The Self-Guided Travel Podcast

Produced by Macs Adventure, the Scottish company that basically invented the modern self-guided walking holiday, this show is narrower than most travel podcasts and better for it. The whole premise is point-to-point trips where you walk or cycle with a route file and a pre-booked bed at the end of each day, and no guide shouting at the front of a group. Episodes typically pair a host with a Macs route expert or a recent traveler who just finished something like the West Highland Way, the Camino Portugués, or the Dolomites Alta Via 1. They get into the actual details, daily mileage, how much elevation hurts on day three, whether the luggage transfer works, what the food is like in small Italian mountain huts. It's practical in a way a lot of travel shows aren't, because the hosts assume you're considering booking a trip rather than vaguely fantasizing about one. There's obviously a marketing layer, since Macs sells these trips, but the guests are honest about blisters and bad weather, and the information holds up. Episodes run 30-45 minutes, fortnightly. Worth your time if you're thinking about a multi-day walk anywhere in Europe.