Unpacked by Afar | Travel Smarter, More Responsibly

This month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's just-released Where to Go list—but this year's picks are different. In 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. Our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure.

For the Bahamas, that means looking beyond Nassau's cruise port crowds to discover what this nation of 700 islands and cays really offers.

In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with Terry Ward, a Florida-based writer who has spent years exploring the Bahamas. She traveled to Eleuthera—one of the Out Islands—where she found pink-sand beaches with barely a footprint, locally-owned guesthouses where Bahamian culture takes center stage, and wild dolphins in crystal-clear waters.

Plan your Eleuthera Getaway

—Stay at the Farm, part of the Little Island Hotels chain

—Stay at the Coral Sands Inn & Cottages, which has eight cottages

—Eat at the Fig Tree at the Potlatch social club

—Eat the national dish, conch salad, at many Harbour Island restaurants

—Explore the Sapphire Blue Hole

—Scuba dive at Valentine's Resort/Beach on Harbour Island

—Visit Seahorse National Park (when it reopens to the public)

—Stay Lighthouse Point while sailing with Disney Cruise Line

Listen to All Our Where to Go in 2026 Episodes

E1: T⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠

E2: ⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret

E3: The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago

Resources

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

In 2026, it's time to travel differently. This year's Where to Go list from Afar isn't about the usual suspects—it's about lessening the burden on over-touristed destinations while discovering places that are equally extraordinary.

Today, we released our list of 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that deliver all the magic with none of the crowds. From Bucharest's Belle Époque architecture and lively bar scene to Sado Island's pristine beaches and relaxing onsens, these destinations prove you don't have to sacrifice incredible experiences to travel more responsibly.

And on December 5—and over the next two months—we'll explore 15 of these places here on Unpacked, through conversations with the writers who discovered them firsthand.

Resources

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

In this special four-part series, join Unpacked host Aislyn Greene as she travels to Charleston, South Carolina, to unpack the city's deeper currents.

This week: Step onto King Street, Charleston's iconic retail corridor, where three centuries of commerce come alive. From century-old family businesses to contemporary local makers, discover how Charleston's shopping scene preserves history while embracing innovation—one handcrafted treasure at a time.

(And be sure to listen to episode one, where we set sail on Charleston's many waterways, and episode two, where we dive into the city's iconic food scene.)

In this episode, you'll learn

Featured Guests

Don't miss these moments*

*Time stamps are estimated and may change due to programmatic advertising.

Resources

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

In this special four-part series, join Unpacked host Aislyn Greene as she travels to Charleston, South Carolina, to unpack the city's deeper currents.

This week: Dive fork-first into Charleston's legendary food scene, where history and flavor collide. From the resurrection of she-crab soup to the recreation of a groundbreaking 1865 dinner that celebrated equality, discover how Charleston's culinary landscape tells the story of African, Native American, and European influences—one delicious dish at a time.

In this episode, you'll learn

Featured Guests

Don't miss these moments*

*Time stamps are estimated and may change due to programmatic advertising.

Dine around Charleston

Resources

Next Week

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week we hosted Unpacked Live, a—you guessed it—live version of the podcast in partnership with Visit California in Boston, Massachusetts. (You can ⁠watch the full conversation on YouTube⁠.)

The event celebrated California's diverse Native communities, and host Aislyn Greene was joined on stage by John Acuna, a Hoopa Valley tribal member and Klamath River kayak guide (listen to his episode), and Christina Lonewolf Martinez, a private chef based in Monterey uniting the worlds of fine-dining and Indigenous ingredients like salmon, seaweed, and acorns (listen to her episode).

Because the talk was in Boston, we wanted to acknowledge that Massachusetts is the original land of the Wampanoag, who have called this region home for more than 10,000 years. Angela C. Marcellino, a member of the present-day Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, joined us on stage to share a brief history, and today we're going deeper.

Angela is a chef, historian, and author of The True Natives of Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Their Food Ways. In this in-depth episode, Angela shares the real story of the original Pilgrim-Wampanoag encounter, how her tribe has retained and expanded its culture, and the best ways that travelers can engage respectfully.

In this episode, you'll learn

Meet this week's guest

Resources

Don't miss these moments

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

 This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. Because this week we hosted Unpacked Live, a—you guessed it—live version of the podcast in partnership with Visit California in Boston, Massachusetts. (You can watch the full conversation on YouTube.)

In 2022, Visit California launched Visit Native California, and the goal with the Boston live event was to celebrate California's diverse tribal communities. Unpacked host Aislyn Greene was joined onstage by John Acuna, a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe in Humboldt County, California, and a river guide with Rios to Rivers and Paddle Tribal Waters.

In July, 2025, shortly after the Klamath River was undammed—the largest dam removal project in U.S. history—John helped guide a historic 30-day expedition down the Klamath River, known as the First Descent.

