Unpacked by Afar | Travel Smarter, More Responsibly

“This Is Your Invitation”: A Guide to Indigenous-Led Tourism Across North America

Indigenous tourism is growing, but it’s not always easy to tell which tours are owned and led by the communities they showcase. In this episode, Afar senior editor Jen Ch

Dubai Culture Beyond the Malls, From Heritage Crafts to Art House Cinemas

Welcome to the fourth and final episode of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel, this time focused on Dubai culture. People love to say the city is all shopping ma

Dubai Food Tips From the Chefs Who Know It Best

Welcome to episode three of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel, this time focused on Dubai food: how a city long known for celebrity chefs and global concepts ha

A Marine Biologist, a Kuku Yalanji Guide, and the Real Story Behind Two UNESCO Sites in North Queensland

In a new ongoing series, Afar is asking a deceptively simple question: What does a UNESCO World Heritage designation actually do? This episode starts in North Queensland,

Dubai Hospitality and the Making of a World-Class Hotel Scene

Welcome to episode two of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel, this time focused on Dubai hospitality: how a city with more than 800 hotels and 150,000 rooms buil

Dubai Travel Tips From a Longtime Resident and a Native Emirati Chef

Welcome to episode one of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel: the history, the ambition, and the glamorous, multicultural city it's become today. In this episod

The Australia Spa Road Trip That Won Over a Wellness Skeptic

Afar contributing writer Emma John road-trips the Great Victorian Bathing Trail, uncovering the best spa towns in Victoria, Australia—from thermal springs on the coast to

How to See Thailand’s Wonders Without Feeling Like a Tourist

Travel journalist Kathryn Romeyn shares how to find Thailand off the beaten path—from Nan Province night markets to Khao Sok's rainforest—plus the best time to visit Thai

Sana Javeri Kadri's Regenerative Spice Farming Revolution

The spices in your cabinet are probably five to seven years old—and that's not an accident. On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene sits down with Sana Javeri Ka

For a Crowd-Free African Safari, Head for Tanzania's Southern Circuit

An African safari doesn't have to mean a traffic jam. On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene travels to Tanzania's southern circuit—visiting two parks most first

What We Lose When a Language Dies

By the end of this century, half of the world's 7,000 languages could be gone. On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene hands the mic to travel writer Lucy Kehoe f

Five Questions for the Man Who Walked a Fault Line in Japan by Feel

This kind of Japan travel doesn't show up in guidebooks. In January 2024, a major earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula, lifting the seabed 15 feet into the air and exposi

Why Women's Travel Writing Matters More Than Ever

For the past several decades, writer and editor Lavinia Spalding has championed women's travel writing. She's helmed seven editions of the Best Women's Travel Writing—the

This Is One of the Best Architecture Cities in America

Buffalo, New York might be the greatest architecture city you've never heard of. In the fourth and final episode of our Unpacked by Afar series, we explore how this Rust

Hallowed Ground: The Street at the Heart of Buffalo's Black History

For 185 years, some of the most important chapters of American history have unfolded on a few blocks of Buffalo's East Side. In the third episode of our four-part Unpacke

Asheville Hiking, Waterfalls, and the Oldest Mountains on Earth | The Travel Guide

This is the final stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina, and we’re heading for the trees. In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene

Asheville Food and the Growth of a Farm-to-Table Town | The Travel Guide

This is the fourth stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina, and it may be the tastiest one yet. In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Gr

Black Mountain and the Region's Creative Soul | The Travel Guide

This is the third stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina, and it takes us just outside the city to the small mountain town of Black Mountain, Nort

Asheville Wellness and 150 Years of the Mountain Cure | The Travel Guide

This is the second stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina, and it reaches back a lot further than you might expect. In this episode of Unpacked by

Asheville History and the Making of a Mountain City | The Travel Guide

Welcome to the first stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina. And where better to start than at the beginning? In this episode of Unpacked by Afar,