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This episode starts with a sunburn. That’s how on-topic it is. Because yes, it’s summer! And wow, do we have a lot of tips for you this year. To get them, I spoke with Mark Ellwood, the (sunburned) freelance travel writer who handles all of our monthly Where to Go columns, as well as the two editors who make up our mighty destination team, Chloe Arrojado and Tim Chester.  We started with planning—Mark is a planner, Chloe is not—and segued into how to score flight deals, if and when to travel to Europe during the hottest months, and our favorite road trip destinations. (Italy’s Prosecco Road, anyone?) We touched on lesser-known destinations, travel deals (it’s a great year to visit the U.K.), national parks, and even visiting places where it’s winter now.  So, no matter what you’re doing this summer—whether it’s road-tripping or trying to squeeze in a weekend getaway around your kids’ camp activities—we have something for you. Yes, even for you procrastinators. Happy summer travels!  Meet this week’s guests Mark Ellwood, freelance travel writer Chloe Arrojado, associate destinations editor Tim Chester, deputy destinations editor Resources Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode. Explore our Where to Go in July story. Find great summer deals (they exist!) and book affordable airfare. Need some beach time? We have the 20 best beaches in the world.  Drive the Prosecco Road that Mark mentions. Visit our favorite national parks.

Hey Travel Tales listeners. This week, we have an Unpacked episode about ChatGPT and travel. Would you let ChatGPT plan your trip? Chris Dong, the host of this week’s episode, isn’t sure. As a travel writer, he knows his way around the world—and when we tasked him with writing a piece about the technology, he was initially skeptical about handing over the reins to, well, a robot.  To get answers, he spoke with Hannah Mieczkowski, an AI expert who holds a Ph.D. degree in human and AI interaction from Stanford University, and Seth Borko, a senior research analyst at Skift and author of an April 2023 report titled “Generative AI’s Impact on Travel.”  Together, they explained the ways ChatGPT can actually help us now, the things we need to watch for, and what we can expect in the future. As Chris discovered, it’s still murky territory. But there are some benefits—and there’s little chance we’ll be ruled by the robot overlords.  Meet this week’s guests Chris Dong, travel writer and episode host Hannah Mieczkowski, AI expert Seth Borko, senior research analyst at Skift Resources Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode. Read Chris’s companion piece about ChatGPT and travel.  Try ChatGPT for yourself!

Hey Travel Tales listeners, as we ramp up for season four, we wanted to share another episode from our Unpacked by AFAR podcast, this one an interview with travel writer, actor, and director Andrew McCarthy. Want more? Follow the show here: https://megaphone.link/AFAR6756233083 Show notes Hiking Spain’s Camino de Santiago trail is one of the world’s great pilgrimages. And actor, writer, and director Andrew McCarthy has walked the 500-mile Camino Frances, not once but twice, most recently with his teen son. It’s a journey he documented in his new book, Walking with Sam (Grand Central Publishing, May 2023), and shares with us in this week’s episode.    Some of you may know Andrew from his work in film and TV—he starred in such ’80s classics as St. Elmo’s Fire and Weekend at Bernie’s—but here at AFAR, we’re more familiar with his work as a travel writer and editor. In 2010, he participated in one of AFAR’s first Spin the Globe trips: We spun the globe and sent Andrew to Ethiopia with less than 24 hours’ notice—a trip that culminated in his near arrest.  But his latest book is a quieter adventure. As his son took his first steps into adulthood, Andrew wanted to recreate his own first Camino walk—and cement their bond. As they walked (sometimes together, sometimes apart), they faced blisters and hours in the baking sun, the paradoxes of solitude and companionship, and the transformative power of the Camino pilgrimage. Resources Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode: https://www.afar.com/podcasts/unpacked/s2-e14-andrew-mccarthy Read Andrew's Spin the Globe for AFAR: https://www.afar.com/magazine/spin-the-globe-andrew-mccarthy-in-ethiopia Read Andrew’s new book, Walking with Sam: https://geni.us/2RERJ Read the book that inspired Andrew’s first Camino pilgrimage, Jack Hitt’s Off the Road: https://geni.us/H6uG0 Read Andrew’s first book, The Longest Way Home: https://geni.us/g7I5JM Watch some of Andrew’s films, including St Elmo’s Fire and Weekend at Bernie’s Walking resources If you want to tackle the Camino de Santiago: https://santiago-compostela.net/ If you want to tackle Japan's Kumano Kodo: https://www.afar.com/magazine/disconnect-from-the-modern-world-on-a-pilgrims-path-through-japan If you just want to walk: https://www.afar.com/magazine/7-famous-pilgrimages-around-the-world-that-you-can-walk-or-cycle

