The perks of traveling when you’re older

My husband and I went to London, Brussels, and Paris on our honeymoon. I thought that starting our marriage with a big international trip might set the tone for the rest of our lives — that we’d be an adventurous couple who explored the world.

Last month, we traveled off the continent together for the first time in 25 years. 

We got married at a relatively young age and had four kids over the following decade. The cost and work of all those babies meant we did a lot of road trips and a few plane trips, but no international travel as a family. 

We explored as much as we could within our means, driving the entire length of the U.S. over various road trips. But we didn’t leave the country. 

Occasionally, we traveled separately as a couple (someone had to stay behind to watch the kids). But now, we’ve turned a corner. The kids are old enough that they’re fine when we leave on trips. Grandma now lives nearby. We have the time and money to go. It’s time. 

We’ve taken a few smaller trips so far and I’m noticing I approach things differently now that I’m older. Here are a few things that have changed. 

5 ways I view travel differently now that I’m older  

I appreciate it more because reaching my destination took years

I’ve had more than 20 years to dream about where I’d go once my kids were older! In fact, my husband and I have been talking for at least ten of those years about wanting to go to Iceland. We finally made it there last month.  

When we traveled to Tulum, Mexico last year, I remember pausing several times during our trip. I thought back to when we were awash in diapers and puréed food and tiny, chubby babies. Some of those days were very long and it felt like we might never leave the house again. Leaving the country was too much to ponder.

I loved those years of boisterous chaos. But a lot of living with small children who have urgent needs is living in the moment. I love traveling with my kids, but it requires a lot of energy.

Now that I’m older, I have lots of moments where I just stare at stuff and think, “I can’t believe I’m here.” I have time to contemplate all it took to be able to experience this. I think about my relatives just a few generations ago who would have found it unimaginable to travel this far.

And now, look at us. Lying on a beach in Tulum, with no one demanding a snack or needing a nap except me. 

I’m more laid-back — and so is my vacation itinerary 

I’m still a pretty anxious person, but I’m more laid back now than I used to be and it helps me be a better traveler. There are a few reasons for this. 

For one: the older you get, the more life throws at you. You learn to adapt and pivot. If your plans are changed or canceled, you gain confidence to make different ones. 

But also, our travel time is our vacation time. My husband still has a job that expects him back in the office on a specific day. I have to be home and ready to work a little harder since freelancers don’t get paid vacations. This means our trip needs to be relaxing. We can’t sightsee non-stop and expect to come home feeling refreshed. 

Now, we plan a mix of exploring and resting on our trips. We don’t feel like we have to be up at 6 am to visit everything around us. I don’t feel guilty if I take a nap or read a book one afternoon instead of touring the area. 

And while we love a local bar, we olds don’t need a lot of nightlife. Looking at our trips as a combination of exploring and unwinding has helped us to hone in on what’s really important to us when we travel.

I set a budget and splurge on what I care about most 

I consider us budget travelers. I have a long list of places I want to visit and I can’t go spending lots of money if I want to get to them all. And there are still those four kids to pay for, don’t forget. 

But my husband and I now know the things that we’ll truly appreciate spending money on and the things we don’t care about. 

At this point in our lives, we like a midrange hotel vs. a hostel. We like to splurge on one nice dinner at a local restaurant, both when we travel in the U.S. and abroad. And I’m willing to spend more for a unique, handmade souvenir of our trip that I’ll treasure instead of a mass-produced trinket. 

On the other hand, I’m willing to come home with no souvenirs at all if I don’t find anything like that. If we’re somewhere that requires a rental car, we get the cheapest one possible. And other than our one meal splurge, we eat inexpensively on our trips. 

I’m inspired to stay fit when I have upcoming travels

For as long as I’m physically able to, I want to be able to walk through new cities or climb to an ancient site — so I’m trying to stay in enough shape to be able to do those things. As I age, I’m also concerned about things like arthritis that could slow down my mobility. Some studies have shown that travel can help in that regard, too. [Source] 

I exercise all year long and try to eat healthy for many reasons, but one of them is that I want to be ready to explore. Whether I’m hiking a 14er in Colorado with my daughter or traveling the world, I want to take a page from my grandpa’s book and “do the best I can with what I’ve got to work with.” Looking forward to traveling gives me a little extra motivation. 

I travel to gain confidence and better my mental health 

Finding your way around new environments, learning about new cultures, and trying new things is good for mental health at any stage of life. And one study about senior tourism found that it’s good for older populations in particular. [Source]

I’m not a senior yet but I’m hoping I continue to travel when I am. And I’m hoping the benefits, which can include improved self-esteem, increased resilience, and reduced stress, will start now. 

📚 Related Reading: I have moderate hearing loss. Here’s how I cope when traveling.

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There are perks to traveling at whatever stage in life you’re lucky enough to do it. If I wrote this article at any other point in my life, I’d probably have a different set of reasons why that’s a good time to travel.

That’s one of the best things about these adventures, right? There is no bad time to explore the world. Whatever point in your life that you’re able to get out there, that’s the best time to do it! As for me, my list is long. I’ve gotta get going. 

Next up, read Claudicet’s article on why she takes solo trips as a single parent.