The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

When you're given an intriguing invitation or an interesting opportunity on your travels, do you say yes? I try to whenever possible, and that's led to some very memorable experiences - and the same is true of the three guests in this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast.  First up, Carl Klein explains what happened when he was invited to tag along with a family he'd got to know in northern Colombia, as part of a very important day. I then chat with Tracy Collins about her brave "yes" moment, which led to a lifetime of fun and friendship. Finally, Chiara Barbera explains that although her cousin tried to put her off agreeing to a particular offer in Italy, saying "yes" led to quite the epiphany and a major passion and goal in life. Links: Carl Klein - Lost Canyon Imports -  https://www.lostcanyonimports.com/  Tracy Collins - UK Travel Planning https://uktravelplanning.com and Global Travel Planning at https://globaltravelplanning.com  Chiara’s Assaggio platform - https://experience-assaggio.com/ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/354 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether it's a bus, train or subway, using any kind of public transport or transit system when you're travelling can be very eye-opening (and a lot of fun!). In my opinion it's a much better way to get to know a place you're visiting, and of course it's also usually the most budget-friendly way of getting around, another bonus. In this episode you'll hear from four guests who have stories to share about their use of public transport across the world. Ros Belford has some lovely stories about bus drivers in Italy; Martha Waslen talks about the famous subway of New York and the nearly equally well-known trains of Tokyo; Scott Antcliffe compares his experience of public transport in the UK with recent travels in Singapore and Berlin; and Megan Frye gives a good explanation of some of the reasons why public transport helps you get to know a city, and even a country. Links: Ros Belford - https://rosbelford.com Ros’s book Children of the Volcano - https://amzn.to/4dq2vpz Martha’s DayAway platform - https://mydayaway.com Scott Antcliffe’s website - https://www.scottantcliffephoto.co.uk/  Scott’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/scottantcliffephoto/  Megan Frye - https://www.meganfrye.com/ BlaBlaCar - https://www.blablacar.com/ Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/353  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the June 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking with author Ash Bhardwaj about his book "Why We Travel". If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at https://notaballerina.com/bookclub, and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers   Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chelsea Gruber, a frequent solo traveler specialized in mindful experiences, and Christine Newell, an author who focuses on being present while exploring, share their unique insights. They discuss intentional travel moments, like yoga retreats that promote mindfulness. Chelsea reveals how her journeys foster deeper self-discovery, while Christine shares a transformative experience in Japan that highlights the importance of appreciating small details. They also touch on traveling with horses and how it catalyzes meaningful connections and mindfulness.

This is the second part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this year, extracts from my late Mum's travel diary from 1985, and of course my own memories and thoughts.  In this episode, we drive briefly through Spain, which none of us really remember (sorry, Spain, I do love you now!). We then had some fun times in Italy, with vivid memories of climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and quite the adventure getting mixed up with the local police in the small town of Potenza. We spend a few weeks thoroughly enjoying Greece before diverting back through Italy, Venice in particular, en route to our next country. A big thanks to Context Travel for sponsoring this series, and an even bigger thanks to my Dad for agreeing to be part of it. Links: Context Travel - https://bit.ly/contexttravel - use the code THOUGHTFULTRAVEL to get 15% off any online booking. Context Travel operate walking tours in cities around the world, and have interesting and qualified subject-matter experts leading your walk Listen to Part 1 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 348 - https://notaballerina.com/348  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/351 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It rarely takes much experience of travel to collect an experience of someone you meet while travelling being surprisingly kind. While we're often trained to think the worst, countless tales from travellers tell of strangers helping out and showing kindness in myriad ways - it's one of the most heartening parts of seeing the world, I think! In Episode 350, I chat with four travellers who have stories of kindness to share. The first happened some decades back in Sudan, when Patrick Nash was welcomed into a Dinka village and given a special treat. Next, Ros Belford explains what happened when she found herself stuck in an Italian train station at midnight with her two toddlers and no taxis. Jonny Wright, a frequent hitchhiker, tells me just how often the vulnerability of hitchhiking is met not with the danger we often worry about but acts of thoughtful kindness. Finally, Chris Magnuson talks about how another wonderful act of kindness almost meant he missed his flight! Links: Patrick Nash - https://www.patricknash.co.uk/  Patrick’s book Shots Across the Water: Tales