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Travel Tuesday--Is Travel Planning a Chore? Here's How to Make it Easy, Avoid Scams, Relive Childhood Travel, and Detox from All the Tech Noise
Published 1 day ago • 7 min read
Dear Ageless Traveler,
I know, I know. Between pickle ball, the book club, volunteering and sitting on the Board of your HOA, you don’t have time to plan your next trip. Funny how in the age of information, planning is getting harder and more time-consuming what with chats with AI, over choice, and airline headaches, you may as well stay home…not on my watch!
As you will find in one of my favorite books, Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit, “The things we want are transformative, and we don’t know or only think we know what is on the other side of that transformation.” So, in this newsletter let’s plan to get lost to wonder as we wander.
In the usual sections you will find
Ask Adriane: Planning To Avoid Picket Pocketing Scams
News You Can Use: Planning Apps For Large Family Or Friend Groups, Airport Efficiency Planning
Culture Vulture: Planning For A Hike, Walk Or Other Active Vacation, Planning A Digital Detox Plus Culture Vacation
Luxury Travel for Less: Planning Ideas For Reliving Childhood Travel, Voluntouring, And Cruising For Less
Discover practical planning tips, the importance of community support, and how to create lasting memories with loved ones. If you are a grandparent or parent and think you cannot travel with your child or know someone with a child that has a disability, please refer them to this show. And here’s my Motto: Will everyone who says it can’t be done, please get out of the way of the people who are doing it!
Q. You travel so much, how do you avoid getting pickpocketed?
Leonard from Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
A. In all my 140 countries I was pick pocketed twice. Once Stu had his wallet stolen in Copenhagen. He felt a slight bump, and by the time we got you the hotel he realized it was someone’s hand in his pocket. My incident took place in Mexico, and I should have known better. A popular scam in the diamond district of NYC is to stop someone saying there is mustard on their back and help wipe it off while some pick pockets them during the distraction.
Yep, I know about this and let it happen to me. In neither case did they get one dime! We always keep the numbers and other contacts of all our credit cards with us. And if we are going in a crowd layer our clothes with the valuables inside.
I also walk the Brooklyn way, aware of my surroundings and with my hand over my purse and it never leaves the zipper part. Lately, I use The PacSafe City safe bag, a good safety bag for walking in urban crowds..
Travel Tuesday Tip:
Airline Related Apps--Many Ageless Travelers dislike apps, but I urge you to consider how easy they can make airport planning.
Most airlines, United is a good example, have an app that: allows you to check in early, pick seats, get entry requirements, coordinate tight connections, know how much time before boarding, track check bags, see alterative flights if you need to rebook.
News You Can Use
When you are planning a group trip it can be like herding cats. Try these apps:
Bothways: Group members collaborate on a single, shared itinerary in one place.
Wander log: Acts as a central hub where multiple users can contribute to a shared map and itinerary.
Rome2Rio: Provides step-by-step route planning for both directions of your travel, mapping out flights, trains, ferries, and buses.
Travel Tuesday Tip:
If you're looking for inspiration for your hiking adventure, this collection from Afar highlights some of America's most scenic hikes that combine natural beauty with comfortable accommodations.
Culture Vulturing Around the World
Many cultural tours, and all active ones, like hiking and walking adventures, require you to be in good shape. This is my personal routine:
First, I check with my doctor and my dentist, and I even get a tip to toe exam from my dermatologist, and an eye exam.
Then I choose my shoes carefully. They are either Hokas or Merrell’s. I make sure I know the weather and I wear the clothes when I train…don’t put your first hiking shoe on the morning of your first hike.
My socks are Wiking socks. I am not a fan of Merino Wool, although everyone else loves them. And I loved my trip to New Zealand, but I prefer Dickies. I take my own trekking polls, the Exerstriders are my friend for life. I read that polls prevent falls and give 30% more stability. On long urban walks, I use them even on the pavement. Hey, I’m walkin’ here!
I set a realistic fitness goal. My gym cost is covered by Medicare, so check your coverage. Everybody is different, but I am a big fan of kettlebells for strength and interval training. But listen to your body.
Yes, I do detox, as best I can.
My prosecco glass misses me for almost a month, ok two weeks before a long active vacation.
Digital Detox: Five Places Where Wi-Fi Doesn't Matter
I try to digitally detox, too. So far, I have failed. But, in our last newsletterI wrote about Quietcations, and many of you wrote to say you weren't just looking for peace and quiet, you wanted to escape the constant pull of emails, texts, social media, and endless notifications.
So, this week, I'm taking it one step further. Welcome to the world of the Digital Detox, or Dead Zoning. Think of it as filing for a temporary divorce from your personal devices.
Science tells us that unplugging can lower stress, improve sleep, increase creativity, and help us reconnect with the people and places around us. Here are five extraordinary places where disconnecting becomes the greatest luxury of all.
Please consider a gift our charity Good Grief.
Don’t miss the chance to get A FREE DOWNLOAD of my latest book, The Retirement Income Explosion,
Three Unexpected Ways to Plan an Affordable Dream Trip
#1. Plan a visit to a place that filled you with wonder as a child. For me, that place was the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. When my father took me there, it felt as exotic as another country. I still remember the excitement of cooling off with a giant snow cone and biting into a warm Amish pretzel. Those simple pleasures created lifelong memories. Planning a return trip is surprisingly easy because your own memories become your guidebook. Think about the places that made you smile as a child and rediscover them through adult eyes. You may be surprised at how magical they still feel.
Where did you go, that made you feel like the world was full of possibilities?
What food do you still remember eating?
What can you recreate today?What's changed?What memory would you like to create now? Maybe bring the grandkids and make memories with them..
#2. Voluntourism, combines a vacation with giving back. Whether you help protect sea turtles, restore hiking trails, work with local schools, or assist at an animal sanctuary, you'll come home with something far more valuable than souvenirs. You choose the destination based on the cause that inspires you, making every trip deeply personal and rewarding.
#3. Cruising, whether an ocean or a river cruise, is still one of the best luxury values in travel and the easiest to plan. A cruise bundles accommodation, dining, entertainment, transportation, and often excursions into one price, making it easier to control your budget. I have affiliated with CruisesIt to help you compare itineraries and discover outstanding bargains, allowing you to enjoy a premium cruise vacation for far less than you might expect.
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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