Q&A - Travel with Seniors on a Budget

I got a question about travel (see image to the right) that definitely hits my blind-spots, but I’ll do my best! It concerns traveling with a senior and how to reduce costs without reducing vital comforts:

Thanks for your question Deborah! I’m afraid I don’t have much advice about the logistics or cost for the Canadian train trip; I’ve never done that myself and basically the train is gonna cost what it’s gonna cost. And it may seem like common sense but you’d be surprised how many people don’t realize that there’s little difference between a train trip and sitting on a bench for several days on end, so make sure that’s doable! Similarly for Europe, most of my experience / advice is about making travel more affordable by sacrificing a degree of comfort, or going to non-traditional places at non-traditional times in non-traditional ways (rather than France and Italy in Summer, hitchhike through eastern Europe in early Spring, for example). Most Americans are convinced that travel is expensive because unfortunately the traditional trips to Europe are simply expensive (the UK and Switzerland are two of the most expensive countries in Europe, BTW, although the UK is getting more affordable because of its weakening currency).

That being said, think of your expenses in three major categories:

Flight, Accommodation, Food:

Flight: Plan far ahead, and the more flexible you can be on dates the better deal you can find. The most expensive part will be trans-Atlantic, so think in terms of hubs then use domestic budget airlines to bridge the gap (but keep an eye on the baggage fees for those budget airlines if you’ll have checked baggage). Use skyscanner.net

to find the cheapest flight from the USA to the UK then see which hub will be the easiest to get to (NYC  London for $269 round trip in spring 2019, for example). To get from Prague to California I used to take one flight from Prague to London, then London to NYC, then to California, each on the cheapest flight I could find for the route. It’s exhausting and risky, but darn affordable! It’s also a way to visit several places along the way if you can fit in a couple nights at each stop (a stop-over in Iceland is now very feasible, but prepare for the costs of spending 48 hours in Iceland!).

Accommodations depends on your comfort requirements. Couch surfing has definitely passed its prime, and in heavily visited cities it’s hard to find active and available users unless you have a high-profile account. These days Airbnb is often as expensive as hotels but there’s a wider range so it’s worth looking for deals. You might also look into house swapping, for which there are multiple sites and systems. I’ve never used it but I know people who have, and it can work for anything from two weeks to a year. Most sites require a signup fee, however, so do some research into the usefulness and customer satisfaction if you’re going that route. Let me know how it goes if you decide to try it! A wild card to look into is house-sitting: These can be short to medium length opportunities to stay at someone’s house and watch after their plants or pets. Of course there’s some responsibility depending on the opening, but it could give you a free place for at least part of your stay.

Food: Pretty simple, restaurants in the UK and Switzerland are expensive. It means missing out on part of the experience but if you can stick to buying sandwich fixings at a supermarket and stick to tap-water it will make a significant difference in your budget.

So then to traveling with an older parent: First of all, the number of years don’t really matter, it depends on health and patience. A 30 year old could be too “old” for backpacking and hosteling across Europe, while I’ve met 80 year olds solo-traveling across Africa and India and putting 20-somethings to shame. But if there are issues of mobility, health, patience, endurance, etc., then it inevitably changes the style of travel. I don’t have much experience with this, but in general the feasibility of traveling when older is related to the ability to spend more time and money on that travel, so making travel more affordable AND more doable for a senior doesn’t generally go together. On the other hand, senior discounts can be significant all over the world, so the peripherals (museums, shows, even bus tickets) could be cheaper. To familiarize myself I looked through a bunch of articles and I’ve included the useful ones below to get you started (some of them are part of larger blogs that might be worth following). Normally for older travelers with physical limitations I would be more likely to recommend a package tour so that the stress and logistics are delegated the operator. If that doesn’t work, then it’s important to make plans with the knowledge that everything will take more time and you’ll probably want the flexibility (in time and budget) to take frequent coffee or snack breaks whenever necessary. It’s tempting to try to “make the most” of the experience and try to do as much as humanly possible, but especially with older travelers this can backfire in a matter of days and damage the overall experience. Plan a couple main things you absolutely want to do each day and allow for lots of time smelling the flowers and sitting at a café. This will make sure the thing you do get to are enjoyable and memorable.

If money is a deciding factor I would highly recommend looking into Mediterranean countries (just not in the summer). Spain, Italy, and especially Greece are very affordable right now, and they offer a wealth of sightseeing, history, cuisine, as well as a more laid-pack pace (if you need a beach day, it’s never far away).

So I’m afraid that’s the best I can offer! Take a look at the articles below and let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

Savvy Senior Travelers Can You Be Too Old To Travel? Senior travel: 11 tips for travelling alone later in life Senior Women Travel : Am I Too Old to Travel Solo? From Spontaneous to Safe: Does Travel Change as You Age? Senior solo female independent traveller 6 AMAZING VACATIONS FOR SINGLE WOMEN OVER 60