In the second installment of our solo travel series, we hear from Christie Bowers, who spent six months backpacking across South America, stopping everywhere from the Amazon to Argentina. She shares how she planned the trip, budgeted for it, and navigated both the joys and challenges of going it alone far from home.

In the first installment of our three-part solo travel series, Zakiya Gibbons, host of dating podcast Hang Up, recounts a pretty glamorous work trip to Cannes—and shares how she navigated moments of loneliness, figured out ways to prioritize downtime and actually see the destination, and even managed to squeeze in a date.

In her book Beyond the Shores: A History of African Americans Abroad, Dr. Tamara J. Walker recounts stories of 20th-century African-Americans who chose to build their lives outside of the United States—everywhere from Paris to Nairobi. Lale chats with Tamara about the romantic notions of 20th-century Paris and the creatives who made it their home, like James Baldwin and Florence Mills, as well as her own travel experiences around the world and what it means to be a global citizen.

If you're anything like us, this past winter has been a season of hunkering down and staying mostly inside—even if it was inside a bar, restaurant, or museum. But if the weather (and our seasonal allergies) are any indication, spring is here—which means summer adventures are just around the corner. So, this week, to get you kickstarted on summer planning and offer some inspo for getting yourself outside once again, we're joined by Emily Pennington, a Women Who Travel contributor and Outside’s national park columnist, and Megan Spurrell, Traveler's senior editor. We talk all things outdoors, from the best strategy for getting national park camp site permits to the women inspiring us to get moving. 

Read a full transcription of the episode: cntraveler.com/story/how-to-get-yourself-moving-after-a-winter-of-hibernation-women-who-travel-podcast

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As we say at the start of this week's podcast, “wellness” is a word that gets thrown around a lot—but defining what it is can be a real feat, and as it turns out, can mean something a little different to everyone. Joined by Evelyn Escobar, founder of Los Angeles-based Hike Clerb, and Shanika Hillocks, Women Who Travel contributor and brand strategy and marketing consultant, we're talking about all the different ways we're prioritizing wellness in our day-to-day lives and travels, from setting boundaries over email to making time for family and friends. As Evelyn says, “no one, unfortunately, is going to take care of you the way that you need, so we need to do it ourselves and be relentless in that pursuit.”

Read a full transcription of the episode here: cntraveler.com/story/what-does-wellness-even-mean-these-days-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Evelyn: @EveMeetsWest, @HikeClerb

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When we started planning this episode, we thought we'd talk about the books we turn to for relaxation—the books that bring us moments of zen and let us find a sense of calm. But when we actually sat down with our guests—Lisa Lucas, publisher at Pantheon and Schocken Books, and Jynne Dilling Martin, deputy publisher at Riverhead Books—we realized that when the world is stressing us out, we turn to all sorts of book to help us decompress. So instead, this episode has a little bit of everything: non-fiction books that help us make sense of it all, sci-fi books that help us escape from it all, as well as poetry collections, comedies, fun romps, and so much more. 

Find a full list of books mentioned and a transcription here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-best-books-weve-read-recently-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Jynne: @Jynnnne

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Ever stripped down for a visit to a Japanese onsen or nude hot spring? Or been stopped by the TSA for a sex toy you packed? How about had a no-strings-attached vacation fling? Whether you've tackled all of the above, are working up the confidence, or are simply curious about exploring the intersection of sex, travel, and self-love, our latest episode was made just for you. We're sitting down with Women Who Travel contributor, body image advocate, and sexual wellness expert Laura Delarato to talk about her soon-to-be-released book—My Pleasure: An Intimate Guide to Loving Your Body and Having Great Sex—and everything that goes along with discovering your pleasure (at home or on vacation). As expected, it's not particularly safe to listen to at work or around kids, but a no-holds-barred look at finding your self love, self worth, and boundaries in and out of the bedroom. 

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Follow Laura: @heylauraheyyy

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A special episode of the Women Who Travel podcast, presented by Fort Myers - Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods.

If you're anything like us, your first instinct is to cram as much as possible into a trip—from meals to bars to vintage shops to museums, the list goes on. We're here to tell you to slow down. This week, we're talking about slow travel, a way of moving through the world that's all about intention, observation, and yes, literally moving more slowly. To help you find your way, we invited Rachel Schwartzmann, a New York-based writer and the host of Slow Stories, a podcast all about slowing down in a digital world, and Melissa Donahue, owner and executive chef at Sweet Melissa's in sleepy Sanibel, Florida, to share their tactics for embracing slow travel, whether it's taking time off just to wander around your own neighborhood or prioritizing digital detoxes on vacation.

Follow Rachel: @rachelschwartzmann

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We're baaaack! And while we may be well past the official start to the year, talking all about the travel goals we're setting for ourselves in 2022 (and how actually we plan on reaching them) felt like the perfect way to kick off the new season of Women Who Travel. We called up senior editor Jessica Puckett and Condé Nast Traveler Middle East's editor-in-chief Sarah Khan to talk about our travel priorities for the year, how we're planning to book them (hello, points motherlode), and how our list of where we want to go has changed since we last spoke in December. Take it as encouragement to check in on your own travel goals (or set a few if you, like us, would rather just skip the first few months of the year).

