Zero To Travel Podcast

What are millions of travel searches telling us about where people will go in 2027?

Laura Lindsay is the Global Travel and Destinations Expert at Skyscanner, based in London. She has spent 15 years working in the travel industry and has been to 47 countries, a habit that started as a kid when her parents would snap up cheap flights to places they knew almost nothing about.

In this conversation, Laura breaks down Skyscanner’s Travel Trends 2027 report, covering the fastest rising destinations, the best value places to fly, and the top travel trends for 2027.

Most travel predictions are educated guesses. This one is built on millions of Skyscanner searches and a survey of more than 28,000 travelers, so it shows where people are actually looking before the crowds show up. The bigger story is a shift in why we travel, away from escaping our lives for a week and toward trips that reflect how we want to live. If you like getting somewhere before everyone else, or you’re still deciding where to go next year, this is a good place to start.

Which of these trends feels most like you, and where might it take you in 2027? I’d love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn

Why asking the bartender where to go next can be a surprisingly good travel strategy

A simple hotel trick for seeing one of Rome’s busiest landmarks without the crowds

The fastest rising destinations for 2027, from Florida beaches to an under-the-radar corner of Italy

How Skyscanner’s data spotted a now-popular European country years before it took off

Why following the crowds usually costs you more, and where airfare has dropped the most

How to use Skyscanner’s Everywhere search, price alerts, and Drops to find better deals

What gym-cations, music pilgrimages, and ancient history say about how we’ll travel next year

Why exchange rates, travel merch, and combined bachelor and bachelorette trips are shaping where people go

Why more travelers are choosing places with no signal at all, plus Laura’s hidden gem pick that most people write off too quickly

Resources

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Skyscanner

Skyscanner Travel Trends 2027

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7 Must-Visit Destinations for 2026 (Get There Before the Crowds Arrive!) with Lyn Hughes

Top 7 Hidden Gem Towns in Italy (Festivals, Food, Fewer Crowds) with Katerina Ferrara

Top 7 Hidden Gems in Northern Norway with Joël Schwalenstöcker

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Italy is famous for Rome, Florence, and Venice, so why are so few travelers making it to the towns just a short train ride away?

Katerina Ferrara has been traveling in Europe for more than 25 years and is fluent in Italian. She’s the author of the Travel Italy series, a set of Ultimate Festival and Travel Guides that explore Italy region by region through its festivals, food, and traditions. She also hosts the Immersion Travel Italy podcast.

In this conversation, Katerina shares seven hidden gem towns in Italy, from Sicily up to the northern lakes, along with the local festivals, food traditions, and pilgrimage routes that make each one worth the trip.

Italy is one of the most visited countries in the world, and most travelers end up in the same handful of cities, shoulder to shoulder with everyone else. Katerina plans her travel around something different: the days small towns are at their most alive, when centuries-old traditions fill the streets and locals are thrilled you showed up. Many of these places sit less than an hour from the crowds, yet they feel like a different country. If you’ve ever wanted Italy to feel less like a checklist and more like being let in on something, this is a good place to start.

Have you ever stumbled into a local festival while traveling, or planned a whole trip around one? I’d love to hear about it, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

How a morning show on Italian TV sparked a plan to write 20 books, one for every region of Italy

Why a small town’s saint’s day can matter more to locals than Christmas or their own birthday

How a free language app turned into friendships and home-cooked meals all over Italy

Why you won’t see bell towers in one corner of Sicily, and what the 1693 earthquake has to do with it

What makes one Sicilian Madonna unlike any other, plus the festival treat known as “the dessert of the vanquished”

Why pilgrimage routes in Italy appeal to travelers who aren’t religious at all

How an entire town builds a street of flower art overnight, and the Sicilian breakfast you’ll want to repeat twice a day

Where ancient Romans (and emperors) escaped the city crowds, and why it still works today

Why a 30-minute train ride from Venice could be the most peaceful day of your trip

The surprisingly dark story behind the name of a local Umbrian pasta

Resources:

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Katerina’s Website

Instagram

Immersion Travel Italy Podcast

YouTube

Tandem

Hidden gem list

Want More:

Sicily Uncovered: Street Food, Wine Regions, and the Art of Slowing Down

Top 10 European Food Experiences With Kenny Dunn From Eating Europe

Here Not There: Alternative Destinations With Less Crowds (And Meaningful Experiences) with National Geographic Author Andrew Nelson

Thanks To Our Sponsors:

Explore 100% human-made itineraries at exploreworldwide.com

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What if the best place for you to travel or live next isn’t on any of the “best of” lists?

