Unpacked by Afar | Travel Smarter, Mo...

Unpacked by Afar is your weekly guide to where to go, how to travel, and everything worth unpacking in between. Each week, host Aislyn Greene and the Afar team travel the world and dig into the big questions behind every great trip, from the best new hotels and national parks to traveling more responsibly. Some weeks we follow a story through music, food, and culture. Others we tackle a tricky topic, share our favorite destinations, or help you plan where to go next. Because the travel world is complicated. We're here to help you unpack it.


Places & Travel
Food
Society & Culture
1
Dubai Travel Tips From a Longtime Resident and ...
A Dubai travel guide from a longtime resident and the Emirati chef who grew up there.
29 min
2
The Australia Spa Road Trip That Won Over a Wel...
Geothermal pools, mineral springs, and a 250-mile road trip through Victoria's historic bathing towns.
26 min
3
How to See Thailand’s Wonders Without Feeling L...
Freelance travel writer Kathryn Romeyn shares where to go beyond Bangkok and Phuket — from Nan Province road trips to secret islands and local guides who know the back roads.
36 min
4
Sana Javeri Kadri's Regenerative Spice Farming ...
How one founder's regenerative spice farming model is reshaping ethical travel and food sourcing across India and Sri Lanka.
36 min
5
For a Crowd-Free African Safari, Head for Tanza...
A guide to Tanzania's Ruaha and Nyerere National Parks, the Nomad camps, and how to travel more responsibly on your first safari.
33 min
6
What We Lose When a Language Dies
Inside "How to Kill a Language" by Sophia Smith Galer: cultural travel, responsible travel, and the race to document dying tongues before they're gone
30 min
7
Five Questions for the Man Who Walked a Fault L...
Two years after a major earthquake lifted Japan's seabed 15 feet into the air, travel writer Ryan Knighton walks the Noto Peninsula on a slow tour — and finds kintsugi, the art of mending broken things with gold, a community metaphor.
21 min
8
Why Women's Travel Writing Matters More Than Ever
The longtime editor of The Best Women's Travel Writing on curation, courage, and why these stories matter more than ever.
33 min
9
This Is One of the Best Architecture Cities in ...
Why Buffalo is secretly one of America's great architecture cities.
22 min
10
Hallowed Ground: The Street at the Heart of Buf...
185 years of Buffalo Black history on one sacred street, and the man fighting to save it.
18 min
11
Asheville Hiking, Waterfalls, and the Oldest Mo...
Into the Pisgah forest, where the oldest mountains on Earth pack climbing, waterfalls, and a natural water slide into one valley.
18 min
12
Asheville Food and the Growth of a Farm-to-Tabl...
A walking food tour of a mountain city where farm-to-table is geography, not a slogan, and a look at who gets to shape its food.
27 min
13
Black Mountain and the Region's Creative Soul |...
A tiny mountain town, a legendary vanished art college, and the nearly lost blues at the root of the region’s sound.
22 min
14
Asheville Wellness and 150 Years of the Mountai...
Inside 150 years of Asheville wellness, from mountain-air cures to modern salt caves.
17 min
15
Asheville History and the Making of a Mountain ...
Tracing Asheville history on foot, from a Cherokee crossroads to the Vanderbilts to the Black community that built the city.
28 min
16
The City of Good Neighbors: A Buffalo Travel St...
Inside the City of Good Neighbors, from Dyngus Day to a refugee's first winter.
22 min
17
Beyond the Wing: How Buffalo's Food Scene Quiet...
20 min
18
Following the Lewis and Clark National Historic...
36 min
19
Queer Travel Is About Joy, Not Just Safety
33 min
20
Travel to Listen: Everyone Knows Motown. Not Ev...
19 min
21
Feel-Good Friday: The Viral World Cup Food Obse...
10 min
22
Why a Michigan Road Trip Might Be the Best Way ...
39 min
23
Feel-Good Friday: An Ode to Obama, New London M...
12 min
24
Why the Best New Hotels of 2026 Aren’t All "New"
37 min
25
Travel to Listen: The Spacey, Sunbaked Rock of ...
11 min