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There's travel, and then there's adventure travel. In the latter category I'll put not only places that are out of the way and exotic like the Arctic or Africa, but also places right near home that are off the beaten path and thus away from the usual civilized support system you're used to. As people get older, many begin to worry about what might happen on "adventure" trips, and they may end up staying away from that form of travel and losing a wonderful opportunity that retirement can offer.
You don't need to be afraid of adventure no matter how old you are. I've traveled with people over 80, some with physical restrictions so significant that they couldn't get in or out of a vehicle without aid, and they were watching brown bear from zodiacs (rubber inflatable boats) in the rain! OK, they didn't paddle themselves out there, but they were there. That's the first rule of adventure travel, not only for seniors but also for anyone else. Know your limits, and travel to stay within them. That obviously includes financial limits, but I'm primarily talking about physical limits.
"Your limits" may be more difficult to define than you think. Most people who do adventure travel are at least somewhat active in their daily lives, but few of them will be as active as they might be on their adventure trips. For example, we've found that it's not uncommon to be offered hikes that are three to five miles in length on these trips (though note that you are NEVER required to take them). If you walk regularly but don't walk that distance on rough ground, you may want to try some walks around your area before you get onto the trip. That way, you'll know when a hike is offered whether you'll be able to do it. You'll also know whether you will be able to walk at a normal pace or will have to kind of poke along. These restrictions will be important for you to communicate to your travel guide and/or companions. Remember, on a trip you're all in it together.
You should start your process by deciding whether you want an adventure trip, a cruise, or a tour. Here we're using our own definition for these terms, so I'll begin by summarizing what I think are the attributes of each.
Adventure trips are guided trips to wild locations where the purpose of the trip is to get out into the wild and experience stuff. That will nearly always mean hiking, and sometimes intense hiking. These trips almost always make it clear what their purpose is, but if they don't indicate what the physical requirements are, you need to find out before you go. Groups are typically less than 20 and often less than 12. As a senior on these trips you'll probably find yourself the oldest and least fit of the group many times. I've done a lot of these and never felt like I was out of place, but I think I've had about one experience where I wasn't the oldest person. If you like companions your own age you may need to bring some along!
Cruises fit into two categories in my experience. There are the good ones, which to me are those on small ships (less than 120 people) and that go to exotic places, and then there are the behemoth ships that haul people to traditional destinations in the tropics. I'd rate the latter type as "tours" and that's where we'll cover them. Adventure cruises are probably the ideal way for an active senior to get a sense of the wild. You board a ship that's nice but usually not luxurious. You have one room to unpack in and to return to. You have a fairly large and diverse group with you, and the group will almost certainly contain other seniors. In fact, the average age on adventure cruises is probably ten or more years older than the average age on an adventure trip. Another good thing about adventure cruises is that the level of activity is almost always under your control. There will often be three hikes at a given stop, from beginner/easy to difficult, and you can pick the one you like. You can also always elect to stay aboard and rest or hang out.
The last category, tours, are trips by land or sea to a more developed destination where you are going to be seeing sights but not in the wild. Some of these trips can contain adventure components (I did a wonderful cruise to Japan that was both cultural and adventurous) but the general purpose is to tour some location. While some touring activity can be demanding (climbing up in a tower for example) and some walks can be long, the tour activity isn't all that physical. A tour that uses land transportation will normally have a larger group than an adventure trip, and sea-based or ship-based tours will often have hundreds or even thousands of people on them.
I've presented these in what I think is decreasing order of difficulty and adventure. If you are active and want to see the wild, then you probably want an adventure land trip. If you still want wild stuff but want a bit more comfort and flexibility, small-ship adventure trips are hard to beat. If you've decided that life has been wild enough, you should focus on tours. In the latter case, you may not find this site as valuable because I'm not at that point yet! This is going to be about adventure travel for seniors.
