The Amateur Traveler talks to Michael Soncina again about his trip to Tajikistan in Central Asia. Tajikistan is smack dab between Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Unlike the other countries Tajikistan is mostly mountainous. A lot of its influences, history and culture is influenced by Persia while its neighbors have more Mongolian or nomadic influences.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Lee Abbamonte, the youngest American ever to travel to every country in the world, about 3 islands off the coast of Australia: Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jim Lutz from Via Adventures about the Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. "The Galapagos has to be one of the most unique and wonderful wildlife destinations in the world."

Hear about travel to the South Side of Chicago as the Amateur Traveler talks to Amy Bugbee, author of "Suffering and Celebration of Life in America", about her hometown, the South Side of Chicago. The South Side of Chicago is more than just the White Sox and the stock yards just as Chicago pizza is more than just deep dish.

Hear about travel to Kansas City (Kansas and Missouri) as the Amateur Traveler talks to Rob Walch about the Paris of the Plains. Kansas City has that nickname because of the many fountains in the city.

Hear about travel to the Isle of Man as the Amateur Traveler talks to writer and film maker Andrew White. The Isle of Man is a small island in between Ireland and England. "It's a fantastic place. It really is. It's often said it's like the British Isles in miniature."

Hear about travel to the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean as the Amateur Traveler  talks again to Gary Arndt of Everything-Everyhwere.com. Gary just finished an island hopping tour that took him to most of the islands in the Caribbean. We will cover the islands of St. Martin, Anguilla, Saba, St. Barts, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, and Montserrat on this episode.

Hear about travel to the Island of Shikoku, Japan as the Amateur Traveler talks to Dan from Chicago about his recent trip back to the island. Dan also worked teaching English on Shikoku in the city of Imabari. Shikoku is the 4th largest of the islands in Japan and just across the from Hiroshima. Shikoku is mountainous, more traditional and more rural than the areas of Japan more tourists know.

Hear about travel to Baton Rouge as the Amateur Traveler talks to Lindsay Thomas from TheTraveluster.com about her hometown. Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana. It can be a great gateway to Cajun food and culture.

Hear about travel to the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean as the Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt about his journey to visit many of the islands in the Caribbean on a single trip. In this episode we talk about Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados, and Trinidad. This episode is a continuation of episode 386 which talked about the Leeward Islands.

Hear about travel to the Island of Socotra and Yemen as the Amateur Traveler talks to Earl from WanderingEarl.com about a visit to this isolated island best known for its production of frankincense. The island is quite isolated and a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. With trees like the umbrella-shaped dragon’s blood tree it has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth.

Hear about travel to Indonesia as the Amateur Traveler talks to repeat guest Chris Willis about his trip to Indonesia. The main objective of Chris’s trip was to photograph Komodo dragons in the wild. Komodo dragons live on 2-3 islands which are not near any airport so getting there is half the experience.

Hear about travel to Memphis, Tennessee as the Amateur Traveler talks to Lance from tripsbylance.com about this city where he has lived on and off for 20+ years. Lance tells us that there is more to Memphis than Elvis and Graceland.

Hear about travel to Paris, France as the Amateur Traveler talks to Annie Sargant and Elyse Riven from JoinUsInFrance.com. Annie and Elyse do a wonderful podcast about France and guide us through a city they love.

Hear about travel to the island of Madeira as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jörgen Abrahamsson who is a tour guide from Tue Nordic in this small Portuguese possession.

Hear about travel to Lisbon, Portugal as the Amateur Traveler talks to Nelson Carvalheiro about the capital of his native country.

Hear about hiking the Kings Trail (Kungsleden) in Swedish Lapland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Agata from nullnfull.com about this northern and rugged portion of Sweden. Agata says, “Lapland is all about nature and wilderness”.

Hear about travel to the region around Island of Cebu as the Amateur Traveler talks to Tommo & Megsy from fivedollartraveller.com about their vacation in Visayas, the central group of islands in the Philippines. They visited the islands of Bohol, Cebu and Negros. 

Hear about travel to Tel Aviv, Israel as the Amateur Traveler talks to Shimrit Elisar from diytelavivguide.com about her home city.

Hear about cruising from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Valparaiso, Chile around Cape Horn in South America as the Amateur Traveler relates stories of a recent Holland America cruise on the Zaandam. 

Hear about travel to the Cayman Islands as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kendra Pierre-Louis from kendrawrites.com about her trip to this island paradise.

