This year in luxury travel, customization is king. Afar’s resident hotel expert, Jennifer Flowers, and editor in chief, Julia Cosgrove, go behind the scenes of ILTM, the International Luxury Travel Market, in Cannes, France. They sat down with leaders from three of the world’s biggest hotel brands—Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt—to hear how trends, technology, and travelers' changing desires will shape luxury hotels in 2025. 

Featured Guests:

**New opportunity: Want to be featured in an episode of Unpacked or have an idea you want us to unpack next? Send us a voicemail here. **

What Travelers Want Most in 2025 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

Plan Better Travel With These Luxury Hotel Brands

Don’t miss these moments: 

[07:28] Sniffing out inauthenticity and how hotels become good neighbors. 

[25:26] AI, customization, and getting the most out of loyalty programs. 

[36:45] How all-inclusive resorts are gaining a new reputation. 

Resources

Read the article: 4 Hotel Travel Trends to Watch in 2025.

Explore the luxury travel brands at Hilton, Hyatt and InterContinental (IHG).

Check out our Hotels We Love series and Stay Here Next reviews.

Read the transcript of this episode.

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast episode is part of Afar, A Retrospective. As part of Afar’s 15-year anniversary celebration, this episode from our sister podcast, Travel Tales by Afar, was selected as one of our favorites. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do—and stay tuned for more archival Travel Tales episodes from September - December 2024. Explore more of our favorite stories over the years at afar.com/fifteen.

“If I travel to you, will you give me lessons?” When former child prodigy, Lavinia Spalding, emailed the biggest female flamenco guitarists in Spain, she was shocked when they all agreed to teach her.

In this episode, she follows an abandoned dream to Madrid, Granada, and Barcelona, Spain to immerse herself in the new world of female flamenco guitar. 

Follow Along with Revolutionary “Tacaoras”

In this episode, discover: 

Breaking Into the Boy’s Club.

Don’t miss these transformative travel moments: 

[02:07] Following and foregoing my father’s flamenco dreams. 

[05:40] The mysterious origins of flamenco.

[06:36] A kindred spirit and a familiar melody with Antonia Jiménez.

Strumming in the Spirit of “Duende”

Lavinia Spalding is the editor of The Best Women’s Travel Writing and co-hosts the podcast There She Goes: travel stories told by the women who wrote them. But at one time, she believed she was destined to become a “tocaora,” a female flamenco guitarist. 

In this episode, she follows in her deceased father’s footsteps by traveling to Spain to learn flamenco guitar. Antonia Jiménez, Pilar Alons,o and Marta Robles, some of the most prominent female flamenco guitarists in Spain, are her guides into “duende,” the heartbeat of flamenco that transforms suffering into passion. 

Resources: 

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who needs a travel planner when you could consult the cosmos? According to astrologer Adama Sesay, your astrological chart can be the key to an ideal travel year. 

On this episode of Unpacked, she breaks down the astrological events to look out for in 2025, shares travel suggestions based on each sign and helps you navigate traveling during a dreaded Mercury retrograde.

Wait, When is Mercury in Retrograde in 2025?

In this episode you’ll learn: 

How to Travel Based on Your Astrological Sign 

Don’t miss these memorable moments: 

[01:16] How an astrologer makes plans based on the cosmos. 

[04:48] Mercury retrograde and other astrology-based travel predictions for 2025. 

[11:40] Breaking down travel styles, sign-by-sign. 

Your 2025 Astrological Travel Forecast 

Adama Sesay shares how astrology can affect travel on an international level and a personal level. From an overview of when and how each sign can make the most of travel in 2025 to how charting a location and keeping in mind astrological events can affect everyone’s travel plans.  

Adama Sesay is the author Black Moon Lilith Rising: How to Unlock the Power of the Dark Divine Feminine Through Astrology and the card deck and guidebook Black Moon Lilith Cosmic Alchemy Oracle. 

Resources: 

Read the transcript of this episode.

Follow Adama Sesay on Instagram.  

Learn more about her work or book a reading on her website Lilith Astrology.  

Read, Where To Travel in 2025 According to Your Astrological Sign. 

Compare your travel experiences to her predictions from last year. 

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our annual Travel Vanguard awards, Afar honors nine companies that are working to improve the world and how travelers experience it. We launched the Afar Travel Vanguard in 2016 to celebrate organizations that are making travel a force for good. This year, we received more than 100 nominations from travel professionals and organizations around the world. Narrowing down the list was no easy task since, fortunately, there are more organizations than ever pioneering efforts in sustainability, diversity, or accessibility.

Our nine honorees include a cruise line providing vital medical care to residents of remote islands, a destination focused on making vacations easier for neurodivergent people, and a resort company supporting and elevating its local communities. May their stories inspire you to travel more respectfully and consciously.

