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The Ageless Traveler--What’s Trending in Travel Style, Match Your Travel Style with the Right Trip
Published 5 days ago • 6 min read
Dear Ageless Traveler,
Grab a prosecco and settle in, because today we’re going to travel in style…your style! We match the way we move through the world, with trips that meet you where you are. and I reveal some of the pet peeves in marketing that can lead you astray.
You know, after traveling to 140 countries, people always ask me about my favorite way to explore. If I could snap my fingers, I’d live permanently in a 19th-century "Grand Tour." Picture the Gilded Age: traveling with massive steamer trunks, dressing up for lavish multi-course dinners, and wrapping myself in a heavy wool blanket on a luxury liner crossing the Atlantic.
Of course, that’s just me. I have friends who find bliss pitching a tent under the stars, and others who genuinely believe a hotel without 24-hour room service is a human rights violation! There is no single right way to travel. But there are insider tips to make sure you select the way best for you..
In this week’s usual sections:
Ask Adriane: How the Travel Industry Views Your Style
News You Can Use: Airport Tips
Culture Vulture: Travel Trends Shaping the Way We Explore
Luxury Travel for Less: The Real Meaning of Luxury
On this week’s podcast I interviewed Peter DeMarco and Junko Yokota. They take us to Japan with a travel style that beautifully balances photography with quiet, deep contemplation. They focus on hidden Japanese venues with tips that make you a photo-storyteller. It’s an absolute masterclass in changing your perspective,
Never stop traveling
Cheers,
Adriane
P.S.
Good Grief is an extraordinary organization that helps children, families, and schools find hope and healing after the loss of someone they love. I know firsthand how important that support can be. That's why I'm asking you to make a donation today.
A Trip Through Japan with Travel Photography Hints and Tips and Japanese Cultural Emersion
In addition to the wonderful photographic journey through Japan with photography hints and wellness soaking, Fuji hiking and more, you will find a BONUS EPISODE. Pete DeMarco and Junko Yokota share their insights on how to make the most of your trip to Japan. Avoiding crowds in Kyoto, ordering food, transportation and coping with language.
Q. How can I determine my best travel style, so I know what type of company or guide suits me best?
Paul from Paso Robles, CA
A. You already know what you like. What you need to understand is the way the tourism industry looks at your style. Here are the 4 major components:
The Pace Indicator: How fast do you want to stay at museums, or do you want hours at one iconic sight? You can tell if the style meets yours by studying how many things you see in a day’s itinerary. Or if it’s a small group, check if the day is flexible and the group can make its own pace.
The Comfort Scale: Luxury may be defined by you as sitting under the stars, but the hospitality industry defines it by white-glove service, hotel star ratings, and private access to experiences and small groups. You will find these all come together. In mid-range, you may get it all without the extra service and high thread count sheets.
The Companion Match: Solo travel is not just a business but an art. It’s also a buzz word. Ask how long the company has been catering to solos, ask about solo supplements, if any, what makes it a solo-friendly trip other than marketing.
If you are looking for a group tour, ask about the profile of those who usually go. If you are a couple and it’s for big families, you will have a harder time bonding as they have their own built-in group. AND ask what the first language of most folks is. Yes, I went to Germany with a German speaking group and Italy with all Italians. That was ok…problem… the guides did not speak English!
The "Why": Are you traveling to rest and recharge your battery, or to completely rewrite your worldview through immersive learning? Don’t take the brochure’s word for it. Wellness, immersive, transformational, lifelong learning are buzz words in the industry. Make sure they unpack the terms for you…ASK: what do they mean by that? I once went on a “nature trip” in Honduras that took me to see caged sloths and birds just short of animal cruelty.
News You Can Use
When you travel as much as I do, you see that people’s travel style impacts how they use the airport. Sometimes that style costs money, time or causes stress. Here’s a few insights:
Cutting it Too Close: Rolling up late forces you into premium express parking or expensive rideshares. Even worse, if you miss the airline's strict check-in window, they will cancel your ticket and charge you to rebook.
The 45-Minute Bag Drop Trap: Most airlines lock their checked bag drops exactly 45 to 60 minutes before wheels up. If you are standing in line at minute 44, your bag isn't going, and neither are you.
The Weight Penalty: A domestic bag over 50 pounds is an automatic cash cow for airlines, triggering penalties up to $200. Buy a cheap digital luggage scale, weigh your bags at home, and always prepay your luggage fees online for a massive discount.
The Airport Exchange...NO!: Those shiny currency kiosks in the terminal offer atrocious, predatory exchange rates. You can easily lose $50 on a simple $500 transaction. Always wait until you land and use a standard bank ATM inside the local city.
Terminal Rental Car Surcharges: Renting a car directly at the airport arrivals gate tacks on heavy concession fees and facility charges. Take a quick Uber to an off-site city rental location instead; it frequently shaves $100 or more off a multi-day rental.
Culture Vulturing Around the World
These travel styles and trends are completely shifting how we explore:
Luxury Travel for Less
Redefining the Experience
Let’s talk about what luxury means. Luxury is a style of travel that can mean the highest end quality in food, wine, transportation and accommodations. Or it can mean luxury in the depth of the experience.
Here is my curated list of trips that fulfill different styes of luxury. I have taken some of these trips and have interviewed all the trip designers on The Ageless Traveler Podcast so you can hear their stories in depth. These are not paid mentions, but a few have given me a discount or offered a press trip. I just love their spirit and what they offer:
Award-winning author Jane Leder and guests take a deep dive into the joys and challenges of being an older woman.
“Older Women & Friends: Stories of Aging Well” is a podcast that sets the record straight, dispels myths, explores the many contributions older women make, and the wisdom they’ve earned and are anxious to share. Older women know a thing or two about living with a keen sense of wonder and an abiding appreciation for the gift of longevity. So, it’s time to change the perception that the gig is just about up when, in truth, the second wave of the journey has just begun.
Congratulate Jane on supporting Good Grief. You’ll love the way she gets the most interesting guests to tell the most interesting stories.
Another Champion of Good Grief and a powerhouse podcaster:
Attention The AGELESS TRAVEL WOMEN:
Want no boundaries advice from a savvy lady who knows how to craft success?
Host Beverley Glazer, Reinvention Strategist and Empowerment Coach, is honest and grounded. Beverly tackles everything from grief and identity shifts to ageism, sovereignty, and libido with confidence and depth.
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