Travel with Rick Steves

This week, a diving enthusiast highlights the underwater world, from the turquoise coasts of Central America to the cold jade waters of Puget Sound. NPR's Steve Inskeep explains what Karachi, Pakistan showed him about the mega cities that are mushrooming around the world. Also, author Scott Wallace describes his trek deep into the Amazon and the quandary of trying to protect the fierce Arrow people from contact with the outside world. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Tour guides from London join Rick to point how you can join the crowds, or avoid them, for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the Summer Olympics, and lots of other special events. Also, we learn the special ways Greeks and Bulgarians observe Orthodox Easter, their biggest holiday of the year. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

"One Thousand Places to See Before You Die" author Patricia Schultz shares new places she's included in the updated version of her book, actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy tells Rick why he's made a second home in Ireland, and Eva Marie Everson describes dozens of sacred sites in Israel from her guidebook. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A Bosnian journalist tells Rick what it was like to live through the Siege of Sarajevo twenty years ago, and what it's like to visit the city today. Rick also shares tips with listeners for overcoming shyness and making friends while traveling, including meeting long lost relatives in the Old Country. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Colleen Heater, author of "The Pilgrim's Italy", describes how 21st century travelers can find inspiration at Italy's many religious shrines; a tour guide in Siena tells us about resoration efforts along the old pilgrim's trail from England to Rome; and a German comic confides what he learned from a month-long trek to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Rick discusses the rewards of being a "road trip pilgrim" with author and traveler Dan Austin, and, in the spirit of Saint Patrick's Day, Irish tour guide Stephen McPhilemy takes listener calls, offers advice on touring convivial towns and ancient sites, and updates Rick on contemporary issues in Ireland. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Guests from Egypt and Morocco discuss the "Arab Spring" movement and explain what the upheaval is about from an insider's perspective, and Rick chats with a Japanese-American tour organizer who's sending Americans to visit the region of Japan that was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami a year ago. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Adam Gopnik discusses why the rituals associated with mealtime are often as important to the French as their recipes, and explains why "The Table Comes First in France"; also, two Portuguese guides share the highlights of their country's cuisine, from the seafood along its long Atlantic coast, to the hearty dishes enjoyed in the inland mountains. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

European Union experts join Rick to discuss the roots of the current political tensions in Europe, and how government policies are impacting the average European and frequent flier Johnny Jet returns with more tips for getting the most out of flights. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Rick invites some of his European friends to compare the beers of Europe and discuss the cultures that go with them, and travel writer David Farley talks about an eccentric hill town, not far from Rome, where a generation of bohemians share residency with a centuries-old mystery relic the Vatican would rather not talk about. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.