I’ve been wanting to share this news with you for ages but I can finally announce that a brand new travel podcast called Passports Please! is now available!
It’s been born from receiving so many questions about travel on both email and social media, and so this is a chance for me to properly respond with some advice, review trending travel hacks and even share some of your holiday nightmares.
Who are you doing the podcast with?
Don’t worry, it’s not just me wittering on about travel on my bill, I’ll be joined by my travel companion – and Holiday Expert’s ‘Director of Getting Things Done’ – James!
When will I be able to listen to the podcast?
The podcast is live right now – and will be released every Wednesday.
How can I listen to Passports Please?!
You can listen wherever you get your podcasts – just try searching for ‘Passports Please!’
If you’re having any issues, try searching for ‘Chelsea Dickenson’ or ‘James Robinson’ as that sometimes pulls it in.
Or you can click the button below to listen now.
What are the episodes like?
To give you an idea of what James and I chat about in our Passports Please! episodes, here’s the lowdown on the first three.
EP01: Trains to Barca, Bad Reviews and The C Word
It’s our first ever episode of Passports Please! This week we’re discussing an unconventional route to get you to Barcelona and James’ favourite word to use while travelling. Plus we’ll be replying to your listener postcards on multi-destination trips and a holiday nightmare from Greece.
EP02: Google Flights, Vacuum Packing and James’ First Holiday
We’re back at the Passports Please! office with an incredible story about James’ first trip abroad involving a dartboard and a national army. We’ve also got some top tips on how to hack Google Flights and James has some questionable advice for vacuum packing (don’t worry, Chelsea saves the day).
EP03: Birthday Trips, Phoning for Holidays & The Art of 'Panic and Pay'
It’s our third episode of Passports Please! We discuss whether James is the only person on earth who still books a holiday over the phone? Chelsea’s got advice on how to cope with being the ‘planner’ on a group trip and James shares his mantra for approaching holidays (spoiler alert: it involves ‘panic’). Plus, a listener shares a train related holiday nightmare during a trip to India.
How can I get involved with a question or holiday nightmare?
Have a holiday hack of your own or a travel nightmare you need to get off your chest? We’d love to hear from you!
Email us at [email protected] or if you’re the really adventurous type you can even send as an actual postcard!
You can find all the info you need at passportspleasepod.com
Will I be able to watch Passports Please?!
The episodes are being filmed – exciting! Though for now we are just publishing clips from our episodes on social media. You can watch them here on Instagram and TikTok.
We are interested in visualising this further though – so drop a comment on our social clips to let us know if you’d watch it!
Do I recognise your studio?
Quite possibly… Passports Please! belongs to the Audio Always family who create a load of brilliant podcasts including Help! I Sexted My Boss and Drunk Women Solving Crime.
I actually worked for Audio Always as a radio producer for many years – even working on some of these podcasts – and so it really does feel like returning home!!
How can I support the podcast?
THAT’S NICE OF YOU TO ASK (nobody mention that I literally wrote these questions myself). The best thing you can do is to make sure you’re following or subscribed on whatever podcast platform you use.
You can also rate and review each and every episode and honestly, just tapping those 5 stars for each episode helps so, so much – so thank you if you take the time.
In the past, we have also had a Patreon for early episodes without adverts. This is still up and running but we are not charging people at the moment, so you can become a free member over there to find out when perks will be back available.
What happened to your old podcast?
James and I created our first podcast Tipsy Tourism back in 2021, where we would choose a drink and a tourist attraction each week and take you with us as we reviewed it.
We loved making it but unfortunately it did take quite a long time to make (I’m a little reluctant to admit that each episode took over 15 hours to complete once you factored in research, recording, editing, publishing, marketing and making social media clips!!)
We’re not saying it won’t ever come back, but we are saying that for consistency it was hard to keep up!
However, you can still listen to all the old episodes of Tipsy Tourism on the Passports Please! stream. Just scroll back!
Listen to the new travel podcast, 'Passports Please!' now
Join Chelsea Dickenson (AKA – Holiday Expert) and James Robinson (her enthusiastic travel buddy) as they cover the inspired hacks, the unbelievable tales and the mad stories, that come from a pastime us Brits can all relate to – the holiday.
From our expert packer (Chelsea), to our resident slacker (James), join our hosts as they bring two very different perspectives to the chaotic (and often shocking) world of travel.