Follow Jessica: @jesspuck

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Sign up for the newsletter: cntraveler.com/newsletter/subscribe

Earlier this week, Traveler launched its list of the best places to go in 2022. Inspired by that list, plus the many destination weddings on our calendars, the design hotels we've been eyeing, and family to see, we decided to dedicate this episode to the places we're hoping to visit in 2022. There's something for everyone, from chic Canadian Airbnbs to bustling Turkish getaways and Uruguayan art exhibitions. Joined by Sarah Khan, editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Traveller Middle East, we run through all of our wish-list destinations for next year in our final episode of 2021. Thanks to Sarah for joining us and to Brett Fuchs for engineering and mixing this episode. And thank you, for listening to Women Who Travel through another year of highs and lows in the travel industry. 

Read a full transcription and find links to the destinations and stories mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/where-were-dreaming-of-traveling-next-year-2022-women-who-travel-podcast

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

When you think classic road trip movie, usually one ‘90s film comes to mind: Thelma & Louise. And while, as this week’s guest says, “you don't want to end that way on your road trip,” we wanted insight into why the movie has stuck with us for so long and inspired countless girls' weekend trips to the Grand Canyon. For that, we went straight to the woman who played Louise herself. This episode, we sat down with actor and activist Susan Sarandon to hear about her love of road trips, the places she's been dreaming of traveling throughout the pandemic (the list is long), and what far-flung movie sets inspired her early love of travel. Having joined Fairmont Hotels and Resorts as the brand's global ambassador, she also shares her thoughts on responsible travel and how her trips across America have inspired her activism. 

Read a full transcription of episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/susan-sarandon-women-who-travel-podcast

It's that time of year when sales are plentiful and gift buying (and giving) is top of mind. To help you weed through the options, we called up two of the most thoughtful gifters we know: Shanika Hillock, Women Who Travel contributor and wine marketer, and Megan Spurrell, Travelers' senior editor. With gift ideas that range from cookbooks to book subscriptions to home goods—and even a few suitcases—we have suggestions from women-owned brands around the globe. (Still looking for more ideas? Check out our Women Who Travel gift guide for other options.)

Find all of the gifts mentioned and a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/our-favorite-holiday-gifts-from-women-owned-brands-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Shanika: @ShanikaHillocks

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Over the past few months, we've spoken of how we're reevaluating different parts of our lives—and the role travel plays in them—from prioritizing traveling just for ourselves to developing healthier relationships with our bodies. This week, we're talking about renegotiating our relationship with alcohol as we get back out into the world, whether it's on vacation or simply during a night out with friends. Inspired by contributor Rebekah Peppler's recent story, we're joined by Piera Gelardi, a Brooklyn-based entrepreneur who has spent the last year examining her relationship with alcohol, and Melanie Masarin, founder of Ghia, a spirits-free apéritifs company that hit the market early last year. We chat about being sober and sober-curious, how to approach conversations about not drinking, and what beverage options are out there beyond “a glass of sparkling water with a dried-up, sad old lime,” as Piera says.

Read a full transcription of the podcast and find links to the accounts and stories mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/two-travelers-on-exploring-sobriety-at-home-and-on-the-road-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Melanie: @MelanieMasarin, @DrinkGhia

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Mumtaz Mustafa and Laura Klynstra are best friends who love to cook—and host—together. Lale chats with them about how their respective childhoods in Pakistan and Michigan helped shape their passion for food, travels in Guatemala, and memories of Karachi street snacks and Dutch potlucks.

Even if you haven't seen her face, you've probably seen poet Cleo Wade's block letter handwriting and warm words on your social media feeds. The activist and author of three books—most recently a children's book called What the Road Said*—*has dedicated her career to sharing words of self-worth, encouragement, and community. She has penned poems in just about every situation, from scribbling thoughts onto bar napkins to setting up her pink typewriter, which she carried with her on trips around the world in her 20s. Her latest poem, “That Fairmont Feeling,” was written in a slightly more traditional way, as part of her latest role as poet-in-residence for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. 

This week, we sat down with Cleo to talk about toting around the aforementioned typewriter, why solo travel has proven to be the most inspiring time to write, and how she can't wait to watch her two children fall in love with travel. 

Read a full transcription of episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/cleo-wade-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Cleo: @cleowade

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Leaves are changing, cool weather is upon us, and it's time to start thinking about holiday plans, which means you've got questions on where to go, what to pack, and more. And this week, we've got answers. Joined by Traveler's digital director Stephanie Wu and senior editor Megan Spurrell, we're doling out advice on planning fall foliage trips, what to buy for the solo traveler in your life, and where to take your mom on your next joint-vacation. Needless to say, we cover a lot of ground.

