October 8, 2025 • 12 mins
Most bucket lists go quiet after 61—not because the desire fades, but because barriers get louder. We unpack the real reasons older adults stop traveling (no companion, health worries, cost) and replace them with practical steps that make meaningful trips feel possible again. From choosing the right pace and accessible destinations to planning for medical needs without panic, we lay out a clear, repeatable approach families can use to turn “someday” into booked.
We dig into smart destination choices—why national parks with shuttles and viewpoints can deliver awe without strain, and how cruises bundle mobility, meals, and onboard medical care while opening the door to Alaska, the Bahamas, and beyond. Then we get hands-on with planning: book early and verify accessibility, layer discounts that add up fast, build Plan B/C options for each day, and treat rest as part of the itinerary. Health prep becomes a bridge, not a barrier—brief doctor consults, carry-on meds with prescriptions, and travel insurance that protects the trip you’ve waited decades to take.
Companionship reshapes everything. Whether it’s a friend, adult child, or senior travel group, the right travel partner adds safety, momentum, and shared joy. We also spotlight simple tech that smooths the journey: airline, translation, and rideshare apps; “Find My” check-ins; and offline maps that keep stress down and confidence high. Finally, we talk memory-making—journals, intentional photos, and revisiting old places to honor a life’s map with new pages. Imagine the next decade as ten annual trips, each one a story you’re glad you wrote.
If this resonates, hit follow, share with someone who has an aging loved one, and leave a quick review. Tell us where you’d send a parent or grandparent first—we’re collecting ideas to help more families make aging awesome.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:08):
Welcome back to Senior Care Academy.
This week it's another onethat's just me, and it's going
to go along with what we talkedabout last week.
Last week we talked aboutstaying active, staying in your
community, maintainingfriendships and your social life
as you get older.
And this is similar, just alittle bit of a different
flavor.
(00:28):
We're going to be talking aboutthe joy of traveling in your
golden years.
So the reason why I want to talkabout this one is because
there's some statistics outthere that are crazy.
With bucket lists, there's thisstatistic that basically
everybody maintains, or the vastmajority of people maintain a
bucket list, well over 70%,until people turn 61.
(00:49):
And then all of a sudden itdrops down to less than 30% of
them have a bucket list.
Community, they don't reallyhave anybody to go with.
Accommodations, like theirhealth concerns or safety
(01:14):
concerns, and then cost.
And so they kind of give up ontheir bucket list.
So they stop traveling, eventhough they really want to.
I forget the other statistic ofthe percentage of seniors that
want to travel and explore theworld, but just don't because
they don't think it's possible.
But retirement, in my opinion,offers the perfect opportunity
(01:37):
to explore new places, torevisit old places, old
destinations, and thenexperience a world, especially
because you don't have a workschedule.
You probably don't have at thispoint children at home that you
have to take care of.
But travel in the later yearsdoes require a little bit more
of thoughtful planning to makesure that it's safe, that it's
(01:58):
comfortable, that it'senjoyable.
And so that's what we're goingto talk about.
First, as you want to travel asyou get older, um, this is
something that we've gotten alot better at helping seniors
doing their bucket list items,getting them excited about a
bucket list again, and thenmaking it happen.
But one is you want to pick theright destination.
So make sure that whereveryou're going is easily
(02:21):
accessible.
It has the medical facilitiesthat you may need in case of an
emergency, and then it's atwhatever pace you want, um,
whether that's relaxed orintense, because I've met some
really very active and umintense, if you will, older
people that maybe they don'tcome off that way.
Maybe your dad doesn't look likesomebody that would love a
(02:44):
jungle safari in Brazil orsomething like that.
But as you dig deeper into it,he's absolutely the person that
would rather do that than go andsit my ties on a beach in Costa
Rica or something.
Um, so choosing theaccessibility levels, the
accommodations in case ofemergency, and then a relaxed
(03:04):
pace.
Obviously, you don't want to goon that jungle safari in the
middle of Brazil if at somepoint you might have some crazy
thing flare up with diabetes orsomething where you need to be
at a hospital.
So be smart, of course.
Um, tons of popular choices.
National parks are huge.
Um, they're all extremelyaccessible and
(03:25):
wheelchair-friendly.
Um, specifically in Utah, wehave a lot of beautiful national
parks.
