The Meaning of Travel in Retirement: A Personal Journey

[Zona]

But after visited 87 countries and territories and saw all new and old (still existing) world wonders, I am at a turning point. I am now asking myself what is the meaning of my travel. Do I really want to go to the remaining unvisited countires, which are usually remote, not very safe, and not very interesting?

I also had the ambition, when younger, to visit as many countries as possible & all 7 continents. I made a very long wishlist of sites to see & places to go. As I get older I am experiencing a similar turning point. Do we really want to spend the money & resources to go to Antarctica for a short time, or would we more enjoy a month or two in an apartment in Eastern Europe for the same cost but a completely different experience? DH and I really enjoy traveling, and we do many different types of trips (hiking/active vs. city/history vs. relax/read by the pool, etc). But nowadays I look at the sum total of the travel experience rather than specifically wanting to see "X" site or "Y" museum. I think there are some things that I once wanted to check off my "list" but now have fallen much lower in priority. I think I am okay with that.

 

[dixonge]

We got lucky in that we both really generally enjoy travel. While still working we traveled mostly in a smaller area, lots of road trips and camping and hiking. Rock climbing. Then motorcycle travel. One cruise to Alaska/Denali. And one memorable trip where we spent 10 days sleeping in either our Honda Civic or a tent. One 10-day visit to NYC.

During our 'test retirement' (2011-2015) we lived in a pop-up camper for seven months, saw most of the National Parks, from Texas to California to Washington to Michigan and back to Texas. Then we moved to Mexico. We've been everywhere from Puerto Vallarta to Cancun. We visited Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica.

Since 2017 (*actual* retirement) we spent almost two years in an RV, criss-crossing the U.S. again, we've seen the Copper Canyon, a full solar eclipse in Mazatlan, a month in France and Switzerland. Last year we drove from Guadalajara to Houston, DFW and then south-central Colorado for some camping. In July we'll catsit again for my brother in the DFW area, and in December we are doing a 16-day cruise in South America, followed by Iguazu Falls, Easter Island and Machu Picchu.

Future trips include: Galapagos Islands, New England, UK, Portugal/Spain, Italy, the rest of Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia.

Looking forward to expanding this map of places visited...

 

[sengsational]

For those of you who have visited all 50 states, do you count it as visited if you just drove through it? Or do you need to spend the night before it "counts"?

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

For those of you who have visited all 50 states, do you count it as visited if you just drove through it? Or do you need to spend the night before it "counts"?

If I stopped and had a meal, I counted it initially. But as a road warrior for 15 or so years, I eventually went back and spent the night in all 50.

 

[audreyh1]

For those of you who have visited all 50 states, do you count it as visited if you just drove through it? Or do you need to spend the night before it "counts"?

Gosh, if you just stopped for a bathroom break or a viewpoint it seems like it would count, ha ha.

I haven’t visited all 50, but have never just driven through. I haven’t visited the smallest states in the lower 48.

 

[CO-guy]

I love traveling and quit the full-time to travel more. I still consult online, but I don't let it interfere with my travel plans.

My purpose for traveling is varied, from visiting friends and family to exploration and relaxation.

 

[CalBird]

People say travel has three levels: visiting places, understanding the people and culture, and eventually self-discovery. I hope I can get there during my go-go years.

 

[dixonge]

For those of you who have visited all 50 states, do you count it as visited if you just drove through it? Or do you need to spend the night before it "counts"?

I'm a few shy of 50, but I once spent 2 hours in I-5 in Idaho stuck in traffic behind a big fire that happened on a semi-truck. Does that count? lol

To be fair, I have since spent much more time there, days even. Once.

 

[Souschef]

My wife had done some traveling with her late husband. She had never needed a passport until she met me.
Fast forward 15years and after 41 countries, 52 trips, 511 travel days, and 18 cruises we are done traveling.

 

[pacergal]

Fun, Visiting Family, Relaxation.

 

[tulak]

Maybe I shouldn’t respond, since I’m not retired, but I love travel and still manage a lot even though working.

I travel for the experience and prefer to go slow. I can work remotely, so this allows me to still travel and work, not having to rush to get back to the job. The downside is that work travels with me, but it’s a worthwhile compromise.

