It’s a short, 90-minute evening flight from NYC to Bermuda.
The country is just 665 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It’s way closer to the U.S. than everyone thinks.
I land at the L.F. Wade International Airport, in the parish of St. George’s, and the locals here seem especially happy and especially friendly.
Customs is a breeze with just my carry-on. I get that coveted passport stamp and head straight to the taxi line.
This part is a little embarrassing.
I’m confused on why the taxi driver heads over to the passenger side. Now I’m staring at him wondering if there’s someone else who will drive us.
To give you a sense of place, Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean… so most people have a slight British accent and they also drive on the right side.
This is weirdly disconcerting and takes some time adjusting. I keep thinking we’re drifting and I’m about to die. With lanes on the opposite side of the street in Bermuda, I make a note to be extra careful when crossing the street. They also don’t have a lot of sidewalks here and with plans to do some good amount of walking, I keep this in mind.
I immediately begin chatting up the taxi driver, because, it’s obvious strategy to learn. Plus my news reporter tendencies never seem to take a break.
“You should explore the whole island. It’s a lot to see,” he says as we drive.
I find out to go from one end of the island to the other, it’ll take me an hour.
I immediately ask for recommendations, a best practice when traveling, especially when traveling solo.
He rattles off his favorites:
- South shore beaches, especially John Smith bay beach.
- The crystal caves, which will be a half-hour tour and 85 steps down. There’s a lagoon there that’s worth seeing.
- The aquarium, right near my Air BnB
- Fort Harrington
- Fort Scowa
The island is small enough that I describe the cross-roads of the home and the taxi driver knows exactly where to go.
Less than 20 minutes later from the airport, I get to the Flatts village where I’m staying.
My Air BnB is beautiful. It’s a giant one-bedroom, stocked with alcohol, a TV, a beautiful bathtub and a comfy bed. My Air BnB host meets me at the door and she offers to drive me to the nearest grocery store.
She explains most places here close pretty early, which she likes, especially with young kids. Any later than 9 p.m. and it will be difficult to find places open. So her advice: get dinner early.
Her thoughtfulness helps a lot with breakfast in the morning, although the prices at the grocery store are similar to Hawaii, which is to say, expensive. It definitely costs more to ship everything to the island.
If you’re traveling on budget, my advice is this: Make the most of either continental breakfast, or make your own breakfast.
My shopping list is an awkward mix of midnight cravings and practical money-saving choices:
- Cinnamon Bread
- Peanut butter
- Eggs
- Bermudian Rum Cake slice
- Milk
- Cereal
- Goldfish
Once I’m back, I send some text messages to friends back in New York.
I generally only do this on the first and last night of my solo travels.
Some of it is to check in, but a part of it is just to help ease into the first night and to help me not feel so alone. A familiar voice is always comforting during travel, especially before I really dive in.
I usually delete all of my social media apps on my phone (except for Instagram) and e-mail accounts (put that vacation auto-response on!) so I can be the most present.
I’ll share photos and catch up with everyone when I’m home.
A note to (solo) travelers out there: If you have a TV where you’re staying (I didn’t in Costa Rica, but here I do), turn it on for background noise. It gives you some “company” to have a little sound on.
I usually have the news on, mostly because I don’t have to concentrate as I would a TV show or movie, but then remind myself this is supposed to be a break from the news cycle (old habits die-hard), so I should probably switch to a different channel.
If you don’t have TV where you’re staying, put some music on. It helps ease the “solo” part of travel.
I snack a bit, write in my journal, and sleep (somewhat) early.
Day 1 is a good start.
The adventure continues in the morning,