Um, Bryce Canyon is the mostaccessible.
Um, they have viewpoints, theyhave shuttles, they have things
that you can do.
Um cruises, everybody knows thatthey're like very typical uh
favorite of older adults.
And it's because it's convenientand then they have the onboard
(03:48):
medical care, and you can get tosome really cool places using a
cruise where you have goodrooms, good food, medical
support, and you're in theBahamas or and you're in South
America somewhere, and you're inAlaska.
Um but traveling tips forseniors and specifically their
families if you're gonna betraveling with your aging loved
one is one book ahead withaccommodations, make sure they
(04:11):
have elevators and theaccessible bathrooms and
whatever it is you want to giveyourself a little bit of leeway
to just have a plan B and C forevery little thing that you're
gonna do on this trip.
And then always, of course, lookfor senior discounts on your
flights and the hotels andattractions and places you might
want to go out and eat, becauseit adds up.
(04:31):
The 10 to 15% that you can getat wherever you're gonna stay
adds up.
And then the next is the planfor your health and safety
precautions.
So if you if you're a loved oneor you do have different health
concerns, even if it's somethingas common as like diabetes or
something, consult your doctor,um, especially for long
(04:53):
international flights or trips.
Just say, hey, I'm gonna begoing on this 14-day trip to New
Zealand.
Um, you know, are there anythingthat I should be aware of?
And before you go into thedoctor, um, definitely go into
the doctor, but a lot of thisyou can go through with like
Chat GPT and just like give allthe details of your health
(05:14):
stuff.
I'll try to keep it like hip hopor whatever.
But um, and you can just say,like, I'm going here for this
long, this time of year, this isthe weather that's coming up.
What precautions should I take?
And it's a super cool trip, cooluh tool.
And then carry all of yournecessary medications on your
person along with theprescriptions just in case
(05:36):
there's an emergency, and thenum travel insurance.
I never buy it, and a lot ofyoung people that aren't older
never buy like travel insurance,but if an emergency comes up,
you're gonna want it.
So um and then packing smart.
So bring your essentials likewalking shoes, the medications,
um you know, sunscreen stuff tojust make sure that you're safe,
(06:00):
and then um try to pack light,you know, you don't want to be
bogged down by a bunch of stuff.
And then the next thing thatgoes really in line with what we
talked about last week,community and social and groups,
is to try to find a travelcompanion or groups to travel
with.
Um, I think last week I talkedabout the old man, his wife
(06:21):
passed away, and then his buddyreached out to him and was like,
hey, we should go fishing.
And then it all of a suddenbecame a thing.
So you don't just have to gofishing down the road, you can
go fishing in a different stateor in a different, you know, fly
to Alaska or fly to uh all thedifferent cool places.
And so solo travel can be fun inyour older years.
(06:42):
Um, but going with friends,family, or just other seniors,
like through the helperlycommunity to go with other
seniors, it makes it more safe,of course, because you have
people that are mindful of youand keeping track, and then way
more enjoyable depending on thetrip.
(07:03):
Um, this last week, my wife andI we just went on a friends'
trip with my best friend andtheir family, and we and we went
to her family cabin.
We love it up there, it's alwaysfun, but it was even more fun
because we had friends, and soputting in a little bit of extra
legwork, especially if you'rejust going to send your mom on
this trip or something and payfor her to go, trying to see if
(07:26):
one of your friends have anelderly loved one or something
that they can have thatcompanionship and somebody there
to you know experience it withthem.
As much fun as it is to have atrip on your own and all those
memories in your own brain, it'sway more fun to be able to get
back and call up your friend andbe like, remember that one time?
(07:47):
And it's it's just better.
Um and then just other littletricks, tips, and tricks is try
to use technology for a smoothertrip.
Um, if you have an iPhone, useum Find My Friends to just make
sure that they're safe if theydidn't go with them.
Travel apps, um, translationapps that they're going
somewhere else, getting themused to if they aren't already
(08:09):
used to using like GoogleTranslate or Uber or whatever it
is, practicing beforehand justlocally um to just help them be
prepared with all the tools thatcan be in their pocket as they
travel.
Um and then of course capture itlike trips are so fun, but it's
more fun to be able to rememberit for the next three decades,
(08:32):
you know?
