Ed Harding is one busy guy. In addition to co-anchoring the 4:30, 6, 7, and 11 p.m. newscasts on WCVB-TV (Channel 5) and the 10 p.m. news on MeTV Boston, he cohosts the Sunday morning political program “On the Record,’’ which airs on WCVB-TV. Harding, 62, is a Newton (Lower Falls) native and Emerson College graduate who lives in the Greater Boston area with his wife, Andrea Halper Harding, an animal hospital administrator. The couple has two adult children, Caitlin, a teacher in Needham, and Adam, a broadcast journalist in Atlanta. We caught up with Harding, who has been with the local ABC affiliate since 1988, to talk about all things travel.

Favorite vacation spot? Anything in the Caribbean. I love turquoise water, snorkeling, and running along sandy beaches. I also love the sound of the ocean.

Favorite food or drink while vacationing? Tough choice, because shrimp and lobsters are at the top of the list, but so is a steak barbecued on the beach. To drink? A lemon drop martini — shaken, not stirred.

Where would you like to travel to but haven’t? I am eager to go to Cuba, and that’s in the works. I want to see the world as it was back in the 1950s.

One item you can’t leave home without when traveling? My Bose headset so I can block out the sound of planes, trains, and automobiles.

Aisle or window? Aisle. Even my short, stocky legs need room.

Favorite childhood travel memory? Going with my grandpa Charlie to Scituate and walking on the beach. He was a tall man with strong hands, and he would wrap those hands around me [so I always felt] safe and sound.

Guilty pleasure when traveling? I rent a car everywhere. I want to be able to go wherever I want, whenever I want, relying on no one but me.

Best travel tip? This might be my favorite: You know how they charge you $20 [or some other fee] to check a bag? I take my bag through security, to the gate, and when they ask for volunteers to have their bags checked at no charge, I bring it right up.

JULIET PENNINGTON