Travel style

What is the travel style for most of you "older travelers"? Group, Independant, backpacking, tours?
My wife and I started travel in '95 choosing the backpacker approach. Maybe it was the image of the rugged, steel jawed traveler, treking around Mexico, South and Central America. Actually, we could have afforded a little better.
When we retired 10 years ago, we still took that approach, staying in hostals and living on the cheap.
But now, approacing 70, we just dont like all the discomfort of taking long bus rides and using the bathroom down the hall. Or packing and re-packing every couple of days.
We still travel independantly, but now pick a place that looks pleasant and stay put for a month or two Not in a hostal, but in a reasonably priced apt. Much more comfortable. Get to know people, learn more about the area. Dont have to pack up and leave every couple of days. True, we dont see as much of the country, but it suits us now.
Last winter was 2 months in Oaxaca city. Didnt even go to the coast. Did do an overnighter in the mountains, but that was the only trip from our little apartment.
What do the majority of you folks do?
Curtis

Travel on my own,staying for a while in places I like and hiring a car and driver to get around and stop where I want. Like ensuite places to stay.

I'm still doing the hostel thing and traveling all around on buses, etc. Couldn't afford the 'ensuite' all the time, anyway, nor the car and driver. Still, this suits me.

Solo backpacking, but slowly, staying in hostels (only ensuite if it's really cheap or no option).
As I travel in cheap(ish) countries I can take my time, knowing that it costs me very little less than staying at home.

I actually like travelling by bus, though. Certainly more than by plane or even train. I fly to or nrar the country I'm visiting, then travel by bus overland, meeting people and seeing the country from ground level.
People are to me more important than sites, which I sometimes make a conscious effort to avoid. (Not all of them though, I want to see Petra next year.)

For the last few years we have enjoyed getting some where and staying put for about a week or sometimes up to 10 days. We find moving around every night or so very tiring. We also find sitting around in one place for a month a bit too long. Different strokes for different folks. We no longer have to see it all because we're at an age where we know that we never will.

I'm still working so my time is now my employers and not my own and I have to fit with their requirements which limits my ability to spend longer in places I like. I also now have a signicant mobility problem and the weight of back packs is no longer possible. In new areas I look for a small group tour, in places I know when I may be visiting friends, I find a small apartment and hunker down for a couple of weeks. As you say - different strokes for different folks and for different times in our lives. While I like staying with friends I have spent too many years on my own and strongly believe in the old adage - Keep visitors and fish for no longer than three days.

Solo (I'm too much of a handful to foist on anyone else), backpacking (much easier that struggling with cases), staying in cheap hostels/hotels/brothels (I have little money), and generally just wanderin' where my nose leads me, which is often where most white faces are noticeable by their absence.

Never been on a package tour, booked a "proper" holiday once, Barbados 1982 - bored stiff after a day.

Dave

Clean, safe guesthouses operated by locals. Prefer ensuite. Use rollies with a daypack. Usually opt for the tourist-class bus and the padded seats on trains. Do a lot of self-drives (rental or our own van in North/Central America). Like street food and small cafes as well as self cater - we are simple eaters. Splash out now and again on a good western meal when we get weary of the local dishes. (Once went nuts when we came on a Denny's in San Jose after several months of gallo pinto - rice and beans). Stay a few days but not usually longer in one place. Too much to see and still feeling young and very curious about what's around the next corner. Generally 3 months on the road at a time.

This mid 60's couple has been enjoying Japan lately - in fact four times! Behind the hype about the prices lies very affordable "people's food" little cafes crowded around stations etc. and great convenience stores for your yoghurt,fruit, chocolate and even alcohol very cheap.
A chain of inns at every station have a/c.room internet,free breakfast , own bathroom - all spotless and comfortable for well under $100 double with occasional affordable ryokans for atmosphere and a change. And what a fascinating country it is, from the streets to the temples to the awesome sights - all very polite and easy to get around.

I rarely do organized tour groups, and try to avoid hostels. I like my own bathroom and don't like being around a bunch of young backpackers. I prefer independent guest houses where you can get great local food and really connect with the locals.

I use to travel with a backpack, now do so with a convertible. And in many years of traveling all over the world, have yet to use the straps. My back is not as strong as it use to be. The roller is perfect, with daypack set on top.

I do enjoy a bus ride, but if it is an overnight one, forget it. I'd rather fly and show up rested and ready to explore. Or, do it during the day. If it is a really long bus ride, like one we almost did from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, with kinda boring landscape, then flying is the way to go.

