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May 31, 2024
Top 5 retirement travel tips
By Sun Life Staff
Being retired doesn’t mean you have to give up adventure. With a little planning, you can stretch your travel dollars to find more adventure than ever!
Dreaming of travelling extensively during retirement but wondering whether you can afford it? Good news: You can do it. The secret is finding ways to make the best use of your travel dollars without compromising on quality.
And money might not be your only question about travelling in retirement. What about your health? Check out these tips to find some answers:
1. Consider house-sitting
Many homeowners like having someone take care of their homes while they’re away. Many seniors like travelling to and living in new places. Put them together and you’ve got a win-win recipe. Homeowners like senior house-sitters because of their maturity, experience and sense of responsibility. House-sitting can be a great way to explore a new location or enjoy experiences normally well beyond your means. (Waterfront mansion, we’re looking at you.) While short-term house-sitting is seldom paid, the accommodations are rent-free. In some cases, you can even negotiate for living expenses while you mind the house.
Homeowners typically engage house-sitters for several reasons:
- to make sure to make sure their home looks occupied while they’re away,
- to water their plants, and most important,
- to feed and look after their pets.
If you’re a dog- or cat-lover with a green thumb, you could be the perfect house-sitter. If you’re not a pet person, the options are fewer – but they’re still out there. Websites such as mindmyhouse.com are a good resource for matching yourself with homeowners who need their houses tended. Annual membership fees for sitters are in the range of $30 to $40.
2. Embrace off-peak and last-minute travel
Now that you’ve cast off your workplace shackles, you can take advantage of off-peak travel pricing and last-minute deals. Travelling during off-peak times is not only cheaper, but also less crowded.
As well, having the freedom to pack up and ship out on short notice can be exciting. Flash-sale travel discount sites aren’t just for web-savvy youngsters. They’re also a perfect way to stretch your travel dollars in retirement. Depending on where you’re going, mid-week flights can often be cheaper than those on the weekend. Hotel prices can also vary between weekdays and weekends.
3. Get travel and health insurance
Good travel insurance can save you a lot of money if you have a health issue. Foreign hospitals and doctors may require a small fortune to treat you. As well, an illness or injury could hit before your departure date, forcing you to cancel your trip. Having travel insurance will give you real peace of mind.
These days, travel insurance can get pretty sophisticated. Your policy might cover anything from flight cancellations to refunding boat rental fees for your fishing trip. Make sure you look carefully at the fine print and pick the cancellation/travel health policy that best fits your needs.
And don’t assume that you must be in perfect health to get travel insurance. Make a point of telling your insurance provider or advisor if you have any pre-existing health conditions. That way, your policy will cover any complications or cancellations that could result from them. You might have to pay more for your insurance, but you won’t take a chance on not being covered.
4. Plan your medications and treatment options
Make sure you have an extra supply of any medication you need and pre-pack pillboxes ahead of time. Research what medical facilities are available near your chosen vacation spot. If you’re not planning to be close to civilization, find out what emergency services are available. That’s particularly important if you have serious health issues. (And if you have really serious issues, you might want to reconsider straying far off the beaten track.)
If you know you need health care within reach, you can still travel: Consider a cruise or a specialty resort. Cruises always carry their own medical staff, and certain resorts geared towards retirees have full, on-site hospital facilities. Do you have specific health-related limitations, like altitude, humidity or exertion? Get your doctor’s okay to travel before you book your trip. Are you concerned about your creaky knees or other mobility issues? You can check tour descriptions for difficulty ratings.
En route, always keep your medication in your carry-on bag, not your checked luggage. Be sure to follow the rules about original packaging, liquids and gels. Check this out in advance so you don’t have an unpleasant surprise or delay at the airport. And watch out for changing time zones and medication schedules, so you don’t skip a dose accidentally.
5. Keep your health information handy
If you have a non-trivial medical condition, bring your medical history with you as well as spare prescriptions. Bags can be stolen or lost, so it pays to have a back-up plan. Doctors will have an easier time treating you when illness strikes if they have your information. As well, notify resort staff of any serious health conditions you have. That way, they can respond quickly and appropriately in case of emergency.
More money-saving retirement travel tips
- Look for early-bird specials. It’s a retirement cliché, but some restaurants in resort areas have a lower-priced menu before 5 p.m. If it’s somewhere you’d want to eat at anyway, why not go early and save some money?
- Do a home exchange. Another option is a straight home exchange. For an annual fee, websites such as homeexchange.com will connect you to homeowners around the world. (This works best if your own home is near a major city, resort area or natural beauty spot.)
- Youth hostels aren’t only for the young. If you don’t mind dorm-style accommodations, you can stay in a youth hostel for much less than a hotel. Suppose you and your partner or friend want to spend some time in London, England, in early June. At current rates, four nights in a youth hostel near the Kensington High Street tube station would cost $706. Compare that to a nearby well-known chain hotel, where the same stay would cost $1,032. It’s certainly not the Ritz, but a youth hostel can be clean and convenient. And you can meet the most interesting people there! In fact, hostels can be a great option for the solo traveller.
- Rent a whole house. Many popular travel destinations offer entire homes for rent. Depending on the location, you can rent a beach house, a villa, a cabin or a chalet. It’s a popular choice among travellers of all ages. It’s flexible: You don’t have to get up early and go out for breakfast. Have breakfast when you like – in your PJs, if you like. And a fully equipped kitchen lets you cook whenever you want, and save on meals out. You can even pack your own picnic for a low-cost lunch.
- Bring a friend (or two). Find a place with enough room to bring along friends – and share the rental cost. Here’s an example: This four-bedroom beach house on Hatteras Island in North Carolina rents for about $2,450* for a week in June. But you could share with one, two or even three other couples or individuals. That brings the cost of your week at the beach down to as little as $612. (And you’ll have someone to share the cooking.)
Wherever your travels take you, remember that you don’t have to give up adventure just because you’re retired. In fact, with a little planning, you can find more adventure than ever before!
*All figures CAD. Exchange calculated at 1 USD = 1.35456 CAD.
This article is meant to provide general information only. It’s not professional medical advice, or a substitute for that advice.
