Go-Go, Slow-Go, No-Go Travel

[athena53]

Travel is just a pain to me. I enjoy seeing/visiting new places but I dislike getting there. We usually fly business class and rent houses for "spacing" and ease but it's still travel and well...blah!

I just came back from one of the best trips of my life, and I DID fly Business Class on the long-hauls, but your neurons are all firing on these trips. Unfamiliar surroundings, learning a ton of new things, needing Google Translate in the grocery store, dealing with 5 foreign currencies (Sterling, Euro, Albanian Lek, Bosnian Mark, Croatian Kuna), the shower in every hotel works differently, you wake up in the middle of the night and have to think about where the bathroom is... there's a limit to how much I excitement I can take!

My late husband and I cheerfully agreed that two major trips a year were enough even if we had unlimited funds. I'm still comfortable with that.

 

[djsander]

My father was a traveler and had his leg partially amputated in his early 60s. He traveled a lot until around near 84 or so. Then stopped. I think it became too much and he was getting dementia. So I think he did real well making it that long. For me and my wife we haven’t travelled other than moving since retiring last year. A lot to do when you relocate. I do notice I can’t drive long hours anymore. I’m 62 and she’s a few years older. I used to have no problem with a 15 hour drive. Now 10 is about it. I think it’s a combination of I’m tired and just too many nut cases on the road.

 

[novaman]

My dad was an avid traveler, taking 3-4 major trips a year starting when he was 65. By his mid 70’s he found cruises to be the most appealing way to go, because he could just unpack once on the ship and wouldn’t have to deal with the hassles of different hotels and various modes of transportation to get from place to place

Dad is now 92 and sadly it looks like his traveling days are over due to cognitive decline. His last trip with mom was in February 2020 just before COVID hit.

 

[friar1610]

Travel is just a pain to me. I enjoy seeing/visiting new places but I dislike getting there. We usually fly business class and rent houses for "spacing" and ease but it's still travel and well...blah! I think spending 22 years in the Air Force and globetrotting for most of those years filled the travel bug for me. DW does like to travel but likes to limit our trips to no more than 3 or 4 a year.

I have a friend who is about 5 years older and who has a condo in Marbella on the Costa Del Sol (Spain). He relocates to Spain generally 2x annually for a couple of months each time. He’s a retired USAF officer so he flies Space Available from McGuire AFB to Rota, Spain and back. Finds it very convenient even though he could easily afford commercial biz class. Personally, I have never once flown Space A in the 25 years I’ve been USN (ret) nor do I have any desire to try.

 

[Scuba]

I learned early about travel patterns changing as you age because my late husband was 15 years older. At one point it just took too long for him to un-kink his 6'-2" body after a long-haul in Coach so we flew Business. We always made sure to have a hotel room with some "living space" where he could relax while I went out to explore some more. We chose hotels close to subway stops and we started getting private transportation to/from airports.

So..I'm almost 70. DH died in 2016 and I'm still traveling. I still fly Business Class on long-hauls and like to stay overnight in London to/from other places in Europe and arrive a day early for group tours and cruises. I had a wonderful independent trip to Munich and Malta in May but I'm doing more small-group tours where if things go wrong it's someone else's problem. Fortunately the company I use most does a good mix of time on your own and organized excursions, not too many one-night stops or early mornings, and the right level of physical activity.

I'm careful about what luggage I bring- the last trip was carry-on only for 3 weeks because of the headlines about lost luggage. Usually it's one checked (small roller bag), one carry-on roller bag plus my computer bag. I was watching people checking in and out of my hotel in London earlier this month with carts piled with mega-bags- that would wear me out, too! I learned very early never to assume there would always be someone to handle your luggage for you and your path would be free of steps.

TSA Pre-check is a blessing. So are the Priority Immigration lines at Heathrow for Business Class passengers.

I hope I have many good miles left on me. I've slowed down a bit because leaky heart valves make me short of breath so I have to avoid "boulder bash" hikes, but I'm still having a great time.

What tour company do you use? We still prefer self-guided travel, but as we age and for some destinations, I definitely see the appeal of small group tours.

 

[Scuba]

I am jealous. Alas, Atlanta has more the 4 gates. But, It would be fun to find a place in Georgia that made really good pecan pie. Or do I need Mississippi or Alabama for that? A few days in Alabama eating that good Southern Cooking might be a nice alternative to hopping the pond in one flight.

I have a FANTASTIC restaurant recommendation close to the Atlanta airport. Try Louisiana Bistreaux. You’re welcome.

