Welcome to the world’s smallest sovereign state, where 800 residents preside over the spiritual lives of 1.4 billion Catholics. This 0.17-square-mile enclave packs more artistic treasures, religious significance, and ecclesiastical intrigue per square meter than anywhere else on Earth. Surrounded entirely by Rome, Vatican City operates as an absolute monarchy ruled by the Pope, making it simultaneously one of the most powerful and most sparsely populated nations on the planet.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to the Vatican City for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/142823145. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

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TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

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Panama is that improbably narrow thread of land that somehow keeps two continents from drifting apart – a geographical accident that became the world's shortcut. This slender nation punches well above its weight, offering pristine Caribbean beaches, dense Pacific jungles teeming with harpy eagles, and a canal that remains one of humanity's greatest engineering triumphs. Between the buzzing capital and indigenous archipelagos, Panama delivers outsized adventures in a remarkably compact package.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Panama for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/c/trodpod/shop. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

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TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denmark punches well above its weight for a nation roughly the size of Switzerland. This Scandinavian kingdom of 5.8 million people manages to be simultaneously progressive and deeply rooted in tradition, modern yet medieval. From Copenhagen's cycling culture to ancient Viking fortresses, Denmark offers Nordic efficiency with a refreshingly self-deprecating sense of humor. It's a place where fairy tales were born, design reaches perfection, and happiness research becomes a national obsession.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Denmark for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/c/trodpod/shop. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wedged between China and India like a geographic sandwich filling, Nepal punches well above its weight. This landlocked nation serves up the world's highest peaks, ancient temples that predate your great-grandmother's pottery collection, and enough spiritual enlightenment to make a yoga instructor weep. From subtropical jungles prowling with tigers to oxygen-thin mountain passes, Nepal crams more landscape diversity into its borders than seems mathematically possible.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Nepal for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/c/trodpod/shop. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mozambique stretches along Africa's southeastern coast like a languid seahorse, offering 2,500 kilometers of pristine Indian Ocean shoreline. This Portuguese-speaking nation serves up an intoxicating blend of Arab spice routes, colonial architecture, and raw African wilderness. From the archipelago playgrounds of the uber-wealthy to the remarkable wildlife comeback stories inland, Mozambique feels simultaneously boutique and untamed—a country that would rather surprise you than simply please you.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Mozambique for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/c/trodpod/shop. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Maldives comprises 1,192 coral islands scattered across 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean, though only 200 are inhabited. This nation exists more in water than on land—a fact that becomes startlingly apparent when you realize the highest point is just 2.4 meters above sea level. It's a place where luxury resorts perch on stilts over crystal lagoons, where manta rays outnumber traffic jams, and where the biggest decision you'll face is whether to snorkel before or after your third cocktail.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to The Maldives for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/140119872 . Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

St Lucia stands as the Caribbean’s crown jewel, where volcanic drama meets tropical perfection. This Windward Islands gem offers towering Pitons that pierce the sky, bubbling mud baths that smell suspiciously of rotten eggs, and beaches that make other islands weep with envy. Between the French-influenced culture and British colonial remnants, it’s a place where Nobel laureates emerge from fishing villages and chocolate grows on trees. Paradise, essentially, with decent Wi-Fi.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Saint Lucia for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/139578008. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The teardrop-shaped island dangling off India’s southeastern coast packs an extraordinary punch for its modest size. Sri Lanka offers ancient kingdoms, sacred peaks, golden beaches, and tea plantations that carpet emerald hills like something from a fairy tale. This is where Buddhism took root, where elephants roam wild, and where every meal comes with enough spice to make your eyes water in the most delightful way. Three thousand years of civilization meet pristine nature in perfect harmony.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Sri Lanka for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/trodpod-63-guide-139039027. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the land where the Sahara meets the Atlantic in spectacular fashion. Mauritania remains delightfully off the beaten track, a place where ancient caravan routes still whisper through shifting dunes and traditional Imraguen fishermen cast nets as their ancestors did centuries ago. This is Africa’s last frontier for the intrepid traveler, where cell phone signals are scarce but authentic experiences abound. Don’t come here expecting luxury resorts - come for raw, unfiltered adventure.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Mauritania for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/138521235. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Monaco is a gloriously preposterous principality - the world’s second-smallest sovereign statesqueezed into just 2.02 square kilometers of Mediterranean coastline. This tax haven masquerading as a country has somehow convinced the world that extreme wealth concentration is actually rather charming. Despite being smaller than New York’s Central Park, Monaco punches well above its weight in glamour, Formula 1 racing, and eye-watering prices that could bankrupt small nations.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Monaco for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/trodpod-60-guide-137972258. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Haití occupies the western third of Hispaniola, sharing the Caribbean island with the Dominican Republic. This punchy little nation has battled colonialists, slave traders, Mother Nature, and corrupt politicians with remarkable resilience. Despite enduring unimaginable hardships, Haitians remain some of the world's most wonderful people. The country offers visitors a raw, authentic Caribbean experience far removed from sanitized resort tourism - though getting there requires both courage and careful planning.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Haití for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/trodpod-59-guide-137405519. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s second-largest country by area, a vast wilderness of dense rainforest, mighty rivers, and extraordinary wildlife. Home to humanity’s closest relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees, alongside mountain gorillas and forest elephants, the DRC contains some of the planet’s most biodiverse ecosystems. This is adventure travel at its most authentic: challenging, unpredictable, and utterly rewarding for those who dare.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Austria for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/136800776?. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

