Barbara Buczek spent ten years in the management team at the Port of Dover but over two years ago moved continents to establish Saudi’s new cruise scene with Cruise Saudi. Born in Poland she felt that travelling at an early age to Kentucky to a

Ash Bhardwaj; Walking The Nile, Slipping Down the Himalayas & Exploring Why We Travel

Apr 5th, 2024 1h 14m

Ash Bhardwaj travel-writer, film-maker & author of the new book Why We Travel is today’s wonderful guest – discussing… the rugby trip to New Zealand that changed his life, walking the Nile with his friend Levison Wood, getting dangerously lost

Faisal Sheraiff; Saudi-Influencer on Saudi’s Changes, the Old Markets of Riadh, Dream-Scapes in Alula and Go Big Or Don’t Go

Mar 21st, 2024 32m 38s

Faisal Sheraiff, influencer and entrepreneur, lives in Saudi Arabia with his fashion designer wife and two children. He was born in the US to a diplomat father and an anthropologist mother and has travelled to 50 countries. We discuss Saudi’s c

Hassan Said; Maldivian Resorts, Island Culture and the Importance of Loving Your Community

Mar 4th, 2024 45m 49s

We’re back for our new season and starting with an extra special episode recorded in the beautiful Maldivian resort of Dhigali where our presenter Lisa recently spent an idyllic week. Who better to give us a real look at life in the Maldives th

159. NEW SEASON IMMINENT!

Feb 19th, 2024 4m 38s

We are happy to announce the imminent arrival of our new season of episodes and as usual we have a few wonderful surprises for you – some on location episiodes from destinations as varied as Copenhagen to the Maldives – some new partners for sp

158. The Big Travel Podcast Christmas Special 2023!

Dec 18th, 2023 20m 56s

Hello and welcome to The Big Travel Podcast Christmas Special 2023 special…featuring the Casual Birder Podcast’s Suzy Buttress on celebrating the winter solstice in Antartica, Countdown’s Rachel Riley and her husband’s post-Strictly wind down i

Nitin Sawhney CBE; Racism in Kent, India on Horseback, Mandela at Home

Oct 22nd, 2023 1h 3m

Nitin Sawhney’s Kent childhood included regular attacks by racists, but he threw himself into music, joining school friend James Taylor’s band. Flying to India via Kabul aged 8 he found himself a child mascot riding horseback through the street

156. Motoring Journalist Ben Oliver; Belfast Troubles, Braving An Open Top Bentley To The Arctic Circle, Manoeuvring A Mini Up the Himalayas in Monsoon

Jul 1st, 2023 48m 49s

Motoring journalist Ben Oliver was born amid the troubles in Belfast with the family moving to ‘slightly dull Reading’ when he was 6. On this episode we talk about his life-changing teen travels to Israel, Syria, Gaza & Kurdistan, the glory 90s

Warwick Davis; Cookies with Carrie Fisher in California, Varanasi with Karl Pilkington, The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz and The World’s Best Pencil Museum

Jun 14th, 2023 34m 39s

Actor Warwick Davis' first trip abroad was to California at the age of 11 to star in Star Wars, a big jump from his day to day childhood in Surrey. On this episode we talk…Carrie Fisher feeding him cookies in the Redwood forest, sweltering in a

Rachel Riley MBE; Holocaust Education, Ukrainian Refugees, Wildlife in the Galapagos & Maths for Travel

Jun 7th, 2023 29m 26s

Rachel Riley, Maths expert, Gadget Show & Countdown host, MBE for services to Holocaust education grew up in Essex by way of Manchester. We talk about the astonishing story of her Jewish mother’s family escaping from what’s now Russia, the fami

Robert Munns; West End Theatre with Madonna, Sailing The Pacific With MS and Life-Changing Conscious Decisions

May 18th, 2023 1h 13m

Robert Munns, CEO of sailing charity Oceans of Hope UK, left the graft and glamour of West End theatre for a life on the seas. He’d not long had a shock diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis when a chance encounter in a harbour changed the course of

Freya Ridings; Nana’s Piano, From a London Shed to LA’s Best Studios, Love Island & Much More

Mar 16th, 2023 38m 54s

Freya Ridings’ beautiful, heartfelt music, gives you a wonderful sense of her warm and open personality and you’re going to LOVE Freya’s stories here on the podcast; Learning to play on her Nana’s piano, growing up in a musical, talented family

140. Gallery Director Simon Martin; Art History in Venice, Artistic Depictions of Hiroshima, Graced by the Dalai Lama but Knocked Out in Delhi

Mar 7th, 2023 51m 17s

A teenage trip around the galleries of Italy sparked a life-long love for the arts, and as soon as he could Simon Martin, art historian, author and the director of Pallant House Gallery, returned. After a ‘Swallows and Amazons’ childhood he’s s

Suzy Buttress from The Casual Birder Podcast; Antarctic Endeavours, Mexican Whale-Watching & Emotional Eclipses

Jan 12th, 2023 1h 6m

It was a passion for birding and indeed podcasting that lead Suzy Buttress to establish the wonderful Casual Birder podcast, for which she travels extensively, tracing birds and indeed other wildlife around the world. We discuss her recent expe

The Big Travel Podcast Christmas and New Year Special!

