01 Feb Stay or Go? Great Options for Senior Travel

Stay or Go? Great Options for Senior Travel

Holiday family visits, cruises, warm-weather getaways—there are always plenty of reasons older adults want to travel. At the same time, many others are avoiding travel because of the expense, the crowds and the environmental impact.

Whether you’re ready to pack your bag or you prefer to stay home, we’ve got some great ideas to help you plan your next senior-travel-friendly experience.

Ideas For When Your Bags are Packed

Ready to see more of the world? Choosing where to go can be the hardest part. Lots of travel magazines and tourism companies conduct annual surveys. Surveys that ask older adults where they most like to travel usually list couple of mainstays: national parks and river cruises.

• U.S. national parks consistently rank high not just because they’re in gorgeous settings, but also because they are accessible for people of all abilities. As travel experts Frommer’s says on their website, “Not every traveler over 65 will want to haul herself up the sheer rock face of El Capitan at Yosemite.” The south rim of the Grand Canyon, for example, offers miles of paved trails with stunning views. ASL interpreters, wheelchair-accessible bus and railroad tours, and assistive listening devices in park theaters are among the accommodations provided by the National Park Service.
• River cruises are popular in Europe—plenty of tour operators offer multi-day trips on the continent’s greatest rivers, such as the Rhine and the Danube. But you can find similar excursions here in the U.S. Options range from coastal trips, such as a cruise of Puget Sound, to river explorations along the Mississippi, Snake, and other rivers. And river cruises, like ocean cruises, offer a variety of activities and on-shore outings. USA Today says that makes river travel “ideal for the active senior with a less active travel partner or partners.”

Tips For the Armchair Traveler

Sometimes, it’s easier to cure a persistent case of “itchy feet” (also known as “wanderlust”) in the comfort of your own home. Experiencing the world’s wonders with no packing and no schlepping from point A to point B is less stressful and a lot cheaper.

• Start on the internet. From touring European castles to viewing art in the world’s greatest museums, you can see the world’s marvels at your own pace. Google Arts & Culture brings you inside some of the world’s leading museums where you can view galleries just as if you were walking through them. Start with the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, or the Musee d’Orsay in Paris and continue around the globe.
• Create a “getaway” with friends. Armchair travel doesn’t have to be solitary. If you’ve got a smart TV, you can connect your internet browser to the larger screen and invite people over to watch with you. If you’ve still got slides and a projector, organize a trip down memory lane! And don’t let your adventure end at what you can see on a screen. Serve food and drinks that match your theme, or call it a potluck. Don’t forget to find appropriate music—nothing says “Paris” like Edith Piaf’s distinctive voice.

If you have a day trip in mind, a Right at Home caregiver can accompany you and provide a steady hand to help you navigate. If you feel your best choice is to armchair travel, they are happy to join you. It’s one of the many ways our caregivers help clients maintain a healthy, safe, independent lifestyle.