TellMeWhere2Go

One of the big considerations about travelling is how to fund it.  Yes, there is a financial side to travelling.   The Zip app offers a solution as Debbie Wine, Chief Marketing Officer for Australia and New Zealand explains to Steve Collins.   https://zip.co/au allows people to use credit as a way of paying for travel: for flights, accommodation, luggage, meals, shopping and anything to do with travel.   Even though the cost of living continues to rise, Aussies' thirst for travel remains - Zip’s Jet Lag Not Debt Lag report has unveiled the six travel personalities by which Aussies travel.  Debbie explains these six personality traits.   With Zip, you'll pay nothing upfront. And repay fortnightly or monthly on a schedule and budget that best suits you.    Zip's Single-Use card feature allows you to travel knowing that your card can't be skimmed or scanned.  With just a 1% transaction fee it's a very cheap way to shop overseas.   Zip is available for download from both the Apple Store and Google Pay.

Steve Collins chats to Resort Manager Mike Stanton. Nestled in the hills which abut the Swan Valley, close to Perth, Western Australia, is the Novotel Vines Resort, a combination of champion golf course and luxury resort accommodation. With two 18-hole golf courses, and even an 18-hole mini golf course, the Novotel Vines Resort has been a popular place for Perthites to have a pleasant break for many years. Near neighbours include mobs of kangaroos who call The Vines home. They are impossible to miss, especially in late afternoon. You can normally see dozens of the roos, and they are so used to humans they do tend to ignore us. The Novotel Vines Resort is a very special and unique place to visit. It’s ideal for simply relaxing, golfing or indulging in other sporting pursuits. There’s fine dining at the resort, and in the Swan Valley. There are some beautiful drives through the hills and the Chittering Valley nearby.

Steve Collins chats to Giselle Whiteaker of Journey Beyond about The Ghan luxury train. Australia is a huge country, and one of the best ways to go from south to north through the centre is to take the luxury train called The Ghan.  The train runs from Adelaide in South Australia to Darwin in the Northern Territory (and vice versa), and is a journey that will both impress and surprise you. It is not just a train trip, but a wonderful experience that takes place both onboard the train and during excursions off the train in places such as Coober Pedy, Alice Springs and Katherine. Travelling on The Ghan is a true adventure that is completed without any hardship whatsoever.

Steve Collins reminisces about his visit to El Questro, a large working cattle station and tourist park in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. Measuring 80 km north to south and 60 km east to west, El Questro is big enough to be the world’s 29th smallest country. Scenically, it is far more impressive than most of those countries it dwarfs. The reasons for that is that it is home to many very impressive gorges, rivers, creeks, waterfalls, thermal springs and an abundance of Australian tropical flora and fauna, much of which can’t be seen elsewhere.

Steve Collins in conversation with Brad Kelly, General Manager of the Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Belfast. Game of Thrones is, arguably, one of the finest and most popular television shows ever produced. Now, the Game of Thrones Studio Tour has opened in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Located at one of the acclaimed series’ original filming locations at Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, Game of Thrones Studio Tour takes fans closer to the Seven Kingdoms than ever before. Guests can step inside the iconic Great Hall at Winterfell where Jon Snow was proclaimed the “King in the North,” see Daenerys Targaryen’s imposing Dragonstone throne, delve into the incredible props, weaponry and visual effects of Game of Thrones and learn more about the skills and craftmanship that helped bring the show from script to screen. The immersive experience brings Westeros to life and will evoke the show’s epic scale -- from King’s Landing, Winterfell, Dragonstone, The Wall and the lands beyond.

Steve Collins in conversation with Sylvain Padeloup, General Manager of the Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Resort. Bali in Indonesia is considered to be one of the world’s best holiday destinations. Due to Covid, Bali has been closed to international visitors for quiet a while, but now Bali is re-opening to international travel. During this in-depth conversation with Sylvain we discuss how Bali and Lombok have coped during the two years that Covid has forced them to operate with a minimum number of guests. Bali has suffered a great deal over the past couple of years but is now set to flourish again.

