Got an itch to travel? If you answer “yes” to the question, you’re far from alone. Nearly half of Americans have said they plan to travel more in 2023 than they did a year ago. In fact, 45 percent say they have more to spend as well.
Senior travel is up as well, and with estimates that one in six people in the world will be aged 60 or more by 2030, it’s no surprise.
According to one recent travel survey, 62 percent of individuals over 50 plan to take at least one leisure trip this year, with many planning multiple trips. With average costs of a 3-night vacation with airfare being about $1,400 per person, it means some financial planning is in order.
Of course, destination greatly influences cost. And senior travel makes planning the “where” even more important.
Travel insurance company InsureMyTrip has released top international destinations for seniors based on eight criteria: ease of walking , quality of activities, access to healthcare, public transportation, number of senior tours, population density, peacefulness, and population age.
Of 50 international destinations ranked, Istanbul, Turkey, received the top spot overall, followed by Athens, Greece, and Rome, Italy. Bangkok, Thailand, placed 4th.
If domestic travel is more what you have in mind with senior travel, there are recommendations for that as well.
One travel company has issued its top seven destinations, and most come with no surprise. They include: Yellowstone National Park (don’t forget to look into the America the Beautiful Pass for seniors); pretty much anywhere in Florida; Sedona, Arizona; the various islands of Hawaii; Asheville, North Carolina; Maine, considered one of the prime jewels of New England; and Savannah, Georgia.
I hope to check each one of these off my bucket list within the next few years.
I’ll admit that I never have really considered “walkability” an important criteria for senior travel destinations … at least, until recent years. Having rounded the corner past 60, I have developed an understanding of how cobblestone streets and uneven terrains can ruin a trip quicker than you can say, “let’s go.”
In fact, I have a friend who hurt her knee stepping off a curb in Italy last year, and it’s a health issue she still hasn’t completely overcome even now.
She said that small misstep ruined lots of big plans, and trying to get by and then flying home days later with the injury was something she would never wish on anyone else.
So, as we plan our three-times delayed international trip to Europe for this fall, I readily acknowledge that some of the sites we plan to see have me a tad nervous.
But I’m not about to miss venturing to sites like the Rome Coliseum, a wine tour in Tuscany, or even navigating 243 steps to visit the underground Paris Catacombs.
While Rome is on the top of the list for senior travel, other locations in Italy as well as our stay in Paris aren’t.
We have prioritized 7 senior travel areas for our European dream vacation to keep ourselves healthy, happy, and hopefully accident-free.
7 Senior Travel Tips
- Get in shape ahead of time, or at least have long-distance walking routines established.
While we acknowledge we aren’t truly going to dramatically change our exercise (or lack of) routine, we do plan to walk more beforehand.
Since we enjoy golf, we may even using our walking carts instead of relying on a golf cart at times. Hey, every bit counts!
- Buy sensible shoes and make sure they are broken in prior to our departure.
Sounds like common sense advice, but we keep hearing about those who thought they would grab a pair of sneakers and walk away, only to discover aching feet put a damper on walking tours abroad.
We are looking at breaking in our shoes properly and making sure we have purchased ones with memory foam or at least have much-needed arch support.
- Be realistic on how much we want to walk over our 17-day vacation.
After zealously planning out all sorts of destinations while over in Europe, we gave ourselves a reality check and realized that some of the tours have other options other than meeting up and walking.
While we realize we will be doing a TON of walking, we are trying to be more smart about our senior travel schedule.
- Plan and reserve tours that combine walking with riding.
While we realize that many actual destinations require extensive walking to actually see the sites, we are planning tours that give us options for seeing places that we may just want to “see” without spending a lot of time getting there.
For example, we have a half-day walking tour at one site, but the next day we are doing a golf cart tour for the city’s highlights.
- Give ourselves days of rest where our schedule isn’t overly packed.
When we first started our initial planning our senior travel journey, our daily schedule was overfilled with activities, often from sunrise until late in the evening.
However, we quickly realized it was a pace we realistically couldn’t do for the length of our trip. Since we knew we were as excited to see sites as the end of our journey as well as at the beginning, we gave ourselves permission to slow it down.
As a result, we scheduled in “non schedule days” or periods of time!
- Realize we will most likely suffer from some aches and pains.
I’ve already started putting together a senior travel travel supply kit equipped with Band-Aids, pain relievers, and other essentials so that if we start hurting some, we can treat what’s bothering us and keep on enjoying our adventure.
- Make sure we stay health aware and don’t get into a rush.
We’ve agreed we need to stay unimpaired and not fatigued when out and about, because that’s when accidents are most likely to happen.
We are practical about not trying to jaunt cross-city or rush to catch a cab or other quick physical actions that could result in a misstep and be a vacation-ender.
Do you have other tidbits of advice for us or others who are exploring numerous sites at senior travel destinations that require extensive walking?
We’d love for you to share your thoughts and ideas!
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