So take pictures, journal umthoughts, impressions, people
you meet, stuff you try, foodthat's good or bad.
Um just remember the experience.
If you go with your aging lovedone or if you send them, if you
can help it, find somebody thatcan take some pictures or make
it really memorable.
(08:53):
So the big takeaways oftraveling is one, if you don't
think that your aging loved onewants to travel, like they lost
the the interest or something,odds are they didn't.
They just don't think it'spossible for them.
So going and trying to help themrealize that it's possible, it's
one of the most fun things is tojust say, like, where have you
(09:14):
always wanted to go but haven't?
Or what have you always wantedto do but haven't?
What is where did you used tolove to go?
Because it maybe it's wanting torevisit.
They're not like, now that I'mretired, I want to go to Hawaii
because I've never been.
They might say, Um, I used to gowith my family to uh Minnesota
every year, and I haven't beenin the last 30 years.
(09:36):
Like, help them get there.
And so more often than not, it'snot that they don't have a
desire, it's that they don'tthink it's possible.
Because of community, they don'thave anybody to go with.
Um, health concerns, they don'tthink it's possible.
They don't think that it's athing that's realistic for them
because of what XYZ medicalconcerns, or they don't have the
(09:58):
money.
And so staying socially activein retirement, staying active,
doing new things, going back tothese old places and traveling
and experiencing life, itenhances the emotional
well-being, it prevents thatloneliness, and it keeps their
mind engaged psychologically.
Eric Erickson says that one ofthe four things that you can do
(10:18):
to help older adults never swinginto despair or depression is to
do new experiences or to reliveold experiences.
And my favorite one of myfavorite ways to do that is
travel and not just little localthings, um, but really even once
a year something.
Imagine if your loved one hasanother decade on this earth,
(10:42):
and instead of doing one tripever or zero trips, if you could
make it happen once a year,there's 10 new memories, 10 new
experiences or relived favoriteplaces that they wouldn't have
had.
That's pretty cool.
Um, so traveling as a senior canbe incredibly fulfilling if you
have the right planning, theright destination choices, and
(11:02):
then just make sure you take thenecessary health precautions.
Um, because I think retirementis not about slowing down, it's
about living life to thefullest, whether you're making
new friends, um, doing newthings locally or exploring new
places nationally, going ontrips or internationally, um,
embracing every opportunity thatyou have to really enrich and
(11:25):
make the most of your goldenyears.
So if you found this week's andlast week's episode helpful, um
subscribe, leave a review, shareit with a friend that you have
that has an aging loved one, andmaybe you and them can send your
aging loved ones on a trip.
So we'd love to hear from youalso.
So comment or email us.
Um, what are your favorite waysto stay socially active or your
(11:47):
favorite trips you've taken withan aging loved one?
And thanks for tuning in to thisweek's episode of Senior Care
Academy.
Join us next time for anotherinsightful discussion around
getting older to make agingawesome.
Thanks.
Welcome back to Senior Care Academy.
This week it's another onethat's just me, and it's going
to go along with what we talkedabout last week.
Last week we talked aboutstaying active, staying in your
community, maintainingfriendships and your social life
as you get older.
And this is similar, just alittle bit of a different
flavor.
(00:28):
We're going to be talking aboutthe joy of traveling in your
golden years.
So the reason why I want to talkabout this one is because
there's some statistics outthere that are crazy.
With bucket lists, there's thisstatistic that basically
everybody maintains, or the vastmajority of people maintain a
bucket list, well over 70%,until people turn 61.
(00:49):
And then all of a sudden itdrops down to less than 30% of
them have a bucket list.
Community, they don't reallyhave anybody to go with.
Accommodations, like theirhealth concerns or safety
(01:14):
concerns, and then cost.
And so they kind of give up ontheir bucket list.
So they stop traveling, eventhough they really want to.
I forget the other statistic ofthe percentage of seniors that
want to travel and explore theworld, but just don't because
they don't think it's possible.
But retirement, in my opinion,offers the perfect opportunity
(01:37):
to explore new places, torevisit old places, old
destinations, and thenexperience a world, especially
because you don't have a workschedule.
You probably don't have at thispoint children at home that you
have to take care of.
But travel in the later yearsdoes require a little bit more
of thoughtful planning to makesure that it's safe, that it's
(01:58):
comfortable, that it'senjoyable.
