The Gomes Guide Travel Podcast

Shannon Gomes
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Places & Travel
  • Updated Biweekly

The Gomes Guide Travel Podcast is where travel, food, and culture meet. Hosted by San Francisco–based travel writer, storyteller, and mom of two teens Shannon Gomes, the show features thoughtful conversations with experts in the food and wine world, avid travelers, creators, tastemakers, and locals who reveal what truly makes a destination memorable—and how to experience it like a local, with food always at the center of the journey. From unforgettable meals and hidden neighborhoods to meaningful cultural experiences and practical travel insight, each episode is designed to inspire curious travelers—especially Gen X listeners who value depth, connection, and great food—to explore the world more intentionally and to bring a sense of discovery back home. Shannon is also the writer behind The Gomes Guide (https://thegomesguide.substack.com), a weekly travel-focused Substack filled with stories, recommendations, and inspiration for meaningful travel. Listeners are invited to subscribe for fresh ideas, insider tips, and destination inspiration delivered each week.   Whether you’re planning your next trip or simply dreaming about one, The Gomes Guide Travel Podcast celebrates connection, community, and the joy of experiencing new places through food and travel.  

  1. 3d ago

    Hut-to-Hut in the Swiss Alps: Hiking 70 Miles with Teenagers

    Enjoy listening to The Gomes Guide Podcast? Please leave a quick voice note with your comments! Lia Heath tried to book the Tour du Mont Blanc for her family in early February. She got laughed at. Some huts on that route open reservations at 7 a.m. and sell out in five minutes flat. What she booked instead turned into eight days and 70 miles across the Swiss Alps with her husband, Tad, and their two teenagers, William and Damen, hut to hut from Martigny to Zermatt on the Walker's Haute Route. In this episode, Lia and I talk through how a booking agency like Mont Blanc Experience gets you into remote huts that don't take reservations online, what those huts are actually like (spoiler: bunk mats on a wood floor, shoulder to shoulder with strangers), and the French-speaking family they became friends with entirely through sign language. We get into the gear that mattered (wool socks, hiking poles, a full month breaking in Salomons), the thunderstorm that hit half a mile from the final gondola, and how the whole family agrees fondue afterward tasted like a reward. We also zoom out to how Lia plans international trips with teenagers in general, from Bali and Komodo National Park to Tokyo and Egypt, how she and Tad split the planning work, and why the calendar is now harder to manage than the destination. IN THIS EPISODE How Lia ended up on the Walker's Haute Route after the Tour du Mont Blanc booked outWhat a hut-to-hut booking agency actually handles for you (luggage transfers, meals, remote reservations)What the huts are really like, from bunk mats to Swiss chalet innsMaking friends with a French-speaking family through sign language aloneThe thunderstorm on the last day, half a mile from the gondola into ZermattGear that made a difference: Salomon shoes, wool socks, hiking poles, hydration packsHow teenagers actually handle 12-mile days and 5,000 feet of elevation gainPlanning international trips as kids get older: Bali, Tokyo, Egypt, and what changes with teensHer top tips for a family hut-to-hut trip, and the one rule that applies to every trip: leave room to wanderLINKS MENTIONED Mont Blanc Experience: https://www.montblanc-experience.com/Salomon: https://www.salomon.com/en-us📬 Read the full post, with photos, by subscribing for free to The Gomes Guide on Substack: thegomesguide.substack.com Support the show

  2. Jul 28

    Wine Is Never Grown in Ugly Places | Liz Barrett, What's In That Bottle

    Enjoy listening to The Gomes Guide Podcast? Please leave a quick voice note with your comments! If you want a better trip, pick a wine region first and build everything else around it. That's the travel philosophy of Liz Barrett, Certified Specialist of Wine and the writer behind What's In That Bottle. In this episode, Liz and I trace her path from a job interview where she admitted she knew nothing about wine, to teaching herself the industry alongside Master Sommeliers, to passing the notoriously difficult CSW exam on her first try. We talk about what wine travel really looks like: researching regional wine consortiums before you fly, booking winery experiences anyone can reserve, walking a mile through the rain in Beaujolais, and coming home with eight bottles in your checked bag. She also shares the underrated regions she wants on your radar — Portugal beyond Vinho Verde, France's Languedoc, Washington State, the Finger Lakes, and the Northern Michigan wines she will personally defend — plus why she went 17 days in New Zealand without a single sip of Sauvignon Blanc. And if you've ever frozen at a wine list or gone quiet in a tasting room, this one's for you. Liz's rule: there are no dumb questions. Curiosity is the only credential you need. Find Liz at whatsinthatbottle.com and on Instagram at @lizbchicago. Read the full post, with photos and links to every wine, region, and shop mentioned, at thegomesguide.substack.com. The Gomes Guide Podcast is hosted by Shannon Gomes, a San Francisco-based travel writer and podcast host.  Support the show

