11 Nov Make the Most Popular Retirement Pursuit Your Reality
According to surveys, travel after retirement is clearly the most popular and desired pursuit for this phase of life. From day trips by car to round the world journeys, retirees have wanderlust! And with the pandemic waning in the United States, and hopefully a way forward for the rest of the world, travel plans are on the uptick.
Here are 5 tips for making travel after retirement plentiful, affordable, and completely fulfilling:
1. Set goals, make a bucket list, think through where you want to go — with whom? Why?
Thinking about what you want to do in retirement is an important part of retirement planning. And, you are likely to be more successful if you get as detailed and specific as possible about how, when, where, why, and with whom you want to travel.
2. Consider more exotic locations
You may have a few favorite destinations that you want to revisit, but it can be a good idea to put some wildly new destinations on your retirement travel wish list. Let’s face it, as we get older, we’ve seen and experienced a lot already. It can sometimes feel like nothing will surprise you anymore. However, travel is one way to see something new and fresh. From this perspective, travel can almost give you the opportunity to experience life as a child sees the world — marveling at things new and wondrous. Best of all, these types of new experiences are actually scientifically proven to keep our minds more alive.
3. Take time to plan (scientists say it is the best part)
Last-minute adventures are exciting and fun, but they might rob you of what scientists say is the best part of travel. You might think that the best part is something like the smell wafting from a corner bakery, seeing an iconic monument, or dipping your toes into the sand.
4. Plan longer trips and save
The beauty of retirement is that you have time. You do not have a clock to punch or other specific demands on your days. As such, you can plan travel with practically unlimited time. Done right, this can save you money and be much more enjoyable. Imagine you wanted to see Spain and Italy. When working, you either have to see very little of each place in a short period of time or take two trips. Two trips are double the airfare and if you are trying to squeeze it all into one trip, then you might be paying a premium for hotels close to the things you want to see and other conveniences that make seeing everything possible.
5. Take the grandkids
If travel is the most popular thing people want to do after retirement, spending time with grandkids is probably second. So why not combine the two? Travel is an excellent way to spend real quality time with grandchildren while making extraordinary memories. To make the trip successful, be sure to involve them in the planning (you might want their parents’ input as well).