In this episode, we talk with Ellen Carpenter, a NYC-based writer and editor who interviewed all nine winners.

Visit Myrtle Beach: For making vacations smoother for autistic families

Tourism Cares: For connecting travelers with more meaningful experiences across the world

Visit Lauderdale: For being a committed ally to LGBTQ+ travelers

Quark Expeditions: For showcasing the culture and food traditions of Greenland and Canada

Sandals Foundation: For lifting up its Caribbean communities

Destination Canada: For developing and supporting under-visited regions across the country

Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy: For investing in the futures of people in the areas where its guests travel

Paul Gauguin Cruises: For providing much-needed medical assistance in French Polynesia

Switzerland Tourism: For uniting the Swiss tourism industry in a shared commitment to sustainability

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winter is the best time to visit the Yukon territory. Follow one writer as she travels by dog sled and snowmobile, dons snowshoes for a hike through Tombstone Territorial Park and witnesses the beauty of the northern lights and communal reclamation alongside locals. In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, we follow the infamous “call of the wild” into the Canadian Yukon. 

How To Plan a Winter Trip to the Yukon Territory

In this episode you’ll learn: 

See the Northern Lights with Local Guides

Don’t miss these memorable moments: 

[04:35] Mushing: Crossing Tagish Lake on a dog sled.  

[09:46] Seeing the aurora borealis from a local’s backyard in West Dawson. 

[18:25] “I’m reclaiming my land because of the gold rush…” 

“Sourdoughs” and “Cheechakos”: Winter Life in the Yukon

Writer, Debbie Olson, is a Métis Canadian local who has explored and visited every Canadian province and territory, including the Yukon. But the Yukon in winter? That’s a legendary experience that deserves its own category. 

Follow along as she is guided into the wonders of the Yukon in the winter through the wonder of winter by locals who call the Yukon home, including a professional dog sled driver (musher) and a member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation who is reclaiming her land. 

Resources: 

Read Debbie’s print story that inspired this episode. 

Read the transcript of this episode. 

Explore the tour operators that Debbie traveled with: the Klondike Experience, Tagish Lake Kennel Tours and Entreé Destinations. 

Listen to this Travel Tales episode about polar bears in Canada and this episode about a tour guide’s efforts to preserve a part of the Canadian coastline. 

Check out Debbie’s other work at Wander Woman Travel Magazine. 

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wondering when, where and how much to tip when you travel? Since the pandemic, tipping requests show up in places they never have before, such as farmers' markets and fast-food counters. In this episode, two experts help you navigate the changing landscape of tipping so you can tip with respect to the people who serve you and to your wallet, wherever you go. 

Tips to Improve Prompt Service

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Bellmen, Valet and Baristas: Who Do I Tip?

Don’t miss these moments: 

[05:48] A Victorian tipping origin story. 

[15:24] How has tipping culture changed in the U.S.? 

[21:38] A tipping hack for hospitality staff. 

The New Rules of Tipping.

Elaine Swann, an etiquette guru and founder of the Swan School of Protocol joins Dr. Jaime Peters, a personal finance expert, finance dean and professor at Maryville University, to help you navigate the new world of tipping. 

From unpacking tipping misconceptions to national tipping trends, they untangle the etiquette dilemmas of a rise in tipping culture to help you make tipping decisions with confidence and a good conscience. 

Resources: 

Read the full transcript of this episode.

Explore Afar guides for tipping for Mexico, France, and an all-inclusive resort. 

Check out the Economic Policy Institute’s minimum wage tracker. 

Listen to this episode of Unpacked: How to Budget for Travel, No Matter Your Income.

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast episode is part of Afar, A Retrospective. As part of Afar’s 15-year anniversary celebration, this episode from our sister podcast, Travel Tales by Afar, was selected as one of our favorites. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do—and stay tuned for more archival Travel Tales episodes from September - December 2024. Explore more of our favorite stories over the years at afar.com/fifteen.

Two months after her house burned down, Afar sent the award-winning author of Miss Burma, Charmaine Craig, to Lisbon, Portugal, with 24 hours’ notice. Without a plan, Charmaine aimlessly follows tourists through cobbled streets before stumbling upon the grave of one of the country’s most beloved authors: Fernando Pessoa. Following in his footprints, her trip transforms into a poetic journey through loss, impermanence, and hope. 

Portugal’s Elusive Poet: Fernando Pessoa

In this episode discover: 

Twin Flames, Twin Houses

Don’t miss these transformative moments: 

[01:39] Lost history and landing in Lisbon. 

[05:02] Meeting Francis Pessoa: a master poet of impermanence. 

[08:00] Echoes of destruction, from L.A. to Lisbon. 

