Amateur Traveler Travel Podcast

The Amateur Traveler talks to Erik Smith about his month long visit to New Zealand. We focus in this interview about the South Island of New Zealand. Erick started in Christchurch and then visited The Banks Penninsula, Lake Tekapo, the Dunedin, the Otago Peninsula, the Southern Scenic Route including the Catlins, Fiordland National Park (including cruising both Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound) Queenstown, the rainy west coast, Abel Tasman National Park, Kaikoura, and Picton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to to Gary Arndt about the 4 micro-states in Europe: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino.  "They all have very unique histories and the one thing that they are all very small" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Sherry Ott about Costa Brava Spain. Costa Brava is in Catalonia north of Barcelona on the rugged coastline of Spain. It also extends as far inland as the Pyrenees and includes farming country and medieval towns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Hunter Hillegas author of the Vegas Mate iPhone app about Las Vegas. The Amateur Traveler has covered Las Vegas before but the city is constantly changing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Photographer Ralph Velasco about two of his favorite cities in Spain, Toledo and Segovia. Both Toledo and Segovia are a short distance from Madrid and both offer interesting and historically significant cities with UNESCO World Heritage sites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Shawn Farris about his trip to Serbia and Kosovo. Shawn either visited two countries (or one) in this contested area of the Balkans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Janice Waugh from Solo Traveler about solo travel as a woman, particularly solo international travel. Janice did not set out to be a solo traveler but after the death of her husband she gained her courage to travel again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Elspeth about her native Yorkshire in northern England.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Lash from LashWorldTour.com about the Island of Java in the nation of Indonesia. She cycled through the countryside and visited the major cities of this populous island in Indonesia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Marc Barach about his recent trek around Monte Blanc. Hiking around the giant mountain on the tour Monte Blanc took him through portions of France, Italy and Switzerland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Andrew about the Island of Kyushu, the southern island in Japan. Kyushu is one of the warmer parts of Japan. Nagasaki is probably the best known city on the island for its tragic history as the second city targeted with an atomic bomb. The island has is green and hilly with a number of active volcanos. Andrew and his wife had a chance to visit a number of museums, the peace park in Nagasaki, visit a volcano, be buried in hot and and take in a local soccer game. They toured its large cities but also headed into the countryside. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jen Russell about the 3rd smallest state in the U.S. Connecticut. Connecticut, the Constitution State, is located halfway between New York and Boston. It has a coastline sheltered by Long Island so more suitable for family frolicking than for surfing. Connecticut also has a long maritime tradition which is celebrated at Mystic Seaport. It's forested rolling hills are popular with people who come to New England in the Fall to see the Fall colors. Connecticut is rich in U.S. history producing people such Revolutionary War patriot Nathan Hale ("My only regret is that I have but one life to give to my country"). It is rich in natural history as evidenced by Dinosaur State Park. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Neil Kristianson about one of his favorite travel destinations Savannah, Georgia. Neil and his wife were drawn to Savannah originally because of the movie and the book “Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil”. They fell in love with the Antebellum architecture, the many public squares, the Southern hospitality and pace, and, strangely enough, with the cemeteries. Savannah is rich in history and has been a destination for travelers even before Sherman’s March to the sea. Learn where to eat and what restaurant is overrated. Stay in a local historic inn one one of the city squares in the walkable historic downtown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks about adventure travel in Costa Rica. From rafting on the Pacuare river and ziplining through the Monteverde Cloud forest to snorkeling off the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica can be a great destination for adventure travel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler  talks to Scott E. Jordan of Scottevest about his home in Sun Valley Idaho.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Sam Oppenheim who returns to the show to talk about a recent trip to Belgium. Starting in Brussels, Sam and his wife Mina also visited Ghent, Antwerp, Brugge, Bouillon and Orval.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Kirk Horsted in a two part episode on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. In this second half Kirk looks at the state capital of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Kirk Horsted in a two part episode on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. This first episode focuses on Minneapolis with day trips west of the Mississippi river. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Katie Aune from KatieGoingGlobal.com about her recent trip to Lithuania. Katie visited Lithuania as part of a year traveling through countries that were part of the former U.S.S.R. She spent much of her time in and around Vilnius, the capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Antonello Losito from Southern Visions Travel about his native region of Puglia (Apulia) in Italy. Puglia is the boot of Italy and does not get the same number of tourists as Northern Italy. But Antonello recommends his rugged coastline and mountain towns as a way to see the Italy that “most American’s picture”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices