Risk vs Reward in Retirement Travel

The American Cemetery at Normandy. Never photograph the grave markers. This was an easy visit from our Seabourn cruise in the North Atlantic.

Our first twenty years of retirement travel were filled with adventure with the belief that we were invincible, and we did not worry about hiking in the Amazon or walking on a glacier. We zip lined the treetops in Costa Rica with a glove for a brake and piloted our own boat from Tampa, Fl to Key West.

Now as we approach 80 years of age, and after several joint replacements, we are more aware of some risks.

We avoid third world countries with limited medical support. We rely on tours booked through our travel agent or the cruise ship. We seldom strike out on our own. We allow extra time at the airport, especially when making connections or clearing foreign immigration – no more running in the airport.

Every European city seems to have an “old town” with cobblestone streets and no handrails on the steps. No problem – we wear shoes with soles designed for wet surfaces and we keep a hiking stick strapped to our backpacks.

However, we still like to travel for at least thirty days at a time. This used to mean a Tauck tour in Spain, followed by a flight from Madrid to Istanbul, then a Seabourn cruise in the Greek Isles and a final few days in Athens. Or a Tauck Riverboat cruise during tulip season in the Netherlands, followed by a week in Paris and then a week in Barcelona.

Now are goal is one continuous trip without all of the connections. Seabourn cruise line offers extended cruises as their ships follow a long-term route as opposed to the back-and-forth routes of most cruise lines. For example, in 2023 we boarded Seabourn in Miami for a crossing to North Africa followed by three weeks in the Mediterranean. We did disembark in Venice for one week to allow a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, before returning home.

So, we are not slowing down, but we are ensuring our travel decisions reflect our ages. This year we have completed a 21-day cruise in North Atlantic, a week in Maui and our fourth time on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The Trail trip is a good example of our change in travel decisions. Prior years we rented a car and drove for a week – with a different BnB every night. This year we stayed in two locations and hired a driver and van to be our “designated driver”.

A physical therapist recently told me that I am doing great, but that I need to remember that I am almost 78 and not 55.