A Literary Adventure in Lisbon

The only book Charmaine Craig brought to Lisbon was The Book of Disquiet by Francis Pessoa. Though she knew the author lived in Lisbon,Charmaine didn’t expect to stumble upon his tomb in her first 24 hours. In this episode, an unplanned trip to Portugal becomes a deeply personal, poetic tour through grief, impermanence, and hope. 

Resources: 

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens to suitcases that can’t be reunited with their owners? It’s not something we think about that often, but for Bryan Owens, it’s an entire business. He’s the CEO and now-owner of the Scottsboro, Alabama–based Unclaimed Baggage, the only store in the United States that sells lost luggage. As you’ll hear in today’s episode, his dad launched the business more than 50 years ago with an old Chevy pickup and $300. And now the business stocks more than 7,000 new items a day. 

The company recently released its first annual Found Report, a deep dive into the more than 2 million items that came through its doors in 2023, including including the aforementioned live snakes and fancy handbags. Host Aislyn Greene talks with Bryan about where these bags come from, how the company makes decisions about what to sell and, more interestingly, what it does with everything else: Donations and partnerships with organizations like Wheels for the World are critical to its mission. 

Meet this week’s guest

• Bryan Owens, CEO and owner of Unclaimed Baggage

Resources

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark our words: 2025 will be the year of crowd-free travel. That’s why our editors and contributors spent months seeking out 25 incredible, undertouristed destinations to explore next year. Our annual Where to Go list spotlights under-the-radar escapes, alternatives to popular hotspots, and interesting places around the world you may have been overlooking for too long. And in this episode of Unpacked by Afar, four editors share how they chose those places, where they're most excited to visit, and how to make a positive impact when you travel. This episode will help you plan an epic travel year—and feel good while doing it. 

Overtourism No More

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Where Should I Go Next?

Don’t miss these moments: 

[01:57] What makes this “Where to Go” list different from the rest. 

[07:48] The destinations these travel experts can’t wait to visit. 

[15:08] How to get off the tourist trails and make a positive impact on a place. 

[19:17] What you need to know about travel in 2025.  

Our Editors Guide You to the Places That Want Tourists

Each Afar editor brings unique expertise to this roundtable discussion. Sarika Bansal has lived on five continents and is the editorial director of Afar magazine, as well as the editor of the book, Tread Brightly: Notes on Ethical Travel. Billie Cohen, Afar’s executive editor, spent more than three years as a digital nomad and has a soft spot for nerd travel. Tim Chester focuses on destination inspiration and sustainable travel as deputy editor. And when it comes to info and breaking news about the air, cruise, and consumer travel spaces, deputy editor Michelle Baran is our go-to travel expert.

In this episode, they take us behind the scenes of this year’s Where To Go list, share what excites them as travelers, and reveal how their work inspires readers to go out into the world and use travel as a force for good. 

Resources

Read the transcript of this episode. 

Explore the Where To Go in 2025 list. 

Still want to go to a popular tourist destination? Here’s how to get off the tourist trail. 

How to get your Real ID, and keep up with updates on traveling to Europe and the UK. 

Follow Afar on Instagram, to see these destinations come to life in a new way. 

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast episode is part of Afar, A Retrospective. As part of Afar’s 15-year anniversary celebration, this episode from our sister podcast, Travel Tales by Afar, was selected as one of our favorites. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do—and stay tuned for more archival Travel Tales episodes from September - December 2024. Explore more of our favorite stories over the years at afar.com/fifteen.

A pet orangutan, a 106-year-old grandma, and a wedding where 10,000 guests were fed. When writer and host of NPR’s The Splendid Table, Francis Lam, heard stories from his friend Azalalina Eusope about her life in Penang, Malaysia, he couldn’t help but marvel at them.  

But when the San Francisco-based chef (who has served Barack Obama and the Malaysian prime minister) invites Francis to come home with her after a decade away, he discovers the complex family dynamics that underpin her stories—and the ways that food can bind even the most complicated families. 

Five Generations of Street Vendors 

In this episode, explore:

Remaking the Past with Laksa

Don’t miss these transformative moments: 

[04:09] Star anise and curry: Rediscovering Malaysia’s comforts. 

[08:42] The sights, smells and salts of Penang’s street food scene.  

[10:04] “I felt so gross for having my notebook with me.” A bittersweet homecoming. 

Time Travel Through Tripe Salad

As a teen, Azalina Eusope vowed she wouldn’t follow in the footsteps of the four generations of Mamak street vendors that came before her.

In this episode, the San-Francisco based, Malaysian chef returns home with writer and host of NPR’s The Splendid Table, Francis Lam. Together, they discover how cooking Malaysian dishes does more than preserve her culture—it grants her the power to reclaim it. 

Resources: 

Read Francis’ original story on afar.com

Follow Francis Lam on Instagram 

Dine at Azalina’s in San Francisco

Check out NPR’s The Splendid Table

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices