December 5, 2024 • 21 mins
Discover the liberating world of solo travel for seniors, as I share personal stories about newfound independence and adventure.This episode paints a vivid picture of why more seniors, especially women, are seizing the opportunity to explore the world on their own terms. With 84% of solo travelers being female, the adventurous spirit of senior women is truly inspiring.
Journey through practical advice for senior solo travelers, from overcoming language barriers with translation apps to understanding the essential role of travel insurance. Learn how to stay safe by sharing itineraries and avoiding the pitfalls of carrying valuables. I’ll guide you through selecting accommodations that match your individual needs and preferences, ensuring that your travel experiences are both enjoyable and memorable. And don't miss the chance to stay connected with our monthly newsletter, filled with travel tips, industry updates, and opportunities to share your own stories. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or dreaming of your first solo adventure, this episode is your passport to inspiration and practical wisdom. Safe travels!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi and welcome back to the Traveling Fool.
I'm your host, bob Bales, andtoday we're going to talk about
solo travel for seniors, some ofthe benefits and some of the
things you need to look out for.
So stay tuned.
Hello and welcome back to theTraveling Fool.
(00:38):
I'm your host, bob Bales, andtoday we are talking about solo
travel for seniors.
Now, I I've traveled solo formany years, off and on and for a
lot of different reasons, andtoday you will find that there's
a lot of seniors traveling solo.
In fact, I met a fellow acouple of years ago.
(00:59):
He had worked his whole life inthe same job, living in the
same city, had never traveledoutside of his own state, he was
married but didn't have anychildren, he said shortly after
he turned around 66, 67, Ibelieve it was his wife, who had
been married to for over 20years, died unexpectedly died
(01:20):
unexpectedly, he told me, aftersitting around that empty house
of his for almost a year, hejust decided to retire from his
job and start traveling andseeing the world.
He told me he travels for acouple of months at a time and
he goes back home for a coupleof months, and he's traveled
outside of the country, which henever thought he would do, and
(01:42):
he is living his best life.
He said when he travelsoverseas, he likes staying in
those hostels because there areso many people around and
everybody starts talking.
And he said believe it or not,people are interested in his
story because he's a littleolder than most people staying
in a hostel.
So that's just one of thepeople that has decided to live
(02:04):
his best life by starting totravel, and travel solo.
Now I will tell you in my owncase.
The reason I travel solo a lotwas for many years I worked
overseas as a contractor and,due to tax benefits, I could
only be in the States so manydays a year.
So what was I going to do onthe rest of my time off?
(02:25):
Well, I traveled to othercountries for a week or two at a
time and then I would go backto my contracting job.
And since I stopped doing that,I still travel solo a lot.
And yes, I'm married, and thereason I do is me and the wife
have totally different thoughtsabout travel.
Her idea is she likes to go toa nice resort or an
(02:48):
all-inclusive.
Wake up around 10 o'clock inthe morning, maybe have
something to eat, take a nap,get up later and go hang out by
the pool, have a few snacks, goto dinner somewhere and maybe
once or twice during the trip,wander off the property and go
see something.
My idea is travel is totallydifferent.
I don't care where I stay, aslong as the place is safe and
(03:13):
clean and got hot water.
I like hot water.
I hate cold water showers.
I wake up in the morning around5 or 6 o'clock and I leave and
I go out and explore the townand I don't come back until
around 10 or 11 o'clock at night, go to sleep, wake up the next
morning and I'm gone again.
So I really don't care aboutthe hotel.
Now, nice hotels are nice and Iwill spend some time in one,
(03:33):
but my idea is to get out of thehotel and go see things, and
she just does not want to dothat.
So our ideas for travel aretotally different.
But nowadays you will find thatmore and more seniors are
traveling solo, and there's acouple of reasons for it.
Well, seniors have more freedom, more time and more resources
(03:56):
since they retired.
It's just easier for them totravel.
I looked up a few statisticsand 25% of women age 65 and up
travel solo.
In fact, 84% of solo travelersare women, so the women are
leading the way.
They're getting out there andgoing places on their own.
(04:16):
63% of travelers 50 plus areplanning to travel domestically
in the next year or two.
Now, when it comes to the mostpopular destinations or the most
visited destinations forseniors who travel or travel
solo, or even just seniors ingeneral, I cannot find any stats
(04:38):
.
I found a whole lot of articlesthat said here are the best
places for solo seniors totravel.
Here are the best places forseniors to travel, but it was
just made up.
I mean, it was based on theiropinion.
You know, one article statedthe top domestic destinations
for seniors in 2024 includedFlorida, california, las Vegas,
(05:02):
chicago and Michigan.
Now, where they got the statsfrom, they don't tell you, so
I'm not sure how they're comingup with these lists.
I know Europe is a planneddestination, with Italy, spain
and Great Britain are all hot,and you can get that information
from places like kayak andbooking sites, but that still
(05:24):
doesn't tell you the entirestory.
And, like I said, I found a lotof articles stating where
someone thought the bestdestinations to travel were, and
each one was either a list ofplaces where they may have been,
or a list based on some made-upcriteria for what they thought
seniors needed.
So here are my thoughts on thebest places to travel for solo
(05:45):
travelers.
I've traveled to Asia and Europeand all over the United States
solo.
So there's your list.
It's basically wherever youwant to go.
There is no best place.
Some places are a little betterthan others.
I'll give you an example.
I went to Nepal, beautifulcountry.
(06:06):
Always wanted to Nepal,beautiful country, always wanted
to go there.
I actually went there a coupleof times and it is challenging
for someone like me who has badknees.
My knees are shot.
I mean, they are in tough shape.
Walking on flat, straightground, I'm all right.
Going up and down hills andstuff it tears them up, so it is
(06:29):
a challenge.
In Nepal I just wore kneebraces.
But there are some places thatare a little easier to get
around and that's what you gotto look at.
When you travel, what do youthink you can physically do,
physically not do or just notinterested in doing?
If you're the adventurous type,there's all kinds of places you
can go.
When I was in Thailand, I saw alot of solo travelers, male and
(06:53):
female over 50.
When I was in the Philippines,I saw a lot of solo travelers,
male and female, and a lot ofsenior couples who were there.
Same thing in Europe.
I spent 30 days in Prague.
One time the wife flew over andmet me for about a week.
Then she went back to theStates and I spent the next
three and a half weeks justroaming around Prague and the
(07:15):
Czech Republic just seeingeverything I wanted to see, and
I met a lot of folks there whowere traveling solo, both male
and female.
So there is no good place or badplace to go.
It's where you want to go.
What's on your bucket list,what have you always wanted to
see and just never gotten achance to do it?
(07:36):
Well, here's your chance.
Just do a little research, lookat where you want to go, take a
few things into considerationand hit the road.
There's no better time to do itNot getting any younger.
And there's group travel.
I mean you don't have to travelsolo.
You can go in small groups thatare designed to go places and
they usually build in time foryou to take time off and explore
(07:59):
things on your own.
And there's meet-up groups thatyou can meet up at your
destination own, and there'smeetup groups that you can meet
up at your destination.
You're not alone when youtravel.
But traveling solo does have alot of benefits.
First of all, you get to createyour own schedule and you
follow your own interests andyou move at your own pace.
(08:19):
Like my wife, her pace is wakeup at 1030 in the morning, grab
something to eat and maybe takea nap.
That's what she wants to do.
God bless her.
She loves doing.
It Drives me absolutely nuts.
I'm like we travel all this way.
We're in this beautifuldestination, let's get out and
see something.
(08:40):
Oh, I don't know, maybe laterthis afternoon, all right, well,
you have a nice nap, I'll seeyou later.
And Maybe later this afternoon,all right, well, you have a
nice nap, I'll see you later andI'm out the door.
So you get to create your ownschedule.
When you're traveling solo, youdon't have to abide by anybody's
schedule.
You can do what you want to do.
You find a really cool museum?
Well, go back another day andsee it a second time.
(09:01):
You want to skip an earlymorning hike?
Well, that's entirely your call.
I mean, somebody says you gotto hike up this mountain to see
this absolutely gorgeousmonastery and you're going not
today, my knees hurt, maybetomorrow you can do whatever you
want to do.
You're not bound by a groupdoing something.
(09:22):
Traveling solo also fostersindependence and encourages you
to try new things.
If you're out there by yourself, you get to interact with
locals, whether it be in thestate somewhere or traveling
overseas.
You get to mingle with people.
You get to ask them questionsabout where's a really nice
(09:42):
place to eat lunch at, or wherewould you suggest I go.
If you had a friend visitingfrom out of town, where would
you tell them to go?
And you will find that theyhave just a wealth of knowledge
that you're not going to find insome guidebook somewhere.
