Travel podcasts peak your wanderlust with stories of paths less travelled, and sight-seeing excursions for your next life-affirming adventure.
You find yourself searching Google Images or Instagram to drool over a new glamping spot or street food sensation mentioned on your favourite podcast, vowing to make your own memories soon.
Lately, however, we’ve all had a lot more time on our hands and fewer opportunities for exploration, with portions of the world being essentially off-limits.
According to research conducted by the Edison Group, remote working has seen a rise in podcast consumption habits. Reduced commuting time for 80% of listeners has seen people rack up around six-and-half hours of audio time per week.
Here are five travel podcasts that will add even more places to your already bulging bucket list and keep you in touch with the world beyond your remote workspace.
BBC Earth Podcast
The BBC Earth Podcast is an all-encompassing look at the world around us, and the incredible stories from nature, science and extraordinary lived experiences.
Each week, new stories are uncovered that plunge the depths of the ocean, takes you across mountain ranges and deserts, and introduces people working in hostile regions and remote climates.
The podcast meets people such as sustainable fashion pioneer Amy Powney who talks about how her off-grid childhood influenced her current work, and zoologist Prosanta Chakrabarty who discovers a new fish species.
The BBC Earth Podcast is available via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Ramblings
Ramblings is a walking-based podcast on the BBC Sounds app hosted by British broadcasting veteran Clare Balding. Each episode sees Balding, who has covered events such as the Olympic Games and the Grand National, meet celebrities, academics, and enjoy some solo walks around the UK.
The mix of guests and locations makes Ramblings an enjoyable listen, such as Psychotherapist Dr Ruth Allen who explains the benefits of outdoor counseling and the effect nature can have on our well-being.
There is also accessibility-themed episodes, with former MP David Blunkett, who is visually impaired, and a motorized wheelchair ramble with Debbie North, who, after years of walking, was diagnosed with spinal degeneration.
Globethotter
Hosted by Cassy Martinez, Globethotter explores one of travel’s most exciting and salacious pleasures, holiday romances.
The fledgling podcast offers something a little different from other travel-related programmes as it delves into people’s personal stories about holiday hook-ups.
The pod that puts the “lover in travel lover” Martinez recounts her own stories, such as missing return flights to keep the fires burning with a newfound friend and an interview with an old flame from her Lisbon and London adventures.
Her guests recount incidents such as backpacking in the Balkans and debauched working holidays in Australian “party hostels.”
Globethotter is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This City
This City is a London-centric podcast hosted by BBC Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo and explores the capital’s less frequented spots with the help of her well-known guests and London residents. Amfo is from Kingston-Upon-Thames, an area in Greater London and works in the city on Radio One’s mid-morning show.
The podcast touches upon areas of London that you probably won’t find at the top of your tour guides, such as Kensington Market, the place where DJ and producer Mark Ronson went hunting for some of his favourite music.
And musician and actor Olly Alexander and his love of Brick Lane, in East London where he moved as a jobbing actor looking to make it big.
This City is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The Travel Diaries
The Travel Diaries delves into the travel stories of famous faces, or famous voices in this case, with travel and entertainment journalist Holly Rubenstein. Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, Rubenstein reminisces with her guests about their extensive travel history.
Interviews with the likes of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who has travelled to remote destinations, ascended Everest and has crossed Antarctica, sit nicely next to podcasts with musician Gregory Porter and reality TV personality Jamie Laing.