Interview: Travel Expert David LaHuta

David LaHuta (courtesy of his web site)

“I’ve always considered myself an explorer," says travel maven David LaHuta in his online biography, "but what I enjoy most is finding the beat of the local culture. A destination is only as colorful as the people you meet along the way." Since starting his career as a travel writer a decade ago, LaHuta hasn't stopped moving, his passion earning him gigs at Travel + Leisure, Budget Travel and Newsweek and on-air stints as correspondents for "Everyday with Rachael Ray," CNN's "America Morning" and FUSE's "The Sauce." Keeping in spirit with his thesis statement, LaHuta's wanderlust led him to set up residence in the tiny island of Bermuda in the spring of this year, where he's been faithfully documenting his interactions with the area in his blog.

David was kind enough to take the time to talk travel writing, island living vs. the big city, why Bermuda isn't as remote as we might think, and even how to save a few bucks on travel in Bermuda.

1. Travel journalism seems like it can be both incredibly enriching and ridiculously exhausting. What possessed you to become a travel writer?

My passion for traveling began at a young age, when my parents took my brother and I on a two-month road trip across the United States. We visited about forty states and most of the major National Parks in one summer. I was only ten, but I knew right then and there that traveling was something I wanted to do for living. At the time I didn’t exactly know how I’d go about accomplishing that goal, but those realizations would come with age. I eventually earned a bachelors degree from the College of Journalism at the University of Maryland at College Park and took an unusual path to where I am today. Instead of getting “a real job” I traveled around the world with money I’d saved up from various odd jobs. I backpacked across Europe, lived in London, Sweden, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, freelancing at every step. After hopping around for a few years I moved back to the Caribbean and took a job as the government and politics reporter for the St. Croix Avis, the island’s daily newspaper. It was a great experience and one that really opened my eyes to the world of journalism. After a few years in the Virgin Islands I moved to New York City and took a job at Budget Travel magazine, where I was an editor for five years. The magazine opened lots of doors for me, most notably a stint as the travel and adventure correspondent on Rachael Ray’s syndicated talk show and my current position as a freelancer for Travel+Leisure, Caribbean Travel+Life and others. Being a travel writer is indeed enriching and exhausting but as I like to say, if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.

2. This past spring, you packed up and decided you wanted to make Bermuda your home base -- a pretty exotic choice. When did you first visit there, and how did you decide it was the place for you?

I was just a kid the first time I visited Bermuda—one of those great family vacations that you remember for years to come. We visited the Crystal Caves, built castles on pink sand beaches, drank virgin daiquiris at the swim up bar of the Grotto Bay Hotel. It was all so perfect, so Bermudaful as people like to say here. For a kid from New York City it was the ultimate getaway: Sunny and exotic but just a 90-minute flight from JFK. Regarding my most recent move, I have my wonderful wife to thank for that. She was offered a job by a local insurance firm and considering I was already freelancing from home, the move to warmer climes was a no-brainer for us. Five months in life couldn’t be better: I started Bermuda Shorts, a lighthearted blog about island life and have seen my most recent story published in the New York Times—titled 36 Hours in Bermuda, it’s a great resource for anyone wanting to plan a quick weekend getaway to the island.

3. You're a native of New York City. What's the biggest thing you miss about the big-city lifestyle compared to the island one? Or do you miss a thing?

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss watching the Mets play baseball in their fancy new park this summer. And New York City pizza just can’t be beat. But there’s something to be said for removing oneself from what’s comfortable and familiar and relocating somewhere that’s exotic and new. It’s part of the reason why I’ve moved around so much throughout my life. New York will always be there, but the opportunity to live somewhere far-flung and exciting might not. Naturally my wife and I jumped at the chance to move to Bermuda, but living on an island does have its idiosyncrasies—what I consider trading big city headaches for tropical hiccups. Instead of listening to garbage trucks rumble down 14th street for example, I now go to sleep to a cacophony of tree frogs. Instead of the subway, I ride a scooter. Instead of delivery, I cook. Simple tradeoffs really, but island life has always agreed with me. I like living in a place where I can wear flip-flops year-round.

4. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like Bermuda is one of the more overlooked spots when it comes to getaway-type tourism. Is it the remoteness? The Bermuda Triangle thing? Do the locals like it that way?

I wouldn’t call Bermuda remote. After all, it takes less than two hours to fly here from most east coast cities. Once you get here however, it does feel pretty far removed from the rest of the world, mostly due to the idiosyncrasies I was talking about earlier. Bermuda’s not like other islands to the south. It's in the Atlantic, not the “no shirt, no shoes, no problem” Caribbean. First of all, it's an incredibly wealthy island, so you can expect colonial buildings with fresh coats of candy-colored paint and roads lined with lush vegetation. And then of course there are the British influences that come with being a colony—the cars on the left with steering wheels on the right, the afternoon tea, the shorts and knee-high socks. That said Bermuda may be quirky, but overlooked it is not. Cruise ships pull into its western port at the Royal Naval Dockyard almost daily and the airport has seen tons of visitors pass through each week. Even in a tough economy people are still coming, however much of that is due to the hefty discounts brought on by the country’s 400th anniversary celebration, including hotel deals and special events throughout the year.

5. Let's say I happened upon a fat wad of cash and decided Bermuda was next on my to-do travel list. When is the best time / season to travel there? What do you recommend in the way of shoestring-budget travel?

Bermuda sees most of its tourists from late May through early September, but that’s not necessarily the best time to visit. Peak season brings crowds and crowds bring higher prices, certainly on airfare and in hotels. If you’re on a tight budget then the best time of year to travel to Bermuda is during shoulder season, just before and just after the busiest peak season months. In Bermuda that means April and October. It’s still plenty warm, which means you’ll have the island’s pristine pink sand beaches largely to yourself. Best of all, hotels drastically reduce their rates. So instead of paying $300 a night for a fancy hotel, you can often score a room for around $150 a night, which if you’re planning a five-night stay amounts to a pretty significant savings. For hotel and airfare deals be sure to read my blog, Bermuda Shorts, also, don’t miss the Bermuda tourism website which often has special web-only offers. Finally for cheap flights, don’t miss the updates from Airfarewatchdog.com, which tracks airfare to and from your favorite destinations worldwide. And as for me, well, I’ll be on the beach.