VerDarLuz is a locational astrologer and business coach who has spent 20 years helping people use astrology to make decisions about work, relationships, and where to live. Through his consultancy, Destination by Design, he uses astrocartography to help travelers, digital nomads, and retreat leaders figure out where and when to go. He also offers Human Design consultations and coaching through Divine Timing Coaching.

In this conversation, VerDarLuz explains what astrocartography is, how it can help you choose destinations and timing for travel or relocation, and how to stay open to the signs and synchronicities that show up on the road.

Travel has gotten more expensive, more complicated, and busier than ever, so picking the wrong place costs more than it used to. Astrocartography has gone from niche to mainstream in the last few years, and VerDarLuz has been living by it for two decades. Whether you’re a skeptic or already know your rising sign, this is a practical look at how to use astrocartography for travel, starting with what you actually want instead of what everyone else is chasing. And it wanders into bigger territory too, like what it takes to let a trip lead you somewhere you never planned to go.

Have you ever landed somewhere that felt like it was meant for you, or somewhere that just never clicked? I’d love to hear your story, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

What astrocartography is and how it fits into the bigger world of locational astrology

Why chasing the “best digital nomad city” lists might be the wrong approach

How your rising sign can point you toward cities that feel like home

What the four angles of a chart say about a place, and why one planet can dominate your experience there

How a move from California to Colorado and a last-minute festival gig in Poland played out on VerDarLuz’s maps

How to prepare for a challenging location without turning it into a self-fulfilling prophecy

How a chance invitation at a Sufi shrine in Kashmir in 2003 changed the course of a trip

What kairomancy is and why travel makes it easier to notice the signs

Advice for protecting your mornings, practicing gratitude, and leaning on local community instead of money

What a live chart reading reveals about my time in Oslo and the Jupiter cycle ahead

Resources:

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Destination by Design Consultancy

Divine Timing Coaching

VerDarLuz Instagram

The Power of Intention

Braiding Sweetgrass

The Serviceberry

Everyday Utopia

Want More:

How To Find Your Power Places Using Astrolocality

Curiosity As Your Travel Guide + Exploring Overlooked Destinations with John McKenzie

Hiking the Camino De Santiago, Painting Your Travels, Letting Curiosity Rule, and Tiny House Living with Kari Gale

Thanks To Our Sponsors:

Explore 100% human-made itineraries at exploreworldwide.com

Begin your bilingual adventure with a free phrasebook with your first box at talkbox.mom/zerototravel

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

What are successful people like before they become big? Before The Moment is hosted by music icon Nile Rodgers, who sits down with some of music’s biggest names to uncover the turning points that defined them, and, importantly, what was happening before everything changed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

What does hell on earth look like? Science writer and explorer Erika Engelhaupt takes us on a unique journey to “awesomely awful” destinations to explore the history, culture, and science behind seven of the most otherworldly locations around the world.

Erika Engelhaupt is a science journalist and expert on all things macabre. Her work in National Geographic, Scientific American, and elsewhere has revealed the spooky science behind many taboo topics, including rotting corpses, bodily fluids, and other things that make her popular at dinner parties. She is the author of Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science and her newest book, Go to Hell: A Traveler’s Guide to Earth’s Most Otherworldly Destinations.

We thought this previously released episode was the perfect one to share this week for Halloween! Erika shares insights into how cultures worldwide have visualized the afterlife, explores the natural phenomena behind these lesser-known “hellscapes,” and discusses her own experiences visiting places that challenge and redefine our sense of wonder.

What’s the eeriest or most otherworldly place you’ve visited? I'd love to hear about your experience, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

A city filled with death, a centuries-old “skull cult,” and the inspiration behind Dante’s Inferno

A small cave in Ireland linked to ancient folklore and the origins of Halloween

The fiery pit that’s been burning for decades and the surprising theory behind it (plus, you can camp here!)

Where you can witness surreal blue flames rolling down a deadly sulfuric volcano

An island with some of the most gorgeous yet hellscape-y features, geothermal pools, and more

The most electric place on earth and the fascinating science behind it

Where to find razor-sharp “stone forests” and navigate the devil’s obstacle course

Which charming but hellish US town you can be mayor for the day

Will our pets eat us if we die? The five-second rule (fact or fiction?)

And so much more

Resources:

Join Zero To Travel Premium Passport

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Visit Erika’s website

Grab Erika’s book, Go to Hell

Would your dog eat you if you died?

Want More?

What Happens When You Die? (Part One): A Journey to the Other Side with Peter Panagore

Top 10 World’s Weirdest Restaurants With La Carmina

Dark Tourism and the Complexities of Dark Destinations with Professor James Treadwell

Thanks To Our Sponsors

Explore 100% human-made itineraries at exploreworldwide.com

Begin your bilingual adventure with a free phrasebook with your first box at talkbox.mom/zerototravel

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