Related topics: •  Special Report: Adventures With Elderhostel •  Travel Health

Thirty-nine million Americans are now 65 or older. Not only is this segment of the population booming, but today's seniors are generally healthier and more active than ever before. The trend has produced a corresponding boom of travel organizations eager to work with older people. You can now get discounts on hotels, motels, buses, trains, and boats; receive significant price breaks on airfares; and, if you like, enjoy a host of travel adventures designed specifically for older travelers. Here are some of the best:

How can you travel the world on a limited budget, have a comfortable place to sleep each night, and still have money left over for meals and sightseeing? The answer: Stay in a youth hostel. (The term youth hostel is actually outdated, because few hostels have age restrictions anymore.) Hostels attract all sorts of people, and not only because they are inexpensive. Staying in a hostel is a great way to meet people and to discover intriguing places and sights completely off the beaten path.

Though they don't offer luxury lodgings, hostels are usually clean, comfortable, and delightfully situated. Be prepared for minor inconveniences: There may be a curfew, so check for such restrictions at each hostel. Single-sex dormitory-style rooms are the norm, but you can often find a private room for you and your partner if you make reservations in advance. Most hostels have kitchens with basic utensils like pots, pans, and dishes available for community use, and a few have cafeterias. Bring along your own soap, shampoo, and towels to use in the showers, as well as a sleep sheet: two single sheets sewn together like a sack. (Most hostels provide these for a fee, but it's good to be prepared in case one doesn't.) Blankets and pillows are provided.

Hostels typically charge a modest daily fee (usually $15-$30) if you show a membership card in American Youth Hostels ($18 a year for those 55 and over). If you haven't purchased this in advance, the hostel will usually accommodate you as a "guest member" for a slightly higher fee.

For guidebooks and membership information, contact:

Hostelling International/American Youth Hostels (HI/AYH)
8401 Colesville Road, Suite 600
Silver Spring, MD 20910

301/495-1240
http://www.hiusa.org

Another version of the hostel experience is Elderhostel, which caters to the older traveler. Whether you want to take a walking tour of the English countryside, hear jazz in New Orleans, or go on a sailing expedition in the San Juan Islands, your fee covers registration, accommodations, meals, classes, field trips, and limited accident insurance. Prices for a typical five-night program in the lower 48 United States are around $1,000; international and Alaska and Hawaii trips run higher and last longer (up to three weeks).

Elderhostel welcomes both couples and single travelers, and even offers special trips you can take with your children or grandchildren. You have your choice of private rooms or doubling up, sometimes with an assigned roommate. To get more information or order a catalog, call Elderhostel's toll-free number, 800/454-5768, Monday-Friday, 9 am to 6 pm EST. The organization also has an excellent Web site at http://www.elderhostel.org , where you can browse the catalog as well as register for any of their programs. For scholarship information, write:

Elderhostel, Inc.
11 Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111-1746
Attn: Scholarships

Perhaps the most overlooked opportunity for inexpensive entertainment can be found at your local senior center. Short classes, shopping excursions, and day trips to festivals, parks, and theatrical and musical events are typical offerings at senior centers around the country. Most are free or available for a modest fee. Signing up for a trip can also be a good way to meet people in your own community who have similar interests. These trips may require advance registration, so you might want to get a schedule of upcoming events from your local center. Don't forget to inquire as well at your local church, synagogue, or mosque about any trips they might offer.

You can usually find senior centers listed under city government in the phone book, but check state listings as well. City and county community services departments often have listings of senior centers in the region. Elder Care Locator (800/677-1116 or www.eldercare.gov), a nationwide information service for seniors, can also help you locate a center.

"Travel may seem like a cure-all for everything, but if you're one of the 2.6 million American men and 11 million American women who have been widowed, traveling may not be the same happy trail it is for others," says Kelly Ferrin, a gerontologist and author of What's Age got To Do With It. She recommends the following groups that specialize in coordinating trips for singles:

•The Women's Travel Club 800/480-4448 http://www.womenstravelclub.com

•Women Traveling Together 410/956-5250 http://www.women-traveling.com

Walking tours are increasingly popular and range from a one- or two-hour stroll to expeditions of three weeks or more. In Dublin, for example, you can take a half-day walking tour led by history graduates who will discuss the people and places behind the Irish Revolution. In Prague, there are tours of sites frequented by the former Czechoslvakia's famous authors, including Kafka, as well as "ghost tours" of places involved in supernatural legends. Many US cities offer history-oriented walking tours as well.