I look forward to the day I can take a trip and leave the laptop at home. I don’t expect the trips to change much. It will still be focused on experiences, visiting new and old places, and spending time with family and friends.

 

[tutan]

Maybe I shouldn’t respond, since I’m not retired, but I love travel and still manage a lot even though working.

I travel for the experience and prefer to go slow. I can work remotely, so this allows me to still travel and work, not having to rush to get back to the job. The downside is that work travels with me, but it’s a worthwhile compromise.

I look forward to the day I can take a trip and leave the laptop at home. I don’t expect the trips to change much. It will still be focused on experiences, visiting new and old places, and spending time with family and friends.

I never liked mixing fun with work or even just taking work home. That was a big reason to retire and leave it all behind.

 

[Out of Steam]

My wife and I are in transition with regard to travel. We started out planning more road travel within the US, but we're not finding that as satisfying as we had hoped. Also, my wife's stamina for road travel is only about 7 hours a day, even as a passenger. We've decided to stay within that range of home for our driving.

We've now had three successful European trips since 2019, and and are interested in doing more. Except for airfares, the cost difference isn't much.

 

[tulak]

I never liked mixing fun with work or even just taking work home. That was a big reason to retire and leave it all behind.

I get it, but if the alternative is to not go, then I’m ok with mixing in work.

It’ll be nice to retire and own all my time, both at home and travel. One of these days…

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

My wife and I are in transition with regard to travel. We started out planning more road travel within the US, but we're not finding that as satisfying as we had hoped. Also, my wife's stamina for road travel is only about 7 hours a day, even as a passenger. We've decided to stay within that range of home for our driving.

We've now had three successful European trips since 2019, and and are interested in doing more. Except for airfares, the cost difference isn't much.

My DW also does not like extended periods of vehicle travel, while I could drive 16-18 hours a day if needed to get somewhere.

Our compromise for road-trips is the 6 hours away rule. If we're going somewhere that would require 18 hours of driving, we would try to split that up into three days. That doesn't mean we would only spend 6 hours a day in the vehicle, but rather that we would make stops along the way. We might spend 10, 12, or 14 hours to get to our next motel, but we would stop to see the sights, eat meals somewhere interesting, and/or visit some antique shops along the way. This helps to break up the monotony for her of just being a passenger for hours on end.

 

[Mark1]

When we were w*orking and living in the Houston area, we bought the maximum vacation allowed and traveled out of town for the full 7+ weeks of vacation each year. We also had a 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off and we flew out many Thursday nights with a Sunday night return (hub city with direct flights). We just assumed that once we FIRED, we would increase of travel time to say 30% of the year. It never happened. We haven't been on a plane since 2019. We tend to stay within a one day drive from home now with lots of day trips where we are home at night, or gone a few nights at most. It used to bother me that we aren't taking advantage of our go-go years to go overseas, etc., but then I figured we are doing what we want and enjoying ourselves, so why worry about it.

 

[timbervest]

At 70, I love travel. I relish the experience of being in a new place (maybe only just heard of) and experiencing the culture, food, and history of the place I am visiting. I know it is not an imersion experiece but I try to feel and enoy the uniqueness of the place and people I am visiting from a place of equality (rather than just being a tourist). I hope to be able to do it as long as I can.

 

[Luvdogs]

I've always had the travel bug. My dad would comment that my middle name was "I wanna go."
I'm the "travel agent" (unpaid!!) in the family. Back in college I found a junket for $7 from Ft Lauderdale to the Bahamas. Five of us dressed up, hopped the plane, did some gambling (I won and bought a round of drinks for my friends) had dinner and flew back all within about 12 hours. Also arranged a cheap cruise (found one with free drinks of course) in college.

With the family, we usually did a few trips each year with the kids but didn't start doing Europe until about 15 years ago. My kids are in their 30s and are always on board on suggestions with them. My husband goes along but doesn't input much in the decision-making.

Last year we did a Norway cruise, Galapagos cruise and took our kids to Japan. Things have improved since stuffing 20 of us in a hotel room during spring break!

My DD has this pesky thing called a job that limits her time off but we make it work. We're doing a quick Grand Canyon/Sedona trip over Memorial day, then my husband and I are doing almost a month in Europe. It started with getting tickets to Bruce Springsteen in Prague and morphed into almost a month over there.

Then later this year DD wants to go to South Korea for makeup... I'm not sure that will happen but we will see.