The best way to do an adventure trip is to pick a trip that's professionally coordinated and guided, offered by a reputable company with a history of satisfied customers. I'm going to outline some of these companies here, and I encourage you to check these companies out. I've traveled with each of them, and I can vouch for their professionalism. We've used Natural Habitat Adventures for most of our "land expeditions" and they are absolutelly superb, offering professional guides and unparalleled logistics. Our favorite cruise company, Cruise West, has sadly closed down, but we also like Quark and Oceanwide Expeditions.
If you are going to go adventuring on your own, it's still a good idea to get some local help at the beginning of your trip, or perhaps even to take your first trip to an area as a guided tour and then return on your own. We took our first trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons as a guided trip, and we then went back two more times on our own. We knew our way around a bit from our guided experience, and so we were comfortable doing some more without guides. If you can't get a guided trip to ground you in a new area, stop and talk to the local outdoors shops to get an idea of what is available around the area and how easily it will be for you to get to it.
Health and Conditioning
When you start on your trip, grab your head guide immediately and have a private talk. Explain any physical limitations or conditions you have. Tell them about any health or dietary issues. Let them know what your travel and outdoor experience is, and if you feel that there are any conditions that might be encountered on the trip that you could not safely deal with, or any events you would not be comfortable participating in, let them know! Our experience is that most travel guides, no matter who they work for, will tend to push you a bit. They'll tell you things are easier than they'll really be, for the simple reason that we're living in the "bag-it" country here. They want you to push yourself, and that's fine as long as you aren't pushing too hard. You want to be sure, before you take any hikes, that you know what you'll be able to do and that if you're going to be unusually slow, the guides know it too. In may places (the Arctic for example) you'll have to be escorted because of the wildlife, so if you fall behind they will need to have someone with you. The trip leaders need to know that so they can provide enough guides on the trip.
Most things on adventure trips are optional, so when you get the plan of the day on a given day, take a look at the material to see how difficult it seems likely to be. Ask if you have questions, and let the guides know if you have specific concerns. I have done many hikes that were a lot more difficult than I had expected, and one that was frankly too darn difficult and dangerous to have been undertaken without special warnings to those who planned to go along. One way of trying to be sure you aren't faced with an unpleasant surprise is to research the trip carefully, reading trip logs from prior trips if available or accounts of others who might have done the trip before. If you do, you'll have a better chance of making an informed choice on your participation in optional outings, or even in the trip overall. The other thing is to get frank (private) input from your guide.
Getting into reasonable shape before you leave is important for maximizing your enjoyment. Do as much walking as you can, and be sure that the walking or some other activity you undertake gives you a good cardio workout. You want to be sweating a lot and breathing hard at the end. Obviously you need to work up to that, and to get your doctor to sign off on any program. Don't make radical changes in your exercise patterns; be gradual. I find that a rowing machine is the best concentrated workout, and I could see a considerable improvement in my ability to hike once I started on a rowing program.
If you are planning a trip to altitudes above about 7,000 feet, you may find the altitude to be troubling. At about 10,000 feet people tend to start getting headaches and having problems with their breathing when exercising. It's hard for most of us to do any sort of altitude conditioning, but if you plan to go to a mountain area for hiking you should consider getting into the best shape you can and also perhaps taking a couple extra days at the beginning of the trip for conditioning.
If you take any prescriptions that are critical for your health or enjoyment, you'll want to be sure to carry them in hand luggage, and also consider having some of the medicine with you when you hike. That's absolutely critical if you have medicine for asthma or some other condition that can become acute. Never, never, leave acute-episode medicine of any sort behind on even what's supposed to be a short jaunt. It could become a longer one than you think.
I've traveled with people in their late 70s or early 80s who have done "difficult" hikes. I'm not going to say that they were leaping over obstacles (neither was I!) but they were getting the job done. Some had conditions like asthma too, and they did as much as anyone else. Don't let yourself get psyched out of having a good time. Be prepared for what you'll find, and enjoy it.
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