The Traveler’s Notebook has a great article on creating better audio or sound-seeing tours. They are a popular podcast format and when done well can be very powerful and a real treat to listen to. Unfortunately, poorly done sound-seeing tours are some of the worst podcasts out there.

The article lists ten tips for creating compelling sound-seeing tours and they’re all good. One thing that wasn’t explicitly noted is that you don’t have to record all of your audio on location. Bring a good mic and back in a quiet hotel room (or wherever it is you’re staying) you can do some refined voiceover work and layer it over some ambient sounds from the location you’re touring.

Another great tip that doesn’t just apply to sound-seeing tours is:

8. Keep things moving – short and sweet. “People have a very short attention span, and anything over an hour is completely lost on people – their eyes begin to glaze over. So you’ll have to decide which stories to leave out of the tour. Our tours are also short from a distance perspective, rarely over a mile.”

If you do sound-seeing tours or have an interest in getting started this article is a great starting point!