 

[220volt]

The US is really disadvantaged geographically for international travel. Most destinations are just too far away and will be taxing on you. Even within the US, the distances are so large. And if you're not in one of the major cities, connecting flights will be a nightmare.
This is why DW and I will be moving to Europe once we retire. At least for 5 (maybe 10) years so we can take advantage of European geographical proximity to different nations and their convenient transportation system. We travel internationally every year it is getting less convenient and there's so much to see, learn and explore.

 

[brett]

Agree so much with that.

On one of our more recent trips we flew one way to Vienna on points. Then trained to Budapest, then to Prague. After that a short hop on discount airline to Malta for 10 days. Then another short hop on Air Malta to Sicily for 20 days of independent touring. Then a $38 Vueling flight to Rome to pick up a last minute mid October cruise to Barcelona. Then an inexpensive one way cruise air home.

It is not unusual for us to rough our the first four or five weeks and leave the back end 2 weeks open. Last trip to Greece we left the last two weeks in Oct. open for one of Morocco, Israel, or Cyprus. Never been to any of then prior to that. It was a faith holiday in Israel..everything booked and busy. We spotted $50 Aegean air from Athens to Cyprus so that is where we went. Two wonderful weeks. 5 days each in two resorts, plus 2 days each in the mountains and in Nicosia.

Pre early retirement we always wanted to travel like this. So this is what we had been doing for the past 10 years. Not certain how long we will do this but as long as we have the health and the desire we will continue to do it.

There was also a health benefit. We realized that we needed to drop some weight if we were going on long flights etc. So we did. The other big change is that our eating habits changed even at home. Much more fresh fruit, salads, seafood. Less meat, no fast foods, no processed foods, very little fried food. We feel so much better for both changes.

 

[aja8888]

I'll be 79 in a few days. DW is 77 and not in good health. I traveled extensively for 40 years in business and I am done with it. Period.

For my remaining years, it's weekly golf, visiting locally (within 250 miles) and just enjoying life.

If I want to see another foreign city where people hate Americans, I can use Google Earth.

 

[googily]

My dad is 89 and had two awful airline experiences this summer (one of which included his spending the night on a cot at the Denver airport).

So, he's talking about driving the three days each way for the same trip next year. [emoji1787]

 

[Freedom56]

We just spent six weeks in Switzerland and had no issues hiking up and down the various summits in the Alps. We saw many elderly Swiss people doing quite on the trails. The people that were struggling were those that were overweight and out of shape regardless of age. We biked from Lausanne to Geneva and back one day and other than sore legs and we had no issues. We have no plans to stop traveling. A sedentary or inactive lifestyle is extremely dangerous.

 

[kgtest]

My dad is 89 and had two awful airline experiences this summer (one of which included his spending the night on a cot at the Denver airport).

So, he's talking about driving the three days each way for the same trip next year. [emoji1787]

I would rather sleep on a cot in an airport then drive 3 days, but that is just me. Sometimes my DF becomes strong-headed after an embarrassing situation and thinks irrationally.

 

[kgtest]

Agree so much with that.

On one of our more recent trips we flew one way to Vienna on points. Then trained to Budapest, then to Prague. After that a short hop on discount airline to Malta for 10 days. Then another short hop on Air Malta to Sicily for 20 days of independent touring. Then a $38 Vueling flight to Rome to pick up a last minute mid October cruise to Barcelona. Then an inexpensive one way cruise air home.

It is not unusual for us to rough our the first four or five weeks and leave the back end 2 weeks open. Last trip to Greece we left the last two weeks in Oct. open for one of Morocco, Israel, or Cyprus. Never been to any of then prior to that. It was a faith holiday in Israel..everything booked and busy. We spotted $50 Aegean air from Athens to Cyprus so that is where we went. Two wonderful weeks. 5 days each in two resorts, plus 2 days each in the mountains and in Nicosia.

Pre early retirement we always wanted to travel like this. So this is what we had been doing for the past 10 years. Not certain how long we will do this but as long as we have the health and the desire we will continue to do it.

There was also a health benefit. We realized that we needed to drop some weight if we were going on long flights etc. So we did. The other big change is that our eating habits changed even at home. Much more fresh fruit, salads, seafood. Less meat, no fast foods, no processed foods, very little fried food. We feel so much better for both changes.

THIS ^^ makes me jealous. But I realize everyone gets along how they get along. Right now we have 3 little kids and know we are grounded a bit as they begin to flutter and flourish. So I wouldn't sacrifice my time with them for 8 weeks of constant travel, but we also want to do some traveling when we ER.

