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Zero To Travel Podcast

Zero To Travel Podcast

By: Jason Moore
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 ✈️ The Zero To Travel Podcast has been downloaded 12+ million times and named a "Best Travel Podcast" by The Washington Post, Travel + Leisure, The Telegraph, and Forbes. Packed with life-changing perspectives, inspiration, and practical advice for everyone from travel newbies to nomads, this podcast will give you everything you need to travel the world on your terms, regardless of your situation or experience. Welcome to our amazing global listening community! Since 2013, "Travel Ambassador" Jason Moore from zerototravel.com has been picking the brains of adventurous people living an unconventional life on the road so you can discover new ways to travel endlessly. Along the way, you'll get actionable advice and key resources that will improve your life AND help you travel more as we get down and dirty on topics like; starting and running an online business from anywhere, the best off-the-beaten-path destinations to visit, travel and work opportunities, gutsy budget travel strategies, surprising ways to earn free travel, the digital nomad life, unconventional travel based lifestyles, fun travel jobs, how to plan epic adventures, backpacking, remote work, how to take a gap year or a career break, 4-hour work week inspired topics, ex-pat life, slow travel, travel hacking, sustainable travel, human-powered adventures, trips worth planning, and everything in between. Host Bio: Jason wandered the planet as a nomad for over a decade and spent 15+ years on the road as a tour manager in events/music, a seasonal adventure travel tour guide, and a digital nomad. Originally from the USA, he is now a dual citizen (Norway/USA) based in Oslo. He is obsessed with helping YOU explore our planet on your terms. Follow the show (it's FREE!) and welcome to the global community. 🙏 PS - To sign up for our free newsletter to get travel tips, tricks, destination advice, and more visit zerototravel.com/newsletter PPS - If you'd like to access our paid premium feed with ad-free shows, bonus episodes, and more for just $3/month go to zerototravel.com/premium.Copyright 2013-2025 Zero To Travel International AS Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • How to Start Thru Hiking and Do Hard Things Before You Feel Ready with Lauren Roerick

    How to Start Thru Hiking and Do Hard Things Before You Feel Ready with Lauren Roerick
    Mar 24 2026
    Have you ever felt the pull to do something BIG, but weren’t sure if you were “that kind of person?” What if the bravest thing you could do is take the first step before you feel ready? Lauren Roerick is a long-distance hiker who has traveled more than 12,000 kilometers on foot across countries and continents. Since 2019, she has completed trails like the Pacific Crest Trail, the Colorado Trail, the Hexatrek in France, Te Araroa in New Zealand, and sections of the Transcaucasian Trail. Through her solo journeys and films, she shares stories about resilience, self-trust, and choosing a life shaped by curiosity and courage. Co-host Dianni Hall talks with Lauren about how to start thru-hiking, what solo trail life actually feels like, and how to move through fear, discomfort, and self-doubt one step at a time. You’ll hear how Lauren went from zero backpacking experience to long-distance trails by breaking intimidating goals into smaller, doable pieces. She shares what training really matters, what gear is actually worth prioritizing, how trail community works, and why thru-hiking can build self-trust in a way few other experiences can. If you’ve been curious about how to start thru-hiking but feel intimidated, this episode will give you a realistic way in. What’s one uncomfortable thing you’ve been wanting to try, and what would your version of the first step look like? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. Co-host Dianni Hall is a queer, second-generation Latina, solo budget backpacker, freelancer, and host of the While She’s Away podcast, where she interviews women on their travel experience and expertise to help women live their best lives exploring the world. Learn more about her work here. Tune In To Learn: How doing a 100K with only six weeks of training (and despite hating running) changed her confidence Why Lauren often takes a “how hard can it be” approach to new challenges How she went from having no backpacking experience to taking on the Pacific Crest Trail Why breaking big goals into smaller steps makes thru-hiking feel possible What the mental challenges of solo hiking really look like, and how she works through them How thru-hiking builds self-trust and strengthens your intuition What role fear plays on the trail, and how to move through it instead of avoiding it How to start small, even if it’s just sleeping outside for one night How to choose your first trail based on your goals, time, and experience What kind of training and gear actually matter, and what you can skip How Lauren approaches content creation on trail without losing presence in the moment And so much more Resources: Sign up for our FREE newsletter YouTube Instagram Want More? Hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland with Lynne Nieman A 2,190+ Mile Mother-Son Adventure: Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail after a Decade of Nomadic Family Travel with Jessica and Largo Sueiro Hiking the Camino De Santiago, Painting Your Travels, Letting Curiosity Rule, and Tiny House Living with Kari Gale Thanks To Our Sponsors Earn Cash Back and rewards on nearly every purchase with Rakuten. Go to https://surfshark.com/zerototravel or use code ZEROTOTRAVEL at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Transition To Travel: From Big Salary to Frugal Travel Life with Becca Hall