of a Journey Through Africa - https://amzn.to/4cMl0UQ  Ros Belford - https://rosbelford.com Ros’s book Children of the Volcano - https://amzn.to/4dq2vpz Jonny Wright on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/goandfindoutpod/ Jonny's podcast Go And Find Out - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/go-and-find-out/id1807777446 Chris’s website - https://www.streetviewvagabond.com/  Streetview Vagabond on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/streetviewvagabond/  Ep 242 Meeting Kind Strangers - https://notaballerina.com/242  Ep 76 The Kindness of Strangers When You Travel - https://notaballerina.com/76  Ep 88 Random Acts of Travel Kindness - https://notaballerina.com/88  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/350 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all take hundreds of photos on our travels these days, but I was keen to chat with Nicole Smith, founder of Flytographer, about how their network of photographers take this to the next level in many popular travel spots around the world. Nicole is an avid traveller who caught the travel bug young, and after a very unfortunate photographic "accident" on a long trip through Asia, she realised just how important having photos to job our memories can be. Nicole and I chatted about what it means to be a thoughtful traveller, the benefits of meeting up with local people in the places we visit, and more about how special our photographic travel memories can be. Links: Flytographer - https://www.flytographer.com/ Win a $100 Flytographer voucher - https://forms.gle/zUsK9byTtER9XbLD8  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/349 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the first of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this year, extracts from my late Mum's travel diary from 1985, and of course my own memories and thoughts.  In this episode, our journey starts in Hong Kong, where you might be surprised at what my Dad remembers most; we then fly into London, where it's all systems go to equip us for the months of travelling ahead, including the important purchase of a motorhome (or a campervan as we called it). We take a hovercraft across the Channel to France, see Paris, and have a very special experience in coastal Biarritz.  A big thanks to Context Travel for sponsoring this series, and an even bigger thanks to my Dad for agreeing to be part of it. Links: Context Travel - https://contexttravel.com - use the code THOUGHTFULTRAVEL to get 15% off any online booking. Context Travel operate walking tours in cities around the world, and have interesting and qualified subject-matter experts leading your walk Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/348 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling on foot is the ultimate slow travel and you can have some amazing experiences when incorporating a walk, hike or run into your travel plans. In this episode I start by chatting with Chelsea Gruber, a big fan of solo travel who's had quite a few active adventures on her trips and when we spoke was in training to run the Paris marathon. I then chat with Patrick Nash who spent time some decades back travelling through many parts of Africa, and his story centres on a long walk through the Congo, or what was then Zaire. Finally, Amy Willis shares some of her active travels, starting off with her experience on the Rim to Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon, and then going on to tell me about a recent experience running in northern Kenya. Links: Chelsea Gruber - https://www.chelseasolotravels.com/  Chelsea's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/chelseasolotravels/  Patrick Nash - https://www.patricknash.co.uk/  Patrick’s book Shots Across the Water: Tales of a Journey Through Africa - https://amzn.to/4cMl0UQ  Amy Willis from Ker & Downey https://kerdowney.com/ Amy's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amynwillis/  Ep 253 Walking the World https://notaballerina.com/253  Ep 175 Walking and Hiking Travels https://notaballerina.com/175  Ep 308 My trip report from hiking the Basho Trail with Walk Japan in 2023 https://notaballerina.com/308  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/347 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us want to make more sustainable and ethical choices when we travel, but it's not always easy to do! Avoiding plastic straws and disposable shopping bags is one thing, but how can we choose our accommodation in a way that does more good, or think about our carbon footprint and change our travel habits? In this episode, I start by chatting with two travel writers who have come to the realisation that the constant jet-setting often required by that job is something they don't want to partake in, and have found other ways to work. Nina Karnikowski and Megan Frye both have great suggestions and information that can help all of us travel a bit "better", too. One of the specific ways we can travel more ethically is related to animal and wildlife attractions - a very common activity for travellers - so to round out this episode, Suzanne Milthorpe from World Animal Protection Australia has some useful tips about how we can make better decisions about the sanctuaries or rescue places we visit. Links: Nina Karnikowski - https://ninakarnikowski.com/   Nina’s book, The Mindful Traveller - https://amzn.to/3EzeAf8  Megan Frye - https://www.meganfrye.com/ Suzanne Milthorpe - Head of Campaigns, World Animal Protection Australia - https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.au/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com  Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/346 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.