The World Beckons Senior Travelers
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Older adults with flexible travel dates can find good deals. In addition, you can take advantage of senior discounts for museums, tours and other attractions. Click here to view article.
The World Beckons Senior Travelers
As the weather gets warmer, many of us start to think about exploring the world outside of our home turf. Although the high prices of gas, airfare and lodging can be daunting, even those with limited budgets can find deals and inexpensive travel options.
Flexibility is key. Last-minute deals offer reduced fares and tours. Even switching flight dates and times, sometimes by a few hours, can lead to significant savings. Also, many hotels and resorts reward travelers who are willing to extend their trips by a day or two.
Benefits of Being a Senior
Older travelers have several advantages over younger ones, especially those with families. Retirees can explore during the off-season, whether it’s visiting Hawaii in summer or Europe in winter. Not only is lodging cheaper, sometimes half the price, but airfares are generally less (although watch out for popular travel times like spring break).
For example, because most people want to visit Europe when it’s warm, airfares from October to March can be a real bargain. Although you likely can’t visit gardens, restaurants, museums and other cultural attractions are less crowded. You might even be able to get into the Coliseum or up to the top of the Eiffel Tower without waiting in long lines, or snag the best table at your favorite Bavarian café.
Another benefit is travel discounts. Especially at slow times of the year, hotels, tours and cultural attractions target seniors with special offers. When booking a reservation, inquire about senior rates and other sales promotions. Many airlines have dropped discounts for seniors, but if you plan ahead, airfares are often the most inexpensive six months ahead of time. Also, airlines often offer cheap fares at the last minute, if planes are less full than expected.
Museums, too, have lower rates for seniors, and if you’re visiting a city with good public transportation, a discounted senior pass is often available. Amtrak travelers 62 years of age and older can receive a 15 percent discount on the lowest available rail fare on most Amtrak trains. Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada jointly operate cross-border services that offer a 10 percent senior discount to travelers aged 60 and over.
AARP, ARA (Alliance for Retired Americans) and AAA offer travel discounts with membership. Another tip is to find bargains online; sometimes a travel website will offer 5 to 10 percent savings.
Saving Money on Cruises
The cheapest times for cruises are the slow and shoulder seasons, although there are trade-offs for traveling during these less-popular dates. In Alaska, for example, the high season is June through August, and therefore the most expensive and the most congested. Alaska’s shoulder months are May and September, but while you’ll encounter fewer crowds and cheaper prices, the weather could be colder, and some excursions might be canceled because of low demand.
In the Caribbean, the shoulder season is also short because, unlike Alaska, the weather is good all year long. The shoulder and low season are only in the fall and late spring. However, this time frame corresponds with hurricane season (June–November) and can pose a threat for autumn trips. Even if your ship circumvents the hurricane area, rain and rough seas could still be unpleasant.
Not only are cruises more expensive in the high season, but winter flights to the tropics are costly and more likely to experience delays or cancellations because of bad local weather. To avoid this issue, book a cruise that has homeports within driving distance.
Adventure Travel
For those who prefer more exotic travel, which is often more expensive, you can still find good deals with tour agencies that offer last-minute deals when trips fail to fill up close to departure date. ElderTreks discounts its tours by as much as $1,000 if you’re flexible enough to pack your suitcase a few weeks before taking off for the Himalayas or Andes. This adventure travel company is designed for people 50 and over and offers “active, off-the-beaten-path, small-group adventures by both land and sea in over 100 countries.”
The Road Scholar offers 5,500 educational tours in the United States and 150 countries, combining instruction with touring. Although not specifically aimed at seniors, the organization was previously known as ElderHostel and attracts older adults who want to learn about the places they are visiting. Road Scholar offers savings on certain programs. Recently, the organization reduced the price of round-trip airfare for trips to Morocco (“Authentic Morocco: Ancient Medinas to Modern Identity”) and Russia (Treasures of Russian Arts and Literature”), offered free flights to “Mountain Kingdoms: Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan” and early enrollment savings for “Brittany and Normandy.”
Another route to an inexpensive travel vacation is exchanging homes with someone who lives in your desired vacation spot. Although an online search will turn up many brokers, only one company is aimed at those over 50, perhaps trading on the idea that you may trust someone your own age more than a younger person. The Seniors Vacation and Home Exchange allows a straight vacation exchange of your home, or hospitality vacations, in which you stay with homeowners in your desired location, and, in return, they visit you.
U.S. Destinations
Some U.S. cities have reputations for being inexpensive. About.com listed the “Top US Budget Destinations for Seniors” that are both affordable and senior-friendly. While Las Vegas has great hotel rates and bargain meals, Branson, Mo., has a wide variety of activities that are conveniently located, plus its famous entertainment. Washington, D.C., offers museums, free access to the monuments and memorials, easy-to-use public transportation and affordable places to eat. Nearby, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor offers museums, historic ships, shops, restaurants and professional sports within walking (or water taxi) distance.
If you’d rather see the great outdoors, the best deal for those over age 62 is the Senior Pass from the National Park Service. For 10 bucks, you get a lifetime pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites, including national parks and national wildlife refuges. The pass covers entrance and standard amenity fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person).
Rather than paying for lodging in towns near national parks, you can rent an RV. Pay attention to gas costs in one of these fuel-guzzling vehicles; it may turn out that a motel is cheaper. Of course, there’s always camping, and fortunately technology has created easy-to-use camping gear, bigger tents that will accommodate cots, and air mattresses that inflate with a battery-operated pump.
An open-road vacation can be the most inexpensive trip, especially if you follow tips for getting good gas mileage (see sidebar).
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Tips for Saving Money on Gas
Although gas prices are high (those days of $1 per gallon gas some of us may remember are gone), you can save money on fuel by following these tips.
- Plan a vacation close to home. You don’t have to travel a thousand miles to get away from it all. Find a resort, mountain getaway or fun city within a reasonable drive; then, look for deals on restaurants and lodging.
- Maintain your car. Regularly change your oil, inflate your tires to the proper pressure and change your filters.
- Pack light. Your car will thank you with better gas mileage – and you’ll thank yourself when it’s time to haul your bags to your hotel room or cottage.
- Use smartphone apps and websites to find the cheapest gas. Smartphone apps, such as GasBuddy, Fuel Finder and I Gas Up, track gas prices in locations around North America. If you don’t have a smartphone, use websites such as MapQuest, GasBuddy.com andAAA Fuel Price Finder instead.
- Drive at the speed limit and use cruise control. Cruise control results in consistent speed, which increases fuel efficiency.
- Travel at off-peak times. Driving in heavy stop-and-start traffic reduces fuel efficiency and wastes time. Plan your long drives for weekend days or non-rush-hour times.
- Use alternate transportation. Even if you drive to your destination (especially a big city), once there, you can use public transportation or even bike sharing. Washington, D.C., Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul have bike-share programs, and many cities, towns and resorts offer bike rentals.
Source: About.com, “Senior Travel”
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