If you're in good shape and have thirsty boots, you might want to try a longer walking/hiking tour. These relaxed expeditions let you experience the local culture, flavor, and history of a place and generally last a week or more. They involve small groups (16 people or fewer) and are moderately paced; a typical walking day covers 5 to 12 miles. Accommodations range from hotels and country inns to a hospitable farmhouse. The price of the tour usually includes lodging, most meals, and transport fees (moving your luggage between destinations). But whether you want a day's walk exploring the history of Berlin or three weeks touring the Italian countryside, here are some places to get ideas:

•Web sites: http://www.gorp.away.com http://www.sierraclub.org http://www.eldertreks.com

•Elderhostel 800/454-5768 http://www.elderhostel.org

•Walking the World http://www.walkingtheworld.com

•Overseas Adventure Travel Offers 12- to 16-day walks through several European countries. 800/493-6824 www.oattravel.com

•Ole Spain 888/869-7156 http://www.olespain.com

It's never too late to learn another language, and one of the best ways to do so is by full immersion in the language and the culture of its native speakers. Many language programs offer homestays, either with families or with teachers who give private instruction. Like the other students, you may find that nothing provides greater motivation than the need to communicate. Here's a sampling of programs and resources that welcome older students:

•Experiencia Centro de Intercambio Bilingue y Cultural AC 866/477-2647 www.mexicoamigos.com

•AmeriSpan Study Abroad 800/879-6640 http://www.amerispan.com

•Cemanahuac Educational Community offers intensive Spanish-language and cultural studies in small classes (five students or fewer) in semitropical Cuernavaca, 90 miles south of Mexico City, and in the small rural town of Buenavista, in the state of Guerrero. Students live with host families. Contact the educational programs coordinator at 614/876-8768.

•The National Registration Center for Study Abroad. The NRCSA has programs in dozens of countries; you can register in the section for "mature adults" if you prefer studying with people closer to your age 414/278-0631 http://www.nrcsa.com

If you've already mastered another language and are looking for an opportunity to practice or to make connections with people from other cultures, several organizations offer homestays to travelers looking for cultural exchange. These include the following:

•American International Homestays PO Box 1754 Nederland, CO 80466 303/258-3234 www.aihtravel.com

•United States Servas 1125 16th St., Suite 201 Arcata, CA 95521-5585 707/825-1714 www.usservas.org

The most valuable thing you can share with the next generation may be the gift of your time. Here are some programs that offer trips you can enjoy with your children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews:

•Elderhostel Intergenerational Programs 800/454-5768 http://www.elderhostel.org/programs/intergenerational_default.asp

•Grandtravel 800/247-7651 http://www.grandtrvl.com

•Great Camp Sagamore A good old-fashioned summer camp to be enjoyed by grandparents and kids alike. 315/354-5311 http://www.sagamore.org

•Rascals in Paradise Intergenerational adventure trips for three to six families per trip. 415/273-2224 http://www.rascalsinparadise.com

If culture, history, literature, or art is your passion, you may want to contact the following organizations:

•Literarytraveler.com has compiled listings of specific art and literary tours available through various companies or individuals. 800/314-8602

•The Smithsonian Institution offers several courses and tours dealing with history and art. 202/633-3030 http://smithsonianassociates.org

•Country Heritage Tours has stitched together several itineraries designed to take in culturally important sights and world-famous quilt shows. 800/346-9820 http://www.countryheritagetours.com

•The National Trust for Historic Preservation offers several tours that focus on historically significant works of art and architecture. 800/944-6847 http://www.preservationnation.org

•For information on other tours, contact the Educational Travel Community. It maintains a database of educational tours offered by nearly 1,000 museums, historical societies, universities, and various nonprofit groups. 406/745-4800, 9 am to 5 pm (Mountain Standard Time) http://www.travelearning.com

If you dreamed in your younger years of cycling through the south of France, you may want to look into it now. Bike tours typically have a set itinerary, which means a planned lunch stop and a final destination for the evening; otherwise, you are free to enjoy the beauty of your ride. Most tours also include something called a sag wagon, a vehicle that will carry your luggage (and you, if necessary) between stops. The guide operating the sag wagon is also expected to regularly check whether anyone needs mechanical or medical assistance. (Make sure that the tour you sign up for provides this service, and ask what trips are offered for seniors or people in your range of fitness.). To find out more about bicycle tours, contact one of these providers:

•Elderhostel 800/454-5768 http://www.elderhostel.org

•International Bicycle Tours 860/767-7005 http://www.internationalbicycletours.com

•For a company whose sole focus is tours with senior riders in mind, contact Senior Cycling. 540/668-6307 http://www.seniorcycling.com

Bird-watching in the rainforest, monitoring an endangered Green Sea turtle as she lays her eggs, or learning about the medicinal uses of plants from a shaman are just a few of the activities that fall under the recently coined term "eco-tour." This kind of tourism has become a means of survival for some native cultures under pressure from outside development, and many tours are available in biodiversity hot spots like Costa Rica, Belize, or Ecuador. If you're interested in eco-tourism travel, try these Web sites:

•Elderhostel http://www.elderhostel.org

•The Sierra Club http://www.sierraclub.org

•The Great Outdoor Recreation Pages, which specializes in adventures for all ages and abilities. http://www.gorp.away.com

•The National Audubon Society's "Nature Odyssey" offers camps and ecological workshops that go beyond just bird watching. 800/967-7425 http://travel.audubon.org

With courses for seniors on everything from surfing the Web and online investing to contemporary politics or ancient Chinese medicine, finding something to whet your intellectual appetite shouldn't be difficult. If your local senior center doesn't offer anything, try your local college or university -- or consider study abroad. For a description of short-term programs, look in your bookshop or library for Great American Learning Vacations (published by Fodor). It contains a wealth of detailed listings for art, photography, writing, and cooking courses offered nationwide. Here are a few more programs you may want to look into:

•The Chautauqua Institution offers a wide variety of programs at its complex on the shores of New York's Lake Chautauqua. Its "55-Plus Weekend" and " Residential Week for Older Adults" programs are popular and fairly inexpensive. 800/836-ARTS http://www.ciweb.org

•Smithsonian Associates offers several itineraries with educational themes 202/633-3030 http://simthsonianassociates.org

•Elderhostel, an international organization that offers affordable seminars both in the United States and overseas. 800/454-5768 http://www.elderhostel.org

•Close Up Washington allows you to attend a week of in-depth seminars held in the nation's capital; lectures are designed to give you an insider's perspective on that hub of political action. 800/256-7387 (or 800/CLOSEUP) http://www.closeup.org

•Senior Summer School lets you spend two to 10 weeks taking courses at one of six participating colleges. 800/847-2466 http://www.seniorsummerschool.com

•Institutes for Learning in Retirement consists of 250 colleges and universities throughout the country that offer noncredit, college-level courses for those who can attend daytime classes near them. Contact Elderhostel Institute Network, 800/454-5768.

Okay, we'd probably be remiss not to mention The Cruise. Some of the best vacation deals include cruises, in fact, because they're so popular that cruise ships are competing for your passage. Talk to your travel agent, or call one of the companies that specialize in getting you discounted rates, such as World Wide Cruises, 800/882-9000, www.wwcruises.com, or Golden Age Travelers, 800/258-8880, www.froschvacations.com

Here are a few companies to check into for cruises with a slightly different flavor:

•Delta Queen Steamboat Tours offers Mississippi River cruises on old paddle-wheel ships. 800/434-1232 http://www.majesticamericaline.com

•(No cruises are available through 2009 because the owners of the Delta Queen are in the process of selling the line. -- Editor)

•Saga Rose specializes in cruises for travelers over 50 and sails out of England to such destinations as Iceland, Scandinavia, Spain, the Baltic, and the Canary Islands. 0/800/096-0081 (from UK) http://www.saga.co.uk/holidays/ocean-cruises.aspx

•Elderhostel offers several courses designed to explore the waterways of the United States on all sorts of vessels, from sailboats to river barges. Call 800/454-5768 or browse their "Adventures Afloat" catalog on-line at http://www.elderhostel.org.

If you enjoy being on the road but would rather have someone else do the driving, here are a few companies that offer interesting coach tours:

•Fancy-Free Holidays specializes in both domestic and overseas coach tours for senior travelers. 800/421-3330 http://www.fancyfreeholidays.com

•Trafalgar Tours provides luxury coach tours both domestically and abroad. 866/854-0103 http://www.trafalgartours.com

-- Nancy Calhoun's last story for Consumer Health Interactive was about Elderhostel. She has also written for WebMD.

References

Last updated September 18, 2009
Copyright © 2000 Consumer Health Interactive

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