Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast
The Independent
Simon Calder is the Independent’s travel correspondent, the UK’s leading travel journalist. From news updates to discussions with experts, Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast will bring you all you need to know from the world of travel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 20, 2025 • 6min
October 20th - Is Manchester really a key force in UK aviation?
That's the claim from aviation analyst Sean Moulton, who I met in his home town, Manchester. We talked about the way Britain's third-biggest airport – after Heathrow and Gatwick – is getting more intercontinental links, and becoming a hub between Asia and North America.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 17, 2025 • 6min
October 17th - 25 years on: Kicheche Safari Camps – a model for wildlife tourism?
In the year 2000, two travel professionals with experience across Africa teamed up to create a safari camp that brings together nature, community, energy and inspiration in Kenya's Maasai Mara. A quarter-century on, my guest Greg Monson and his partner Paul Goldstein are still working their socks off to provide great travel experiences that support the community and preserve the environment.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 16, 2025 • 6min
October 16th - New trains for old on Chiltern Railways, linking London Marylebone with Banbury and Birmingham
On a shiny 21st-century train with just one careful previous owner, I am talking to Richard Allan – managing director of Chiltern Railways – about new rolling stock for a network that currently relies on trains nearly half a century old.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 15, 2025 • 5min
October 15th - EU entry-exit system: UK borders minister on the new challenges for travellers
At London St Pancras International, hub for Eurostar – and one of three locations in the UK where passport control is carried out before departing for France – I caught up with Alex Norris, Minister for Border Security and Asylum.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 14, 2025 • 6min
October 14th - Inside the world of British Airways cabin crew
My colleague, senior travel writer Natalie Wilson, has been telling me more about the making of a film about training to be cabin crew.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 13, 2025 • 6min
October 13th - Entry-exit system arrives – and I try it out
I'm in Prague, tackling the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the new Schengen area digital borders scheme.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 10, 2025 • 7min
October 10th - Entry-exit system starts on Sunday – hear from Abta's EES expert
This weekend it's not exact all change for British holidaymakers going to the European Union and wider Schengen area – but some of us will have our fingerprints and facial biometrics taken. I've been talking to Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs for Abta, the travel association, who – like me – has been reading EU directives and regulations on the subject for the past few years.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 9, 2025 • 6min
October 9th - How to make the most of Mallorca
Today I'm talking to Alex Smith – who has lived and worked in the travel industry in Mallorca for two decades. Five years ago she created the YouTube channel Mallorca Under the Sun, helping prospective visitors to our favourite Mediterranean island. She's been telling me about the highlights of the island – and why it's worth getting out of the resort of Magaluf.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 8, 2025 • 6min
October 8th - How to start – and run – a successful travel business
Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel and Internova Leisure, tells me that this chain of travel agencies grew from a single branch in a suburb of Glasgow half a century ago. Its key difference: staying open later, seven days a week, which in 1975 was revolutionary.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 7, 2025 • 6min
October 7th - "The universe is looking favourably on northern Spain"
So says Jessica Harvey Taylor, head of press for the Spanish Tourist Office in the UK, who's been telling me about the increased appetite among British travellers for northern Spain – namely Galicia, Asturias and the Basque country. And on 12 August 2026, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the north of the country from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, before ending at sunset on the island of Mallorca.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
