{"podcast":{"title":"Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways","slug":"smart-travel-upgrade-your-getaways-7201309","podcast_index_feed_id":7201309,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/NRD5604144476","website_url":"https://nerdwallet.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/38498f54-e32a-11ef-b372-27d8dfecb90e/image/283bb3cbb85eb4986074e0c9080616f8.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"NerdWallet","episode_count":78,"summary":"Planning your next vacation? Before you budget, learn how to get the most out of your travel dollars with Smart Travel. NerdWallet’s trusted travel experts, Sally French and Meghan Coyle, are here to help your travel dollars work even harder. But the travel Nerds don’t just make recommendations; they break down the latest travel details, exploring the pros and cons of specific strategies, practical tools, and tactics. Dive deep with the experts as they lay out all the options so you can finally plan that dream vacation. So put your seat in its full upright position, buckle up, and let’s help that travel budget take you places you’ve only dreamed about. Join hosts Sally French and Meghan Coyle, two of NerdWallet’s expert travel Nerds, as they lay out tips, tools, and strategies for your next travel getaway, including: Travel budgeting: What’s the best way to budget for a vacation? How can you save money planning travel? The Nerds compare the best travel budgeting tools. Travel Strategies: Should you use travel points or travel miles? Should you Airbnb or get a hotel? The Nerds have your how-to travel guide for your next trip. Family vacation planning: Thinking of a Disney trip or s…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-22T16:20:55.756406+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/smart-travel-upgrade-your-getaways-7201309"},"episode":{"title":"Mediterranean Cruise Game Plan: Santorini, Mykonos, and the Greek Islands Without Transit Chaos","slug":"mediterranean-cruise-game-plan-santorini-mykonos-and-the-greek-islands-without-transit-chaos","published_at":"2026-02-18T08:10:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/smart-travel-upgrade-your-getaways-7201309/mediterranean-cruise-game-plan-santorini-mykonos-and-the-greek-islands-without-transit-chaos","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/smart-travel-upgrade-your-getaways-7201309","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pfx.vpixl.com/gr1o7/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML4554858708.mp3?updated=1771366775","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pfx.vpixl.com/gr1o7/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML4554858708.mp3?updated=1771366775","summary":"Learn how you can explore the Mediterranean without losing days to ferries, hotel check-ins, or pricey islands. Hosts Sally French and Meghan Coyle discuss Mediterranean trip planning to help you link coastal cities and islands without wasting precious vacation time. But first, they break down the latest travel headlines, including Southwest adding Starlink Wi-Fi, JetBlue and United expanding the Blue Sky partnership for booking and redemptions, and spring break travel trends. Producer Tess Vigeland also joins to share lessons from a trip to Spain gone wrong, including how EU flight delay compensation works and what to update in Global Entry after you get a new passport. Next, Sally and Meghan dig into what makes traveling the Mediterranean tricky, from fragmented routes to language barriers and currencies, and talk through when a cruise can simplify island-hopping. Sally shares her port-heavy trip on Norwegian Cruise Line Viva with her husband, Hamilton, before she and Meghan spotlight can’t-miss stops like Cinque Terre, Sardinia, Kotor, Marseille and the French Riviera, Zadar, and Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia. Plus: where to look for surprisingly affordable luxury stays in places like Istanbul, Crete, and Montenegro. Card benefits, terms and fees can change. For the most up-to-date information about cards mentioned in this episode, read our reviews: American Express Platinum Review: Top-Notch Lounge Access, Big Credits https://www.nerdwallet.com/credit-cards/reviews/american-express-platinum Want even more tips and tricks to get the most out of your travel dollars? Subscribe to TravelNerd, our free newsletter designed to help you crack the code on spending less on your travel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"Learn how you can explore the Mediterranean without losing days to ferries, hotel check-ins, or pricey islands. Hosts Sally French and Meghan Coyle discus…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3485,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/smart-travel-upgrade-your-getaways-7201309/episodes/mediterranean-cruise-game-plan-santorini-mykonos-and-the-greek-islands-without-transit-chaos/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/smart-travel-upgrade-your-getaways-7201309/mediterranean-cruise-game-plan-santorini-mykonos-and-the-greek-islands-without-transit-chaos.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}