This bonus episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is live from my month-long trip to the Greek island of Kefalonia - my first trip abroad in 8 months due to the pandemic. It's both an insight into the uncertainty, stress and challenges of travelling abroad from the UK during a pandemic, and also a postcard of the island, offering a guide to the best villages, beaches, hikes, restaurants, vineyards and activities in Kefalonia. These snippets will put you in my shoes and transport you to an...

This bonus episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is live from my trip to the Côte d’Argent in south-west France - my first trip abroad since the pandemic began. It's a postcard of the place, offering a flavour of the Atlantic coastline, the markets and cuisine of the area; the history of why I've been visiting it since I was little; and how I'm spending this trip (including my tips for studying French and for a digital detox). These snippets from my trip will transport you to the little-known...

The tenth episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is all about how we as travellers and the travel industry should recover from the pandemic, by prioritising long-term sustainability, and reframing our mindset and attitudes towards to travel, to avoid falling back into the trap of mass tourism at pre-pandemic levels. It starts with an overview of how the world reached a state of overtourism. We then turn to the actions that governments, the travel industry, tourism marketers and we as...

The ninth episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is an interview with a special guest, one of my Inspiring Individuals Nicholas Stuart-Taylor, as we hear about his expedition to climb to the summit of Mont Blanc at 4,808m altitude, and ski back down again. We discuss the family history of summiting Mont Blanc, which my great-great-grandfather achieved back in 1879, and I attempted in 2017. He explains the training and fitness involved, and the 3-day expedition itself: avoiding crevasses while...

The eighth episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is all about how to actually set about learning a foreign language, based on my experience in gaining (and importantly maintaining) fluency in 3 languages, and recently starting a new language from scratch. It starts with identifying your motivations, and finding the right level and method to suit you. I include a whole menu of self-learning methods I've discovered outside of the classroom, and my top tips for integrating language learning into...

The seventh episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is all about the different ways to save money and make travel more affordable. I share the golden nugget of financial advice that I received, which allowed me to live and travel abroad without a monthly salary, while taking a sabbatical and doing a Master's degree in my mid- and late-twenties. I also discuss ways to make your money stretch further when you travel and how to travel even when on a strict budget.  If you're keen to find out...

The sixth episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is an interview with a special guest, one of my Inspiring Individuals Malvena Stuart-Taylor, as we discuss her adventure sailing across the Atlantic Ocean for 20 days. We talk about the highs and lows of life on board a yacht with just two others, and the reality of 24/7 shifts on watch, as she voyaged from the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean. She reflects on the distortion of time and the isolation felt in the middle of the Atlantic,...

The fifth episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is all about how a woman's relationship status can influence her travel plans in her late 20s and early 30s. As well as looking at how society treats single girls differently and how the stigma of being single is very much still alive. I also draw on my personal experiences in and out of relationships to suggest tips to avoid perpetuating the stigma, and I reflect on my tactics for travelling while single. If you're keen to find out more, take a...

The fourth episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is all about the 20 must-do trips and travels to do in your 20s, as I enter my thirties and look back on the unforgettable moments and experiences that I'd recommend to others who love to travel: from road trips to festivals, from ski seasons to studying and volunteering abroad, from a sabbatical to a digital detox and even trying solo travel - this is your one-stop guide to the best trips to take in your 20s. If you're keen to find out more,...

The third episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is all about how travel can take you outside of your comfort zone and help you overcome shyness. I start with my personal story of evolving from a shy teenager to a much more confident and extrovert person after two years of extensive travels, and I offer my 12 top tips for conquering shyness. If you're keen to find out more, take a read of this post on my travel blog, The Well-Travelled Postcard: Conquering Shyness through Travel:...

The second episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is all about what fuels our wanderlust and love of travel: whether it's nature or nurture? Clever marketing or social media? The concept of FOMO or generational trends? I also discuss the lifecycle of a traveller and how our travel styles and preferences evolve through our different life stages, as well as talking through my own motivations for travel. If you're keen to find out more, take a read of this post on my travel blog, The...

The first episode of The Well-Travelled Podcast is all about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the travel industry and on people who love to travel. It covers my predictions for how the travel and tourism industry across the world will cope with closed borders and grounded planes, and how it might look when we start to travel again, after the lockdown. I also discuss my top tips for dealing with cabin fever if you're missing travel, and for maintaining your general wellbeing during...

A trailer for the The Well-Travelled Podcast, a new travel podcast by Virginia Stuart-Taylor, founder of The Well-Travelled Postcard blog.