Who is Simon Calder? Travel expert in profile
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Your support makes all the difference.Travel is rarely out of the headlines at the moment, as newspapers try to disentangle how, when, why and where we might be able to go on a summer holiday.
And one person who is never far from explaining those headlines is Simon Calder, travel journalist and broadcaster. During the past year (and beyond), he has attempted to clarify the knottiest issues surrounding travel for consumers, via the travel pages of this newspaper and on TV screens.
But who is the “man who pays his way”?
Who is Simon Calder?
Simon Calder is The Independent’s travel correspondent, having joined the newspaper in 1994. During his tenure at The Independent, he has witnessed momentous changes in the travel landscape, from the boom in budget airlines to aviation security concerns in the wake of 9/11.
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Over the past 27 years, he has reported on stories as varied as the launch of easyJet, the introduction of Air Passenger Duty and more recently, the Boeing 737 Max tragedies.
He also launched The Independent’s popular “48 hours in” series, which – despite a pandemic pause – has been hugely successful and covered destinations as far-flung as Budapest, Baku and Bermuda.
He styles himself as “the man who pays his way”, and won’t accept travel freebies.
What does he do?
Calder covers news for The Independent’s travel pages on a daily basis, whether that’s scrutinising government reports about Brexit regulations, reporting on what an airline CEO has said or explaining what the latest lockdown restrictions mean for travellers.
He also answers readers’ travel questions for The Independent’s Daily Edition app and authors two popular columns a week: The Man Who Pays His Way, which explores a newsworthy travel issue in more detail; and Plane Talk, which takes a closer look at an aviation story.
Every Friday morning, the Simon Calder travel week newsletter goes out – you can sign up here.
What are his favourite journeys?
- Across southern Africa from Victoria Falls to the “skeleton coast” of Namibia.
- The Pan-American Highway through Central America.
- Hitchhiking in Bavaria and getting a lift on the outside of a Mercedes-Benz.
- The Trans-Siberian railway across Russia.
- Exploring Istanbul for the first 48 Hours feature.
- Ascending Aconcagua, “the roof of the western world” in the Andes.
- Travelling the Silk Road from Tashkent to Khiva in Uzbekistan.
- Walking through Bruce Chatwin’s corner of Wales,
- Exploring Baja California in western Mexico.
- To Westminster Abbey in central London for an AstraZeneca coronavirus jab.
How can I get in touch with him?
The best way to contact Calder is via Twitter, where he also shares the latest travel news and advice.
At 12noon on a Saturday and Sunday, he hosts a Facebook Live for The Independent.
At 3.30pm on a Saturday and Sunday, he conducts an Instagram Live.
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