Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

For today's travel podcast, I'm at London Liverpool Street station – the busiest in Britain – ahead of the King's Speech, in which Labour's plans for reforming the railways will be revealed. Nationalisation on its own will do little to improve the ramshackle service and mad fares that passengers endure at present ... good luck, transport secretary, Louise Haigh.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many people are organising holiday money. These days, paying with plastic or contactless is getting more and more universal – but cash can still be handy. I've been talking to Kaya Niedenthal of Currency Online Group about how to get a good exchange rate, even if you live a long way from hypercompetitive London. and why you shouldn't buy many Turkish lira in advance.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Natalie Wilson, Annabel Grossman and Ben Parker from The Independent's travel team who discuss where in Europe (if anywhere) cash is still king.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New EU border checks and travel for the Olympics will make the Port of Dover “exceptionally busy” this summer, its boss has warned.In today's travel podcast, I talk to Doug Bannister, the port's chief executive, about the great exodus that begins next weekend, and how to beat the queues.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the late, great Leonard Cohen so rightly predicted: "First we take the Netherlands – then we take Berlin."Want to be in the German capital on Sunday for the Euro 2024 final? Here's my guide.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I've been taking a walk – and a train – in the Black Forest of southern Germany. I visited the ticket office in the town of Triberg, where the person behind the counter is sitting at a desk 20 miles away.Remote ticket office staff are already a reality on German railways, as staff are still able to give advice, take money and print tickets.But could video ticket kiosks catch on in the UK?This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm with Eddie Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair DAC, the main operating division of Europe’s biggest budget airline. He's in Tangier, announcing a big expansion in Morocco. I talked to him about the plan.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yet more carnage of airline schedules on Sunday, with British Airways and easyJet both cancelling 32 flights in and out of their main hubs, London Heathrow and London Gatwick respectively.Booking a flight departing early in the day is a good plan – but if your trip is grounded your airline must get you to your destination as soon as possible.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you in line to be the next transport secretary? You're in luck. In just 10 minutes, I’ll give you free advice on everything you need to tackle, from road, to rail, to air.Tune into today's podcast for a concise guide to transforming our transport system.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three weeks tomorrow, the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 takes place. Yet I think the French capital will be a bit of a ghost town. Air France has just said: “International markets show a significant avoidance of Paris.Here's my take on what will be happening in the city – and how you could benefit.This podcast is free, as is my newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday by signing up here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.