On stage, John shared the Klamath River's history and what it was like to spend 30 days kayaking a river that has been so essential to the West Coast Native communities and was for so long diverted and quite literally drained of life.

In this episode, we go deeper. John shares his early life, how he found his way back to the water, and the lessons he's learned after spending so many years on the river. He also explains how cultural stewardship, land‑back efforts, and Indigenous fire and river knowledge are reshaping landscapes and communities across Northern California.

In this episode, you’ll learn

How John’s childhood and early work as a firefighter led him to river guiding and youth programs.

Why the Klamath and Trinity rivers matter to Indigenous food security, culture, and health.

What the Klamath dam removals changed — and how quickly salmon and waterways began to recover.

How Paddle Tribal Waters and Rios to Rivers use recreation, mentorship, and cultural practice to rebuild connections for Indigenous youth.

Practical ways travelers and listeners can support tribal‑led stewardship and community‑based guiding.

Don’t miss these moments

[02:00] — John introduces his community kayak fleet (15 boats)

[18:00] — John’s first rafting expedition and the job offer that changed his life

[55:30] — Sendoff ceremony at the Wood River headwaters (prayer roots, blessings)

[59:30] — Open-lake challenge: wind, waves, and seasickness on early days

[01:03:00] — Ikes Falls: a sacred portage and a transformative whitewater run

[01:13:30] — Salmon spotted upstream; surprisingly fast ecological rebound

[01:20:30] — Cultural burning and prescribed fire: returning Indigenous stewardship to the landscape

[01:23:00] — “Tread water” tattoo story — resilience and metaphor

Meet this episode’s guest

John Acuna — Hoopa River guide, former firefighter, Paddle Tribal Waters leader, instructor with Rios to Rivers

Resources mentioned in the episode

Rios to Rivers

Paddle Tribal Waters (project of Rios to Rivers)

Warrior Institute

Redwoods & Rivers guide school

Hoopa Valley Tribe

Yurok Tribe

How to support

Donate to Rios to Rivers or similar Indigenous-led river programs.

Book community-based guides and ethical local tour services when visiting tribal territories, such as  the Beaver Creek Guide Service, which offers fishing charters along with education.

Explore our coverage (like this story) on afar.com. 

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. Because this week we hosted Unpacked Live, a—you guessed it—live version of the podcast in partnership with Visit California in Boston, Massachusetts. (You can ⁠watch the full conversation on YouTube⁠.)

In 2022, Visit California launched Visit Native California, and the goal with the Boston live event was to celebrate California's diverse Native communities. Unpacked host Aislyn Greene was joined onstage by Christina Lonewolf Martinez, a Monterey-based private chef and founder of Chieftess Monterey Bay, who is reintroducing Indigenous ingredients and practices to California’s central coast. 

On stage, Christina shared her early life and how working with local Central Coast tribes like the Esselen people, she is reviving and celebrating Indigenous ingredients like acorn flour and seaweed—and using her fine-dining training to bring them to life in brilliant new ways. 

In this episode, we go deeper. Christina shares more of her family’s background, the Central Coast’s Indigenous foodways and living traditions, and where she loves to eat on a rare day off. 

In this episode, you’ll learn

How Christina’s Mexican and Indigenous family roots shaped her earliest food memories and led her into professional kitchens

What “re‑Americanizing” American food looks like when Indigenous ingredients become the centerpiece

The labor and ritual behind processing acorns and how acorn flour tastes and performs in dishes

How Christina collaborates with local tribal members and community organizations to forage responsibly and honor place

Don’t miss these moments

[02:10] Watching a grandmother’s kitchen—where Christina’s food story begins

[09:40] From Denny’s to the Post Ranch Inn: the pivot into fine dining and foraging

[14:50] The first encounter with acorn blinis at Post Ranch and why acorns matter today

[23:30] Planning and performing the Chieftess table at Big Sur Food & Wine

[26:10] The Salmon People amuse: sea grapes, smoked salmon, and a river rock presentation

[33:00] Favorite local escapes: Point Lobos, Esalen hot springs, and Carmel Valley river picnics

Meet this week’s guest

Christina Lonewolf Martinez, private chef and founder of Chiefess Monterey Bay

Resources

Chieftess Monterey Bay — find pop‑ups, private dinner info, and event listings

Esselen Tribe — local tribal resources and cultural context

Big Sur Food & Wine — festival details and past programming

Explore Afar’s coverage of Big Sur and the Central Coast

Where Christina eats, drinks, and takes visitors

Alta Bakery

Ad Astra Bread Co

Carmel Valley Creamery

Stokes Adobe

Cella Monterey

Hacienda Hay & Feed

Esalen Institute 

How to engage 

Christina offers pop-ups via her Instagram account.