Hey, Travel Tales listeners. We're hard at work on season four, which we'll be releasing in fall 2023. In the meantime, we'll be regularly featuring episodes from our sister podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week. This week: How does the hotel that attracted luminaries like Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin, and Sid Vicious undergo a renovation without losing its gritty, celeb-packed history? In this week’s episode of Unpacked, we’re debuting “If These Walls Could Talk,” which shares the secrets behind iconic hotels, beginning with New York City’s legendary Hotel Chelsea. AFAR’s hotel editor Jennifer Flowers takes us behind the scenes, where ghosts, celebrities, and charismatic residents lurk. Meet this week’s guests Sean MacPherson, hotelier  Sherill Tippins, historian and author of Inside the Dream Palace Resources Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode. Watch Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, the Martin Scorcese documentary.  Read Inside the Dream Palace, Tippins’s book about the hotel Book a night and see the history (and maybe a ghost or two) for yourself! Read more about AFAR’s 2023 Stay List, which features the Hotel Chelsea

Hey, listeners! We're hard at work on Travel Tales, season four. But in the meantime, we've released the second season of our podcast, Unpacked by AFAR, where we unpack the trickiest topics in travel each week. In this episode of Unpacked, we explore the confluence of climate change, travel, and anxiety. It’s no secret that our climate is changing fast. From hurricanes to wildfires, those changes are impacting us more and more each year. How do we deal with the anxiety? And more specifically, how do we travel safely, smartly, and compassionately, in a climate-changing world? In this episode, AFAR senior news editor Michelle Baran shares her own experiences with climate anxiety, and talks with two experts about how we can find some peace—and travel with confidence.  Learn more about neuropsychologist Dr. Sanam Hafeez: http://comprehendthemind.com/ Learn more about International SOS: https://www.internationalsos.com/ This season, we want to hear from you! Have a question for us to unpack? Let us know at afar.com/feedback or email us at unpacked@afar.com

Want to meet mentholated ants, see the forest that inspired Avatar, and search for living dinosaurs? Head for Cairns, Australia, home to the world's largest tropical rainforest. Australian playwright Michelle Law is our guide this week: Last summer, she and her sister took a road trip through the region to explore Indigenous culture, zoom through the rainforest, and bond over the mysteries of parenthood. Read more about Michelle Law: http://www.michelle-law.com/ Explore Australia: https://www.afar.com/travel-guides/australia/guide

AFAR is excited to bring you this special episode presented by a partner that shares our belief in the life-changing power of travel, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card from Chase. Learn more at MarriottBonvoy.com/ChaseCards Gabby Beckford is an engineer-turned-travel entrepreneur who set out on a year-long Middle Eastern solo adventure at the age of 21. What she learned there forever changed the way she thinks about travel.

Hey Travel Tales listeners! We want to introduce you to another great podcast: Trail Weight, in which host Andrew Steven journeys outdoors and explores the soul. In this episode, Andrew attempts to bring us on his next adventure, only to be derailed by nature. He also rediscovers the forgotten story of Disney’s failed attempt to build a ski resort in California wilderness. Follow Trail Weight on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app: https://trailweight.com/

In this episode, we’re traveling to Vienna with AFAR contributing writer Emma John.  Emma has music in her blood. She grew up in London playing classical violin, and about a decade ago, she traveled to the American South to learn to play bluegrass, a journey she chronicled in a story for AFAR, and in her book Wayfaring Stranger. But in all those years, she avoided singing, for reasons you’ll soon hear about. And then one day, she decided to do something about it. So she booked a trip to Vienna, a city renowned for its singing talent—and the place where her musical odyssey begins.  Listen to Emma's books Wayfaring Stranger: https://geni.us/GWtmOcb Self Contained: https://geni.us/JUcD Follow Emma online Instagram: @foggymountaingal Twitter: @em_john Her website: https://emmajohn.com/ The story that inspired it all: https://www.afar.com/magazine/viennas-moment-learning-to-love-opera-in-the-city-of-music

AFAR is excited to bring you this special episode presented by a partner that shares our belief in the life-changing power of travel, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card from Chase. Learn more at MarriotBonvoy.com/ChaseCards. Emily Jeffords is a painter and creative educator whose work draws heavily on nature for inspiration. When she led a group of artists on an Alaskan retreat, she was surprised to discover what happened when they ventured into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Follow Emily on Instagram @emily_jeffords or via her website emilyjeffordslearn.com