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TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Austria punches well above its weight for a nation roughly the size of South Carolina. This Alpine republic serves up imperial grandeur, world-class skiing, and enough cultural density to induce mild vertigo. From Mozart’s birthplace to Freud’s consulting room, from baroque palaces to mountain peaks that scrape the sky, Austria manages to be both deeply serious about its artistic heritage and surprisingly playful about its tourist appeal. It’s a place where genius and gemütlichkeit coexist beautifully.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Austria for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/trodpod-57-guide-136335101. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

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TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kuwait may be small, but it punches well above its weight in the geography department. Nestled between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, this desert kingdom sits at the crossroads of civilizations where the Arabian Gulf meets millennia of trading history. Think gleaming towers rising from endless sand, souks that smell of cardamom and ambition, and enough oil wealth to make a petrolhead weep with joy. It’s a place where Bedouin heritage meets modern luxury, and where getting lost in the desert is both a metaphor and a genuine possibility.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Kuwait for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/trodpod-56-guide-135739199. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bolivia is South America’s landlocked oddball – a country where coca leaves are currency, salt flats double as mirrors, and the capital city sits so high you’ll need a moment to catch your breath. From the dizzying heights of La Paz to the steamy Amazon basin, this is a land of extremes that refuses to be tamed. Here, indigenous traditions collide with colonial architecture, and every corner promises an adventure that’ll leave you questioning whether you’ve accidentally wandered into a fever dream.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Bolivia for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/trodpod-55-guide-135205953?source=storefront. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Georgia sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, a position that has blessed it with extraordinary diversity and cursed it with a turbulent history. This ancient land claims to be the birthplace of wine—8,000 years of viticulture can’t be wrong—and boasts landscapes ranging from subtropical coasts to towering Caucasus peaks. With its distinctive alphabet, legendary hospitality, and a capital city that feels like a beautifully weathered jewel box, Georgia offers the sort of authentic travel experience that’s becoming increasingly rare.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Georgia for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/TrodPod/shop/trodpod-54-guide-to-georgia-1978800. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South Korea is a cultural and economic miracle wrapped in a relatively small peninsula. This is where ancient palaces sit comfortably beside gleaming skyscrapers, where fermented cabbage has achieved cult status, and where a film about class warfare can sweep the Oscars. From the frenetic energy of Seoul to the volcanic drama of Jeju Island, South Korea offers travelers a chance to witness a nation that has transformed itself from war-torn poverty to global cultural powerhouse in just decades.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to South Korea for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/TrodPod/shop/trodpod-52-guide-to-poland-1930375. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poland sits at the crossroads of Eastern and Western Europe, a country that has repeatedly risen from the ashes of history with remarkable resilience. From the medieval splendor of Kraków to the reconstructed phoenix of Warsaw, Poland offers visitors a potent blend of cultural richness, dark historical lessons, and surprisingly excellent cuisine. It’s a nation that wears its scars with dignity while embracing its role as modern Europe’s grown-up in the room.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Poland for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/TrodPod/shop/trodpod-52-guide-to-poland-1930375. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belize is Central America’s delightful oddball – an English-speaking Caribbean nation that happens to be on the mainland. This compact jewel wedged between Mexico and Guatemala offers pristine coral reefs, ancient Maya ruins, and jungle adventures, all wrapped up in a laid-back Afro-Caribbean vibe. With a population smaller than most cities, Belize feels like a well-kept secret where everyone knows everyone, and the biggest traffic jam involves golf carts.

Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Belize for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/TrodPod/shop/trodpod-51-guide-to-belize-1892275. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

Thanks for all your support!

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

IT'S CELEBRATION TIME!!! This week it's TrodPod's 51st episode, which means we're quarter-way through a journey during which we will take you to every country in the world - all 200 of them... And it turns out that what listeners most liked was not the travel information that took thousands of pounds and weeks to research, but rather when we got it all wrong. So, this week, to thank you all for listening to the first year of TrodPod, we are bringing you the very best of the outtakes. Enjoy!

Want to support this journey? Then become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membership

TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.