Overland Central Asia

Hi

I am considering doing a 96 day Central Asia overland trip with someone like Dragonman or Intrepid. The trip starts in Beijing and ends at Istanbul. I have done an overland trip before when I was 48...I am now 62 years old physically fit and mentally young.
Has anyone out there done an overland trip as a "senior" and if so what was their experience. Many thanks

That's the type of trip I'd love to make, one day. I'm a bit older than you and not yet retired ... but several years from now I may be posting a similar question. Such trips are best made in small groups or with at least two in the party, IMO. I've traveled in Central Asia and part of that travel has been overland to the Silk Road cities, but the trlips have been several and not on one fell swoop. The challenge, obviously, is matching with another person or persons who share similar but not the exact same interests for a trip to help minimize costs, share the experiences, hopefully have someone to travel with who brings some language skills (other than English) and maximize safety. Best of luck with your adventure!

LW

Thank you

Hi,

Never done that with a company but do it all the time on my own even now. I am a lot older than you and will be doing it again soon. So go for it.

Intrepid trips, particularly their longer and basix trips tends to attract younger people. While this might not be an issue it depends whether you want to hang around lots of youngsters for x weeks. Better to have a mix.

Anyway you may wish to speak to them direct and ask about the age profile of the other travellers.

Hi, just to reassure you that "oldies" do travel with Intrepid - I went to Tibet with them two years ago, just into my 61st year, and there was a nice mix of ages. Of course most are younger, but there was a Japanese man in his early 70s who practises Shiatsu in Toronto, was incredibly fit and was way out ahead of us all on the last walk up to Everest Base Camp. The great thing about Intrepid is that you get travellers from Australia, the US etc as well as from Europe so it is not a narrow group. Also they always have a local guide - I prefer to hear about the local culture from someone who lives it, don't you?
I've been with them to Vietnam and am going to India with Intrepid next Easter.
Good luck in your ambitious journey - what a wonderful way to embrace retirement!

My husband and I did a six-week Dragoman trip from Istanbul to Tashkent in 2008, when we were 57 and 65, and had no problems with it, though we found they camped out not because it was a great spot, but merely to save money. We also had to take turns in cooking, which I resented at times, especially after a long day's travelling, when had to set up tents, prepare meal, clean up etc, finally finishing about 11pm. Dragoman gets quite a few people who are Dragoman "groupies", having done a number of their trips. Some of these people tend to be a bit "unusual" or loners, though it may have just been our trip.
We're about to do another expedition type 8-week trip in Africa with "Nomad", but are staying in accommodation (mainly basic chalets in camping areas), and have a cook on the trip, which is better as allows you more time to do what you want, rather than doing chores.
If you want to find out exactly what happens on a Dragoman trip, you can read our blog on [http://www.travelpod.com/members/diannemurray]

We haven't done an Intrepid trip, though plenty of people our age recommend them.