    Transition To Travel: From Big Salary to Frugal Travel Life with Becca Hall
    Mar 19 2026
    Do you have dreams of long-term travel? What are you willing to "give up" in pursuit of it? If you need some inspiration to make those travel dreams a reality, look no further! We're resharing some of our Transition to Travel episodes this month to help kickstart your plans in 2026. In this series, we interview a guest both before and after their travels (or during if it's long-term), so we can see how it all panned out and how travel has changed them. Becca Hall is a long-term traveler who left a high-paying nonprofit tech job in San Francisco to pursue a life of indefinite travel. We talk about how she saved $30,000 in just a year and a half, why she travels as if she doesn’t have that cushion, and the psychology behind adopting a frugal travel mindset. She also shares what surprised her most after leaving her job, including the months it took to mentally decompress from work stress. Later, we catch up a year and a half into her journey to hear how things actually unfolded, from bartending and working festivals in Australia to building out her own van and redefining what freedom looks like on the road. What surprised you the most in Becca's journey? What was your biggest takeaway from today's episode? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. Tune In To Learn: Why Becca chose to act like her savings didn’t exist, even after putting away $30,000 How a no-frills travel mindset helped her save money long before she ever left home What happened when cheap travel started costing her more energy than it was worth Advice for navigating solo female travel, couchsurfing, and gut-check moments on the road The surprising emotional hangover that followed quitting a job she was desperate to leave Why earning less money ended up feeling like a better deal How festival work and bartending became part of her long-term travel strategy What pushed her from backpacking burnout into building a van in Australia The unexpected lessons she learned from creating a home on wheels by herself Why taking a break can feel strangely difficult when you’re traveling full time How she decided whether bringing a laptop was freedom or just extra baggage What indefinite travel taught her about pace, pressure, and finding her own version of flow And so much more Resources: Sign up for our FREE newsletter Becca on Instagram Mint.com Want More? Transition To Travel with Lance Wright Transition To Travel: Radical Life Change For World Travel w/ Jordan & Tyler Transition To Travel: Single Mom + 3 Kids Move To Mexico (Jenita's Story) Thanks To Our Sponsors Earn Cash Back and rewards on nearly every purchase with Rakuten. Go to https://surfshark.com/zerototravel or use code ZEROTOTRAVEL at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Connecting with Strangers in 21 Countries as an Introvert, Battling the Loneliness Epidemic, Building Community at Home with Adam Schluter

    Connecting with Strangers in 21 Countries as an Introvert, Battling the Loneliness Epidemic, Building Community at Home with Adam Schluter
    Mar 17 2026
    What happens when talking to strangers while traveling becomes the thing that helps you feel less alone? Adam Schluter is an award-winning, National Geographic published photographer and writer, and the founder of Hello From A Stranger, a project built around spontaneous travel, portraits, and conversations with people he has just met. Through that project, he has traveled across 21 countries, created thousands of conversations and portraits, given a TEDx talk, published a book based on the work, and is now making a documentary. In this episode, Adam shares how a period of heartbreak, depression, and isolation pushed him to buy the cheapest ticket he could find and start talking to strangers while traveling. That simple decision eventually turned into Hello From A Stranger, Monday Night Dinners, and a larger mission to help people feel seen. We get into what travel can open up when you use it intentionally, not just to see a place, but to connect more deeply with the people in it. Adam talks about what he learned from being an introvert in unfamiliar places, why vulnerability worked better than trying to sound polished, and how genuine conversations helped him find purpose when he needed it most. We also talk about how he brought that same spirit home by inviting strangers to dinner, eventually building a recurring community gathering that now draws hundreds of people. If you’ve ever felt lonely, wondered how to meet people more naturally, or wanted to recreate a little of that hostel-kitchen magic back home, there’s a lot in this one. Trigger warning: This conversation includes honest discussion of depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide. If you’re struggling, call or text 988 for support. What would change if you approached one stranger this week with a little more curiosity and a little less fear? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. Tune In To Learn: The breaking point in Adam’s mental health, and how he navigated depression and isolation Why buying the cheapest flight he could find became the start of an unexpected journey The importance of creating a framework around his travels and what happened when he started intentionally talking to strangers Why Adam’s first attempt at approaching strangers failed, and what finally worked How vulnerability and awkward honesty opened the door to deeper conversations Why solo travel can still feel lonely, and how to move beyond “ghost mode” while traveling The story behind Monday Night Dinners, and how inviting strangers over changed his community Why a simple conversation might matter more than you think And so much more Resources: Sign up for our FREE newsletter Hello From A Stranger Documentary Trailer Want More? 100 Documentaries Project: Traveling the Globe to Find Extraordinary Humans + Changing the World One Story at a Time with Robin Danehav How to Be a “Supercommunicator” and Connect with Anyone (At Home or on the Road) with Charles Duhigg + The Best of Baltimore, MD Bicycling Across the USA Without Money in Search of Human Connection With Daniel Troia Thanks To Our Sponsors Earn Cash Back and rewards on nearly every purchase with Rakuten. Go to https://surfshark.com/zerototravel or use code ZEROTOTRAVEL at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 mins
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