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Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

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.

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19 December 2025

Essential airline etiquette for the festive season and beyond

More episodes

18 December 2025
Your city-break dream list for 2026 – part two
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17 December 2025
What's on your city-break dream list for next year?
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16 December 2025
Joy to the world – if you go by train
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Travel desk Tuesday, and today senior travel writer Natalie Wilson is reporting on the Belmond British Pullman Christmas lunch trip from London Victoria to Kent – and looking ahead to Interrail travel for 2026. The current 25% discount offer, for passes that you can start any time in the next 11 months, ends at 9am GMT on Wednesday 17 December.
This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.
15 December 2025
Guatemala 2026: risks and rewards
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Starting a new year with a journey to a new destination is always rewarding, and one of the most memorable 1 January departures took me to Guatemala. As you will hear from Harris Whitbeck, minister of tourism for the Central American nation, diversity awaits from Maya culture to pizza baked freshly on volcanic rock. Yet the Foreign Office advice for Guatemala is strident – and Harris has plenty to say about it.
This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.
12 December 2025
Fast track to America – from Scotland?
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Could Edinburgh airport be the first in the UK to offer pre-clearance for travellers to the US? That's the hope of today's guest, Gordon Dewar – chief executive of the Scottish hub. Allowing passengers to go through US Customs and Border Protection before they board a flight to America "would be incredibly powerful for Edinburgh, and we are pursuing it", he tells me. "If the two governments can find common ground and sign the agreement, we’ll start building the next day."
This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.