Many 50-somethings and seniors have an interest in staying active while traveling. Travel tour companies and others in the industry are taking note, offering both action-packed trips and soft-adventure options to appeal to Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. But even among tour companies that cater to the over-50 crowd, not every adventure is going to fit every traveler. 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 older adults.
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1. Walking, hiking, and cycling tours
Many tour companies catering to 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. One company I recommend is VBT | Country Walkers, which offers both U.S. and international tours and provides all the support you’ll need during your trip.
Most 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, with options for couples, solo travelers, women, and family groups with kids, teens, and 20-somethings. A division of Backroads called Dolce Tempo offers several levels of “easygoing” active adventures perfect for seniors.
Tours marketed specifically as senior adventures are no less exciting than others. Road Scholar has an impressive list of walking, hiking, and biking trips, with some cycling trips that include kayak and barge journeys. Senior Cycling focuses on the U.S. and Canada, and ElderTreks includes destinations as varied as Mongolia, Oman, and Madagascar in its offerings, which are classified on an activity level ranging from easy to challenging.
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2. Skip-gen vacations
Skip-gen travel is a growing trend where grandparents and grandkids vacation together, 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 adventures made for multiple generations (think zip-lining in Costa Rica and jet boating in Alaska) with its Tauck Bridges family tours. Small group guided tour company Intrepid Travel also designates certain tours for families. Intrepid gives each tour an activity level; note that 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 64 U.S. national parks are superb travel destinations for seniors to pursue activities like biking, birding, fishing, hiking and wilderness backpacking, horseback riding, and winter sports, whether on their own or as part of a guided travel tour. 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 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 and cyclists 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. 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.
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 Boutique River Cruises offers free use of bicycles and cycling excursions through scenic European landscapes.
- AmaWaterways features a wellness program on its ships and offers cycling tours of many ports, as well as some hiking options.
5. 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 research and book options for extended stays.
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, Vienna, and Provence place travelers in apartment-hotels and offer interest-based tracks that include cooking, language instruction, and hiking.
Road Scholar also offers multi-week Living and Learning programs it calls “a second chance to study abroad.” Its Signature Cities tours are another way to immerse yourself in a destination.
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