Senior Travel Tips

 You are never too old to travel! There are, however, challenges as we age. 

This segment will focus more on European travel as opposed to domestic. While there are similar challenges, Europe offers some significant differences. 

As many of you know, my mom is my travel buddy and while she is approaching 93 years young, she is still ready to hit the road. At 92, I find the need to seek alternate options to make sure she has an enjoyable experience. 

First rule is to keep in mind that there is NO ADA in Europe. That means that many of the old historical parts of cities are not handicap accessible as we know it. With a bit of research, I've found many 'work arounds' throughout our travels--after all this is just one service as a travel agent that I provide. 

What does no ADA mean? Basically, it means that it is up to individual properties what handicapped facilities will be made available. 

For example, many castles in Ireland and Great Britain are NOT easily accessible. Bunrutty has a number of steps that need to be negotiated if you want to go to the banquet. There are actually two flights. One is a modern stairway that leads to the main entrance. Then you must go up (and down) original castle stairs to the traditional banquet hall for the appetizer before going back down to the hall that is now used for the banquet. You can, however, skip going up the original stairs and be brought into the hall used for the meal. (You do still need to go up the modern stairs)

If you want to visit such places as the Louvre or Windsor Castle, you can get accessible tours on top of reduced rates for entrance and free for your travel companion. Arrangements must be made ahead-and again as a travel agent this is a service I provide for you. 

When traveling abroad in particular, make sure you have all of your medications in originally dispensed bottles and have enough for an extra few days, just in case you get delayed somewhere. Meds should be kept in your carry-on bags NEVER in checked bags. 

In Europe, many of the old and historical parts of the cities are cobble stone. This can present issues for many people. The uneven pavement requires that you need to pay attention to, not only where you are placing your foot, but how. Some years ago, we were walking in Italy and I was busy taking photos and didn't pay attention to my feet. I stepped off the curb onto the cobblestone street and promptly fell. 

If you are with an escorted tour, and you feel that you cannot keep up, always let the tour director know you are leaving the group and arrange a place and time to meet back up with the tour. Make sure you understand the directions and then take your leave. If you do opt to leave the group, I'd recommend that you start to make your way to the meeting point as soon as you are rested. Once you've located the site, you can move around a bit more, take in the local sights, perhaps have a coffee or some food, do some shopping while you wait and you will on time when the rest of the group arrives. 

To help keeping sprains and other injuries at bay, I'd recommend that you wear sturdy walking shoes that are well broken in. Don't buy them a week or two before you travel. I now wear hiking boots... 

Sampling foods from different cultures as I travel is always fun, but not for everyone! Keep in mind your own tolerance for spicey and be ready! I always travel with both Tums and Imodium. If you are concerned about water quality, buy bottled water. The majority of European countries the water is safe to drink. This is something, as a travel agent, I will inform you about. 

If you have mobility issues, cruising may be an option. 

Ocean going cruise ships have all the amenities and there are accessible staterooms available upon request. Elevators on board make it easy to navigate the various decks and the different venues. Keep in mind that if they are using tenders to get to shore you may not be able to disembark. 

River cruising may be a bit of an issue. 

Most riverboats now have an onboard elevator to the to the different decks. The problem arises when you are docked. Many times there will be more than one ship docked and they are stacked, rather than individually docked. There is often only space for one mooring so the ships are stacked out into the river. This means that you have to go up the deck, cross over the river onto the next ship and then over to the dock. Depending upon how many are docked, you may have multiple ships to cross to get to the dock. 

Travel is always an experience. With so much of travel dependent upon things we cannot control like weather, the best thing we can do is to shrug, sit back, grab a favorite beverage, and enjoy the experience.