Find a full transcript and all of the links we mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/answering-your-fall-travel-questions-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Stephanie: @bystephwu

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“Bookstores typically have been a place where I escape myself—and [a place where] I find a new self,” says this week's podcast guest, Nadia Wassef. “I feel like I walk in there and the world is open to me.” The author of the newly released Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller knows a thing or two about bookstores: she co-founded Diwan—the Egyptian capital's leading bookstore—with her sister and friend back in 2002. We caught up with Nadia, who now lives in London, to talk about the power of the bookstore and the books within them, how she stays connected with Cairo, and what books she hopes travelers read before visiting her home country. 

Read a transcription of the episode and find links to the books mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/nadia-wassef-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Nadia: @nadia_the_bibliophile

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All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

With travelers around the world taking their first flights in a while—and vacations beyond a drivable radius—we're starting to get back in the swing of things when it comes to travel, albeit very slowly. But as we get back out there, we wanted to look at what had changed (for better and for worse) about our travel habits, so this week, we tapped three industry experts to clue us into what they're seeing. 

First, we catch up with Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants CWA, to hear about the fights and unruly passengers many flight attendants are facing in the skies right now—a sharp turn from when we talked about lobbying for a federal mask mandate last summer. Then, we speak to Divia Thani, Condé Nast Traveler’s global editorial director, about producing a travel magazine when, well, no one was traveling and what's brought her hope throughout the past year and a half. And finally, we chat with Lindsay Nelson, Tripadvisor's chief experience officer, about what changes they've seen in our travel habits over the pandemic—and how the company is changing tactics to keep up with travelers' evolving needs. 

Read a full transcription of the episode and more links here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-good-the-bad-and-the-surprising-ways-were-traveling-now-women-who-travel-podcast

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Laurie Woolever didn't step foot on a plane until she was more than halfway through college—but fast forward a decade and she was sitting in business class heading to Vietnam, Sri Lanka, alongside Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain's assistant, cookbook co-author, and frequent collaborator for more than 10 years, Laurie got to know the travel quirks, habits, and needs of one of the most beloved figures in travel—and learned how to make the most of every trip along the way. Now, with her latest book—Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography, out this week in bookstores—she's sharing memories of the icon from more than 90 friends, family members, and collaborators. In the latest episode of the podcast, we sat down with Laurie to find out how she got into food writing, what traveling with Bourdain taught her, and why she prefers to travel by scooter. 

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/laurie-woolever-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Laurie: @LaurieWoolever

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All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

While we don’t have a new episode for you this week, we do need your help. Spoiler alert: for an upcoming episode, we’re chatting about the ways that travel and the ways we approach travel have changed over the last 18 months. While hearing from people in the industry is a great temperature check, we also want to hear from you, our listeners. How has your relationship to travel changed? Your habits? Your bucket list? If you have answers to those questions, record a voice memo of yourself on your phone and email it with your name and where you’re from to womenwhotravel [at] cntraveler [dot] com. You just may find yourself in an upcoming episode! Thanks for listening, and we’ll be back with a very exciting guest next Wednesday. 

A few weeks ago, we published an advice column, offering advice to a Women Who Travel reader who was feeling self-conscious about stepping out in a swimsuit on an upcoming group trip because of changes to her weight during the pandemic. The question and subsequent advice from Amy Pence-Brown and Stephanie Yeboah, two body image advocates and writers, led us to an even deeper conversation about our bodies—and how the pandemic has affected our relationships with them. So, this week, we're joined by Amy and Stephanie to chat about how they got to the place of self-love they're at now, how the conversation has shifted around fatness during the pandemic, and how we can have healthier relationship with weight changes. 

Read the advice column: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/im-dreading-wearing-a-swimsuit-on-a-group-trip

Listen to "How Travel Taught Me to Love My Body": https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-travel-taught-me-to-love-my-body-women-who-travel-podcast

Read a full transcription of today's episode: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-our-relationship-with-our-bodies-has-changed-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Stephanie: @stephanieyeboah

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Lauren Groff's name has been thrown around a number of times on this podcast as the author of some of our favorite books to read on vacation. Her latest, Matrix, is out this week—and was one of our most anticipated releases of the year. It's the fictional retelling of the life of Marie de France, a historical figure from the 12th century with no known backstory to speak of. In the lead up to actually writing the novel, Groff took a trip to live with Benedictine nuns in Connecticut to get a sense of abbey life. In fact, many of her novels and short stories have been birthed from family vacations, research trips, and even her honeymoon. We sat down with the Gainesville, Florida–based writer to learn more about her travels, writing process, and what books she's excited to read this year. 

Find a transcriptions and links to Lauren's reading suggestions here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/author-lauren-groff-on-the-trips-that-have-inspired-her-books-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Lauren: @legroff

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All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This episode was originally published in September 2020.

A special three-part series of the Women Who Travel podcast, presented by Cloudy Bay

We've long admired Kimi Werner, a Hawaiian freediver and spearfisher, so we thought there was no better woman to join us this week. A new mom, she's had to find a way to balance her active new role above land and the regenerative power and calm she finds underwater. We chat about how she's found that balance, what it's meant to introduce her son to the ocean, and how she's managed to leave her anxieties on the shore and just relax.