 

[Souschef]

This is a list of our travels. as you can see, it decreases as we aged. We started when I was 69, and DW was 64.
year days
2007 50
2008 35
2009 80
2010 72
2011 74
2012 74
2013 49
2014 34
2015 35
2016 30
2017 18
2018 20
2019 12

 

[rodi]

My dad was an avid traveler. When I was growing up it was mostly domestic camping/backpacking trips. He became a trip leader for Sierra Club so that his trip was paid for. When I was in college he and my mom started doing Hawaii and Alaska trips for Sierra Club. (My mom skipped the backpack in Alaska where a seaplane dropped them off in one spot and picked them up 2 weeks later in another spot.) He also led trips in Africa for Sierra Club - including climbing Mt. Kilmanjaro. He also did Nepal w/ Sierra club. She wasn't up to backpacking by her 60's... Dad also started slowing down, changing from backpacking/kayaking/mountain biking to car camping and 4wd back country trips. But they also started doing international travel. They would go for 4-6 weeks with round the world biz class tickets. When mom died and dad met my step-mom they continued the tradition. They did some Elder-hostel trips, (now Road Scholars), a round the world trip again, and had plans for a round the world trip - but unfortunately dad died 2weeks before they were due to leave on that trip.

I inherited his love of travel (though not his love of backpacking). We do camping in our scooby van and go hiking. And we do international trips. Leaving in 2 weeks for Machu Picchu and Galapagos. When I can get a deal we fly biz class. DH is 6'4". If the flight is more than 3-4 hours he needs the leg room. We're heading to Mexico in early April, then Italy for a month later in April. I was able to score decent prices on the airfare by doing Premium Economy on the way there, and biz class on the return. Biz class going added $3k/person... Nope.

THIS ^^ makes me jealous. But I realize everyone gets along how they get along. Right now we have 3 little kids and know we are grounded a bit as they begin to flutter and flourish. So I wouldn't sacrifice my time with them for 8 weeks of constant travel, but we also want to do some traveling when we ER.

I feel your pain. I had a middle schooler and a high schooler when I retired. For budget reasons we only did international every 4 years because of the cost of 4 tickets to get there. They're both in college now and are annoyed that our international travel has increased and we're not taking them. Tough noogies to them. But with DH being 70, and me 61... we want to do the more active travel now. (Hence the machu picchu/galapagos this year and hiking Cinque Terre next year.) DH is super fit but his knees have started to bother him. I'm overweight but can still hike, bike, etc...

We anticipate as we age, we'll mix in more cruises, and especially Viking cruises and fewer hiking oriented trips.

 

[Bigdawg]

We have no plans to stop traveling. A sedentary or inactive lifestyle is extremely dangerous.

Traveling and lifestyle have nothing to do with each other. Anecdotally, I know many people who are extremely active and rarely leave the county, much less the state. They don't have a passport. Also, I see all kinds of people while I'm traveling stateside and internationally who are obviously out of shape and not living a healthy lifestyle.

 

[FreeBear]

Glad you both are still and doing stuff into your 80's. Pretty amazing from my perspective. Many of our active couples friends lost their spouses by 80. Everyone reports similar activity levels as you guys, greatly slowing at 75 to 80.

This is a list of our travels. as you can see, it decreases as we aged. We started when I was 69, and DW was 64.
year days
2007 50
2008 35
2009 80
2010 72
2011 74
2012 74
2013 49
2014 34
2015 35
2016 30
2017 18
2018 20
2019 12

 

[brett]

During our travels we have met a number of couples that had 10 years or more on us, ie in their late 70's/early eighties. Bouncing around a country on spontaneous travel.

The other trend we have seen over the past ten years is more and more people like us traveling for a few months at a time with carry on only. I expect to see an increase in this post covid. Absolutely nothing to do with airline bag fees. It is all about ease of travel and what people can physically handle by themselves.

 

[Dash man]

We are both 66 and I’m now slow go. I traveled extensively while in the Air Force and took DW many places until my spinal problems worsened. We would have traveled more, but we were also caring for her parents, and her father is still around. We still do cruises out of Florida and New Jersey, but don’t get off the ship much. I can’t walk more than 30 minutes anymore. We do have a snowbird condo on the east coast of Florida and a Jersey Shore home for getaways. Two cruises planned for 2023, one with family. I love the ocean and don’t need the islands. Life is still good.

 

[jollystomper]

Our main change to "slow-go" travel has been to not try to squeeze the vacation into a limited time, but to go at a pace that we are comfortable at. Such things as:

- For driving vacations, driving no more than 4-5 hours a day, with breaks in the middle.

- When flying, getting to the airport extra early as to not feel "rushed" through check-in and security,and finding a relatively quiet place to relax while waiting for the flight.

- Not needing to be among the first to rush off the plane after it lands (we tend to prefer seats towards the back for that reason). Especially if we have to pick up baggage, it rarely arrives on the carousel before we do.

- Being fine with - in fact, actually preferring - 4+ hour waiting time between flight connections. We have plenty of ways to pass the time in the airport.

