Simon Calder, Travel Editor

Today, I’m joined by the travel writer and broadcaster, Simon Calder. He’s TV’s travel guru, and the travel editor at the Independent newspaper, where he’s known as “the man who pays his way” because he doesn’t accept any freebies from the travel trade - and in this episode, he gives some great tips for travelling on a budget. Simon’s got a great story because his first job was at Gatwick airport, cleaning planes and working on security, and the notion of simply travelling abroad while working there felt like a distant dream. Now of course, he spends his life travelling the world - and this episode includes such a variety of fascinating and unusual locations that this had to be a ‘long haul’ feature length episode.Make sure you stay tuned for his all time favourites and hidden gems - there are some really interesting ones in there - I’m already dreaming up some travels from those. Here’s a recap of the destinations mentioned:Swanage, Dorset, England Lake District, EnglandGuernsey, Channel Islands, EnglandGranada, SpainSkye, ScotlandIsle of Wight FestivalAconcagua, ArgentinaSantiago, ChileEast BerlinTirana, AlbaniaCubaNew York, USAMumbai, IndiaEsquinas Rainforest Lodge, Costa RicaPan American Highway - Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to PanamaMexico City, MexicoPuebla, MexicoWahaca, MexicoWuppertaler Schwebebahn, (Wuppertal Suspension Railway), Germany Tiraspol, MoldovaThe AzoresSyracuse, SicilyArctic Canada and Greenland cruiseCaribbean cruisingAlaska to Canada cruiseCuillin, Skye, ScotlandNepalMt Vinson, AntarcticaYou can follow Simon’s travels on his Twitter page, @Simoncalder - and tune in to his podcast which is on Soundcloud, it’s called Escape podcast. Thank you so much for listening today. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating or a review, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast. Don’t forget you can listen on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher and pretty much all other podcast apps. To find out who’s on next week’s show come and find me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein I’d love to hear from you.And visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com for everything podcast-related.This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.