We also try not to stay in one place less then 2-3 nights. Find a spot, explore, enjoy, relax, and then move on. Some places, like Patagonia, we stayed for 2 weeks in one place. It was just so beautiful.

We love to rent apartments for a week at a time if possible. Have done it many, many times and it works out great. Eating out every day gets old after a few weeks. Nice to have some good home cooked food!

72 and 77 here, and returned in October from Bangladesh and India. Travel now with a small rolling suitcase as backpack was getting to heavy on our backs. Travel on our own, did trains we booked thru Cleartrip and got a nice Senior discount. We did take 2 night trains with sleepers. Tend to stay 4 or 5 nights in each city, in sort of flash backpacker small hotels or guest houses. If we get the superior room in a guesthouse, it is almost always nice.

People are to me more important than sites - same here. Just being there, seeing people with their children, old people kind of shuffling around, markets, day-to-day life. As for staying in brothels ... I don't know, we've stayed in few places with a lot of prostitutes, but the men are always bothersome to my wife and sometimes the women "bother" me just a little, too, but no need to go on about that.

Anyway, flashpacking in SE Asia for the most part. Some cheaper places, but aircon important to us. We're in Oakland right now, on the way to Asia. Had dim sum at a small takeout place (with seating for four people) for breakfast and lunch 3 days in a row now - <$7 for the 2 of us.

Mainly just being alive (we're 65 & 66).

I'm 60, and after teaching on Solomon islands for several years in the 90s, This is my favourite holiday place.
When I am travelling elsewhere, though, my preference is hiring a car to drive myself, or staying in one place for several days at least.
In Europe earlier this year, I did a 1 week Rhine cruise with a friend, which I highly recommend.
I have knee problems, which rules out backpacking and places without ground floor accommodation or a lift. I found European trains great, except for the need to drag luggage up a steep ladder to get on. (Australian platforms are level with the door of the train.)
Big tourist coaches can be a problem, as they have fairly steep stairs.

My wife and I travel together. We have small light backpacks and wear nylon travel clothing. One set of clothes on us and two sets in the pack.

We generally stay in low end Lonely Planet or cheapest Hostelworld hostels/hotels. We always get private rooms, sometimes with ensuite. In our late 50s we are almost always the oldest people in the hostel and of late this is starting to bother me a bit. I am finding more and more that young twenty somethings are a bit hard to take. I am getting tired of hearing how everything is 'awesome.' Tired of listening to sentences that end in a question and have the word 'like' popping up in every second word. As in, "Like Cairo is like really awesome? I'm gonna go to the like pyramids today, they are totally awesome?" Young hostelers, who I assume must be fairly well educated and mostly middle class, do not seem to know how to eat with a knife and fork. I am a bit shocked at watching these 'kids' lick their knives and chew large chunks of food off the fork. End of rant.

We use public transportation, trains busses and taxis. In areas of the world that are cheap we try to go first class. We never get organized tours, prefering to explore on our own.

We try not to rush around too much. We see no need in 'seeing everything.'

In our late 50s we are almost always the oldest people in the hostel and of late this is starting to bother me a bit.
I'm usually (not always) the oldest person at my hostel but, really, I find it quite enjoyable.

Maybe because I'm a female solo traveller and, as taranaki_chick said in another posting, people missing their mums might gravitiate towards older women? Perhaps, being in a unit you get ignored?

But loosen up a bit! The 'youngsters' are interesting and often have good info to exchange if you can accept them as they are. And when you scratch beneath the surface you very often find quite lovely people.
Plus, they're on holiday - it's a good excuse to eat and maybe even speak differently from the constrictions of home life. Just look on them as another interesting tribe. Personally, I've made a lot of good and lasting friendships that way. (Again, I realise it's harder if you're a two-some.)

The one thing about young people that got me in Europe (and this was on a one day coach tour in Athens) was incredibly bad language from a group of 20-something American women sitting in front of a number of 40 plus people. It sounded like they were trying to impress someone, but everyone else in the coach was disgusted.
(And I work as a counsellor with adolescents, so I have heard it all).

I appreciate what you are saying Go 2 and I understand what you mean about language, Ozzie. I think sometimes that the problem is with me as an older person more than it is the young hostelers. Afterall, I have been doing this sort of trip and travelling in the backpacker style since I was in my early twenties and now sometimes feel out of place as the oldest person in the hostel.

To give another example of my alienation as an oldster. In one hostel we went down to breakfast and the room was filled with 20 somethings. I said good morning and a few glanced up and mumbled. All of them, every single one of them, had their heads in an electronic device. Some were texting, others were tapping away on lap-tops, others had ear phones plugged in and one was reading a Kindle. Not only were they ignoring my efforts at conversation, they were ignoring each other. I don't travel with any electronics and I began to think of myself as some kind of backpackingasaur.

