People always want to travel while they are still young, but most of them can not afford to spend much time traveling – whether it be because of issues with finances, work, or stress of raising a young family. However, when you are older, you have a lot more time on your hands that is not often taken advantage of. Being a senior citizen, or an elderly person, might mean encountering a health issue while you travel, but I’m here to argue that the fear of the unknown is not a good enough reason to put traveling in the backseat. Think about it, the time spent during your retirement could be a lot more peaceful and worthwhile if you spend it on a tropical island somewhere without a care in the world.
Below are some necessary notes to keep in mind when traveling as an older person:
Choose the Appropriate Destination
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Choosing a travel destination depends on the traveler’s habit, but most older people prefer peaceful and natural places over noisy places because such places will help them have plenty of relaxation time to really enjoy and feel life. Therefore, Japan, Southeast Korea, Taiwan, or Vietnam are the ideal choices for them. Besides that, if your parents want to have the trip that combines famous temples with stunning nature, Myanmar, Thailand, and Hong Kong are among the number one choices for them. Furthermore, older tourists should restrict more exploratory attractions, like mountaineering, trekking through the jungle, snorkeling, or walking too much, which can have a negative impact on their health due to stress it places on their bodies.
Select the Suitable Travel Time
Whether traveling inside or outside of your country, each destination will have different weather depending on the time of year you travel. Be sure to check the weather of the destination during the time you intend to travel before deciding where you want to visit. Therefore, you also need to choose a time that is not too harsh for older travelers. The best choice is during the fall, which is considered the season that has the best weather during the year for most destinations in the world. For example, if you intend to travel to South Korea, the fall will be a wonderful time for traveling because this time has a moderate temperature, beautiful nature scenes, and less of a rainy and cold climate. In addition, if the weather is too cold or too hot, it can also cause an adverse effect on older people during the trip and such chronic diseases, such as arthritis, sinusitis, hypertension can become worse.
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Prepare for Good Health
In order to have a safe trip, older people should have a health check with their primary care physician before traveling to know the full extent of their health situation and know if they meet the requirements to have the greenlight to travel. Then, depending on the health check result, they can decide if they should change the trip or get the advice from the doctor to ensure that they have good health and avoid a bad situation during the trip. Moreover, you should remember that people over 75 years old need a certification of health by doctors if they want to travel abroad.
Consider a Travel Partner
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When you become older, your health can be big trouble while traveling alone, therefore, having a partner to travel together with can help you in bad situations that potentially happen. If you absolutely cannot travel with a partner, you should travel with an agency to make sure of your safety within the trip. For adults over 75 years old, traveling with people 60 years old or under is the necessary thing to do to protect and ensure your safety. Therefore, you should find the best partner to travel with, such as a family member or a friend.
Bring Lightweight Luggage
Some people like to bring everything in their home with them when they travel because they think they can help them during the trip. However, if you bring too many items, you only making things more difficult to transfer, especially if you are an older traveler. Hence, you should only bring necessary things with you, such as clothes, outerwear essentials, toiletries, and medicine. Arrange them items in your luggage so that the most important things are easily accessible. In addition, all personal documents, as well as notes about communication, must be stored carefully because older people are more likely to forget where they’ve placed them.
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