And so that's what we're goingto talk about.
First, as you want to travel asyou get older, um, this is
something that we've gotten alot better at helping seniors
doing their bucket list items,getting them excited about a
bucket list again, and thenmaking it happen.
But one is you want to pick theright destination.
So make sure that whereveryou're going is easily
(02:21):
accessible.
It has the medical facilitiesthat you may need in case of an
emergency, and then it's atwhatever pace you want, um,
whether that's relaxed orintense, because I've met some
really very active and umintense, if you will, older
people that maybe they don'tcome off that way.
Maybe your dad doesn't look likesomebody that would love a
(02:44):
jungle safari in Brazil orsomething like that.
But as you dig deeper into it,he's absolutely the person that
would rather do that than go andsit my ties on a beach in Costa
Rica or something.
Um, so choosing theaccessibility levels, the
accommodations in case ofemergency, and then a relaxed
(03:04):
pace.
Obviously, you don't want to goon that jungle safari in the
middle of Brazil if at somepoint you might have some crazy
thing flare up with diabetes orsomething where you need to be
at a hospital.
So be smart, of course.
Um, tons of popular choices.
National parks are huge.
Um, they're all extremelyaccessible and
(03:25):
wheelchair-friendly.
Um, specifically in Utah, wehave a lot of beautiful national
parks.
Um, Bryce Canyon is the mostaccessible.
Um, they have viewpoints, theyhave shuttles, they have things
that you can do.
Um cruises, everybody knows thatthey're like very typical uh
favorite of older adults.
And it's because it's convenientand then they have the onboard
(03:48):
medical care, and you can get tosome really cool places using a
cruise where you have goodrooms, good food, medical
support, and you're in theBahamas or and you're in South
America somewhere, and you're inAlaska.
Um but traveling tips forseniors and specifically their
families if you're gonna betraveling with your aging loved
one is one book ahead withaccommodations, make sure they
(04:11):
have elevators and theaccessible bathrooms and
whatever it is you want to giveyourself a little bit of leeway
to just have a plan B and C forevery little thing that you're
gonna do on this trip.
And then always, of course, lookfor senior discounts on your
flights and the hotels andattractions and places you might
want to go out and eat, becauseit adds up.
(04:31):
The 10 to 15% that you can getat wherever you're gonna stay
adds up.
And then the next is the planfor your health and safety
precautions.
So if you if you're a loved oneor you do have different health
concerns, even if it's somethingas common as like diabetes or
something, consult your doctor,um, especially for long
(04:53):
international flights or trips.
Just say, hey, I'm gonna begoing on this 14-day trip to New
Zealand.
Um, you know, are there anythingthat I should be aware of?
And before you go into thedoctor, um, definitely go into
the doctor, but a lot of thisyou can go through with like
Chat GPT and just like give allthe details of your health
(05:14):
stuff.
I'll try to keep it like hip hopor whatever.
But um, and you can just say,like, I'm going here for this
long, this time of year, this isthe weather that's coming up.
What precautions should I take?
And it's a super cool trip, cooluh tool.
And then carry all of yournecessary medications on your
person along with theprescriptions just in case
(05:36):
there's an emergency, and thenum travel insurance.
I never buy it, and a lot ofyoung people that aren't older
never buy like travel insurance,but if an emergency comes up,
you're gonna want it.
So um and then packing smart.
So bring your essentials likewalking shoes, the medications,
um you know, sunscreen stuff tojust make sure that you're safe,
(06:00):
and then um try to pack light,you know, you don't want to be
bogged down by a bunch of stuff.
And then the next thing thatgoes really in line with what we
talked about last week,community and social and groups,
is to try to find a travelcompanion or groups to travel
with.
Um, I think last week I talkedabout the old man, his wife
(06:21):
passed away, and then his buddyreached out to him and was like,
hey, we should go fishing.
And then it all of a suddenbecame a thing.
So you don't just have to gofishing down the road, you can
go fishing in a different stateor in a different, you know, fly
to Alaska or fly to uh all thedifferent cool places.
And so solo travel can be fun inyour older years.
(06:42):
Um, but going with friends,family, or just other seniors,
like through the helperlycommunity to go with other
seniors, it makes it more safe,of course, because you have
people that are mindful of youand keeping track, and then way
more enjoyable depending on thetrip.
