The World Is Waiting: Travel Host Darley Newman On Season 12 of ‘Travels With Darley’

Creating and hosting a long-running travel show is no easy feat. Just ask Darley Newman, host of “Travels With Darley,” which debuts its 12th season on PBS beginning this month. Newman, who founded the show and at various points has published episodes across platforms including YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Ovation TV, in addition to PBS, shares insights into the latest season of her acclaimed series, “Travels With Darley.” Newman discusses the unique destinations explored in Season 12 and delves into the show’s focus on sustainable travel and community engagement. She also reveals behind-the-scenes anecdotes and shares her hopes for inspiring viewers to explore their own corners of the world.

Where to watch Season 12 of ‘Travels With Darley’

Exploring the cuisine of New Jersey. Photo: Darley Newman

As has been the trend with the past 11 seasons, Season 12 of Travels with Darley takes viewers on journeys around the US and into Canada, exploring diverse cultures, history, and landscapes. Newman immerses herself in local experiences, interacting with people beyond destination representatives, trying local cuisine, and participating in unique activities. The defining feature of the show is Newman’s ability to blend cultural history with actionable things that people can do beyond simply staring at a museum plaque. The show has garnered critical acclaim and has been nominated for several Daytime Emmy Awards.

Season 12 of “Travels with Darley” takes viewers to a diverse range of destinations across the USA and Canada. The season kicks off exploring the rhythms, tastes, and trails of Detroit, Michigan, before heading to the Southwest to immerse viewers in the Santa Fe Indian Market in New Mexico. Then it is off to Fargo, North Dakota, and beyond, followed by a multi-state “Revolutionary Road Trip” – a staple of Travels With Darley throughout the show’s history – through Delaware, North Carolina, and New Jersey. The season also includes a stop in Ellijay, Georgia, a road trip from Albuquerque to Ruidoso, New Mexico, and a scenic drive along the Illinois Great River Road. Back in the Midwest, viewers can explore the architecture and the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Illinois, before the season concludes with eco-adventures in Quebec, Canada.

The series highlights lesser-known aspects of many popular tourist spots, as well as places travelers may never think to visit in the first place (North Dakota being a prime example in Season 12). It aims to inspire viewers to explore the world, embrace new cultures, and discover the beauty and wonder that exists beyond typical travel itineraries.

“I’m excited to share those places that again fly under the radar, but that are doing really good work and you would never hear about exactly what they’re doing,” Newman told Matador.

A deeper focus for the new season

Photo courtesy Darley Newman

Each season of “Travels With Darley” has an underlying theme that becomes apparent to the viewer as they move through the episodes. Season 12 focuses on the broad scope of sustainability.

“Not just environmental sustainability,” she says. “It’s also preserving architecture, which I love to cover, and preserving culture and history and passing down traditions. That’s all a part of true sustainability and that’s what this season is all about.”

Another constant in the new season is its focus on inclusivity and accessibility. Many of the destinations featured, including Alabama, North Dakota, and New Orleans, each of which has taken strides to make top sites easier to reach or more tolerable for travelers with disabilities such as autism.

“It’s a big topic because (accessibility) is another growing trend it’s something that destinations are really looking at right now,” Newman notes. “There are so many different challenges that we all face.”

Autism, in particular, is a notable issue that prevents millions of people from enjoying travel to its fullest, or even leaving home in the first place. Surfside, South Carolina, became the first city in the U.S. to be sanctioned as autism-friendly, and Newman was recently in Myrtle Beach, where she is from, for the holidays and learned about Surfside’s work in this area, which includes erecting playgrounds that are sensitive to overstimulation, and museums and restaurants that are the same. For season 12, she took inspiration from other places that were making similar efforts.

“I think it’ll be a season that has a lot of surprises for people and there’s some heartfelt stories mixed with things that just aren’t what we see or hear about every day, which I love,” Newman says.

How Darley Newman stays motivated, 12 seasons in

Photo courtesy Darley Newman

Even as a veteran, Newman’s excitement for conveying the stories of the people and places she visits remains visible throughout Season 12.

“I always like to understand people’s motivations when we’re doing the show,” she says. “Why people are inspired to do what they do, because there are things you have to do in life but then there are things that compel you to do something more. And I think those are often the things that are the most interesting to be able to uncover. It’s the passion that people have for something.”

It’s finding that passion and a unique angle that Newman says keeps her engaged, and that she offers as her biggest piece of advice for travel content creators.

“I think if you have a passion for something that you really care about or you think you’re really good at, then that should be part of your focus,” Newman says. “Because you have to spend a lot of time doing this, and creating a channel, and all that kind of stuff. So, it should be something you really care about and that you’re passionate about and maybe is unique to you as well.”

Check out season 12 of “Travels With Darley” on your local PBS station and for free online via Tubi.