- At our vacation destination, having at least one "unplanned" day where we do little, maybe hang around (if it is nice) the hotel, or go somewhere nearby that is quiet and not crowded and spend most of the day there.

These things make the "end-to-end" vacation longer, but hey, we are both retired, so what is the rush?

 

[rodi]

The other trend we have seen over the past ten years is more and more people like us traveling for a few months at a time with carry on only. I expect to see an increase in this post covid. Absolutely nothing to do with airline bag fees. It is all about ease of travel and what people can physically handle by themselves.

While we've only done one trip that was 'months' (9 weeks in Europe with the kids)... we did carry on.

We only do carry on. Makes it so much easier at train stations, hotels that may have some stairs, and how much you need to store at a train station luggage storage if you stop to sight see in between two destinations. I've converted my sister to only carry on. I wish I could get my BFF to convert to only carry on. She always overpacks. She can't get past my packing rule - pair down the number of shoes to 2-3 pairs (wear the bulkiest on the plane - say hiking boots) and work your outfits around the shoes. She's been known to bring 8 or 9 pairs of shoes for a 1 week trip.

 

[Chuckanut]

Our main change to "slow-go" travel has been to not try to squeeze the vacation into a limited time, but to go at a pace that we are comfortable at. Such things as:

- For driving vacations, driving no more than 4-5 hours a day, with breaks in the middle.

- When flying, getting to the airport extra early as to not feel "rushed" through check-in and security,and finding a relatively quiet place to relax while waiting for the flight.

- Not needing to be among the first to rush off the plane after it lands (we tend to prefer seats towards the back for that reason). Especially if we have to pick up baggage, it rarely arrives on the carousel before we do.

- Being fine with - in fact, actually preferring - 4+ hour waiting time between flight connections. We have plenty of ways to pass the time in the airport.

- At our vacation destination, having at least one "unplanned" day where we do little, maybe hang around (if it is nice) the hotel, or go somewhere nearby that is quiet and not crowded and spend most of the day there.

These things make the "end-to-end" vacation longer, but hey, we are both retired, so what is the rush?

+1

Take time to smell the roses, walk the paths, and just feel the spirit of the place you are visiting.

A few years ago I was watching a video made by a travel guru. He had taken a bus to some small river front town in Germany, where he would pick up an overnight boat cruise to his next destination. A castle loomed over the town, many hundreds of feet up a steep staircase. His comment was that with 1.5 hours until the boat arrived he could dash up the stairs, do a quick fast walk through the castle and be down to the dock in time to board the boat. Importantly, this was an efficient use of the traveler's time. Well, maybe. Today I would find a cafè on the river, order a glass of wine or the local dessert liquor, perhaps a pastry, and watch whatever happens to go bye me. The castle can wait until.. well, maybe my grandkid will visit it and show me the photos.

Oh, Souschef is among my heros.

 

[brett]

While we've only done one trip that was 'months' (9 weeks in Europe with the kids)... we did carry on.

We only do carry on. Makes it so much easier at train stations, hotels that may have some stairs, and how much you need to store at a train station luggage storage if you stop to sight see in between two destinations. I've converted my sister to only carry on. I wish I could get my BFF to convert to only carry on. She always overpacks. She can't get past my packing rule - pair down the number of shoes to 2-3 pairs (wear the bulkiest on the plane - say hiking boots) and work your outfits around the shoes. She's been known to bring 8 or 9 pairs of shoes for a 1 week trip.

We cannot overpack. We each have an international size carry on. Once it is full that is it.

Now, our notion of overpacking is when our carry on weights 9KG instead of 7 or 8.

When we started shoes and liquids were the first to left at home.

 

[FreeBear]

We cannot overpack. We each have an international size carry on. Once it is full that is it.

Now, our notion of overpacking is when our carry on weights 9KG instead of 7 or 8.

When we started shoes and liquids were the first to left at home.

Cool! This reminds me of my backpacking days. Small Swiss Army knife; didn't understand why some guys needed a huge hunting knife. Tarp instead of tent. No liquids except for enough water to get to the next water source. A single pair of boots, although the ultralight guys started wearing running shoes. Good times.


Now that we have an RV, we always overpack. I somewhat regret getting an Easy Up sun shelter. It is almost the same weight as my old backpack loaded for 5 days out. Next time I should start leaving behind stuff that doesn't get used. Electric coffee roaster anyone?

 

[googily]

Now that we have an RV, we always overpack. I somewhat regret getting an Easy Up sun shelter. It is almost the same weight as my old backpack loaded for 5 days out. Next time I should start leaving behind stuff that doesn't get used. Electric coffee roaster anyone?

But that's the best part of forsaking airline travel! Fill up the vehicle with everything you might possibly need!