Cable Beach, Broome, West Australia
Have you noticed that everyone is travelling more and more these days? And I don’t mean the “Grey Nomads” in their caravans, but the 50 and 60 somethings that are taking off to overseas destinations like Europe, Africa, USA or Canada. Or as my daughter so eloquently calls it – “Adventure before Dementia”.
Even my Book Club, where we meet once every 6 weeks to discuss a particular book, should be renamed the Travel Club. We tend to spend most of the evening comparing holidays we’ve been on and handing around travel brochures and exchanging travel booking sites rather than discussing our book!
Whitehaven Beach, Queensland, Australia
Amongst my group of half-centenarian friends, every one of them has at least one overseas holiday a year. We are all constantly looking for travel specials on Travelzoo or Expedia and receiving daily emails updating us on cheap flights and hotels. The topic of dinner conversations all seem to be about someone’s recent overseas holiday and where they are planning on going next.
Over 60’s travel is rife as they have entered the retirement phase of their lives, paid off their mortgages and children have left home. They are out there exploring the world spending their hard-earned savings and in some cases “spending the kid’s inheritance” trying to cross off those destinations on their bucket lists!
There appears to be a big variety of holiday types that we are embarking on too. Friends of ours love doing walking tours which involves trekking along a track with a backpack for a week and spending each night in a hut in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes they walk up to 6 hours a day but they say the immersion in nature and the majestic views they experience along the way cannot be surpassed!
Sailing the Turquoise Coast of Turkey
Another friend went on a cycling tour in France where the tour group organisers take your luggage to the next destination and you get to stay in decent accommodation each night. So we really are getting out there!
My husband and I took 6 months off work last year and circumnavigated Australia in a 4 wheel drive towing a caravan. It was the most remarkable travel experience of our lives and would highly recommend it. Australia is such a massive and diverse land with magnificent coastlines of jewel seas and natural wonders aplenty. The “Land Downunder” should be on everyone’s bucket list when it comes to travel.
Probably my most enjoyable holiday we had was driving the Turquoise Coast of Turkey in a very dodgy campervan with our son and his girlfriend. It reminded my husband very much of his time travelling around Europe in a Combie van with his mates in the early 80’s. Our holiday included four memorable sun-drenched days sailing Turkey’s Blue Coast on a yacht cruise. It doesn’t get much better than this!
Peru, South America – Photo Credit Saga Travel
There are more great ideas for travelling in your 50’s and 60’s in Saga Travel’s post “6 Ideas for 60+ Travellers”. I particularly like the look of a holiday to South America, a place I haven’t travelled to as yet, on a “South American Adventure with Peulla” or a “Walking in Slovenia” holiday.
I, for one, hope to be travelling well into my 70’s. There are many good arguments to support this, but my favourite was written anonymously by a wise person – “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”
Thanks to Saga for the inspiration for this post.
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Kristy of Migration Expert US
June 23, 2015Lost for words for number 3 image! It’s stunning and I can’t believe that there’s a beach like that. I would love to go there someday!
Kathy
June 23, 2015Kristy that’s just a small sample of the beautiful beaches we have here in Australia. I do hope you get to travel here someday. Thank you for visiting my blog. :)
Michelle Weaver (@pinkypoinker)
June 23, 2015Adventure before Dementia… too funny. I sort of like the idea of those trekking holidays but I’m not sure about the reality. It would certainly be healthy.
Kathy
June 23, 2015Yes my daughter comes up with some great sayings! I have thought about doing trekking holidays too. As long as I don’t have to carry my own luggage and there is a comfy bed a tasty meal at the end of the day, I reckon I could handle it. :)
jo
June 23, 2015Yessss! So agree about adventure before dementia! We have a short period of health and fitness a d freedom and should make the absolute most of it. Great post.
Kathy
June 23, 2015Thanks Jo. I like to think that I will travelling for a lot more years yet, as long as the body holds out. I am loving seeing your beautiful photos of England. Keep them coming! :)
Jenny P
June 23, 2015Kathy, we’ve been home in Sydney for two weeks and already I’m thinking about where to next. I love your idea of travelling around Australia with a caravan, but then vanning through Turkey sounds fabulous, and we are sold on Sicily. I’d best keep working so we can afford them all!
Kathy
June 23, 2015I can’t believe you are back in Australia! I was enjoying your posts of Italy immensely as that is on my bucket list for 2017. Working is a means to an end. These days my husband I only work to pay for our next holiday! Turkey was fabulous and I can highly recommend it.
Robyn
June 24, 2015I am in my late 50’s and since 2009 my husband and myself have had 3 trips to Europe the shortest time being 4 weeks, at the end of August this year we are going to Paris, London and then sailing to New York and having 6 weeks on the east coast USA including a week in Disneyworld Florida. We are away a total of 9 weeks, while we have traveled a fair bit in Australia and we loved it, it is just too expensive in comparison to traveling overseas. To travel overseas, you need to be fairly fit and have your wits about you, hence doing it now before we lose our marbles.
Kathy
June 24, 2015Hi Robyn, it sounds as if you have been travelling frequently and enjoying the experience. It is a shame that Australia is such an expensive place to travel to. The only exception is that caravanning or camping which can be very reasonable. I agree totally about being fit and switched on to be able to travel. It can be a challenging experience at times. Keep enjoying your travels and thank you for visiting my blog.
Johanna
September 21, 2015I’ve read this before, but I’m glad to read it again and be inspired that it’s okay to travel as we get older and that we should just blog caution to the wind and do it !
Kathy
September 21, 2015If we don’t travel now while we still have all of our faculties then it will be too late. I say strike while the iron’s hot too!!! :)
budgettraveltalk
September 21, 2015I have read this before but I’m not sure why I didn’t comment! Well, I’m totally addicted to travel and blogging about it only feeds the addiction. I guess it is just as well I’m not a food blogger! The 50, 60 and beyond age group is the big growth area for travel, which can only be a good thing!
Kathy
September 21, 2015Me too Jan – I’m a fellow travel addict and can’t get enough of it! We certainly are a growing number and it’s about time the world took notice of us and used us to promote travel more widely. :)
Paula McInerney
September 21, 2015Our age group is the money pit for the travel industry, but they really don’t know how to get our money. We are fit, free, financial and teach savvy, and we know what we want and how to get it ..ourselves. We have no intentions of stopping and actually feel like we can and will do anything.
Kathy
September 21, 2015We certainly are Paula. We need to get the message across that we are the money pit for travel. We want to travel until the day we die too! :)
seizetheday20
October 5, 2015Travelling the turquoise coast of Turkey sounds delightful Kathy. It’s a great age to travel – definitely adventure before dementia! :-)
Kathy
October 5, 2015The Turquoise Coast of Turkey was amazing! I hope to be travelling forever and ever!! :)
Michele Peterson (A Taste for Travel)
October 5, 2015Your photo of sailing the Turquoise Coast of Turkey is stunning. I just returned from Turkey and was struck by the beauty of its coastline. Hopefully I’ll return again soon.
Kathy
October 5, 2015Michele, Turkey is a fabulous travel destination that a lot of people don’t know about. I could certainly return there to see more of the wonderful coastline. :)
budgettraveltalk
October 5, 2015Love this post and it only makes me want to travel more and keep blogging about it.
All Around Oz
October 5, 2015We are starting to plan our ‘Big Lap’ – hoping to kick off in 2018 after the kids finish high school. We can’t wait and went and looked at more vans last Saturday!
Kathy
October 6, 2015You will love every part of Australia. It is a wonderful life-changing experience to travel around Aus. I am currently writing an eBook about exactly that, so you maybe interested in reading for your upcoming trip. :)