For mature travelers going as couples or solo, seniors-only travel has considerable pros. Seniors-only tours no longer mean 50 people crowded onto a sightseeing bus, herded from stop to stop by a guide with a microphone. Enticing options to suit personal choice, mobility and health-related issues are now available, as tour operators and travel suppliers have learned to think outside the box to attract a significant baby boomer client base. So just like a good film insurance policy protects the producers, these travel solutions can provide you with a lot of advantages and amazing travel experience.
Cruises
The appeal of a cruise for seniors cannot be overstated. For those with less energy or mobility, sitting on a deck chair watching scenery pass by is a treat. For those wanting to explore onshore, the convenience cruising between ports is a luxury. Onboard activities for seniors with active minds include wine tasting, personal computing skills, foreign language study, music lessons, and team games. To save money, solo cabins or a roommate option are popular. Some operators have senior sailings with all single supplements waived and special dietary plans. Still other cruise lines have specially fitted ships for accessibility, telemedical connections, special needs and emergency helipads.
Biking Tours
An itinerary exploring the back roads in areas of natural scenic beauty takes a lot of research, so it is best planned by a professional tour company. A tour operator with trips for adventuresome seniors has experience planning just the right level of activity with comfort stops, meals and accommodation all sorted in one easy package. Choose easy or moderate tours reflecting pace, hills, daily distances. Guides accompany groups and luggage is moved by bus.
Treks
For truly fit seniors wishing to meet other mature adventurers, specialist operators take travelers to remote locations in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia, Antarctica and the Arctic. Medical information is screened to match ability with itinerary. Easy treks are a mile or two per day, while advanced means eight to ten hours’ of daily walking. Single seniors are offered shared rooms for cost savings. Friendships formed often mean future excursions together.
Insurance
Since standard insurance plans do not include travel outside of the United States nor medical bills from abroad, seniors-only tour operators offer the right coverage, which could otherwise be difficult to find.
Local trips
For those with medical needs or simply preferring to stay closer to home, seniors’ day trips are available for local attractions, city visits, museums, theater, botanical gardens, historic sites, casinos, even sailing.
Pros and cons of seniors-only travel
Relaxing, rewarding, tailored, age-appropriate, congenial, and educational all describe the pros of a seniors-only tour in this day and age. Avoid the old-fashioned group herd mentality, and you will likely find there is no disadvantage to touring with a bunch of folks from 50-plus, no matter where you fall within that age group.