Follow Kimi: @kimi_swimmy

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This episode was originally published in October 2020. 

This week, we're revisiting our conversation with Hawa Hassan, whose cookbook, In Bibi's Kitchen, could be found on many of last year's most anticipated book lists. The cookbook is filled with recipes from eight African countries that border the Indian Ocean and stories from 24 grandmothers, and brings a new narrative to the table, one that Somali author, sauce maven, and former model Hawa Hassan is honored (if not a little overwhelmed) to share. “I was telling these new stories—I was expected to carry these stories—and I didn't know I could," she says on this week's episode. "I lived somewhere between inspiration and fear a lot of last year.”

That self-imposed pressure has paid off. Her book launched earlier this week, so we sat down to hear about her time with those bibis and what it was like to create a cookbook written and photographed exclusively by women and featuring recipes crafted exclusively by women, based everywhere from New York City to Comoros.

Order In Bibi's Kitchen: https://fave.co/3gnIVLA

Read a full transcription of the episode: www.cntraveler.com/story/how-hawa-hassan-built-a-cookbook-around-east-african-grandmothers

Follow Hawa: @hawahassan

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All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

There’s nothing quite like the magic of a Scandinavian summer, where daylight is near endless and hundreds of islands come to life for locals to explore and retreat to. Author Dorthe Nors—and repeat guest on this show—joins us to share stories of life on the Danish island of Fano, fascinating folklore, and tips on creating your own island hopping journey this summer.

Many of us have had complicated reading years, struggling to keep our attention trained on any one book—let alone finish one. So in this week's episode, we've tapped two of our favorite bookworms, Jynne Dilling Martin, an associate publisher at Riverhead Books, and Kalima DeSuze, activist and founder of the intersectional feminist bookstore at Cafe con Libros in Brooklyn, to share some of their favorite page-turners to pull you out of your reading slump. There's something for everyone, from a poem-like novel that's less than 300 pages to a New York Times bestselling book club pick. We also chat about the joys of young adult novels and the upcoming releases we're dying to get our hands on. 

Here's a preview of this episode's recommended books:

• Ghost Forest by Pik-Shuen Fung
• Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
• Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez
• Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
• Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
• Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique
• I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness by Claire Vaye Watkins
• Cazadora by Romina Garber
• The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/beach-reads-to-get-you-through-the-rest-of-the-summer-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Kalima: @CafeConLibros_BK

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“We've all vented to each other with frustration over the years, seeing that there was this resistance to expanding people's world views,” says Sarah Khan, editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Traveler Middle East, in this week's Women Who Travel episode. But last fall, Sarah—alongside branding consultant Paula Franklin, cofounder and editorial director of Fathom Jeralyn Gerba, partner at Xhibition PR Nestor Lara Baeza, and CEO of the Africa Tourism Association Naledi Khabo—launched Travel Is Better in Color, an effort to diversify the viewpoints shared by the travel industry. An Instagram and newsletter, Travel Is Better in Color highlights English-language travel writers, photographers, videographers, and more to showcase the stories being told and the work the industry can be doing to share broader perspectives on traveling today. 

“These stories have existed, these voices have existed,” says Naledi. “It was just a question of amplification, or identification and amplification. And I think that we were looking to do that and to build the level of awareness.”

This week, we're joined by Sarah, Naledi, and Paula to talk about their own experiences in the travel space, the impetus for Travel Is Better in Color, and how the travel industry and publications can champion a diverse mix of storytelling long term.

Find a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/meet-the-women-advocating-for-more-diverse-perspectives-in-travel-media-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Naledi: @Naledi

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While travel may be the most open that it's been for Americans since the pandemic began, it comes with a lot of complications—from major passport renewal and Global Entry application delays to newly developed travel anxieties. To help you explore in the safest and most prepared way possible, we're answering your burning travel questions in this week's episode of Women Who Travel. Alongside Traveler’s senior editor for transportation and travel news, Jessica Puckett, and city guides editor, Shannon McMahon, we'll cover everything from travel insurance and underrated U.S. cities for solo travelers to how to talk to your family about prioritizing your own travels. 

Stories mentioned this episode:

"Travel Insurance Companies Add Permanent Pandemic Coverage," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/travel-insurance-companies-add-permanent-pandemic-coverage

"Everything You Need to Know About Cancel For Any Reason Travel Insurance," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/cancel-for-any-reason-travel-insurance

"What to Know If Your Passport Is Expiring," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/us-passport-renewal-during-covid

"How to Manage Travel Anxiety in a Crowded Airport," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-to-manage-travel-anxiety-in-a-crowded-airport

Read a full transcription of the episode and find more stories here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/answering-your-questions-about-passport-renewal-solo-travel-and-more-women-who-travel-podcast

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While we haven't been making much headway on airline and hotel loyalty programs in the last year, what we do have are lots and lots of credit cards points, accrued from a year and a half of takeout, groceries, and gas bills—among plenty of other purchases (namely loungewear). But how should we spend those stockpiles now that travel is starting to reenter our lives? This week, we tasked Jessica Puckett, Traveler's senior editor for transportation and travel news, and Jasmin Baron, an associate editor covering credit cards at Insider, with helping us find solutions.

