Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

My guest today is Nicholas Wood, founder and director of Political Tours: friend of the podcast, to whom I talked to last May. Since then a vast amount has happened politically and in the travel realm – most recently the Foreign Office putting Cuba on the no-go list. He's been telling me tours are selling out fast. But what sort of people travel with him? This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Travel desk Tuesday – and today's excellent colleague just back from a big trip is Global Travel Editor Annabel Grossman. She has returned from wintry Finland, where she adored the handsome capital Helsinki – and in particular its amazing library – as well as South Karelia, bordering Russia. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just before I boarded a flight to China, I set out the scale of the problem caused by the closure of the three biggest Middle East air hubs – And considered what might happen next. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Each year, heritage venues and attractions funded by the National Lottery offer special deals for anyone who can demonstrate they have played the lottery – a single ticket is all it takes. Darren Henley, CEO of Arts Council England and Chair of the National Lottery Forum, has been telling me more about the opportunities. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's the message from Thomas Woldbye, chief executive of Europe's busiest airport, who is keen to build a third runway and opening it to flights within a decade. He also tells me the passenger operation had run better than ever in 2025: “Ninety-eight per cent of our passengers waited less than five minutes in security, and we halved the amount of bags that didn't reach the intended flight.” This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For many British travellers who plan to travel to Ireland, or who happen to be dual nationals, red tape has become a lot more complicated from today. Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline now insists that passengers flying between Great Britain and the Republic carry passports – until now, many other forms of ID were accepted. And any British citizens who also have a passport from another country face tougher controls when entering the UK. To try to make sense of it all This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Travel desk Tuesday – and the joy of working at The Independent is that my excellent colleagues are constantly returning from exciting places. Senior travel writer Natalie Wilson tells me about her first experience of Africa. She visited Borano Conservancy in Kenya – and can't wait to return to the continent. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many thousands of tourists are stranded in the resort of Puerto Vallarta after violence erupted following the killing of narcotics kingpin ‘El Mencho’. Most are American and Canadian visitors – dozens of flights were diverted or cancelled at Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara due to the upsurge in violence. The vast majority of British travellers are in and around Cancun, 1,000 miles from the trouble. Should they be worried? This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ulan Bator, the capital, is a busy, creative location, says Anna Butler – Tour Manager for Expat Adventure. She has lived in the vast land – six times the size of Britain – for 10 year. But beyond the city there is much more to be discovered. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Wednesday 25 February, people who are British but also citizens of another country were told they can travel to the UK only with a valid British passport or “Certificate of Entitlement”. But now it seems an expired UK passport may work. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrea Godfrey, head of the long-standing and highly innovative travel company Regent Holidays, tells me about the new Holidays with Friends portfolio – taking groups of pals to destinations as diverse as Kosovo and the Philippines. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greenland, Iceland, Lapland – their names alone might make you shiver. Then there's the geological instability of Iceland (remember the volcano?) and the geopolitical instability of Greenland – the 51st state, if Donald Trump gets his way. But Clive Stacey, founder of specialist operator Discover the World, says there is a special appeal to the far north. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Grand Egyptian Museum is finally fully open on the edge of Cairo. It tells the story of this amazing nation in what has become one of the world's key cultural attractions. Philip Breckner of Discover Egypt says the museum is turning Cairo into a city break destination – with nearby Alexandria also worth visiting. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's the perhaps surprising message from Paul Griffiths, chief executive of the world's leading international airport: Dubai, whose code is DXB. Paul also tells me about Dubai's remarkable growth trajectory – and how close DXB will come to the magic figure of 100 million passengers this year. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What makes a great city? The man who knows is top geographer David Gilbert, Professor of Urban and Historical Geography at The Royal Holloway Centre for the GeoHumanities. He tells me the key virtues of cities, and kindly takes part in a quickfire round in which he has less than a second to decide whether a city is great or not. You may be surprised by some of his answers ... This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Captain David Sanders, who has a long and distinguished career in aviation, tells me how passengers could help themselves by turning up on time and not drinking to excess; the joys of flying; and the most beautiful flightpaths. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Travel Desk Tuesday, and cruise writer Marc Shoffman is bringing me up to speed on the joys of river cruising – in Europe and beyond. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sharon Cleator has been travelling to the lovely south coast of Portugal for 40 years. She knows the Algarve like the back of her hand, and now offers a travel concierge service that you can track down online at Sharon’s Solutions This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trevi fountain in the Italian capital has been overrun by tourists for many years, and now the Roman authorities are seeking to impose some order. But top Rome cultural guide James Hill is unimpressed. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of my conversation with Buenos Aires local Stephen Melton, we discuss the highlights of Argentina beyond the capital. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.