Also, I found that when youtravel solo, you're more
approachable, making it easierto connect with the locals and
(10:04):
experience destinationsauthentically.
People have a lot easier timecoming up the locals and
experience destinationsauthentically.
People have a lot easier timecoming up to you and saying
you're not from here, where areyou from?
And you just strike up aconversation.
I've had great conversationswith people all over the world
that have told me about somefantastic places to go, to eat,
to see, places to experiencethat I would have never known
(10:27):
about, had we not had that quickchat.
And if you haven't traveled much, some people get really nervous
about traveling overseas,especially if you're traveling
alone.
You're like well, I don't knowthe language, I've never been
there.
Trust me, it's not thatdifficult.
(10:47):
I have never had a problemtraveling anywhere in the world.
You just take in some safetyprecautions.
I mean, that's just normal.
I don't care if you'retraveling to Houston, dallas,
san Antonio or Manila,philippines, or Bangkok,
thailand or London, england,it's all the same, just take in
some safety precautions.
(11:08):
But as far as language barriersand things, you will find a lot
of people overseas internationallocations.
They speak English, or theyspeak enough English that they
can get by, and there's nothingstopping you from learning a few
words in the language of thelocation you're traveling to.
(11:28):
If your goal is to travel toFrance and you plan for eight
months to take that trip toFrance, well, you've got eight
months to learn a few words ofFrench so you can get around.
And with all the apps andsoftware out these days that
help you learn foreign languages, it's not that difficult.
(11:49):
And with the phones these days,there's translation apps built
into your telephone.
I've got one built into mine.
I can say something in English.
It translates it into theforeign language.
So there is really no excusefor language being a barrier.
And remember when I said that itfosters independence when you
travel solo.
(12:09):
Well, traveling to a foreigncountry definitely fosters
independence, because you decidewhere you want to stay, whether
you want to stay in a hotel, anice one, a medium-priced one, a
condo, a weekly rental.
How are you going to get aroundtown?
You're going to walk, you'regoing to hail taxis, you're
going to rent a car for the week.
It gives you a lot of freedomwhen you're traveling solo to do
(12:31):
what you want to do andexperience what you want to
experience.
And you will find, at the endof it, you're going.
Man, I never knew I could doall that stuff in a foreign
country by myself.
Like I said, all you have to dois take a few precautions into
play when you're traveling solo,especially for seniors.
(12:52):
Like I said, my knees are shot,so that's always a concern.
I'm not going somewhere whereI'm climbing 200 stairs.
If it's got a road, I'll take acar, I'll meet you at the top,
but I'm not climbing stairs, notgoing to do it.
But there are a lot ofsenior-friendly, solo-friendly
destinations.
What you want to look at is it asafe area?
Is it a walkable city?
(13:13):
You know, houston is not awalkable city.
A lot of cities in the UnitedStates aren't, because they're
spread out, they're built forcars and traffic.
You go to Europe, you go toAsia.
There's a lot of walkablecities.
You could be close to downtownand walk around the entire town.
Is it an English-speakingcountry?
(13:36):
Now, we've already said thatyou can get apps, you can learn
the language, but it does helpif they do speak your language,
but don't let that be adeterrent to go just because
they don't speak English.
Like I said earlier, thedestinations I've traveled solo
all over the place, so there isno right or wrong destination,
(13:57):
it's just does it fit your needs?
Like I said, I'm not walking up200 flights of stairs
Domestically.
Well, national parks and stateparks are always friendly places
to travel solo.
You can rent cabins, you can goout camping and there's all
kinds of towns in North Americathat are good places to go for
(14:17):
solo travelers who are over 50.
But if you're traveling solo,you want to stay safe.
You want to keep connected withthe family.
Give them your itinerary, notwhat you're going to be doing
every second of every day, buttell them where you're going to
be.
Hey, I'm traveling to London.
I've got a reservation at thishotel.
I'll be there for a week.
Here's my phone number in caseyou need to reach me.
Here's my emails in case youneed to reach me.
(14:39):
In fact, I'll be gone for twoweeks.
I will check in with you once aweek just to see how things are
going back home.
That way, you've got aconnection with your family back
home.
You don't want to take a lot ofvaluables with you.
It's always amazed me whenpeople travel they carry all
(15:00):
their jewelry with them.
I'm really not sure who they'retrying to impress.
You don't need to take jewelrywith you unless you're going to
a gala somewhere.