The short answer? “There really isn't a right or wrong way to spend your points and your miles,” Jasmin says in the episode. But we've got plenty of ideas of where to start, from cashing in on free hotel stays during road trips to, yes, booking that overwater bungalow in the Maldives.

Learn more about Conde Nast Traveler's favorite travel credit cards: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-best-travel-credit-card

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-to-spend-all-those-points-youve-accumulated-on-travel-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Jessica: @jesspuck

Follow Jasmin: https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jasmin-baron

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This episode was originally published in September 2020. 

This week, we're revisiting our conversation with Cristina Mittermeier—marine biologist, conservationist, photographer, and co-founder of SeaLegacy, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the ocean. A National Geographic photographer known for her work underwater and among Indigenous communities in coastal areas, she's found a way to share her passion for our environment with the world. But it wasn't always a simple path. In fact, her first published photo was wrongly credited to her then-husband. Over the course of our chat, we talk about how a career in science led her to photography, her mission to educate us about the ocean, and how we can overcome that feeling of hopelessness amid the current climate crisis. 

Follow Cristina: @mitty

Follow SeaLegacy: @sealegacy

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We've been thinking a lot about responsible travel here at Women Who Travel. You may have noticed: It's been a theme in a number of our recentepisodes. And today, we're continuing that trend, sitting down Condé Nast Traveler advisory board member Harsha L’Acqua, whose nonprofit, Saira Hospitality, is built around helping new hotels make mindful, local-focused hiring choices. We first heard about her work when Liz Lambert mentioned Saira's pop-up and permanent hospitality training centers on a Women Who Travel episode back in 2019—and in this episode, we catch up with how Saira's been faring amid the pandemic, how its mission feels more important than ever, and how hotels can help travelers make better, more impactful choices while on vacation. 

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-i-became-a-champion-for-responsible-travel-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Saira Hospitality: @sairahospitality

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This episode originally ran in July 2020.

You probably first heard Sara Nelson's name in early 2019 when she called for a general strike, leading to an abrupt end to the extended government shutdown. Now, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, has been fighting something completely different: a pandemic, as well as imminent layoffs for airline workers. We caught up with Sara, named "the world's most powerful flight attendant" by the New York Times, last summer to chat about how she got her start as a United flight attendant, why she joined the union, and what challenges the AFA-CWA faces today.

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/sara-nelson-wont-stop-fighting-for-flight-attendants-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

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This special episode of the Women Who Travel podcast is presented by Bradenton, Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key.

Getting back in the swing of traveling comes with its own learning after over a year of staying close to home. But if you've had a baby in the last two years or are a parent to young child, your vacation prep is on a whole different level. To help navigate the do's and don'ts of summer family travel this year—from the questions to ask your Airbnb host ahead of booking to what destinations make for great family-friendly vacations—we've tapped two supertravelers and new moms, Traveler's Erin Florio and journalist Oneika Raymond, for this week's special Women Who Travel episode, presented by Bradenton, Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key.

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/what-its-like-traveling-with-young-kids-right-now-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Erin: @erin_florio

Follow Oneika: @oneikatraveller

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

We're starting to travel again. And while family reunions, getaways with friends, and more celebratory trips are already on the docket, we're also looking forward to our first solo trips—ones that we can make all about us. That said, we're admittedly a little rusty when it comes to heading out on our own and finding joy and power in solo travel, so this week we're joined by New York Times travel reporter Tariro Mzezewa, and Hannah Pasternak, associate director of special projects at SELF magazine, who have both recently taken solo trips, to get advice. We discuss the differences between alone time and solo travel, why joining a planned group trip might be the best way to ease yourself back in, and how to start planning a solo trip of your own. Think of this episode as a solo travel refresher, of sorts. 

Read a transcription of the episode: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/remembering-how-to-solo-travel-again-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Tariro: @tariro__

Follow Hannah: @pastersnacks

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.cntraveler.com/newsletter/subscribe

This episode of the Women Who Travel podcast is presented by Travel Wyoming.

Last year, already popular national parks saw a surge of visitors looking to get outside. But as seasoned and new outdoor explorers took to the hiking trails, rivers, lakes, and forests of our national park system, not everyone planned their trip as responsibly and respectfully as the parks and the surrounding communities deserve. To help you plan a trip this summer that keeps you away from overcrowded park sites and drives you deeper into local rural communities, we've tapped two experts who know their way around national parks in this week's special Women Who Travel episode, presented by Travel Wyoming. Joined by Traveler contributor Emily Pennington, who has visited 61 of the U.S.' 63 national parks, and Diane Shober, executive director of Wyoming Office of Tourism, we chat through how to plan wisely (and far enough in advance) to enjoy the best of the National Park Service—and how to look beyond those 63 parks that can sometimes get too much love. 