  3. Jul 14

    She's Been Feeding San Francisco's Curiosity Since 2004 | Lisa Rogovin, Edible Excursions

    Enjoy listening to The Gomes Guide Podcast? Please leave a quick voice note with your comments! If you want to really know a city, skip the landmarks and find the people feeding it. That's the philosophy behind Edible Excursions, the Bay Area's original walking food tour company — and the life's work of founder Lisa Rogovin. In this episode, I sit down with Lisa to talk about how a conversation with a Four Seasons hotel GM launched a 20-year business, what a seven-month solo food and wine journey across five continents taught her about people and place, and why she cried the first time she led a tour after 17 months of Covid shutdown. We also get into the guides who've stayed with her since the beginning, the proposals that have happened mid-tour, the small businesses she's championed through rising costs and a pandemic, and why she'd happily eat Japanese food for 30 straight days. Lisa knows this city's food scene better than almost anyone. This conversation is proof. In this episode: How a hotel GM redirected Lisa's Ferry Building dream into a businessWhat her seven-month, five-continent food journey taught her about storytellingWhy she's intentionally kept Edible Excursions local to the Bay AreaThe guides, the regulars, and the proposals that happen on food toursThe Nebraska woman at the farmers market who cried over berries — and why that moment says everythingComing back after 17 months of shutdown and leading her first tour againLisa's SF Rapid Fire Picks: Underrated neighborhood for food: The Tenderloin. Her current picks there: Bodega (Vietnamese, newly relocated), Outta Sight Pizza, Brenda’s for Cajun soul food and the best po’ boys and hush puppies in the city, and Onsen,Coffee: Best Boy Electric Coffee in Japantown, inside the New People Building — get the Okinawa brown sugar latte or the black sesame latte, and don’t skip the pastries. And Bernie’s Coffee in the Mission, a woman-owned shop that sources all its beans from women-owned farms across Latin America, roasts in Oakland, and has the kind of warm, community-oriented energy that makes you want to stay.Wine bar: 20 Spot in the Mission, on 20th off Valencia. Tiny, dimly lit, plays vinyl, tiny galley kitchen that punches well above its weight.Cuisine for a month: Japanese, without questionTop 3 restaurants: Super Mira Market — restaurant-quality Japanese food made by a former restaurant owner, four days a week, inside a grocery store; Kokkari, where she got married, which tells you everything about how she feels about it — the spreads, the lamb chops, the seasonally inspired menu; and Jilli, a Korean tapas spot in the Mission on 15th, tucked into the ground floor of an apartment building. Book a tour: edibleexcursions.net Gift certificates available — and highly recommended. Links & resources mentioned: Edible ExcursionsThe Gomes Guide: North Berkeley Food Tour postThe Gomes Guide SubstackFollow The Gomes Guide on Instagram: @thegomesguideSupport the show

  4. Jul 7

    Oakland Has a Food Story. Kahja Elliott Is Making Sure You Hear It.

    Enjoy listening to The Gomes Guide Podcast? Please leave a quick voice note with your comments! If you want to know where to eat in Oakland, ask someone who moved there knowing no one and used food to figure it out. That's exactly what Kahja Elliott did — and it turned into Kay in the Bay, a platform that goes beyond where to eat and gets into why a place exists, who it's for, and what it represents. In this episode, Shannon sits down with Kahja to talk about Oakland's eclectic, endlessly surprising food scene, the spots worth seeking out in both Oakland and Berkeley, and why she thinks the best thing a visitor can do is keep it broad. They also get into how growing up watching PBS food and travel programming planted the seed for everything she's built — and where Kay in the Bay is headed next. This one is equal parts food guide, origin story, and love letter to the East Bay. Pull up your Notes app. You're going to need it. In This Episode: How Kahja went from wandering Oakland neighborhoods to building Kay in the BayGrowing up in the Bronx, living in Atlanta, and how three very different food cities shaped her palateWhy she tells every Oakland visitor to keep it broad — and what she means by thatThe Cook and Her Farmer (Old Oakland), Rose Lemon and Cao Cao Grill (Berkeley), and June's Pizza (West Oakland) — and exactly what to orderSweet treat must-visits: Gregory's Gourmet Desserts and Casa de ChocolatesHer favorite espresso martini, the red wine that converted her, and the farmer's market she'll always make time forWhy Kay in the Bay is expanding into food storytelling consultancy — and what that actually looks likeHer favorite food city outside the Bay Area (hint: it involves a very unexpected egg roll)Connect with Kahja: Website: kayinthebay.comInstagram: @heykinthebayPodcast: As Told By (available wherever you listen)Substack: Life Size BitesIf you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to The Gomes Guide on Substack for more travel inspiration, tips, and stories. You can also follow on Instagram at: @thegomesguide. And if you love the podcast, I'd be so grateful if you left a review — it really helps others discover the show! Support the show