I really like backpacking though. Everytime I return from a third world backpacking trip I say never again but I always go back to it as it affords a more indepth glimpse of the local culture. With backpacking the traveller is forced to interact with the locals without the shield of a guide or tour operator to sanitize things. There is a very definate appeal to doing things 'close to the ground.'

I know what you mean about the electronics - most of the teenagers I work with are symbiotically attached to something electronic. They seem to be able to talk at the same time, though.
I am pretty electronically literate, but don't use my phone online for financial reasons, and still don't own an MP3 player - I don't really have a use for one.

I find the younger folk like to hang out with other younger travelers and really miss out on being in touch with the locals. Hostels insulate you too much from the reality of where you are. Like mentioned about, they are glued to the internet for hours on end, go out in groups, stay out late at the clubs, watch movies for hours, eat banana pancakes for days on end, etc. They just don't get to see the "local" side of where they are staying. I prefer a room in a private house, or a small, locally owned guest house. When I see every table with a LP or Rough Guide book, it's time to leave. Plus, to be a backpacker, you don't need to travel with one...rollers are frowned upon by this group.

Hostels insulate you too much from the reality of where you are.

Funny - that's the way I feel about hotels. (Though private guest-houses are ok, I guess.)

I've travelled with both backpack and roller and never been treated differently. Except that when I have a backpack there are always willing hands to help me put it on.

And of the 'united nations' group of 8 young people I took out to a fabulous (and cheap) music-playing restaurant in Kashgar (China) on my last night there, six had asked me if they could tag along too. It wasn't in LP, and just proves their heads aren't in the clouds all the time.
Mind you - I don't go to many budget airline destinations or conventional tourist haunts ...

craigt - please see "A Whole New Country...." topic about Rantistan...

I agree with the comment about hostels insulating one from the local community, just as big hotels do. But everywhere I've ever been in the developing world there have been lots of small, locally operated guesthouses and these are great. In fact, if you are looking for a private room or traveling as a twosome, they are just as cheap as the hostels.

We will still use hostels (private rooms these days) in a big city in North America, Europe or Australia because you cannot beat the prices for a downtown/close to transit room. We sometimes hear of hostels that have great in-house cafes and we've gone to these for a cheap "western" meal and some interaction. On those occasions we've had great conversations with the youngsters. As mentioned, they do gravitate to the "mom" types that I certainly represent :)

As to the technology, well, younger people have always been early adapters in that respect. We were in our day too. These days I cling to my ancient (7 year old) flip phone. It's been de-registered (or whatever the term is) so for about $10-20 I can flip in a new SIM card anywhere in the world and have the convenience of a phone with me. In SEA and Africa, public land lines simply don't exist a lot of the time.

But, sadly ...this phone is becoming more and more problematic. So I'm hanging my nose over the phones my sons and daughter-in-laws all have. These have great reception - including speaker phones and bluetooth ear pieces that are amazing; they can SKYPE with them; they can surf the web and make airline bookings or check the news and road conditions; check their email and send email; take and store 1000s of photos and even video; as well as store 1000s of songs on a playlist they design. Now you have to admit ....that's a lot of functionality for $60 a month. The phones were free with a 2-year contract.

Tomkat: I did read that post. Understood, but that is all part of the travel experience. IMHO, things like homestays, hostals....heck...even hotels are very different in, say, the USA vs. Nepal. In Nepal, get ready for lots of young, Israeli backpackers traveling in groups and smoking pot. You don't have that in the US. Hotels in the US are, IMHO, bland whereas in Italy they can be pretty cool and have lots of character. Big difference is the hotels in Italy are, like, 100+ years old where in the US, as it is a newer country, they tend to be box type franchises.

I do love big hotels though....when I can afford them as it is a great place to splash out for a few days after roughing it in, say, Patagonia! The one we stayed at had a jacuzzi tub in our room with a pano view of the snow capped mountains over Nahuel Huapi Lake near San Carlos de Bariloche and a fire place next to it which they setup everyday for us. Never find that in a hostal. Plus, they had room service with 4 star local food and bottles of wine delivered. King size bed, down comforter, down pillows, super quiet, movie channel, breakfast daily on your private lake view balcony....Heaven.

$60/month for a "free" phone - that's $1440 for a $400 phone. I prefer to use a purchased card for the amount I would actually use it as a phone, IMHO. The other functions are fabulous, and the major downside of having bought an I Touch rather than I Phone is that I do need to be in a WIFI environment to connect with the internet while I wouldn't need to do so with the phone. At least this is my understanding for Canada. Not sure how that would work in another country??

