Unpacked by Afar | Travel Smarter, More Responsibly

Latest Episodes:

How to Get Airport Lounge Access, Even if You Don’t Have Airline Status Jul 20, 2023

Show notes

Airport lounges can be one of the most complex, mysterious parts of the airport experience. Aside from buying a business- or first-class ticket, how do you access them? Is it worth buying a day pass? Are they really worth all the fuss? In this week’s episode of Unpacked, AFAR points and miles expert Paul Rubio reveals the secrets to gaining airport lounge access—no premium tickets required.

Meet this week’s guest

Paul Rubio, AFAR points and miles expert

Resources

Read the episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
Read Paul’s primer on the best ways to get airport lounge access.
Explore the best credit cards to apply for now (with lounge access).
Learn why lounges are harder to access these days.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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The Secrets to Traveling Well With Children Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

Which countries are the most family friendly? How do you help kids deal with jet lag? What about routines, bedtimes, and kids in business class? In this week’s episode, four AFAR editors, all parents, share their answers to all those questions, plus real-world advice about traveling with small children—including one editor’s genius hack for making sure her kids eat.

Meet this week’s guests

Laura Dannen Redman, director of digital content
Sarika Bansal, editorial director
Tim Chester, deputy editor
Michelle Baran, senior travel news editor

Resources

Read the episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
Explore some of our favorite family-friendly trips and destinations.
Listen to a Delta flight attendant’s top tips on flying with kids.

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Summer Replay! The Best Places to Go in 2023 Jul 06, 2023

Show notes

It’s a holiday week, one that (we hope) finds you swimming in a lake, or traveling to a new city, or otherwise enjoying these fleeting summer days. We don’t have a new episode this week, but given that we are halfway through 2023, we wanted to reshare our first episode of the year, our Where to Go in 2023 episode, in which editorial director Sarika Bansal and the team that puts together our annual list broke down said list and shared their thoughts on travel, present and future.

In it, they dig into the 12 destinations we focused on this year, including the Great Lakes, Bangkok, and Transylvania. We hope that it offers some inspiration, or at least a reason to dream as you bask in the summer sun. We’ll be back next week with another roundtable discussion about traveling with kids, and the following week with a deep dive into the world of digital nomadism. Happy listening!

Meet this week’s guests

Sarika Bansal, AFAR editorial director
Tim Chester, AFAR deputy editor
Ashlea Halpern, freelance writer and editor

Resources

Read the episodes’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
Explore our Where to Go in 2023 list.

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A Flight Attendant's Tips for Flying With Kids—Without Losing Your Mind Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

Kids and flying can be polarizing—anyone else remember popcorngate? But in this week’s episode, flight attendant (and mother of two) Andrea Davis shares her secrets for flying with children, whatever their age. She has has tips on packing, jet lag, crying babies, and why it’s worth it to travel with little ones, even when things go sideways. And she has tips for the child-less adults on flights: It's worth a listen—as a reminder that kids and parents are usually doing their best and that, yes, you can lean on your flight attendant when the kiddo behind you is kicking your seat. New! Subscribe to our show notes email.

Meet this week’s guest

Andrea Davis, Delta flight attendant

Resources

Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
Check out our editor-approved travel seat for kids.
Inspired to travel? Read about our favorite places to travel with kids of all ages.
Want additional travel-with-kids content? You’ll find more here—and in our July 20th episode.

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Inside Rick Steves’s Self-Imposed Carbon Tax Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

Can $30 per traveler really make a difference when it comes to carbon offsets? For Rick Steves, the answer is “absolutely.” For the past four years, his company has paid a self-imposed carbon tax—in 2022, they donated $1 million to a dozen, carefully selected nonprofits to mitigate the carbon cost of their travelers. In this week’s episode of Unpacked , we chat with Craig Davidson, COO of Rick Steves’ Europe, about how their Climate Smart Commitment program works—and the life-changing results.

Meet this week’s guest

Craig Davidson, COO of Rick Steves’ Europe

Resources

Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
Listen to last week’s episode.
Listen to Rick’s podcast, Travel With Rick Steves.
Learn more about Rick Steves’ Europe Climate Smart Commitment.

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Rick Steves Wants to Save the World, One Trip at a Time Jun 15, 2023

Show notes

In the world of travel legends, Rick Steves is right up there at the top. Since he launched his company in 1976, he has sent millions of Americans abroad, either through his guided tours or via his many, many guidebooks. But his mission—to “curate culture shock”—comes with a cost.

Rick has long been aware of the environmental impact of encouraging so many people to travel, but he found that carbon offset programs didn’t do enough to alleviate his concerns. So Rick and his team created the Rick Steves’ Europe Climate Smart Commitment, which donates $30 for every traveler on their tours to a carefully selected set of nonprofits.

Rick came on the podcast to chat about the program, as well as his views on ethical travel. But the conversation was so wide-ranging and rich—touching on everything from dual-narrative travel to his belief in the power of crossing borders—that we decided to split it into two episodes.

This week’s episode focuses on Rick’s constantly evolving views on travel, his mission, and his belief in self-imposed carbon taxes. And next week, we’ll drill down into his Climate Smart Commitment with his chief operating officer, Craig Davidson.

Resources

Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
Listen to Rick’s podcast, Travel With Rick Steves.
Learn more about the Rick Steves’ Europe Climate Smart Commitment.
Read our story about a climate change reporter who wanted to fly less.
Check out our primer on carbon offsets and the programs that can make a difference.

Catch up on Unpacked, season two:

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It's Not Too Late to Plan Your Summer Travels—Here's How Jun 08, 2023

Show notes

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.

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Are You Ready to Hand Over Your Travel Planning to the ChatGPT and AI Bots? Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

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 atSkift

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!

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The Making of a Patagonian National Park May 25, 2023

Show notes

When Kris Tompkins, former Patagonia CEO, moved to Chile in the ’90s, she and her late husband, Doug Tompkins, began a decades-long conservation project in both Chile and Argentina. They faced obstacle after obstacle, but eventually persevered, creating more than a dozen national parks. It’s all the subject of a new documentary, Wild Life, streaming now, and of this week’s episode. Hear from Kris as she shares her story, from jaguar reintroduction to her enduring fascination with South America.

Resources

Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
Watch the film, Wild Life, on the National Geographic Channel (May 25th) and Disney+ (May 26th).
Learn more about the Tompkins Conservation.
Explore Rewilding Chile and Rewilding Argentina’s work.
Plan a trip to visit the new national parks.

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How to Make Hard Travel Funny, According to a Comedian May 18, 2023

Show notes

This week we’re chatting with comedian, activist, and podcast host Youngmi Mayer, who’s based in New York City’s Chinatown. Host Mae Hamilton, AFAR’s assistant editor, first came upon Youngmi on Instagram.

Youngmi’s post about not quite fitting in with Korean or American culture really resonated with Mae, and made her feel seen in a way she hadn’t before as a half Taiwanese and half white American person. Soon Mae began tuning in weekly to Youngmi’s podcast Hairy Butthole—based on the Korean saying “If you laugh while crying, hair will grow out of your butthole”—and quickly became a big Youngmi fan.

In this episode, Mae talks with Youngmi about a recent trip she took to her childhood homes in Korea and Saipan, an island near Guam. Youngmi had a traumatic childhood, a subject which makes a regular appearance in her standup. So returning home for her has always been a bit . . . complicated. So they discuss what it’s like to travel to a place that has emotional baggage for you and how to still find beauty in it. They also talk about Asian moms, what it’s like to be biracial and Asian American, and why these identities can be so complex.

Resources