  5. Jun 16

    She Studies the World Through a Glass: A Conversation with Kimberly Noelle Charles

    Enjoy listening to The Gomes Guide Podcast? Please leave a quick voice note with your comments! Some conversations make you want to pour a glass and never stop listening. This is one of them. Kimberly Noelle Charles is the founder of Charles Communications Associates, one of the most respected wine marketing communications firms in the country — and one of the most passionate storytellers I've ever had the pleasure of sitting down with. She started her career as a part-time sommelier at Georgetown, selling wine to lobbyists on commission while studying foreign service and rowing crew. She thought it would be a side hustle. Instead, it became the foundation for a career spanning more than four decades and taking her around the world. She's 45 years deep in this industry. And she is still completely lit up by it. We go well beyond wine in this one. This conversation is really about curiosity, connection, and why the best glass is always the one you share. In This Episode: How a college side hustle selling wine to D.C. lobbyists accidentally launched a 45-year careerWhat it took to become one of the first Americans to earn the WSET Diploma — and why she was convinced she'd failedThe move west to lead communications for the Gallo of Sonoma relaunch and what California taught her that New York never couldThree underappreciated California wine regions you're probably driving right past — the Petaluma Gap, the Sierra Foothills, and the Anderson ValleyWhy Americans are actually some of the most informed wine drinkers in the world — and what Europe still does betterWhat the Toji sake masters of Japan's Niigata prefecture taught her about humility, craft, and leadershipThe quote that stopped me in my tracks: "They are asking not to be taught about wine. They want to be invited to wine."The Come Together campaign she's been building with Karen MacNeil and Gino Colangelo — and why it matters right nowRapid fire: favorite SF restaurants, a hidden gem in Marin, a dream Paso Robles road trip with the Ladies Who Lunch, and the bottles she'd open to convert a wine skepticLinks:  Charles Communications Associates — charlescomm.comFollow Kimberly on Instagram: @alltheswirl and @cbruleeItata in Chile https://www.winesofchile.org/winegrowing-regions/Niigata prefecture & sakes https://www.niigata-sake.or.jp/en/Petaluma Gap https://petalumagap.com/Visit Mendocino https://www.visitmendocino.com/Sierra foothills https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Foothills_AVAPaso Robles https://www.travelpaso.com/plan-your-trip/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1588561142&gbraid=0AAAAAC7I7giEs9G1jN9jgjTKcWY5L4QKc&gclid=CjwKCAjwxb7RBhA5EiwAQ-AAdHSdu5R0ooP7Uscil3DonWJEjMUq7Hh4tcs8D_Di-lRUPqi4ri5-zBoCQckQAvD_BwERed Clay Strays https://www.redclaystrays.com/home; Kimberly's favorite song https://open.spotify.com/track/1HbzxLqpNVPdiBXvpC7Ovb?si=e799c21a2c4a496dStephen Wilson Jr. (Best new vocalist CMAs this year) Kimberly's favorite song: https://open.spotify.com/track/72RX8sK4OKFnUX2MBDOdBD?si=e912b7f6e43f47c2Enclos in Sonoma for her favorite pairing: https://enclos-sonoma.com/If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to The Gomes Guide on Substack for more travel inspiration, tips, and stories. You can also follow on Instagram at: @thegomesguide. And if you love the podcast, I'd be so grateful if you left a review — it really helps others discover the show! Support the show

  6. Jun 2

    The Woman Behind One of Sonoma County's Most Thoughtful Wineries | Karin Warnelius-Miller of Garden Creek Vineyards