I mean, why take necklaces andearrings and rings and jewelry
and expensive watches?
I'm not sure who you're tryingto impress the more stuff you
take like that, especially to aforeign country, you're just
(15:23):
begging to be robbed.
Why take it?
Leave it at home, okay.
Whatever valuables you do take,keep them secured.
Keep them secured in your hotelroom.
Keep them locked in yourluggage.
Make sure you use travelinsurance, especially if you're
traveling overseas.
Travel insurance plays a hugepart.
It covers everything frominterrupted trips to emergency
(15:44):
evacuation in case you get illor injured, you name it.
I mean there's all kinds ofpolicies out there.
Find a good one, they're notthat expensive, and just name it
.
I mean there's all kinds ofpolicies out there, find a good
one, they're not that expensive,and just get it.
And, like I said, there's appsfor translations.
There's also apps fornavigating your way around town.
There's apps for emergency help.
There's emergency apps that youcan download that'll tell you
(16:07):
if there's anything in apolitical situation that might
go wrong.
It notifies you hey, there'strouble over here or whether bad
weather is breaking out.
So just download the right appsand stay alert.
As far as accommodations,whatever suits you the best.
I've stayed at guest houseswhere I had a blast.
(16:28):
I mean, I stayed at a guesthouse in Macedonia I think it's
called Northern Macedonia now orsomething, but back then it was
Macedonia right next to Kosovo,and it was fantastic.
They were about my age, man andhis wife.
They turned their house into aguest house and they lived
(16:50):
downstairs and the upstairs wasfour rooms that they rented out.
I wound up having greatconversations with him, drinking
homemade wine that he had madeand he's telling me all about
the town and what used to bethere and I had a great time.
I rented condos because theywere less expensive, bigger and
(17:10):
I could cook my own breakfast inthere.
I could stay at a condo for aweek a lot and I could stay at a
hotel and it was nicer.
So there's all kinds ofdifferent options you have.
But look at things like guesthouses or boutique hotels,
because you do get to meet a lotof the locals that way and you
can join a tour at thedestination you're at.
(17:31):
You don't have to just wanderaround on your own and discover
things.
When I was in London, I went ona walking tour of Jack the
Ripper's haunts.
There was a guy who was hawkinga sign outside of the Tower of
London.
It was Jack the Ripper tours.
I asked him how much.
It wound up being somethinglike $10.
And it was a one and a half tohour walking tour of Jack the
(17:53):
Ripper's haunts.
The guy doing the tour was aretired Scotland Yard detective
and his hobby was researchingJack the Ripper.
It was a fantastic tour andthere was about 10 of us.
We did a walking tour, but Iwas traveling solo in London at
the time.
So you can find little tourgroups whether they're day tours
(18:15):
or something else where you caninteract with people and go on
places with a group.
You don't have to experienceeverything on your own.
So the bottom line is get out,do a little traveling.
You're not getting any younger,don't have to worry about
traveling solo and if you havesomebody to travel with,
fantastic.
If you don't get out there onyour own, it's not going to kill
(18:37):
you, you're going to have ablast.
If you're a little worriedabout making a big overseas trip
, travel solo somewhere in theStates for four or five days.
Dip your feet in, get your toesa little wet and get ready to
do some international travel.
Next, just figure out, you knowwhere have you always dreamed
of going, and then go there,because there's nothing stopping
(18:59):
you.
You might want to go with asmall solo trip.
Just research your destination.
Join, maybe, an online travelcommunity, ask for some
recommendations of where somegood places to go or good places
to eat or good places to stayare.
Do your research and then hitthe road.
Now, if you've ever traveledsolo and you're a senior, drop
(19:22):
me a line.
Tell me how it went your firsttime.
Tell me what you learned, whatyou liked about it.
If you haven't, drop me anemail.
Ask me questions about it.
The email is editor atthetravelingfoolcom.
Oh, and here's something elsebefore we go.
If you haven't subscribed to thenewsletter, please do.
(19:44):
I only put it out once a monthand sometimes it doesn't get out
, so you get one every twomonths.
To subscribe to the newsletter,just go to thetravelingfoolcom,
sign up for it.
When I send it out, it's fullof travel news Everything from
what's going on in the cruiseindustry, the hotels industry,
(20:04):
sometimes stupid passengerarticles that people have done A
little bit of everything Travelnews.
And then I also list travelcontests that you can sign up
for and get that dream trip thatyou've been dreaming for for
years.