Check out Three Sisters garden and seed‑saving workshops (community colleges and local organizations) with Rowen White

Watch for college demos at Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz 

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

In this special four-part series, join Unpacked host Aislyn Greene as she travels to Charleston, South Carolina, to unpack the city’s deeper currents.

Up first: To really get to know Charleston, you must spend time on its water ways. Aislyn heads out for a pre-dawn paddle, hunts for Ice Age fossils alongside Charleston’s Indiana Jones, and explores one of the most pristine marine parks on the East Coast—making new friends along the way (the human kind and the animal kind). 

And be sure to come back next week, when we dive into Charleston’s legendary food scene.

In this episode, you’ll learn

—The history and geology of Shem Creek

—Why Morris Island is such a legendary place for fossils—and what it takes to find the good stuff. 

—The moody, remote magic of Bulls Island—home to Boneyard Beach—and what it’s like to cruise through the pristine Cape Romain, one of only three Class I Wilderness Area’s in the United Sates.  

—Charleston’s diverse marine life, from oyster-eating birds to dolphins with a unique way to create their very own seafood buffet. 

—The best marine wilderness tours to go deeper into Charleston’s aquatic history and landscape. 

Don’t miss these moments* 

*Time stamps are estimated and may change due to programmatic advertising. 

Recreate these experiences

Resources 

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

How do you determine what makes a great city? This week on Unpacked, Afar editor at large Laura Dannen Redman sits down with Chris Fair, president and CEO of Resonance Consultancy, to unpack the firm’s annual World's Best Cities ranking.

Chris explains how the list measures livability, lovability, and prosperity; the UK city that still tops the chart; the methodology changes that reshaped the top 100; and what the ranking means for overtourism, climate risk, and destination marketing.

In this episode you’ll learn

How Resonance measures a city’s livability, lovability, and prosperity

The two cities that remain neck and neck at the top of the list

Which cities climbed or slipped after switching data sources from TripAdvisor to Google Maps

The perception gap between measured performance and global awareness, with Sao Paulo as a case study

How climate risk and resilience are starting to factor into city rankings

Don’t miss these moments

[00:03:00] How the ranking began as a consulting tool and evolved into a public benchmark

[00:08:00] The top 10 cities, revealed

[00:10:00] Why switching from TripAdvisor to Google Maps changed the makeup of the top 100

[00:11:00] Sao Paulo’s rise in lovability and the perception gap in Ipsos survey results

[00:16:00] The emerging role of climate risk and resilience in city rankings

[00:20:00] The challenge of destination concentration and how only a handful of places capture most traveler interest

[00:23:00] Vancouver’s spot at 41 and what it reveals about livability versus prosperity

Meet this episode’s guests

Resources

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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

Welcome to Unpacked: Five Questions. In honor of our latest issue of ⁠Afar magazine⁠, which focuses on epic trips—the kind of adventures that change your world—we're hearing from the writers and photographers who chronicled and captured those trips.

In the final episode of the series, host and Afar executive editor Katherine LaGrave speaks with Ryan Knighton, a memoirist, screenwriter, surfer, and Afar contributing writer, about his first trip to Peru with Intrepid Travel.

Blind since his late teens, Ryan reflects on orchestral nights in the Amazon, the terrifying thrill of canopy rope bridges, and why tactile histories — from Incan pebble counting to khipu knot records — stayed with him long after he left Machu Picchu.

On this episode you'll learn

How a blind traveler experiences the Amazon’s soundscape and why a night in the Amazon became the trip’s standout moment

What the canopy walk felt like and why tactile, sensory experiences mattered more than famous vistas

The Incan tactile systems Ryan encountered and why those discoveries resonated with him personally

How group travel reshaped Ryan’s experience and turned strangers into a supportive traveling “tribe”

Don't miss these moments

[3:23] Ryan describing the Amazon at night and its “Dolby” soundscape

[6:25] The first step onto a high canopy rope bridge and the trust it required

[8:49] Reflections on Machu Picchu, expectations, and why some bucket-list sites land differently for different travelers

[13:46] The guide’s tactile pebble-and-grid demonstration of Incan counting systems

[20:29] How group dynamics transformed the trip into a shared, memorable experience

Resources

Read Ryan Knighton’s Afar story about Peru

Learn more about Intrepid Travel

Take This Trip

Contributing writer Ryan Knighton joined Intrepid Travel on its nine-day “Premium Peru” trip, which visits Lima, the Amazon, Cuzco, and Machu Picchu. On the ground, meals, transport, accommodation, and luggage and airport transfers are included. Travel dates for 2025, 2026, and 2027 are available at intrepidtravel.com. From $4,600 per person.

Stay Connected

Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. 

Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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