(07:03):
Um, this last week, my wife andI we just went on a friends'
trip with my best friend andtheir family, and we and we went
to her family cabin.
We love it up there, it's alwaysfun, but it was even more fun
because we had friends, and soputting in a little bit of extra
legwork, especially if you'rejust going to send your mom on
this trip or something and payfor her to go, trying to see if
(07:26):
one of your friends have anelderly loved one or something
that they can have thatcompanionship and somebody there
to you know experience it withthem.
As much fun as it is to have atrip on your own and all those
memories in your own brain, it'sway more fun to be able to get
back and call up your friend andbe like, remember that one time?
(07:47):
And it's it's just better.
Um and then just other littletricks, tips, and tricks is try
to use technology for a smoothertrip.
Um, if you have an iPhone, useum Find My Friends to just make
sure that they're safe if theydidn't go with them.
Travel apps, um, translationapps that they're going
somewhere else, getting themused to if they aren't already
(08:09):
used to using like GoogleTranslate or Uber or whatever it
is, practicing beforehand justlocally um to just help them be
prepared with all the tools thatcan be in their pocket as they
travel.
Um and then of course capture itlike trips are so fun, but it's
more fun to be able to rememberit for the next three decades,
(08:32):
you know?
So take pictures, journal umthoughts, impressions, people
you meet, stuff you try, foodthat's good or bad.
Um just remember the experience.
If you go with your aging lovedone or if you send them, if you
can help it, find somebody thatcan take some pictures or make
it really memorable.
(08:53):
So the big takeaways oftraveling is one, if you don't
think that your aging loved onewants to travel, like they lost
the the interest or something,odds are they didn't.
They just don't think it'spossible for them.
So going and trying to help themrealize that it's possible, it's
one of the most fun things is tojust say, like, where have you
(09:14):
always wanted to go but haven't?
Or what have you always wantedto do but haven't?
What is where did you used tolove to go?
Because it maybe it's wanting torevisit.
They're not like, now that I'mretired, I want to go to Hawaii
because I've never been.
They might say, Um, I used to gowith my family to uh Minnesota
every year, and I haven't beenin the last 30 years.
(09:36):
Like, help them get there.
And so more often than not, it'snot that they don't have a
desire, it's that they don'tthink it's possible.
Because of community, they don'thave anybody to go with.
Um, health concerns, they don'tthink it's possible.
They don't think that it's athing that's realistic for them
because of what XYZ medicalconcerns, or they don't have the
(09:58):
money.
And so staying socially activein retirement, staying active,
doing new things, going back tothese old places and traveling
and experiencing life, itenhances the emotional
well-being, it prevents thatloneliness, and it keeps their
mind engaged psychologically.
Eric Erickson says that one ofthe four things that you can do
(10:18):
to help older adults never swinginto despair or depression is to
do new experiences or to reliveold experiences.
And my favorite one of myfavorite ways to do that is
travel and not just little localthings, um, but really even once
a year something.
Imagine if your loved one hasanother decade on this earth,
(10:42):
and instead of doing one tripever or zero trips, if you could
make it happen once a year,there's 10 new memories, 10 new
experiences or relived favoriteplaces that they wouldn't have
had.
That's pretty cool.
Um, so traveling as a senior canbe incredibly fulfilling if you
have the right planning, theright destination choices, and
(11:02):
then just make sure you take thenecessary health precautions.
Um, because I think retirementis not about slowing down, it's
about living life to thefullest, whether you're making
new friends, um, doing newthings locally or exploring new
places nationally, going ontrips or internationally, um,
embracing every opportunity thatyou have to really enrich and
(11:25):
make the most of your goldenyears.
So if you found this week's andlast week's episode helpful, um
subscribe, leave a review, shareit with a friend that you have
that has an aging loved one, andmaybe you and them can send your
aging loved ones on a trip.
So we'd love to hear from youalso.
So comment or email us.
Um, what are your favorite waysto stay socially active or your
(11:47):
favorite trips you've taken withan aging loved one?
And thanks for tuning in to thisweek's episode of Senior Care
Academy.
Join us next time for anotherinsightful discussion around
getting older to make agingawesome.
Thanks.
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