It's not very long.
Like I said, I only put it outonce a month, so sign up for it
(20:26):
and if you have any questions,drop me an email.
If you have questions abouttraveling solo, where to travel,
or if you've got a trip plannedand maybe you want to know
something about it, chances areI've either been there or I know
somebody who has, and who knowsif you share your story about
some place that you travel tosolo.
We might feature it in one ofthe upcoming episodes.
(20:49):
So until next time, safetravels, thank you.
Hi and welcome back to the Traveling Fool.
I'm your host, bob Bales, andtoday we're going to talk about
solo travel for seniors, some ofthe benefits and some of the
things you need to look out for.
So stay tuned.
Hello and welcome back to theTraveling Fool.
(00:38):
I'm your host, bob Bales, andtoday we are talking about solo
travel for seniors.
Now, I I've traveled solo formany years, off and on and for a
lot of different reasons, andtoday you will find that there's
a lot of seniors traveling solo.
In fact, I met a fellow acouple of years ago.
(00:59):
He had worked his whole life inthe same job, living in the
same city, had never traveledoutside of his own state, he was
married but didn't have anychildren, he said shortly after
he turned around 66, 67, Ibelieve it was his wife, who had
been married to for over 20years, died unexpectedly died
(01:20):
unexpectedly, he told me, aftersitting around that empty house
of his for almost a year, hejust decided to retire from his
job and start traveling andseeing the world.
He told me he travels for acouple of months at a time and
he goes back home for a coupleof months, and he's traveled
outside of the country, which henever thought he would do, and
(01:42):
he is living his best life.
He said when he travelsoverseas, he likes staying in
those hostels because there areso many people around and
everybody starts talking.
And he said believe it or not,people are interested in his
story because he's a littleolder than most people staying
in a hostel.
So that's just one of thepeople that has decided to live
(02:04):
his best life by starting totravel, and travel solo.
Now I will tell you in my owncase.
The reason I travel solo a lotwas for many years I worked
overseas as a contractor and,due to tax benefits, I could
only be in the States so manydays a year.
So what was I going to do onthe rest of my time off?
(02:25):
Well, I traveled to othercountries for a week or two at a
time and then I would go backto my contracting job.
And since I stopped doing that,I still travel solo a lot.
And yes, I'm married, and thereason I do is me and the wife
have totally different thoughtsabout travel.
Her idea is she likes to go toa nice resort or an
(02:48):
all-inclusive.
Wake up around 10 o'clock inthe morning, maybe have
something to eat, take a nap,get up later and go hang out by
the pool, have a few snacks, goto dinner somewhere and maybe
once or twice during the trip,wander off the property and go
see something.
My idea is travel is totallydifferent.
I don't care where I stay, aslong as the place is safe and
(03:13):
clean and got hot water.
I like hot water.
I hate cold water showers.
I wake up in the morning around5 or 6 o'clock and I leave and
I go out and explore the townand I don't come back until
around 10 or 11 o'clock at night, go to sleep, wake up the next
morning and I'm gone again.
So I really don't care aboutthe hotel.
Now, nice hotels are nice and Iwill spend some time in one,
(03:33):
but my idea is to get out of thehotel and go see things, and
she just does not want to dothat.
So our ideas for travel aretotally different.
But nowadays you will find thatmore and more seniors are
traveling solo, and there's acouple of reasons for it.
Well, seniors have more freedom, more time and more resources
(03:56):
since they retired.
It's just easier for them totravel.
I looked up a few statisticsand 25% of women age 65 and up
travel solo.
In fact, 84% of solo travelersare women, so the women are
leading the way.
They're getting out there andgoing places on their own.
(04:16):
63% of travelers 50 plus areplanning to travel domestically
in the next year or two.
Now, when it comes to the mostpopular destinations or the most
visited destinations forseniors who travel or travel
solo, or even just seniors ingeneral, I cannot find any stats
(04:38):
.
I found a whole lot of articlesthat said here are the best
places for solo seniors totravel.
Here are the best places forseniors to travel, but it was
just made up.
I mean, it was based on theiropinion.
You know, one article statedthe top domestic destinations
for seniors in 2024 includedFlorida, california, las Vegas,
(05:02):
chicago and Michigan.
Now, where they got the statsfrom, they don't tell you, so
I'm not sure how they're comingup with these lists.
I know Europe is a planneddestination, with Italy, spain
and Great Britain are all hot,and you can get that information
from places like kayak andbooking sites, but that still
(05:24):
doesn't tell you the entirestory.