Dec 15th, 2022 50m 14s

With… Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos in New Zealand, podcaster & author Iszi Lawrence in Australia, charity founder Kevin Chaplin in Cape Town, celebrity vet Marc Abraham building a sand Christmas tree in Thailand, author Hannah Bourne-Taylor

Kevin Chaplin; Growing Up Under Apartheid, Inspiring Township Children and the Power of Travel to Expand Horizons

Dec 1st, 2022 43m 40s

Kevin Chaplin left behind his banking career to establish South Africa’s Ubuntu Foundation and rescue the Amy Foundation, named after American student, Amy Biehl, from bankruptcy. Kevin and I talk about growing up under apartheid, the hardship

Iszi Lawrence; Travelling Nowhere with Shaun Keavney, Decolonising History & Flying Solo to Australia age 6

Nov 17th, 2022 58m

Author, historian, comedian, podcaster and co-presenter of the travel that doesn’t actually go anywhere – ‘Your Place Or Mine’ with the wonderful Shaun Keavney – Izsi Lawrence is on the Big Travel Podcast. Iszi and Lisa talk… Britain’s most fix

Tony Michaelides; Legendary Rock Promoter on Bowie, Joy Division, U2 & Manchester’s Finest Exports

Nov 3rd, 2022 1h 10m

Tony Michaelides finds it uncomfortable to call himself legendary, as one would, but he is indeed legendary in the music business…promoting acts including U2, The Stone Roses, David Bowie, New Order, The Police, Depeche Mode, Simply Red, Bob Ma

Sara Tasker; From Passport-Less to Wanderlust, Struggles of Special Assistance Travelling and The French House That Stole Her Heart

1 Oct 19th, 2022 48m 19s

Instagram Expert, Creative Coach, Photographer and Author Sara Tasker spent lockdown obsessing about the perfect French house and if you follow her on @me_and_orla you know she’s an expert in making things look beautiful. We talk French bakerie

Cyber Crime Expert Lisa Forte; Battling Somali Pirates, Skyscraper Climbs in Kazakhstan & Descending Deep Into Abandoned Mines

Oct 5th, 2022 47m 40s

Cyber Crime Expert, climber and caver Lisa Forte has been voted one of the 100 top women in tech, starting her career plotting against Somalian pirates in the Middle East. Having travelled extensively for both work and fun we talk offending the

Nina Nesbitt; Swedish-Scottish Upbringing, Fainting in Hong Kong, US Radio Tours, Overcoming Travel Anxiety

Sep 21st, 2022 36m 33s

Singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt grew up half Swedish and half Scottish in a little Scottish village, kicking off her career age 15 on YouTube before very quickly making a name for herself. Nina talks about touring with Ed Sheeran and Example, ov

Mambo Brothers; Growing up in Ibiza’s Mambo Café, Becoming International DJs and Searching for the Soul

Sep 8th, 2022 32m 53s

‘Something special happens in Ibiza…’ say our guests on this episode and indeed it feels like this is true, especially for these lovely brothers. Born in Ibiza to a Scottish mum and Spanish Dad, with their parents’ Café Mambo attracting world

On location in Ibiza – Hotelier Marc Rahola; From Telephone Operator to Founder, Ibiza’s Contrasts, London’s Notting Hill & What Makes a Hotel Entrepreneur

Aug 25th, 2022 36m 5s

Ibizan hotelier Marc Rahola went from hotel telephone exchange boy to founder of a chain of boutique hotels and properties by, in his own words, making a series of happy accidents and mistakes. Od Hotels now have many properties all over Europe

141. Mariellen Ward; Alternative Music in Toronto, A Year in Tokyo, the Inner Voice That Led to India

Aug 10th, 2022 42m 6s

After a series of tragic losses Mariellen Ward took a giant leap of faith and headed to India. Her six month plan has seen her now be there for almost 20 years, setting up the inspirational travel site, Breathe Dream Go and also tour company In

Trevor Dolby; Creating The New ‘A Year in Provence’, a Village Life in France, the Publishing World in London

Jul 14th, 2022 49m 15s

Michael Palin describes Trevor Dolby’s book, One Place de L'Eglise, as "a timeless story of what it is that makes France irresistible”. Former publisher, Trevor, and his wife Kaz discovered a medieval house in virtual ruins in Languedoc, just o