Hear about travel to Louisville, Kentucky as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jason Falls, social media author and speaker about his home town.

Jason says, "Louisville is a fantastic city, it also has a lot going on from a tourism standpoint.

Hear about travel to New Orleans Louisiana as the Amateur Traveler talks to freelance journalist Jill Robinson. Jill agrees with Earl King "There ain't no city like New Orleans".

Hear about travel to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the UP)  as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jennifer Schuitema from Grand Rapids Michigan about travel to the northern remote part of the Great Lake State.

A special live episode of the Amateur Traveler with three guests, Aaron Saunders, Jonathan Souza and Mary Quincy talking about the recent VikingSocial, Viking River Cruise on the Douro River in Portugal.

Hear about travel to the Aeolian Islands as the Amateur Traveler talks to Rick Zullo from rickzullo.com about these historic but lesser known islands off the coast of Sicily.

Hear about travel to Indianapolis, Indiana as the Amateur Traveler talked to Nancy Parode the Senior Travel Expert at about.com about travel to this mid-western capital.

Hear about cruising to Cuba as the Amateur Traveler talks again to Dave Grenewetzki about his trip on a ship based People to People trip to Cuba.

Hear about travel to the Island of Kauai as the Amateur Traveler talks to Betsy and Pete Wuebker from PassingThru.com about the Garden Island. 

Hear about travel to Turks and Caicos as the Amateur Traveler talks to author Donna Seim about her favorite archipelago.

Hear about a Baltic Cruise on Viking Ocean as the Amateur Traveler talks to Mary Jo Manzanares from travelingwithmj.com about their recent Viking Homelands cruise on the Viking Sea.

Hear about travel to Milwaukee as the Amateur Traveler talks to Barbara Ali about her hometown on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Hear about travel to 4 national parks in British Columbia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Carolyn B. Heller author of "Moon Vancouver & Canadian Rockies Road Trip".

Hear about Cruising Southeastern Alaska on Un-Cruise Adventures as the Amateur Traveler goes on a cruise where dressing for dinner and bingo are replaced with kayaking and bushwhacking.

Hear about travel to the "Sea Islands" off the coats of Georgia and South Carolina as the Amateur Traveler talks to Ruby & Peter from ajourneywelove.com about their travels in this archipelago.

Hear about travel to Israel and Palestine, and particularly the world heritage sites of that region, as the Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt from everything-everywhere.com about his recent visit.
Gary just finished up a trip to Israel and Palestine.

Hear about travel to Uzbekistan as the Amateur Traveler talks to Latish Sharma about his travels on the Silk Road to ancient cities including Samarkand.

Hear about travel to the Lofoten Islands of Norway as the Amateur Traveler talks to David Nikel, author of the Moon guide to Norway, about one of his favorite regions in that beautiful country.

Hear about a western Mediterranean cruise to Spain, Gibraltar, France, Monaco and Italy on Holland America's Westerdam where I just attended a press trip.

Hear about travel to Istanbul, Turkey as the Amateur Traveler talks to Christopher Mitchel from travelingmitch.com about the city where he lived for 3 years.

Hear about travel to Providence, Rhode Island as the Amateur Traveler talks to Tamara Gruber from we3travel.com and the Vacation Mavens podcast about travel other home town.

Hear about travel to Chicago, Illinois as the Amateur Traveler talks to Francesca Mazurkiewicz about her hometown of Chicago.

Hear about travel to the Island of Crete in Greece as the Amateur Traveler talks to Elizabeth from compassandfork.com about her travels to this special Greek Island.

Hear about travel to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Luke Mackin from wildsumatra.com about this far-flung destination he now calls home.

Hear about travel to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as the Amateur Traveler talks to Captain Shane McClellan about a sailing trip to the area.

Hear about travel to San Francisco, California as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jill Robinson and Kimberley Levato authors of 100 Things to Do in San Francisco Before You Die.

Hear about travel to Minas Gerais, Brazil as the Amateur Traveler talks to Juergen Keller from southamerica.travel about the colonial heart of Brazil.

Hear about travel to the Big Island of Hawaii as the Amateur Traveler talks to Justin Barnes from justinandcrystal.com about his island home.

Hear about visiting Universal Orlando Resort as the Amateur Traveler talks to Eric Stoen from travelbabbo.com about he and his kids favorite theme parks.

Hear about travel to The Island of Samos in Greece and the vicinity as the Amateur Traveler talks to Dan from the Zipping Around the World podcast about this part of the Greek Islands.