-depth chat with Brighde, the co-owner and operator of World Vegan Travel, a luxury vegan travel company.

On She Goes

 The underlying message of everything on this podcast (and its accompanying website) is #WeBelongHere. With a mission to help women travel more confidently (and more often), the On She Goes podcast offers fresh perspectives with every new episode. No topic is too big to tackle; recent episodes have featured illuminating talks on traveling while Black, representation in mainstream media, the great outdoors, getting paid to Travel, road trips and more …

Recommended Episode: The “You In Danger Girl!” episode offers a very interesting discussion of fear-mongering and travel.