Re: travel style, mine has definitely changed. I used to be a frenetic traveler afraid that I would miss something. Now I have accepted that I definitely need to be re-incarnated because I will never be able to see everything that I might have wanted to see during the remaining years of my life! After a couple of lengthy touring trips (4 months during which I "covered" Thailand, Sri Lanka, China and southern India), and 5 weeks in Vietnam, realize that I prefer to go to one place, find an apartment, unpack my bags, and settle in, taking little trips from the centre. I am actually repeating a destination which I never would have done previously as I so much enjoyed where I was last year and am happy to have the familiarity of basic logistics. While I want to see the major sights, also want to dig a little deeper into the local culture, learn the language, and just wander and soak up the atmosphere.

I find the touring with having to find accommodations, unpack, figure out what's happening, and start that again in 4 - 5 days way more stressful than I used to. I no longer want to share a room with strangers, but will take a private room in a hostel for the socialization at times, or a basic hotel with private bathroom. I will be staying in a highly rated B&B in Mexico City this time which will definitely be an upward step.

Lotusland. The $60 per month covers unlimited use of the phone for either phone or web usage. My kids all have these as their ONLY phones so it works for them and their plan is for inside Canada. I've no idea what roaming charges would be.

What will work best for me I've yet to figure out because the $60 would not cover unlimited use out of the country. That is the only time I would use it a lot. So perhaps it will be better for me to buy the phone and then buy time as I need it.

Solo, stay in local guest/rest houses, sometimes in villages, sometimes with friends - depending on where I am - always use public transport, and tend to hang out with locals rather than with other travellers/tourists.

My most memorable travel moments have been with the locals. Fantastic stuff. That's the reason we travel! To see other cultures and experience them...not hang out with other travelers....

Homestay in a yurt in Mongolia
Homestay in Siberia with a guitar playing Russian, drinking until 2am and having a blast.
Homestay in Croatia where grandma cooked us great local food and told stories
Homestay in Nepal, watching daughter cook meals on a tiny fire
Homestay in Thailand in the mountains, showering under a small waterfall.
Too much fun....

The last ten years we have mostly backpacked and stayed in small, local accomodation, arranged as we went along, although we always book the first and last nights of a trip. We also splurge occassionally for something unique or special for us.

We have just booked a European holiday through a travel agent, with accomodation and transfers ready booked and a cruise. I've drawn the line at pre-arranged tours. Using an agent and pre-booking are fairly new for us. The last time we were in Europe was nearly twenty years ago with a backpack and suitcase (no wheelie cases then) and two children, so this is going to be very different.

I realised I was a travel snob when I felt too embarrassed to tell people we were going on cruise (that decison is a looong story).

The comparison will be interesting and I'm determined to keep an open mind, even with the 2,000 new friends onboard ship.

Anyone here a homeless traveler?
By homeless I mean you no longer maintain a residence, your only address being wherever you are (maintaining a mailing address doesn't count).
I've been living this way close to nine years. I did this when I was younger as well (59 now), but would eventually have to return to the home country to work when the wallet went dry. I didn't consciously plan it this way, but it looked like the goal of my one-time career was to return to this way of living.

I guess serial relocater (if there is such a word) is more apt than traveler. I had a converter backpack, and realized the only times I used the back-straps in the past five years was when taking moto-taxi rides in SE Asia. I just traded it in for a suitcase sort of thing, which came in quite handy for the kind of things I was carrying – I just transitioned from SEA to S. America. I'm a firm believer in detachable wheels/folding luggage carts. The few times I tried bags with built-in wheels the wheels turned crap within weeks, meaning having to carry the weight of the useless built-in cart. However, the wheels on my new square (interpret that as you will, but here I use it to describe its shape) bag are pretty impressive so far, but I still have my heavy-duty foldup cart. I consider my luggage my mobile home. A good deal of it is a surplus of stuff I find essential that I know is difficult to come by, like particular types of vitamins; for those of you who never had to plan for more than a few weeks supply these things can add up, in both weight and bulk.

The tactics and style of living this way would be a different topic. If there's enough interest in it we should start a new thread.

I have found that unless you return to a base at least once every three years, you tend to become embittered and shabby. After meeting a few like that I resolved to make it a rule to return to base and live the normal life for a while to let balance re establish. Many of us will have run across old travellers who complain about everything and get little joy from travels but seem condemned to travel on. I know I have....
The problem may partly be that when you are able to just move on when you feel unhappy, to another horizon, you lack the character building that facing your problems develops, and just bail out yet again....