Steve Collins chats with Clare Marquis the General Manager of Kimberley Quest. Kimberley Quest explores the bays and rivers of the remote Kimberley in Western Australia’s Northwest, and it’s a most unique and wonderful experience. Kimberley Quest is a small cruise ship of nine cabins, catering for a maximum of 18 guests. The vessel has a shallow draft, which allows it to navigate shallow waters to get up very close to the stunning waterfalls that drop from towering cliffs into the pristine waters of those remote waterways.

Join Steve Collins for a Western Australia special. Myrianthe Eddy of Sea West Cruises introduces us to her gourmet cruises in Geographe Bay, Mandurah, Rottnest Island and Broome. Aviation historian Ron Brown celebrates the centenary of commercial aviation in Western Australia. And owners of Rottnest Fast Ferries Luke Crispin and Paul Mulholland chat about bringing their latest ferry from Tasmania to Perth.

Steve Collins interviews Shoshana Wasserman who is Deputy Director of the First Nations Museum in Oklahoma City. The First Americans Museum opened recently in Oklahoma City to great fanfare in way of a celebration of the cultures of the First Nations people. Oklahoma City was chosen as the location for the museum as 39 distinct tribal nations currently reside in Oklahoma today. That wasn’t always the case, as many of the groups where forcibly moved to Oklahoma many decades ago. The First Americans Museum celebrates the shared American history of those nations through the collective stories of their people.

Steve Collins talks to Katherina Denk from Austria Tourism about Vienna. The capital, and largest city, of Austria, Vienna is the former headquarters of the Hapsburg Court and is defined an as imperial city imbued with grand buildings that are startling ornate in style and massively grand. There’s no doubt that Vienna will both charm an enchant you.  It is, indeed, one of the most glorious of Europe’s cities.

Steve Collins chats to John Gunter, President & CEO of Frontiers North. Frontiers North specialises in taking visitors to Churchill on Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada to view polar bears up close. Their specially designed Tundra Buggies ensure excellent but very safe viewing of these incredible creatures. The small town of Churchill is considered to be the polar bear capital of the world. In Summer Frontiers North tours include close up viewing of the incredibly beautiful Beluga whales. Frontiers North operates all year round and look after their guests wonderfully well. For a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Frontiers North will take you on a wonderful and unforgettable adventure.

In this podcast Steve Collins chats with Chris Ingram. Nestled on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River in Tennessee, Memphis has always attracted people from afar, and due to that mix, Memphis has become one of America’s most important and influential music cities. Those many historic blues clubs on Beale Street heralded the unique Memphis blues sound in the early 20th century. The city's music has continued to be shaped by a multicultural mix of influences: the blues, country, rock and roll, soul, and hip-hop.

Steve Collins chats to Katherina Denk about her home town of Salzburg. The beautiful city of Salzburg is known for its music and culture and is one of the most visited places in Austria. Salzburg is a magical, and quite beautiful, baroque city that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Embedded between two mountains, it is a city of gardens, public squares, magnificent buildings, palaces, churches and bustling city life whose cafes, shops and avenues are always buzzing. High on a hill overlooking the city the Fortress Hohensalzburg is its sentinel.

Myrianthe Riddy is Steve Collins' guest to talk about Sea West's sumptuous gourmet cruises. With 12,500 km of coastline Western Australia has some spectacular scenery. Sea West takes you to some of the most gorgeous places whilst you done on fresh local seafood, produce and wine. Board luxury vessels for sensational sailing and superb cuisine that really does showcase the region you are visiting. Locations include Geographe Bay in the South West, the canals and inland waterways of Mandurah, stunning Rottnest Island which is a short cruise from Perth and Broome, the pearl capital of Australia where you will cruise the magnificent waters whilst enjoying the freshest local produce.

Steve Collins interviews Becky Blaine from the Arizona Office of Tourism. Arizona is a state where you will be intrigued by the friendly local, overwhelmed by the magnificent scenery and delighted that you made the effort to visit a truly unique and remarkable place.

