Many seniors have an interest in staying active while traveling, and many senior travel tour companies offer “senior adventures” to appeal to those travelers. But even among tour companies that cater to the over-50 crowd, not every adventure is going to fit every traveler. For one thing, the 50-plus age range spans decades of life experience, interests, and physical ability.
Some active seniors want downtime between adventures; others have health or mobility considerations or are traveling with less-active companions. And while a few are chasing specific bucket-list goals, many simply want to go somewhere enjoyable, do something engaging, and stay healthy. With that in mind, here are five types of trips designed to suit a range of travel styles and interests for active seniors.
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1. Walking, hiking, and cycling tours
Many tour companies for seniors offer walking and cycling adventures that allow active older travelers to combine outdoor and urban experiences. European tours are especially well designed for taking walkers and cyclists into beautiful towns and countryside on a single trip. Two companies I recommend are Country Walkers and VBT Bicycling Vacations, which offer both U.S. and international tours with guided and self-guided options. They also provide all the support you’ll need during your trip.
Most senior travel tour companies specify a trip’s activity level, and many will tell you approximately how many miles you’ll cover each day on foot or bike. Active travel specialist Backroads also categorizes its tours according to traveler type; while it does not list a “50 and older” group, active seniors who enjoy traveling with family or a variety of age groups may fit under “family” or “20 and older.” And a division of Backroads called Dolce Tempo offers several levels of “easygoing” adventures perfect for seniors.
Tours marketed specifically as senior adventures are no less exciting than others. ElderTreks includes destinations as varied as Mongolia, Oman, and Madagascar in its offerings. Its five activity levels are geared to seniors. Senior Cycling focuses on the U.S. and Canada. And Road Scholar has an impressive list of walking and hiking trips and a few cycling trips that include kayak and barge journeys.
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2. Skip-gen vacations
Skip-gen travel is an emerging trend where grandparents and grandkids vacation together while skipping the generation in between. Children help keep seniors active, though it can be challenging to find activities that both generations can happily share.
A pioneer in this area, Road Scholar offers all kinds of multigenerational and skip-gen “learning adventures” throughout the world. Tauck offers “kid-tested on-tour adventures” like zip lining in Costa Rica and jet boating in Alaska with its “Tauck Bridges” family tours. Small group guided tour company Intrepid Travel designates certain tours for families only. Like Backroads, Intrepid offers many active travel choices but does not specifically address seniors; some trips may require especially fit grandparents.
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3. National parks and state parks
In recent years, many older travelers have opted to “roam near home,” choosing senior adventures that offer active pursuits but don’t require long plane trips. The 63 U.S. national parks are superb travel destinations for seniors to pursue biking, birding, water sports, climbing, diving, fishing, hiking and wilderness backpacking, horseback riding, water sports, and winter sports. Breathtaking scenery can also be found at the Canadian national parks.
State parks are generally less crowded and can be equally rewarding for senior adventures. Several national parks could fit inside the six million acres of Adirondack State Park in New York. Beautiful Letchworth State Park in New York and Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire draw visitors from all over the world. Hikers, cyclists, and riders can enjoy hoodoo rock formations at Texas’s Palo Duro Canyon State Park and seasonal wildflowers at California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
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4. Extended stays
Extended stays in a single destination allow seniors with differing activity levels to enjoy a vacation together. Resorts make it possible for some guests to stay on the beach or by the pool while others take the bus into town or arrange for tours and other activities. Seniors who love all aspects of planning can use vacation rental booking sites like Vrbo or Airbnb to investigate and schedule their own outings.
The educational travel company Smithsonian Journeys takes a different approach with its cultural stays. One-week visits in places such as Florence and Normandy come with itineraries that allow seniors to be as active as they wish in exploring the neighborhood and region. Three-week “Living in” stays in destinations like Andalusia, Lisbon, and Provence place travelers in apartment-hotels and offer interest-based tracks that include cooking, language instruction, and hiking.
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5. River cruises
In the U.S. and overseas, river cruises combine the opportunity to experience different places with the chance to easily disembark at ports offering walking, cycling, and other sightseeing options. Travelers are assigned cabins for the trip’s duration and may choose not to disembark at a given stop. This makes river travel ideal for the active senior with a less active travel partner or partners.
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In Europe, riverboats from many companies sail the Rhine, Danube, Douro, Seine, and Volga Rivers. Walking tours and just plain wandering are available at nearly every stop, and many companies now make free bikes available for independent touring. Some offer guided excursions at ports where cycling is especially good.
- Viking provides a bicycle tour of the Kinderdijk windmills as part of an Amsterdam-to-Antwerp voyage.
- Avalon Waterways sails European rivers and includes activities like e-biking through vineyards or pedaling through scenic villages on its Active & Discovery river cruises.
- Uniworld has a Budapest-to-Passau voyage where cyclists can ride one-way on several stretches.
- AmaWaterways features a wellness program on each of its ships and offers cycling tours of many ports, as well as some hiking options.