Find a full transcript of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/planning-a-responsible-outdoors-trip-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Emily: @brazenbackpacker

Follow Travel Wyoming: @visitwyoming

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Gabe and her husband have befriended an American couple in Treviso, Italy, where they all live. In order to give them a taste of home, Gabe would love to cook her new friends an American meal. But what typifies American food? And how can she source the right ingredients in the Veneto? Host of Dinner SOS Chris Morocco enlists the help of Bon Appetit's resident Aussie, Adam Moussa, and sommelier André Mack of BA's World of Wine series, to figure out what Gabe should make.

Listen to and follow Dinner SOS here: https://listen.bonappetit.com/badinnersos

This summer, we're leaning into seeing the world through rose-colored sunglasses; filling our days with roller skating, beach trips, reunions with friends and family, and more. Basically, we just want to have fun. So this week on the podcast, we're chatting all things summer fun—from the summer hobbies we picked up in the pandemic that we plan to continue, to the maximalist attitude we're bringing to the season. (We're expecting disco balls everywhere.) To guide us through a FOMO-free 2021 summer, we've tapped Jersey Banks, co-founder of Urban Cowboy hotels and the Dive Motel, and Marawa Ibrahim, a world-record-holding roller skater and hula hooper. Listen in for their tips and experiences—and how they're planning to have a particularly joyful summer. 

Read "101 Ways to Have Fun This Summer": https://www.cntraveler.com/story/101-ways-to-have-fun-this-summer

Find a full transcript of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/remember-fun-were-having-it-this-summer-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Marawa: @Marawa

Follow Jersey: @JerzBanks

Follow Meredith: @OhHeyThereMere

Follow Lale: @LaleHannah

This episode was originally published in August 2020. 

When it comes to getting outdoors, gear can be a major barrier. Whether it's finding gear that comes in your size (let alone actually fits your body), knowing what gear is a must-have and what you can safely skip, or having the funds for what you need, there's a lot more at play than just walking into your local outdoor retailer. This week, we wanted to dig into women's gear—across hiking, climbing, dog mushing, and more—to find out how far we've come in opening up the outdoors to bodies of all shapes and experience levels and how far we have to go. With the most guests we've had on one podcast since we started recording at home, this episode stars Unlikely Hikers founder Jenny Bruso, Flash Foxy founder and climber Shelma Jun, and Iditarod competitor Blair Braverman, who share how they fell in love with the outdoors in the first place, how they overcome gear barriers today, and what they want from the outdoor industry.

Read a transcription of the episode: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/womens-gear-still-isnt-where-we-want-it-to-be

Watch Blair's cold-weather gear reveal: https://twitter.com/blairbraverman/status/1082079705627426816?lang=en

Read Women Who Travel's Guide to the Outdoors: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/a-guide-to-the-outdoors-for-women-and-by-women

Follow Shelma: @shelmatic & @heyflashfoxy

Follow Jenny: @jennybruso & @unlikelyhikers

Follow Blair: @blairbraverman

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Throughout the last year and a half, we've watched as beloved bars, restaurants, and gathering places have closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, as writer Samantha Allen says on this week's episode, that wave of closures has been ongoing for years within the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, there are just over 15 lesbian bars remaining in the U.S., according to the Lesbian Bar Project, an effort to record and protect lesbian bars that's being spearheaded by filmmakers Elina Street and Erica Rose. (Editor's note: Since recording, the project has updated the number of U.S. lesbian bars to 21.)

To talk about how lesbian bars and queer spaces have fared during the pandemic and what is needed in the future to keep them around, we're joined by Allen and Lisa Menichino, owner of Cubbyhole, one of New York City's three remaining lesbian bars. One major takeaway? “You have to come,” says Menichino of post-pandemic visits to bars like Cubbyhole. “You have to support us. You have to be there. Because we're not magically going to be around without you.”

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-americas-lesbian-bars-need-our-support-more-than-ever-women-who-travel-project

Find them.'s Queer Spaces Project: https://www.them.us/story/queer-spaces-lost-covid-19

Find the Lesbian Bar Project's work: https://www.lesbianbarproject.com/

Follow Samantha: @SLAwrites

Follow Lisa at Cubbyhole: @cubbyholebar

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Try to define 24-year-old Australian-Zimbabwean musician Tkay Maidza's songs by a single genre and you may come up at a loss for words. But then again, so does she, telling us that her music is simply “alternative of anything.” 

“It's alternative pop, alternative, rap, alternative R&B,” she says from her new home in L.A. “It's left of center of anything because I'm always looking for something that's new and different and trying to make it my own.” 

This week, we sat down with the prolific singer to chat about how moving around as a kid prepared her for touring, how her family's musical interests have influenced her sound, and how she's stayed creative over the last year and a half. It's all part of our guide to new music around the world—and you can find Tkay and other incredible female artists on our Spotify playlist. 