In this episode Steve Collins talks to Geoffrey Thomas, the Editor-in-Chief of airlineratings.com about new data which he believes has accurately predicted the final resting place of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. We visit to Qatar to chat to professional Kitesurfer Sarah Lord about Qatar being one of the world’s best kitesurfing destinations. And, Steve pays a special tribute to Gnomesville in Western Australia’s Ferguson Valley.

Welcome to the first episode of the Tell Me Where 2 Go radio show. In this edition I chat about the Perth to Kalgoorlie Prospector train. I chat to Julie Jones from Travel Without Limits/Have Wheelchair Will Travel about travelling with disabilities and we visit Oda Andreasen on Mykines in the Faroe Islands.

Sam Chui is possibly the world’s most popular aviation enthusiast. Enjoy this interview with Steve Collins. In 2007, he started his YouTube channel and became well-known. Some of his videos gathered an excess of 60 million views. Sam has travelled to over 100 countries and flown over 2000 flights. He normally travels more than 300,000 air miles every year to test out flights and share his reviews. Sam has written four books and has won many awards for his aviation photos. There are 2.6 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.

In this overview of Sweden Steve Collins chats to Nils Persson, Chief Officer, Marketing and Communications fro Visit Sweden. Sweden is the largest country in Scandinavia and within its borders you’ll find beautiful cities, outstanding landscapes, contemporary designs and people who know how to enjoy life. In Sweden they keep their traditions alive whilst embracing modernity.

Featuring: Steve Collins and Geoffrey Thomas. Geoffrey Thomas is the Editor-in-Chief of www.AirlineRatings.com and an authority on the Missing Malaysian Airlines plane MH370. A new study could establish the exact location of the aircraft. In this podcast Geoffrey Thomas discusses in detail how the new research was conducted, and why he believes that it is accurate.  This compelling podcast could finally resolve the mystery of the missing MH370. READ MORE

Featuring: Steve Collins & Oda Andreasen of Go Local Tours in the Faroe Islands The Faroe Islandsare a far flung autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, located in the North Atlantic Ocean about halfway before Norway and Iceland. There are 18 inhabited islands in the chain, and Mykines if the furthest west of these. This remote island is simply stunning! It is surrounded by precipitous cliffs which plunge straight down to the wild North Atlantic seas. A breeze on Mykines would be considered as a gale anywhere else. In fact, the winds can roar with such ferocity the local lighthouse is actually tied down with cables. READ MORE

Featuring: Steve Collins and Christi Bragington, International Media Relations Manager, Virginia Tourism Organisation. There is so much to love about Virginia, the birthplace of the United States of America. Virginia is the birthplace of the United States of America, a state endowed with history and astounding scenery that will entice you to visit. READ MORE

Featuring: Steve Collins and Jillian Reckseidler Manitoba, in the middle of Canada,  is prairie country but, as you head north, it does turn into Arctic Tundra. The town of Churchill on the shores of Hudson’s Bay is famous for being the polar bear capital of the world. READ MORE