J.R. Harris is the greatest traveler you’ve never heard of. On a road trip through Canada and Maine, he meditates on a lifetime of adventure—and the enduring power of a great road trip. You can follow J.R. on Instagram, @jrinthewilderness, or via his website: https://www.jrinthewilderness.com/ This story was inspired by a feature by AFAR deputy editor Katherine LaGrave—read the full story here: https://www.afar.com/magazine/solo-traveler-jr-harris-on-a-life-of-adventure And don't miss J.R.'s book: Way Out There: Adventures of a Wilderness Trekker Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/2660/9781680511208 Amazon: https://geni.us/DKPBL

Hey, listeners! Remember last season, when we introduced you to a podcast called About the Journey? In season two, travel journalist Oneika Raymond takes us on a trip around North America to explore what it means to travel better. She’s picked six cities and six entirely unique experiences. Throughout each episode, Oneika connects with locals who can speak to the heart of the dynamic cities we’re traveling to. They’ll tell us where to go, what to do, and how to see the world in more sustainable and meaningful ways.  In the episode we’re about to hear, Oneika will take us to Anacostia, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., to visit Mahogany, the community's first Black-owned bookstore in over two decades, which sells works by Black authors. Subscribe today—learn more here.

Brendan Francis Newnam, host of the Not Lost podcast, is a Croatian-Irish reporter who’s traveled the world. But in all his wanders, he’d never really given his Irish side a chance—until now. Subscribe to Brendan's podcast, Not Lost: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/not-lost And follow him on social media: @BFNewnam: https://twitter.com/BFNewnam And a special thanks to the Tourism Ireland team: https://www.tourismireland.com/

On Amtrak’s Coast Starlight, writer Chris Colin and his 13-year-old daughter, Cora, meet a Mike Tyson impersonator, marvel at the golden West Coast, and embrace the trancelike nature of the train. Read more about Chris's harebrained shenanigans! http://www.chriscolin.com/ And don't miss the José Andrés podcast that Chris produced, Longer Tables: http://www.joseandres.com/podcast/ Thanks to Oklahoma, who shared his song, Mandy Sue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1CKhoc4vjc

As a kid, comedian Esteban Gast tagged along when his parents visited family in Colombia. But he’d never established his own relationship with the culture—until now. Join Esteban as he confesses his deepest darkest family secrets (well, kinda), has his first-ever "real" talk with his cousin Camilo, explores Cartagena's ubiquitous plaques, and yes, parties without his parents! The episode that inspired host Aislyn Greene's Canada trip: https://pdst.fm/e/chrt.fm/track/B6A62C/traffic.megaphone.fm/AFAR9710174884.mp3 Learn more about Esteban! https://www.estebangast.com/

Here at AFAR, we have been traveling. We imagine you've been out and about as well—or maybe you've just finally booked that big dream trip. Well, this season Travel Tales hits the road too. Five storytellers took trips in recent months, capturing the sights and sounds along the way. Every other Thursday, beginning September 1st, you'll hear one of those stories—and the challenges, joys, lessons, and more that accompanies it.

In our last summer replay, we revisit an anxious traveler: On a last-minute trip to Rio de Janeiro, author Carmen Maria Machado luxuriates in beach feasts, practices small talk—and confronts her travel anxiety. Resources: Carmen's website: https://carmenmariamachado.com/ Her book, In the Dream House: A Memoir: https://bookshop.org/a/2660/9781644450383 And The Low, Low Woods: https://bookshop.org/a/2660/9781779504524

In our next summer replay, we hear from adventurer Erik Weihenmayer. Erik lost his vision at age 13, but he never lost his thirst for adventure. In the decades since, he has rock-climbed in California and ice-climbed in Antarctica. In 2008, he decided he wanted to kayak through the Grand Canyon. It was, as you can, imagine quite a ride. Read more about Erik on his website, listen to his podcast, or follow him on Twitter. You can watch his documentary, The Weight of Water, on Amazon.

In our next summer replay, we revisit what we can learn about life and friendship from the women of Pan Am. These women, who flew for Pan Am in the 1960s and 1970s, were spirited, adventurous, trailblazers who lived life mostly on their own terms. Julia Cooke, author of Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am, spent four years researching their lives and shares what she learned along the way.