Read a full transcription and find links to the artists Tkay mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/tkay-maidza-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Tkay: @tkaymaidza

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.cntraveler.com/newsletter/subscribe

Charlotte Simpson had been traveling for decades before she took her first solo trip. She had visited all 50 states with her late husband throughout their 31-year marriage, traveled internationally with her daughter, and had adventures with girlfriends. But when no one wanted to go on a trip to Italy with her a few years after her husband died, she set out on her own—kicking off a new love for solo travel and the freedom that comes with it. “It was so liberating,” she says. This week, Charlotte, known online as @TravelingBlackWidow, joins us our I Deserve This series, talking about how she prioritizes traveling for herself, what she's learned about being more adventurous later in life, and how social media has influenced her travels.

Read a full transcription here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/falling-in-love-with-solo-travel-after-retirement-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Charlotte: @travelingblackwidow

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.cntraveler.com/newsletter/subscribe

If, after over a year at home, you're thinking that the best salve for your sanity this summer is to pack up, get out of your house or apartment, and hit the road in a van to explore America's great outdoors, this episode is for you. With advice on what to pack, how to route your trip, and how to avoid the mistakes they made, our guests—van lifers Erin McGrady, an Asheville-based writer and photographer, and Noami Grevemberg, founder of Diversify Vanlife and one half of the @IrietoAurora Instagram account—can help you get started. But while this episode is in part a van life for dummies guide, it also gets at the no-filter realities of living in your van, the privilege that comes with choosing a voluntary nomadic lifestyle, and the responsibility travelers have to respect and understand the public lands they visit. It truly hits all the bases. 

Listen to "Why We Should Consider Whose Land We're On When We're Outdoors" with Jaylyn Gough: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-we-should-consider-whose-land-were-on-when-were-outdoors-women-who-travel-podcast

Find a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/what-it-actually-takes-to-become-a-van-lifer-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Erin: @e.mcgrady

Follow Noami: @IrietoAurora

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Subscribe to the Women Who Travel: https://www.cntraveler.com/newsletter/subscribe

In January, our frequently asked questions episode saw us edging back into the world of travel—and with this week's episode, we're actually starting to plan those trips we've been dreaming about for this summer and into 2022. Joined by associate editor Megan Spurrell and transportation editor, Jessica Puckett, we're answering your questions about the outdoorsy domestic destinations to visit right now, the countries open to vaccinated travelers this summer, and where to reunite with your extended family after what has been more than a year apart for many. Plus, we chat about navigating the visa process for traveling long-term as a digital nomad. 

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/your-summer-travel-questions-answered-women-who-travel-podcast

Links mentioned:

"These National Parks Will Require Reservations This Summer," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/these-national-parks-will-require-reservations-this-summer

"The Best State Park in Every Single State," https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/the-best-state-parks-in-the-us

"These Countries Are Open to Fully Vaccinated Travelers," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/these-countries-are-open-to-fully-vaccinated-travelers

"7 Countries Where You Can Get a Passport Through Ancestry," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/countries-where-you-can-get-a-passport-through-ancestry

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Jessica: @jesspuck

Follow Megan: @spurrelly

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

As temperatures begin to warm up and we start picturing the lazy park hangs and beach days in store for us this summer, our minds have already started whirring at the reading possibilities. Over the past year, we've turned to reading as both an escape from our current world and a way to explore without leaving home. While we'll be a bit more mobile this summer, our love for books hasn't changed, so we've once again tapped Jynne Dilling Martin associate publisher at Riverhead Books, and Lisa Lucas, senior vice president and publisher of Pantheon and Schocken Books, to help craft the ultimate summer reading list of books written by women. Whether you're itching for a Greek myth retelling, a workplace thriller, a deep dive into the natural world, or a novel about a cannibalistic food writer, we've got you covered. 

Here's a full list of what we talked about:

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard
• The Hard Crowd by Rachel Kushner
• A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• Salvation City, by Sigrid Nunez
• Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter by Ali Smith
• Sisters by Daisy Johnson
• Circe and dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week on the podcast, we're joined by Michelle Zauner, most known as indie pop musician Japanese Breakfast, and whose memoir, Crying in H Mart, was released April 20. Michelle, who is Korean on her mother's side, centers her the book around her relationship with her mother—describing the foods that brought them together, their rituals on mother-daughter trips to Korea every other summer, and how she experienced the grief that came with her mother's cancer diagnosis. Listen in to hear her recount those summertime trips from her home in Oregon to visit her aunts and grandmother in Seoul and how she developed love for Korean cooking. Plus, she tells us about her love for Maangchi cooking videos on Youtube, the first dishes she'll eat when she gets back to Korea post-pandemic, and what she misses most about touring with Japanese Breakfast. (The short answer? All of it.)