Featuring: Steve Collins and Ron Peck  Seattle, Washington is a water city that’s sequestered between the Salish Sea to its west and Lake Washington to its east. Seattle is a very attractive place. It’s an uplifting and very independent city where initiative and inspiration absolutely thrives amongst its population.  Seattle is a cosmopolitan city that delights the visitor. It is also a great place from which to begin and end an Alaskan Cruise or to discover Washington State by train. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Jorge Franz If you’ve ever imagined Houston, Texas to be a dusty, desert city you’d be supremely wrong.  Houston is a very green city, which boasts four of the biggest city parks in America. Yes, there’s space-a-plenty here. Even though Houston is 80 km inland, the city boasts one of the world’s busiest ports thanks to the Houston Ship Channel which connects Houston to the Gulf of Mexico. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Charles van Rensberg & Herbie Rosenberg Herbie Rosenberg has been involved in African inbound tourism for almost 40 years and has been running Africareps in Melbourne, Australia for about 10 years. The company represents and markets a comprehensive and prestigious collection of organisations currently covering 8 African countries and islands, being Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Charles van Rensburg lives in the heart of southern Africa and has immersed himself in a career in conservation, wildlife, and safari excursions. Now the Business Manager of Wilderness Safaris, Charles remains an advocate of respectful encounters with wildlife and is a fervent believer in protecting the places where the lions rule the land. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Darcy Pierce Wells Famously located within the incredibly gorgeous Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, are the towns of Banff and Lake Louise. Banff is Canada’s highest town and is located along the Trans-Canada Highway just 126 km west of Calgary and 58 km east of Lake Louise, in the midst of the Canadian Rockies. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Damian Perry from Hurtigruten Damian Perry is the Managing Director, VP Sales & Marketing, Asia-Pacific for Hurtigruten. He has been in the travel industry for 30 years and from day one had a desire to be involved in experience-rich outdoor, adventurous and cultural travel that would take him around the world. Today he is involved in one of the most dynamic industries in the world as we navigate the expedition cruise segment travelling to some of the world’s most unique and pristine areas in small expedition ships. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Matthew Joshua The island of St. Helena can be very hard to find. Located in the Atlantic Ocean, 4,000 km east of Rio de Janeiro and 1,950 km west of Angola, Africa, St. Helena is a volcanic island that pokes out of the deep ocean, it’s a mere pinpoint of a map. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Tony Giles Tony Giles is a blind and partially deaf extraordinary traveller who has travelled the globe and written books about all his experiences. To date, Tony has visited 125 official UN countries. He’s also Bungee jumped seventeen times, sky dived three times and has been zorbing twice, driven jet boats, a large jeep, ridden motorbikes, jet skied and water skied, to name a few activities. In 2004 Tony nearly drowned whilst white water rafting on the Zambezi River in Zambia. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Liz Birdsall and Steve Collins Colorado is one of the most scenically stunning states in the United States. In this podcast Liz Birdsall, International Marketing Manager for the Colorado Tourism Office chats about Colorado's many attractions. READ MORE HERE 

Featuring: Rachel Oakes-Ash Rachael Oakes-Ash is better known as Miss Snow It All, the name behind Snowsbest.com and the @misssnowitall digital platform for skiers and boarders that travel. Australia’s queen of the snow has been top of her snow media game for close to two decades with ten years as a Fairfax ski columnist before launching her own digital publication. You’ll find her on the slopes in Japan, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Europe and at home in Australia. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Campbell Wilson  We have a chat with the ever exuberant Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot – the bright yellow-tailed, low-cost airline, based in Singapore. With twenty nine year’s experience in the SIA group, this Kiwi is a passionate and well-respected leader in the aviation industry. With flights resuming from Singapore to Athens and Berlin soon, he hopes to “rattle-any-snakes” out of all his planes and get them back in the air soon. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Georgia Rickard Georgia Rickard is a multi-award-winning magazine editor. The former Editor at Large for Virgin Australia, and editor of Australia’s largest selling travel magazine, Australian Traveller. She has contributed to News Limited, Conde Nast, Fairfax Media, BBC, AFAR, and several newspapers of note, including The Times. She is co-founder of The Travel Bootcamp (in partnership with Intrepid Travel and Olympus) and The Modern Travel Media Summit, sponsored by TravMedia, a Destination Gold Coast Content Awards ambassador, a travel curator for Fairfax Media and correspondent for Airbnb and a featured Airbnb Insider.  READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Margot Andersen and Simone Pregellio Margot and Simone are from the Insync Network Group which produces the Boomeranging podcast – a podcast sharing stories of returned Aussie expats.  Both are repats themselves, Margot from London, Simone from Singapore, and share a love of travel and for advocating for Australian expat talent. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Jason deCaires Taylor and Steve Collins Jason deCaires Taylor is a sculptor, environmentalist and professional underwater photographer. His permanent, site-specific sculptural works span the world’s oceans and seas and explore modern themes of conservation and environmental activism. Over the past 15 years, Taylor has been one of the first to consider the underwater realm as a public art space and has created numerous large-scale underwater “Museums” and “Sculpture Parks”. READ MORE HERE 

