All-Important Boomer and Senior Travel Tips

Any season can be a favorite time to travel, whether close by or overseas. Travel nowadays can seem somewhat overwhelming, what with all the regulations. Especially if you’re, shall we say, ripening in years.

But don’t let that stop you! With a few senior travel tips, no matter what your age or your challenges, you can have a fabulously successful trip - it’s all in the details. I’ve been all over - loads of places within the U.S.; Europe several times for weeks or months; Kuwait (I lived there almost a year – boy was that ever a trip); Mexico, Canada, South America. One thing I did learn – travel is not "uniform." Every place has particular challenges and needs careful attention to detail.

Retirement traveling is the favorite pastime during the golden years, (even if you don’t retire). Your first step to success is, like pretty much anything else in life, to set a goal. Your travel goal. (You do have one, right?) So where do you really want to go (not where somebody else wants you to go). It will all involve different kinds of planning. Gourmet cooking? A winery experience? High adventure? Are you into history? Want to try staying in a comfortable European monastery instead of a typical hotel? Or perhaps it’s something related to your special hobby. Hey – how about metal detecting.

No, I’m not joking. I know a gentleman who takes this so seriously (and he does have loads of fun too), that he takes others on excursions and teaches them what to do. Between him and his wife, they’ve filled a shoebox with gold and jeweled jewelry from "hot spots" all over. Their favorite is the beaches of Mexico. Lots of lost jewelry there. About twice a year they let the family tree go through the box and take home a couple souvenirs. Because they have so much of their own now, that they don’t want anymore. Not bad. All from metal detecting.

Besides a goal, you’ve gotta have comfort. Well maybe you don’t but I do. If you’re a last-minute planner, keeping track of all the details can get crazy. But there are ways. To start, have a sheet of paper in your kitchen, bedroom or den. Anytime you get an impromptu idea of what you’ve got to do or take, add it to the list. You can re-organize the list later, but at least you’ve got it down. Then keep the list forevermore and keep tweaking it as you travel.

If you’re a baby boomer or senior you may have special considerations that call for a lot of extra considerations. Do you know what all are? Are you afraid you’ll forget something? This will be especially important if you’re traveling a long distance; overseas, for instance. Do you really know about the food, drink, sanitation, and…er…bathroom facilities? I mean…really? How about the safest restaurants and visitor areas. Do you believe everything you see and read in those glossy brochures? Think again. I’ve learned the hard way. They can be very deceiving – after all, they are ultimately a sales pitch. You need to do a little homework online, in the library or in a bookstore. Best of all, talk to someone who’s been there done that. If you’ve got a travel agent who really has, you’re lucky. And do you know just exactly what all you should be asking that travel agent?

There are other considerations. If you’re a woman, are you tempted to pack shoes and a purse for every outfit (and how many outfits is that, exactly)? The way you pack will make a huge difference when you have to race around getting connections, getting through lines, walking all over, and tipping. Check out some of those books on how to pack lightly. And then there’s the all-important "Thank-God-I-Brought-That" kit. Do you know what needs to be in it besides aspirin and a good book? Last but not least, are you ever haunted mid-air, whether or not you turned off the iron? Much less the rest of the three-foot long checklist of what to double-check before you go (providing you’ve thought of everything). And then there’s all the important info you need to give to a family member – just in case.

So whatever your destination or the season, if you’d like some more tips on pulling your travel details together, make sure to stop by Senior Citizen Travel for great baby boomer and senior travel tips – actually, for all ages. Then relax and have some fun!