Are You Hesitant to Travel?

Seeing the world can be a little daunting when you are single or widowed, or have less mobility to get around and handle luggage.  Now that some are retired and aren’t boxed in by work schedules or children’s school schedules, they are free to travel!  These vacations can be completely focused on your very own interests and on your own terms! 

You don’t have to go alone!  Consider Senior Travel Groups or Travel Clubs.  These offer the opportunity to share your vacation adventures with similarly aged, like-minded adults.  They offer friendship, safety in numbers and potential group discounts.  Local churches and senior centers are a great place to start inquiring about senior travel groups.  Most senior centers offer day trips and activities and several times per year, will plan special, extended trips out of town. 

There are travel agents that specialize in travel for disabled or mature travelers.  Travel agents such as EasyAccessTravel, offer cruise vacations and packaged land tours that ensure travel is easily accessible.  When researching travel agents that specialize in accessible travel, be sure they are SATH members (Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality), to ensure they specialize in minimizing the frustrations while maximizing the enjoyment!

There are several well-known, all-inclusive travel clubs that offer a wide variety of interests as well as activity level selection.  One is Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel), where you can find a program based on location, map, interest, activity level, desired date and more.  From riding historic railroads in the Rockies to paddling historic water routes in the Adirondacks, and quilting in West Virginia to Ragtime & Dixieland Jazz on Jekyll Island in Georgia.  Of course travel abroad is also available to Africa, Asia, Middle East, South Pacific, Canada, Europe and more!  Be sure to read all details, as most travel itineraries require you to travel to a starting point other than your hometown. 

Ever wish you knew a “local” that could show you around a foreign city?  The Global Greeter Network is an informal association of Greeter programs around the world.  Greeters are volunteers that love their city so much they volunteer to show their city to visitors. Not as a guide, but more like a newly met friend!  They are not professional tour guides so don’t expect them to enter museums with you.  Meeting a Greeter is free of charge and they serve groups of up to 6 people.

Have you ever heard of “International House-Sitting”?  Basically, it helps retirees who love to travel to live in exotic locales – without having to pay for lodgings.  If you don’t mind keeping someone else’s home in order (and possibly watching over pets as well), this may be the perfect way for you to travel the world for a week, a month or even a year.  Try HouseSitWorld or TrustedHouseSitters. 

Hopefully these suggestions have provided resources for you to get out and fulfill your urge to travel!  Happy trails!