Featuring: Justin Te Hau and Steve Collins Te Puia is quite an institution in Rotorua, New Zealand. This fascinating attraction has a 180-year legacy of guiding visitors through a stunning geothermal valley and showcasing the intriguing Māori culture! READ MORE HERE 

Featuring: Paul Pio and Steve Collins Composed of 83 spectacular islands, the archipelago of Vanuatu features an authentic and unique blend of breathtaking landscapes, rich culture and friendly locals. READ MORE HERE 

Featuring: Ruby Boukabou and Steve Collins Ruby Boukabou is an Australian woman who has lived part of each year in Paris for quite some time. Ruby is absolutely enchanted with the city she fell in love with. READ MORE HERE 

Featuring: Gala Perez Gutierrez and Steve Collins The Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation was founded by Prince Albert I, a passionate and visionary seafarer. Recognised as serving the public interest by the French presidential decree on 16 May 1906, the Foundation has been working for the Ocean for more than a century. READ MORE HERE 

Featuring: Masahiro Ide and Steve Collins Nestled into the western end of the Seto Inland Sea on the North-East coast of Kyushu Island in Japan is the extraordinary Oita Prefecture. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Ksenia Kobyakov Within its 22,000 square kilometres lives a population of 9.2 million. The three major monotheistic religion of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have deep historical ties to the region. Israel is a country that has a human history going back 50,000 years and its strategic location has served as the gateway from Asia to Egypt and Africa that has made Israel an ideal target for conquerors through the ages. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Selena Oh A short drive along a winding road takes visitors to Mount Faber peak, home to the Singapore Cable Car station. One of the oldest parks in Singapore, Mount Faber is covered in lush rainforest and stands nearly 100m above ground. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Sarah Lord  When you consider the world’s most predictable kitesurfing spots, the Gulf state of Qatar probably wouldn’t be on most people’s minds. Well, Qatar’s predictable winds and wonderfully still water conditions do make for a kitesurfing paradise as professional kitesurfing coach Sarah Lord will attest. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: David Bowden The mere mention of Tuscany sends most travellers into a world of eager anticipation. The intensity and quality of the light impress me most about this part of Italy. It is this light that provides the energy so essential for growing crops, especially grapes and olives, that are integral components to the Italian lifestyle. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Steve Collins Western Australia is renowned for the quality of its wines and produce, and each year that wonderful produce is celebrated with an 11-day event called Taste Great Southern. The Great Southern of Western Australia is located along the pristine southern coastline and expands into the mountains and forest ranges, including the major centres of Albany, Denmark, Mt Barker, Kojonup and Katanning. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Gaynor Reid & Yip Yew Chong It took a stranger, local street artist Yip Yew Chong, to finally make me feel at home in Singapore. During Covid, I found myself stuck on the tiny island-state I had called home for almost eight years – and yet had not really explored. Working in travel, I was used to doing my sightseeing overseas. Feeling pent-up and locked-in, I started taking early walks, exploring the island while it was just waking from slumber. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Steve Collins Taronga Zoo's Roar and Snore participants stay in tents which afford stunning views of Sydney city.  This is glamping, with solid floors and real beds, and at the centre of the glamp-site is a common area where guests gather for drinks and nibbles with the chance to meet and greet a couple of reptilian residents. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Greg Garnish & Steve Collins Margaret River winery and distillery Wise Wines has celebrated seven Western Australian outback towns with the launch of seven new gins featuring botanicals from each area. Wise already markets its range of Gin Gin Gin gins and will extend the branding through the gin towns of Narrogin, Wagin, Corrigin, Muntadgin, Dangin, Badgingarra and of course Gingin. Wise distiller Greg Garnish said being the first in WA to make a Gin Gin gin, it seemed logical to travel to the outback gin towns, discover some of their unique botanicals and make a gin from each of them. READ MORE HERE

Featuring: Cynthia Dammerer Most chefs will tell you that the eye is the pathway to the stomach.  That is food looks attractive, then hunger will follow. In Singapore, they’ve knocked that concept on the head in a new restaurant called NOX – Dine in the Dark. READ MORE HERE