I was "homeless" for about 4 years. I would stop in and visit my parents from time to time, but had no home. We sold everything in 2005....I mean everything. And traveled full time. We loved it. We tried to travel slow and loved spending a month or more in a particular country. We did a 10 week trip of China, including 10 days in an apartment in Shanghai and the same in Beijing. We really liked renting an apartment in a major city for a week at a time. Did that in Buenos Aires, Rome, Athens, Phuket, Patagonia, etc.

I use to have a backpack, but now only use a roller. I've traveled with it for years and have had no problems with the wheels. My wife's recently developed a wheel problem, but it is a 12 year old roller...so I guess it's time to replace it. My roller is a convertible with straps hidden in a compartment, but I've yet to use them. Even here in Asia...but I am a bit adverse to using scooter taxis if I don't have to!

We bought a home here in Thailand and I have to say, we are really happy! It is a beautiful pool villa, less than 500M to the sea. We still plan to travel, but at least now have a home base. Even though it is empty as we have no "stuff"!

But we do miss being "homeless". We talk about it all the time...as we sit in our pool with a cocktail and watch the sunset. We do plan to sell in 4-6 years and go on the road again for a few years.

I'm 56 years old. I started travelling independently around the world in 1976 alone doing the fabulous overlandroute to Australia using the first LP-guide. Met my wife and travelled again every year to and exotic destination including twice one year in 1985 and 1987 around Africa and Asia and the America's.
Got 3 kids and started trekking with the five of us every year for at least 2 months, including 3 times for an entire year in 1993, 1997 and 2007 in every continent of the globe.
Kids grow up fast but the youngest still likes to join us this year to South Africa and Tanzania.
I just want to say that I travel for 35 years by now, visited about 70 countries worldwide and I still love it. Age is of no importance.

I travel to see birds not to make friends, and I just look for the best deal. Nothing is off the table. I won't scorn a tour. A tour with a top guide is worth the money, and I think have taken 7 or 8 hawk-watching tours over the years, several with my husband, one with a close friend -- the guides in question were the tops in their field, not just as guides, but as ornithologists and hawk specialists. However, if I have a cheap or free air ticket and no one else is going that way, I can find a cheap hostel, a map, and make my own way. I won't get as many birds, but I'll get more than if I stayed home. :-) I travel backpacker style, staying in hostels, mostly when traveling alone. My husband likes ensuite hotels, but we still often travel independently, moving from place to place at our own speed. But there are times when the price for a package is just too good, and too efficient, to pass up. So I've done everything -- packages, tours, independent, backpacking, staying in a tent or in the back of a van. I'll do what it takes to get where I'm going. I'm not a snob about it.

I've even done cruises, when I got them for free, but I don't think they're a good deal if I was paying, because you get off the boat too late in the day for the best birds. It's all what you're looking for. Some people, from their posts, just seem to be looking to socialize and drink -- not the older travelers on this branch but we've all met these people so don't even pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. It's hard to figure why a cruise wouldn't be THEIR best option. Lots of people, lots of booze, it's perfect...for them.

As Stema said, age is of no importance. There are wimps of all ages. I met a young man who expressed shock that I had traveled to Kenya, and I met an old man who told me I would be killed by Al Qaeda if I traveled to Madagascar. It has nothing to do with age, it has to do with some people's comfort zone is smaller than other people's. I won't scorn comfort if it's there, but I won't give up a good trip because it isn't The Hotel.

My hard drive got corrupted a while back and I lost all of my bookmarks, so if anyone has read this far, who has a good travel agent or tour guide (especially for parrot tours) in Boliva, feel free to let me know!

I mainly stay in dorms at hostels or cheap guest houses. IF I had the money I think I would upgrade to fancier guest houses or B&Bs but hotels would just be too lonely as a lone traveler. I would miss all the travel tips I pick up from other budget travelers too. Anyways....I would rather travel and explore on a cheap budget for a few months than a couple of weeks of fancier places. I usually travel with a carry on size back pack or a cheap light weight wheelie also of carry on size. I use public transport and walk my legs off. I love the independence of travel by myself and besides.....hubby is ready to go home after a week. When we do trips together it is a road trip for a week on the mainland US or going to visit relatives. aloha

Peachfront, we are similar to you, keen birders especially parrots and we stay in nicer places usually from frequent flyer miles or hotel points. I tried to post links and the post got kicked out so if you go on Facebook and search for Feathered and Free (my group) and Bird Endowment (Bolivia-Blue-throated Macaw specialist) they can help you. Tell them Tara sent you.