Thoughtful Travel • Sustainable Travel • Meaningful Journeys

What does it really mean to travel thoughtfully—and how can it transform the way you experience the world? In this conversation, I sit down with Amanda Kendle, longtime travel writer, lecturer, and host of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. Amanda has been exploring and teaching about responsible, mindful journeys for decades, helping travelers discover how curiosity and connection can shape more meaningful adventures.

Episode Highlights:

• How Amanda’s early travel experiences shaped her lifelong passion for exploring thoughtfully.
• Why curiosity is one of the most powerful tools travelers can pack.
• Simple trip practices to make your journeys richer.
• How to balance joyful experiences with responsible, sustainable travel choices.
• Why mishaps and unplanned moments often become our most memorable travel stories.

Next Step

Choose one way to experiment by stepping outside your travel comfort zone. It might be leaving an afternoon unscheduled, starting a conversation with a local, or swapping one planned activity for spontaneous discovery. Thoughtful travel often begins in the unexpected.

Reflection

“You did what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.” — Maya Angelou (via Oprah)
How can you apply this idea to your own travels? Consider one past trip where you’d now make different choices, and think about how those lessons can guide your next adventure.

Connect with Amanda Kendle

Amanda is the host and producer of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, a lecturer in media and communication at Murdoch University, and the Vice President of the Board at RISE Travel Institute. She has been a freelance travel writer and blogger for over 20 years, focusing on how we can travel in ways that benefit both travelers and the communities we visit.

• Website: Not A Ballerina
• Podcast: The Thoughtful Travel Podcast
• Substack
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Facebook
  
  

Links & Resources

• RISE Travel Institute
• Why We Travel by Ash Bhardwaj 

Thanks for joining me on Conversations for Curious Travelers, a Trip Scholars podcast. I'm so glad you are here!

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