And, like I said, I found a lotof articles stating where
someone thought the bestdestinations to travel were, and
each one was either a list ofplaces where they may have been,
or a list based on some made-upcriteria for what they thought
seniors needed.
So here are my thoughts on thebest places to travel for solo
(05:45):
travelers.
I've traveled to Asia and Europeand all over the United States
solo.
So there's your list.
It's basically wherever youwant to go.
There is no best place.
Some places are a little betterthan others.
I'll give you an example.
I went to Nepal, beautifulcountry.
(06:06):
Always wanted to Nepal,beautiful country, always wanted
to go there.
I actually went there a coupleof times and it is challenging
for someone like me who has badknees.
My knees are shot.
I mean, they are in tough shape.
Walking on flat, straightground, I'm all right.
Going up and down hills andstuff it tears them up, so it is
(06:29):
a challenge.
In Nepal I just wore kneebraces.
But there are some places thatare a little easier to get
around and that's what you gotto look at.
When you travel, what do youthink you can physically do,
physically not do or just notinterested in doing?
If you're the adventurous type,there's all kinds of places you
can go.
When I was in Thailand, I saw alot of solo travelers, male and
(06:53):
female over 50.
When I was in the Philippines,I saw a lot of solo travelers,
male and female, and a lot ofsenior couples who were there.
Same thing in Europe.
I spent 30 days in Prague.
One time the wife flew over andmet me for about a week.
Then she went back to theStates and I spent the next
three and a half weeks justroaming around Prague and the
(07:15):
Czech Republic just seeingeverything I wanted to see, and
I met a lot of folks there whowere traveling solo, both male
and female.
So there is no good place or badplace to go.
It's where you want to go.
What's on your bucket list,what have you always wanted to
see and just never gotten achance to do it?
(07:36):
Well, here's your chance.
Just do a little research, lookat where you want to go, take a
few things into considerationand hit the road.
There's no better time to do itNot getting any younger.
And there's group travel.
I mean you don't have to travelsolo.
You can go in small groups thatare designed to go places and
they usually build in time foryou to take time off and explore
(07:59):
things on your own.
And there's meet-up groups thatyou can meet up at your
destination own, and there'smeetup groups that you can meet
up at your destination.
You're not alone when youtravel.
But traveling solo does have alot of benefits.
First of all, you get to createyour own schedule and you
follow your own interests andyou move at your own pace.
(08:19):
Like my wife, her pace is wakeup at 1030 in the morning, grab
something to eat and maybe takea nap.
That's what she wants to do.
God bless her.
She loves doing.
It Drives me absolutely nuts.
I'm like we travel all this way.
We're in this beautifuldestination, let's get out and
see something.
(08:40):
Oh, I don't know, maybe laterthis afternoon, all right, well,
you have a nice nap, I'll seeyou later.
And Maybe later this afternoon,all right, well, you have a
nice nap, I'll see you later andI'm out the door.
So you get to create your ownschedule.
When you're traveling solo, youdon't have to abide by anybody's
schedule.
You can do what you want to do.
You find a really cool museum?
Well, go back another day andsee it a second time.
(09:01):
You want to skip an earlymorning hike?
Well, that's entirely your call.
I mean, somebody says you gotto hike up this mountain to see
this absolutely gorgeousmonastery and you're going not
today, my knees hurt, maybetomorrow you can do whatever you
want to do.
You're not bound by a groupdoing something.
(09:22):
Traveling solo also fostersindependence and encourages you
to try new things.
If you're out there by yourself, you get to interact with
locals, whether it be in thestate somewhere or traveling
overseas.
You get to mingle with people.
You get to ask them questionsabout where's a really nice
(09:42):
place to eat lunch at, or wherewould you suggest I go.
If you had a friend visitingfrom out of town, where would
you tell them to go?
And you will find that theyhave just a wealth of knowledge
that you're not going to find insome guidebook somewhere.
Also, I found that when youtravel solo, you're more
approachable, making it easierto connect with the locals and
(10:04):
experience destinationsauthentically.
People have a lot easier timecoming up the locals and
experience destinationsauthentically.
People have a lot easier timecoming up to you and saying
you're not from here, where areyou from?
And you just strike up aconversation.
I've had great conversationswith people all over the world
that have told me about somefantastic places to go, to eat,
to see, places to experiencethat I would have never known
(10:27):
about, had we not had that quickchat.
