9 Hacks for Senior Travelers - EXPLORE. EXPERIENCE. REPEAT.

Senior travelers often think they should STOP— dreaming, taking risks, and most importantly making discoveries, just because they are aging. That’s about a great time when you have learned the lessons, faced the hardships, got over the responsibilities, and you have all the time & money to spend on something that has been missed out in the rat race. Today, it’s among one of the top travel trends— traveling after retirement. You have wisdom, intellect, and freedom to do what you have been wanting to do over the years— discover all those wonderful things of the universe. And, the best thing about the modern world is that senior travelers feel more independent with medical & health assistance incorporated with most vacation packages. 

 

You have worked hard for all these years and now is the time to reward yourself. It’s time to use the knowledge of the lifetime to appreciate every exploration and every single experience. Of course, senior travelers have to have certain factors to take care of when planning or booking vacation packages. So they have to be aware of the physical limitations and their health in particular— and senior travelers are on the hit list of criminals & thieves. But thankfully there are groups that organize safe trips for people over the age of 50. Besides, you can take care of certain things to remain safe on your trip! We’ve rounded up 9 helpful hacks for senior travelers, read to find. Her we Go:

 

9 Helpful Hacks for Senior Travelers

 

1. Find Senior Travel Groups

 

 

There are plenty of senior travel groups operating the world over that help senior travelers get their travel wishlist ticked off one-by-one. So if you are over 50 and planning to explore the world, look for such groups that might help. They will plan everything for your starting spots, what spots you are going to cover, what accommodation would look like, and most importantly most of these senior travel groups provide medical assistance based on the travelers' needs. Check out for reviews to know if they are safe to join. 

 

2. Don’t Let Anyone Know About Your Absence

 

 

Senior travelers are the easiest targets for thieves & burglars, so when you are not around your belongings, don’t let anyone know about your absence. While most hotels claim that no one like this can get an entry into their premises, those trained thieves know the trick and break off into your hotel rooms easily. Never put the “clean my room” sign on your hotel room door or they will get a chance. Instead, you want to get that cleaned for you, you can call up the front desk official at the hotel to inform you that you are leaving and would like your room to be cleaned. 

 

3. Never Opt for a Room at The Ground Floor

 

 

Another important tip for senior travelers is — you should never go for a room on the ground floor. It is where you are more at the risk of thieves entering & stealing your belongings as they can easily get in there through the windows. You can opt for a room that is near the elevator so the thief will refrain from entering your room because of it being surrounded by people all the time. It is not that challenging to plan a trip in your aging years, you just have to be cautious of a few things that might look a little difficult in the beginning to manage. 

 

4. Know the Locations of Your Medications in Advance

 

 

For senior travelers medications are one of the most essential packing items in their travel bags— it’s impossible to be there and savor the moments if you are not feeling well without your daily dose of medication. So, when you are packing your travel bags make sure that you have all placed them at a place you can always remember & can always reach out to easily. Make sure it is accessible even when you are sitting in the flight seat— it’s better to place them inside your compartmentalized personal bag instead of keeping them inside the carry-on you have decided to put inside the overhead compartment. For different airlines the luggage weight limit you can carry along inside the flight is different— so always check the airline’s website before booking your tickets. 

 

Related Article: How to Pick Personal Bags for Air Travel - Your Handy Guide!

 

5. Don’t Complicate It

 

 

Traveling is equally fun & stressful— you’ll have to sort out a few things that you might not have needed to do sitting comfortably on your cozy couch, yes that’s true. But the result is AWESOME, so it’s better to find ways to keep it simple rather than dropping the idea of traveling. For senior travelers, this could be like adding on to the burden by not keeping it simple— whether you are looking for accommodations or booking your flight tickets or deciding what activities you’ll be going to do on the trip, keep things simple & don’t complicate them. For instance, make sure that the hotel you are going to stay in a central location and you can easily reach out to most of the spots you would like to see. That would be like creating an unnecessary mess if you have to travel back to your hotel after a long tiring day of exploration. There are plenty of top hotels that offer special all-inclusive deals for senior travelers, so get clear on that in advance. 

 

Related Article: 50 World's Top Hotels Across Six Continents                                                  

 

6. Get Ready with your Personal & Medical Documents in Advance 

 

 

That’s about the first thing anyone should do when they are planning a trip and senior travelers have to be more cautious of every single thing in advance. For senior travel trips, be it medical documents or personal documents like passports — you should apply for them much in advance, maybe a month or two before. If you are traveling on your own, get the details on what documents you would need when traveling to that particular destination and if you are a part of a senior travel group, coordinate with them, for a clearer picture. Every country has its own set of tourism rules and regulations, always visit their official tourism website even before booking your vacation package. 

 

7. Restrict Your Diet

 

 

It might not sound amazing but that’s the truth we had to talk about— senior travelers cannot eat anything and everything. They have a comparatively weak metabolism and are not as immune to the changing environment as most youngsters. Restricting your diet on a vacation is not easy, we understand that but there is no way out, you can remain healthy throughout the trip. Eating anything just to sample the local cuisines might make you fall ill, ultimately making it impossible for you to be in there and enjoy those experiences. You should keep the intake of those spicy, cheesy, heavy dishes as minimum as possible or you might have to spend more time in your hotel room. And, a combination of certain medications and certain food items do not work well together— for senior travelers with the medication they should primarily take care of these trivial but important things. 

 

8. Keep Your Family & Acquaintance in Loop

 

 

You should always keep your family & friends about the little things you are doing on your vacation— be it about your itinerary, the hotel, or the spots you are going to on a particular day. Make sure your devices are charged and they are working well so you can always keep in touch— this will keep you ready for any emergency in a foreign land. Keep everyone apprised of all your activities, where you are traveling and when you’ll be back in the hotel room & let them know in case there is any change in the schedule. 

 

Related Article: 12 Must-Have Travel Gadgets That Are Too Cool To Carry

 

9. Don’t Carry Expensive Items on the Trip

 

 

While senior citizens have the perk of having money to spend on everything & anything unlike the youngsters— after all, they have worked all through their lives to get to this place. We know you might have those expensive pairs of sunglasses, gold watches & fancy cameras— but you should refrain from carrying these items on the trips or you might be the first target of thieves around. Senior travelers are anyways the easy targets for thieves in almost any part of the world— this will also mean you should not carry too much cash along. Leisure.com’s travel experts say that most senior travelers have the most money in cash, jewelry & other valuables. Make sure you are not doing that!