    Enjoy listening to The Gomes Guide Podcast? Please leave a quick voice note with your comments! Some conversations stop you in your tracks. This is one of them. Karin Warnelius-Miller is the proprietor, winemaker, and winegrower at Garden Creek Vineyards in Sonoma County's Alexander Valley — and her story is remarkable. Born on a dairy farm in Sweden, she immigrated to California in 1975, eventually falling in love with her childhood friend Justin Miller and building one of the most intentional, unhurried wineries in the region. Their estate Cabernet Sauvignon ages for eight years before release. That patience defines everything they do. We go well beyond wine in this one. This conversation is really about how we live. In This Episode: Swedish slow living — and what it actually looks like at the dinner table and in the vineyardHow Karin's father launched one of Sweden's first wineries, sourcing grapes from four continentsThe serendipitous job posting that brought her family to Sonoma CountyWhy Garden Creek has stayed deliberately small and appointment-onlyThe WärneliusMiller Pinot Noir and the Golden Fleece Vineyard in Anderson ValleyA horseback safari in Botswana that changed everythingWhy Americans need to embrace sauna cultureRapid fire: harvest season, Sonoma Coast oysters, seared filet with Cabernet reduction, and the two songs that soundtrack Garden CreekLearn more: Garden Creek Vineyards — gardencreekvineyards.comWärneliusMiller Family VineyardsIf you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to The Gomes Guide on Substack for more travel inspiration, tips, and stories. You can also follow on Instagram at: @thegomesguide. And if you love the podcast, I’d be so grateful if you left a review—it really helps others discover the show!  Support the show

  7. May 19

    Food, Travel, and Midlife Reinvention with Cookbook Author Amanda Haas

    Enjoy listening to The Gomes Guide Podcast? Please leave a quick voice note with your comments! What happens when you spend your life teaching others how to cook — and finally give yourself permission to start living? That's exactly where Amanda Haas finds herself. A cookbook author (four books in, with a fifth on the way), former culinary director at Williams-Sonoma, and founder of the Substack community House of Hass, Amanda has spent decades helping people fall in love with cooking. Now she's channeling that same energy into something bigger: a whole new chapter of her own life. In this episode, we talk about the food memories that shaped her, why she always comes back to Italian and Mexican cuisine, and what it really means to cook with confidence (hint: it has nothing to do with being perfect). We also get into her move back to San Francisco, the neighborhood spots she loves, and why she believes the city has never been more alive. And then there's the midlife conversation — the one I think so many of us need to have. Amanda is refreshingly honest about what this season of life actually offers: clarity, freedom, and the radical permission to finally chase your own desires instead of everyone else's. Follow Amanda on Instagram: @amandahaascooks and find her recipes, live cooking shows, and community on Substack at Amanda Haas. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to The Gomes Guide on Substack for more travel inspiration, tips, and stories. You can also follow on Instagram at: @thegomesguide. And if you love the podcast, I'd be so grateful if you left a review — it really helps others discover the show. Support the show

  8. Apr 28

    From Lawyer to Travel Writer: How Jen Ruiz Built a Life Around Travel

    Enjoy listening to The Gomes Guide Podcast? Please leave a quick voice note with your comments! What happens when you stop chasing the “perfect” life and start building one that actually feels like yours? Jen Ruiz did just that. While working full-time as an attorney, she challenged herself to take 12 trips in 12 months—and that decision changed everything. In this episode, we talk about how Jen turned that experiment into a career as an award-winning travel journalist, best-selling author, 3x Tedx speaker, and the woman behind Jen on a Jet Plane. She shares what the transition from law really looked like and how she built a sustainable business around travel. We also get into her next big project: a cross-country road trip along the historic Lincoln Highway, where she’s exploring a bigger question—can a road built to unite us still do that today? Follow Jen on Instagram: @jenonajetplane.  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to The Gomes Guide on Substack for more travel inspiration, tips, and stories. You can also follow on Instagram at: @thegomesguide. And if you love the podcast, I’d be so grateful if you left a review—it really helps others discover the show. Support the show Support the show

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About

The Gomes Guide Travel Podcast is where travel, food, and culture meet. Hosted by San Francisco–based travel writer, storyteller, and mom of two teens Shannon Gomes, the show features thoughtful conversations with experts in the food and wine world, avid travelers, creators, tastemakers, and locals who reveal what truly makes a destination memorable—and how to experience it like a local, with food always at the center of the journey. From unforgettable meals and hidden neighborhoods to meaningful cultural experiences and practical travel insight, each episode is designed to inspire curious travelers—especially Gen X listeners who value depth, connection, and great food—to explore the world more intentionally and to bring a sense of discovery back home. Shannon is also the writer behind The Gomes Guide (https://thegomesguide.substack.com), a weekly travel-focused Substack filled with stories, recommendations, and inspiration for meaningful travel. Listeners are invited to subscribe for fresh ideas, insider tips, and destination inspiration delivered each week.   Whether you’re planning your next trip or simply dreaming about one, The Gomes Guide Travel Podcast celebrates connection, community, and the joy of experiencing new places through food and travel.  

Information

  • Creator
    Shannon Gomes
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Gomes Guide Travel Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Gomes Guide Travel Podcast

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