Read a transcription of the episode here: www.cntraveler.com/story/michelle-zauner-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Michelle: @jbrekkie

Order Crying in H Mart: www.bookshop.org/books/crying-in-h-mart-a-memoir/9780525657743

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Subscribe to our newsletter: www.cntraveler.com/newsletter/subscribe

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

As travel begins to open up for vaccinated Americans and we start making the trips we’ve been dreaming about a reality, Lale and I wanted to reshare an episode we recorded last July. Joined by the recently engaged Kiyanna Stewart and Jannah Handy of BLK MKT Vintage, we chatted all things souvenirs and home decor. In this episode, learn how they shop for and curate their store, which maps the Black diaspora through vintage wares and collectibles. (Plus, how they style their own souvenirs and vintage finds at home.) Their biggest tips? Have patience: Whether you're shopping in your own town or have to travel halfway around the world, be prepared to leave a shop or flea market empty handed should nothing speak to you. And think about function and purpose before spending on something that won't fit in your home, let alone your suitcase.

Follow BLK MKT Vintage: @blkmktvintage

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Find a transcription of the episode and links here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-to-shop-for-meaningful-souvenirs-women-who-travel-podcast

It’s summer, which means we're grabbing every chance there is to hit the beach or dive into a hotel swimming pool. But some travelers are a little more intrepid, plunging into wild, frigid waters for all manner of reasons. To find out why, Lale chats with writer and wild swimmer Freya Bromley about her recent memoir The Tidal Year and catches up with friend of the podcast and author Dorthe Nors, who lives on a remote part of Denmark’s west coast.

In the past year, we've all dealt with various levels of grief, both personal and collective, centered around the pandemic. For many, it has also resurfaced familiar emotions and struggles experienced over previous losses of friends and family. To process that grief, Traveler contributors Jordi Lippe-McGraw, who lost her father in a plane crash in 2010, and Nneka M. Okona, who lost her best friend four years ago, have usually turned to travel, a coping mechanism that COVID-19 has challenged. This week, we're talking about how they've used travel to work through the complicated emotions of grief, why they want us to talk about those feelings more publicly, and what advice they'd give to those feeling adrift with grief right now. Know that the episode isn't all sad, however. As Nneka says, “[you've] got to spice up grief and make it less gloomy sometimes.”

Find a full transcription of the episode here: www.cntraveler.com/story/how-travel-has-helped-us-process-our-grief-women-who-travel-podcast

Pre-order Nneka's book: https://fave.co/3sXwEom

Follow Nneka: @afrosypaella

Read Jordi's piece: www.cntraveler.com/story/i-was-scared-to-fly-after-my-dads-plane-crash-but-travel-helped-me-overcome-my-grief

Follow Jordi: @jordilippe

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

Subscribe to our newsletter: www.cntraveler.com/newsletter/subscribe

All products featured here are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Padma Lakshmi has had a busy 12 months. She spent the early stages of lockdown alphabetizing her spices—and then reorganizing them by region—and cooking an incredible amount of food at home. Then her new show, Taste the Nation, which dives into the immigrant roots of America's favorite cuisines, premiered in June, and she spent the fall filming a new season of Top Chef in Portland, under a number of new COVID-19 restrictions. 

This week, she's talking about all of that and more with us, from the transportive meals she's cooked while grounded to the places she's itching to visit when this is all over. Most importantly, we chat about the strength and influence of immigrants in the U.S., how food media has changed in the last year, and what may be in store for Taste the Nation's second season. 

Read a transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/padma-lakshmi-women-who-travel-podcast

Read Lale's conversation with Padma from March 2020: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/padma-lakshmi-on-the-immigrant-cuisines-that-make-america

Pick up a copy of Padma's reprinted Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet at bookshop.org or your local bookstore

Follow Padma: @padmalakshmi

Follow Lale: @lalehannah

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

Follow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel

All products featured in here are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This week, Evita Robinson, founder of the Nomadness Travel Tribe and Audacity Fest, and Jessica Nabongo, the first black woman to visit every country in the world, are back on the podcast, joined by Martinique Lewis, author of the ABC Travel Green Book and a Condé Nast Traveler advisory board member. Throughout the episode, they chat about how some parts of the industry have turned a moment into a long-term commitment to the Black community—and how others haven't moved beyond a black Instagram square. Along the way, they shout out organizations like the Black Travel Alliance, of which Martinique is the president, that have formed to support Black travelers and Black content creators, and talk through all of the voices that are still being left out of the conversation. (To that point, Nomadness Travel Tribe recently release data from its BIPOC Diversity in Travel survey, which features insights on existing and emerging travel trends among Nomadness's diverse community. You can check out the report here.)

Listen to Jessica, Evita, and Whembley Sewell's conversation from June 2020 here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-the-travel-industry-should-support-black-women-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Evita: @evierobbie

Follow Jessica: @thecatchmeifyoucan

Follow Martinique: @martysandiego

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We stand firmly in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and mourn the lives lost in the horrific mass shooting by a white gunman in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 16, which killed 8 people, six of whom were Asian women. We encourage everyone in our community to spend time reading about the ongoing impact of racism on the AAPI community, and if you can, donate to any number of these organizations working to end this violence and provide support for their communities.

AAPI Women Lead: imreadymovement.org

National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum: napawf.org

Heart of Dinner: heartofdinner.org

Asian Immigrant Women's Advocates: aiwa.org

Red Canary Song: redcanarysong.net