Retirement offers the opportunity to do the travelling you have been dreaming about all your life.
This is prime time to discover new cultures and landscapes or visit your ancestors' homelands.
If you want to go, don't put it off any longer.
Global conflicts, another pandemic, your own health or someone else's may prevent travel later if you procrastinate.
Except for the most savvy traveller, I recommend booking an escorted coach tour or cruise if you want a safe and stress-free experience. You will meet like-minded people on your trip and make some new friends.
Senior Discovery Tours has been offering senior tours since 1975. These are all-inclusive tours which include roundtrip transportation from your home
to the airport. A representative meets you at the airport and, if you need it, assists you in getting to the gate.
Trips include accommodation and most meals, and you rarely need to handle your own luggage.
Best of all, fees include health insurance coverage while outside of Canada and insurance for cancellation and trip interruption.
"Senior Discovery Tours has an excellent organization," says veteran traveller Judi Straughan. "Our first trip with them was Scotland and Ireland and they took care of everything, including check-in at the airport. This is important for seniors who have not travelled in a long time and are a bit insecure about navigating the airport.
"[They] has one person with you for the entire trip, making sure everything runs smoothly for each traveller. They will often buy you a coffee or pastry at a stop, and you may even get a surprise travel gift from your guide."
Straughan and her husband also travelled to Portugal and took a Panama Canal cruise with Senior Discovery Tours.
On the cruise, she said, "we were invited every day to join up with the guide in the afternoon in a designated lounge to talk about the day and the tours. That part is especially nice for seniors travelling alone. They always feel connected, make friends and know that someone is looking out for them.
"All in all, it makes sense for many seniors to travel in a group with a trusted company," she added.
Everyone has at least one place in the world they would like to visit. It could be somewhere far or just a short drive away.
I have travelled to China, but never taken the Agawa Canyon Tour Train out of Sault Ste. Marie or the Martyrs' Shrine in Midland. I've had a gondola ride in Venice, but have never been on the MS Chi-Cheemaun. They're on my bucket list.
For people interested in trips close to home, Great Canadian Holidays offers a variety of multi-day getaways by motor coach in Canada and the United States. The company offers free pickup as north as Barrie.
In 2023, my mother and I took a Great Canadian four-day tour to Mackinac Island in northern Michigan. We have also taken affordable and fun trips with this company to Boston, New York City and Quebec City.
We always meet several people on the tours who were travelling alone.
This past May, I travelled alone to California. I booked a 10-day escorted trip with Insight Tours, a company I had travelled with in Europe several times, and I was not disappointed.
Except for some short business trips, it was the first time I had travelled by myself.
The single supplement was about $1,000, but the experience was worth it because I could do exactly what I wanted.
I met lots of fun folks on the trip, including an American woman and one from England who were travelling alone. We became fast friends and still correspond.
I felt safe flying Air Canada to San Diego out of Toronto’s Pearson Airport.
Through the website, I booked a limo from the airport – Lucky Limo was recommended by my brother – that took me to my hotel where I met the handsome tour director. I got acquainted with the rest of my travelling companions at dinner.
All I had to think about was having fun, what I was going to have for dinner, and how I was going to stuff all the souvenirs I bought in my suitcase.
Many tour companies are developing packages exclusively for single senior travellers and women travelling alone. These include EF Go Ahead Tours, a Canadian company based in Toronto.
To quote writer Jack Kerouac, "Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.”
Once the travel bug bites, you have to scratch it. Do not tell yourself you are too old to travel.
In 2020, my incredible mother, who was 90 at the time, and I flew to Cuba. My late partner was in his mid-80s when we went on a European cruise. He asked, "What was I waiting for?"
If you want to go, go now. Make sure your passport is up to date, grab your Tilley hat, pack light, and enjoy your trip.
Vicki Gilhula is a freelance writer who is in her prime. Prime is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