And if you haven't traveled much, some people get really nervous
about traveling overseas,especially if you're traveling
alone.
You're like well, I don't knowthe language, I've never been
there.
Trust me, it's not thatdifficult.
(10:47):
I have never had a problemtraveling anywhere in the world.
You just take in some safetyprecautions.
I mean, that's just normal.
I don't care if you'retraveling to Houston, dallas,
san Antonio or Manila,philippines, or Bangkok,
thailand or London, england,it's all the same, just take in
some safety precautions.
(11:08):
But as far as language barriersand things, you will find a lot
of people overseas internationallocations.
They speak English, or theyspeak enough English that they
can get by, and there's nothingstopping you from learning a few
words in the language of thelocation you're traveling to.
(11:28):
If your goal is to travel toFrance and you plan for eight
months to take that trip toFrance, well, you've got eight
months to learn a few words ofFrench so you can get around.
And with all the apps andsoftware out these days that
help you learn foreign languages, it's not that difficult.
(11:49):
And with the phones these days,there's translation apps built
into your telephone.
I've got one built into mine.
I can say something in English.
It translates it into theforeign language.
So there is really no excusefor language being a barrier.
And remember when I said that itfosters independence when you
travel solo.
(12:09):
Well, traveling to a foreigncountry definitely fosters
independence, because you decidewhere you want to stay, whether
you want to stay in a hotel, anice one, a medium-priced one, a
condo, a weekly rental.
How are you going to get aroundtown?
You're going to walk, you'regoing to hail taxis, you're
going to rent a car for the week.
It gives you a lot of freedomwhen you're traveling solo to do
(12:31):
what you want to do andexperience what you want to
experience.
And you will find, at the endof it, you're going.
Man, I never knew I could doall that stuff in a foreign
country by myself.
Like I said, all you have to dois take a few precautions into
play when you're traveling solo,especially for seniors.
(12:52):
Like I said, my knees are shot,so that's always a concern.
I'm not going somewhere whereI'm climbing 200 stairs.
If it's got a road, I'll take acar, I'll meet you at the top,
but I'm not climbing stairs, notgoing to do it.
But there are a lot ofsenior-friendly, solo-friendly
destinations.
What you want to look at is it asafe area?
Is it a walkable city?
(13:13):
You know, houston is not awalkable city.
A lot of cities in the UnitedStates aren't, because they're
spread out, they're built forcars and traffic.
You go to Europe, you go toAsia.
There's a lot of walkablecities.
You could be close to downtownand walk around the entire town.
Is it an English-speakingcountry?
(13:36):
Now, we've already said thatyou can get apps, you can learn
the language, but it does helpif they do speak your language,
but don't let that be adeterrent to go just because
they don't speak English.
Like I said earlier, thedestinations I've traveled solo
all over the place, so there isno right or wrong destination,
(13:57):
it's just does it fit your needs?
Like I said, I'm not walking up200 flights of stairs
Domestically.
Well, national parks and stateparks are always friendly places
to travel solo.
You can rent cabins, you can goout camping and there's all
kinds of towns in North Americathat are good places to go for
(14:17):
solo travelers who are over 50.
But if you're traveling solo,you want to stay safe.
You want to keep connected withthe family.
Give them your itinerary, notwhat you're going to be doing
every second of every day, buttell them where you're going to
be.
Hey, I'm traveling to London.
I've got a reservation at thishotel.
I'll be there for a week.
Here's my phone number in caseyou need to reach me.
Here's my emails in case youneed to reach me.
(14:39):
In fact, I'll be gone for twoweeks.
I will check in with you once aweek just to see how things are
going back home.
That way, you've got aconnection with your family back
home.
You don't want to take a lot ofvaluables with you.
It's always amazed me whenpeople travel they carry all
(15:00):
their jewelry with them.
I'm really not sure who they'retrying to impress.
You don't need to take jewelrywith you unless you're going to
a gala somewhere.
I mean, why take necklaces andearrings and rings and jewelry
and expensive watches?
I'm not sure who you're tryingto impress the more stuff you
take like that, especially to aforeign country, you're just
(15:23):
begging to be robbed.
Why take it?
Leave it at home, okay.
Whatever valuables you do take,keep them secured.
Keep them secured in your hotelroom.
Keep them locked in yourluggage.
Make sure you use travelinsurance, especially if you're
traveling overseas.
Travel insurance plays a hugepart.
