Larry Bleiberg is a veteran journalist with magazine, newspaper, book, and web experience. He served on a Pulitzer Prize team, and was honored for producing the best newspaper travel section in North America. He’s the co-author of The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (National Geographic Books, 2011), and helped produce The Unofficial Guide to Britain’s Best Days Out (Wiley-VCH, 2011). He’s also the creator of CivilRightsTravel.com. His work appears regularly in USA Today.
Cheapflights: You’ve taught travel writing alongside many legendary authors (Isabel Allende, Jan Morris, Simon Winchester, Tim Cahill). How did you transition into teaching?
Larry Bleiberg: I love writing, and writing in many ways is teaching – it’s sharing information with people. So it’s really a natural fit. Lots of folks have questions and aspirations about becoming a travel writer, so there’s no shortage of potential students. The key – unfortunately – is that the writing is the hard work. The travel, usually, is the fun part. So being able to get on a plane isn’t enough…
CF: Your website, CivilRightsTravel.com, is completely innovative. Let our readers know: How important is history-focused travel?
LB: To me history and natural history are one of the key reasons to travel. It’s one thing to read about an event or a place, but you won’t get a true understanding about it until you actually visit the site. In this Google-it, CNN-saturation-coverage era, we get a false sense of knowledge and awareness. We think we’ve been there, done that, but we really haven’t. What we’re missing – and at some level really crave – is authenticity. The beauty of our age is that we can visit places where history happened with relative ease.
Since I live in the South, it was a natural thing for me to start a website about the most significant historical event that happened in the region in the past century – the civil rights movement. And the great thing is that when you visit these places you can often meet people who participated. They’re dying off, but many are still around. You can’t do that if you visit the Alamo or Gettysburg.
CF: Do you have any tips or advice on how folks can get more out of a trip?
LB: Even if you’re traveling on business, you can still build in time to do something cool. I’m constantly amazed by people who travel all the time, but all they see is the airport, their hotel and a meeting room. Travel can be grueling, but it can be great too – if you build in time to do something for yourself. So add an extra half day to a trip, and leave time to visit a blockbuster museum exhibit. Or tour an historic site, or just take a hike in a park. You really do owe it yourself.
Then, write something about it. I’m not talking a term paper, or an article. Just a Facebook post is enough. It’s amazing how just writing a few sentences will force you to reflect on an experience, making you realize what you really learned or enjoyed.
CF: What’s your routine before you fly?
LB: I always have a detailed itinerary printed out and on my phone. I pretty much have every stop, site and restaurant planned. And then I’m ready to throw it all away if something else comes up. Having a plan gives me freedom to improvise. And that, of course, is when the most memorable travel memories are born.
CF: Any tips on researching a new destination before taking off?
LB: I visit the obvious websites run by the guide book publishers – and also TripAdvisor. I look for podcasts too. There are often great audio tours free for the taking. If I’m traveling internationally, it’s always worth looking for movies set there. Netflix is a perfect place to start. If history or culture is an important part of the trip, I try to find a children’s book about what I’ll be experiencing, be it the Mayans, or the Wright Brothers. If an author can explain it to children, even I can get the gist in just a few minutes too.
I also like to read murder mysteries set in the location I’m visiting. Not that I’m planning a crime, but mysteries usually have a great sense of place and give you insights into local culture and habits. And there are mysteries set in almost place you’d ever visit.
CF: Who’s the most memorable seatmate (or what’s the most memorable conversation) you’ve had on a plane?
LB: It was a box of live chickens wedged into a luggage compartment behind me on a flight in Laos. Not much conversation, but tons of local color.
CF: What countries or regions do you believe offer the best bang for your buck?
LB: Most of Asia is still an incredible bargain. Same for Central and South America. The key is to stay away from the big international hotels, where you’ll be paying big bucks no matter what country. Look for local inns and restaurants. As Rick Steves, one of my favorite travel writers, says: The more money you pay, the more you’re insulating yourself from local culture. There’s a lot of truth to that.
CF: How do you discover local or off-the-beaten-path places?
LB: Asking questions, reading widely and following hunches. Some of the most memorable travel experiences I’ve had started with a single line in a guidebook or an offhand comment from a stranger…
CF: Is there a destination that without fail (barring floods and famine) you visit regularly?
LB: Not by choice. Given the option, I’d always rather go somewhere new.
Cheapflights is proud to have guest voices express their opinions. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Cheapflights Media (USA) Inc.