But I always seem to have a trip in the planning stage. It's what I like to do.

 

[Out of Steam]

Our compromise for road-trips is the 6 hours away rule. If we're going somewhere that would require 18 hours of driving, we would try to split that up into three days. That doesn't mean we would only spend 6 hours a day in the vehicle, but rather that we would make stops along the way. We might spend 10, 12, or 14 hours to get to our next motel, but we would stop to see the sights, eat meals somewhere interesting, and/or visit some antique shops along the way.

This is pretty reasonable, but we're just not finding more enjoyment in long-distance road travel than we could have near home. I'm starting to agree with the critics who say that, with the interstates and suburban-type scenery, places in the US look too much alike.

Since we have some trips of 4-8 hours that we can't avoid, my wife likes to drive for a couple of hours earlier in the day.

 

[Fermion]

Not as interested in world travel as I once was, mostly because I do not like the air travel experience.

I am a big fan of road trips though and the USA is large enough that it cannot be fully seen in oner person's lifetime.

 

[Route246]

I went to Japan for 10 days with a friend as she wanted to see cherry blossoms in full bloom. She also wanted to visit some very well-known sites in Japan. I'm originally from Japan, and I've been to most places she wanted to visit when I was a kid/teenager, so I was more her language and tour guide, but that was okay. What was shocking to me was that I didn't see a lot of Japanese people at any of the sites we visited. The places we visited were overcrowded with tourists from abroad. Also, I thought my friend would want to linger at places she wanted to visit, but she was pretty much done after taking some photos of the area and her selfies and wanted to move on to the next attraction.

I will never do a trip like that ever again.... I just don't see the point.

DH and I are planning to visit Venice for the first time, and we are planning to not plan any specific sites and to avoid touristy areas. We'd be happy just riding a bike in the rural area and eating their local foods, for example.

Over-tourism in Japan is horrific now but it is slotted mainly at airports and the "popular" sites focusing on temples and shrines. If you venture out away from public transportation hubs it gets better. I spend a lot of time in the suburbs when I'm there because I have many friends who live in the suburbs away from the tourist areas and I'm familiar with how to get around and enjoy hanging with locals.

If you talk to your Japanese friends you will probably find many that don't really experience the negative effects of the over-tourism unless they take a holiday to one of those unfortunate venues where the tourists have overrun and basically ruined things for the locals.

 

[Aramis]

I have an illness - a serious illness.

The Germans have a name for it - "Fernweh".

It translates as "Far Sickness". It is not merely a desire to travel, but a longing so intense that it is a sickness of the soul.

If anyone is interested in helping me, I have a GoFundMe set up.

 

[Aramis]

Over-tourism in Japan is horrific now but it is slotted mainly at airports and the "popular" sites focusing on temples and shrines. If you venture out away from public transportation hubs it gets better. I spend a lot of time in the suburbs when I'm there because I have many friends who live in the suburbs away from the tourist areas and I'm familiar with how to get around and enjoy hanging with locals.

If you talk to your Japanese friends you will probably find many that don't really experience the negative effects of the over-tourism unless they take a holiday to one of those unfortunate venues where the tourists have overrun and basically ruined things for the locals.

You intend to visit Venice and avoid the touristy sites?

I went to Japan for 10 days with a friend as she wanted to see cherry blossoms in full bloom. She also wanted to visit some very well-known sites in Japan. I'm originally from Japan, and I've been to most places she wanted to visit when I was a kid/teenager, so I was more her language and tour guide, but that was okay. What was shocking to me was that I didn't see a lot of Japanese people at any of the sites we visited. The places we visited were overcrowded with tourists from abroad. Also, I thought my friend would want to linger at places she wanted to visit, but she was pretty much done after taking some photos of the area and her selfies and wanted to move on to the next attraction.

I will never do a trip like that ever again.... I just don't see the point.

DH and I are planning to visit Venice for the first time, and we are planning to not plan any specific sites and to avoid touristy areas. We'd be happy just riding a bike in the rural area and eating their local foods, for example.

You intend to visit Venice and hope to avoid the touristy sites? Oh my. Venice is about as complete a tourist site that there is. There are no rural areas in which to bike. Do you mean you are going to fly into Venice and then remain on the mainland, in the Veneto?