It covers everything frominterrupted trips to emergency
(15:44):
evacuation in case you get illor injured, you name it.
I mean there's all kinds ofpolicies out there.
Find a good one, they're notthat expensive, and just name it
.
I mean there's all kinds ofpolicies out there, find a good
one, they're not that expensive,and just get it.
And, like I said, there's appsfor translations.
There's also apps fornavigating your way around town.
There's apps for emergency help.
There's emergency apps that youcan download that'll tell you
(16:07):
if there's anything in apolitical situation that might
go wrong.
It notifies you hey, there'strouble over here or whether bad
weather is breaking out.
So just download the right appsand stay alert.
As far as accommodations,whatever suits you the best.
I've stayed at guest houseswhere I had a blast.
(16:28):
I mean, I stayed at a guesthouse in Macedonia I think it's
called Northern Macedonia now orsomething, but back then it was
Macedonia right next to Kosovo,and it was fantastic.
They were about my age, man andhis wife.
They turned their house into aguest house and they lived
(16:50):
downstairs and the upstairs wasfour rooms that they rented out.
I wound up having greatconversations with him, drinking
homemade wine that he had madeand he's telling me all about
the town and what used to bethere and I had a great time.
I rented condos because theywere less expensive, bigger and
(17:10):
I could cook my own breakfast inthere.
I could stay at a condo for aweek a lot and I could stay at a
hotel and it was nicer.
So there's all kinds ofdifferent options you have.
But look at things like guesthouses or boutique hotels,
because you do get to meet a lotof the locals that way and you
can join a tour at thedestination you're at.
(17:31):
You don't have to just wanderaround on your own and discover
things.
When I was in London, I went ona walking tour of Jack the
Ripper's haunts.
There was a guy who was hawkinga sign outside of the Tower of
London.
It was Jack the Ripper tours.
I asked him how much.
It wound up being somethinglike $10.
And it was a one and a half tohour walking tour of Jack the
(17:53):
Ripper's haunts.
The guy doing the tour was aretired Scotland Yard detective
and his hobby was researchingJack the Ripper.
It was a fantastic tour andthere was about 10 of us.
We did a walking tour, but Iwas traveling solo in London at
the time.
So you can find little tourgroups whether they're day tours
(18:15):
or something else where you caninteract with people and go on
places with a group.
You don't have to experienceeverything on your own.
So the bottom line is get out,do a little traveling.
You're not getting any younger,don't have to worry about
traveling solo and if you havesomebody to travel with,
fantastic.
If you don't get out there onyour own, it's not going to kill
(18:37):
you, you're going to have ablast.
If you're a little worriedabout making a big overseas trip
, travel solo somewhere in theStates for four or five days.
Dip your feet in, get your toesa little wet and get ready to
do some international travel.
Next, just figure out, you knowwhere have you always dreamed
of going, and then go there,because there's nothing stopping
(18:59):
you.
You might want to go with asmall solo trip.
Just research your destination.
Join, maybe, an online travelcommunity, ask for some
recommendations of where somegood places to go or good places
to eat or good places to stayare.
Do your research and then hitthe road.
Now, if you've ever traveledsolo and you're a senior, drop
(19:22):
me a line.
Tell me how it went your firsttime.
Tell me what you learned, whatyou liked about it.
If you haven't, drop me anemail.
Ask me questions about it.
The email is editor atthetravelingfoolcom.
Oh, and here's something elsebefore we go.
If you haven't subscribed to thenewsletter, please do.
(19:44):
I only put it out once a monthand sometimes it doesn't get out
, so you get one every twomonths.
To subscribe to the newsletter,just go to thetravelingfoolcom,
sign up for it.
When I send it out, it's fullof travel news Everything from
what's going on in the cruiseindustry, the hotels industry,
(20:04):
sometimes stupid passengerarticles that people have done A
little bit of everything Travelnews.
And then I also list travelcontests that you can sign up
for and get that dream trip thatyou've been dreaming for for
years.
It's not very long.
Like I said, I only put it outonce a month, so sign up for it
(20:26):
and if you have any questions,drop me an email.
If you have questions abouttraveling solo, where to travel,
or if you've got a trip plannedand maybe you want to know
something about it, chances areI've either been there or I know
somebody who has, and who knowsif you share your story about
some place that you travel tosolo.
We might feature it in one ofthe upcoming episodes.
(20:49):
So until next time, safetravels, thank you.
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