Want to live it up in your retirement years? Then chances are you’ve got your sights set on the endless horizon!
Yes, travelling is the perfect way to spend your retirement years – but you don’t want to burn through your retirement savings in the process. Thankfully, there are plenty of spend-savvy travel opportunities available for seniors if you know where to look. There are also many simple things you can do to cut costs and help fund your next overseas exploration.
Today, we look at 5 practical trips for holiday financial planning that will help save seniors on the go some serious dough.
1. Don’t Skip on Travel Insurance
First things first – you can never afford to skimp on your travel insurance. Travel insurance can cover the cost of cancelling (or rescheduling) your trip if it’s disrupted by an insured event (natural disasters, travel restrictions, etc).
On top of this, travel insurance will also cover the costs of a variety of scenarios including baggage loss, medical emergencies, accidents, hospital bills and emergencies and medical costs overseas.
Travel insurance doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg either. In fact, some insurance providers also offer seniors travel insurance, ensuring cover that is tailored to your unique needs as a senior. And for complete peace of mind, it’s also worth considering life insurance before travelling, so that your loved ones are protected no matter what happens.
Every traveller’s nightmare is ending up in a hospital abroad and having to foot an exorbitant bill because you’re not insured. You can protect yourself from this unfortunate circumstance by equipping yourself with the right travel insurance policy.
2. Take Advantage of Senior Discounts
Most tourism and travel enterprises around the world offer senior discounts or concessions across a range of services and activities. For instance, here in Perth seniors can travel for free on public transport (Transwa and Transperth services) and even with some airlines.
Seniors can also enjoy generous discounts and concession pricing at attractions like museums, theme parks, gallery exhibitions, movie theatres, and even on walking tours. So it’s always worth looking into what discounts are available to you across the activities in your itinerary. You may even build your trip itinerary around taking advantage of these deals!
3. Book Airfare (& Maybe Accommodation) in Advance
You know that gut wrenching feeling when you’ve put off booking your flight and see that prices have gone up by hundreds of dollars? Avoid that sinking feeling entirely by planning ahead.
Any seasoned traveller knows that flight and accommodation rates can fluctuate depending on what time of the year you’re looking to travel in, as well as how organised you’ve been about securing those bookings in the first place. Travellers who are proactive about booking their flights and accommodation are more often than not able to enjoy more competitive rates, saving potentially hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars in the process.
So why have we put accommodation in brackets up above? Because according to HerMoney and many other reputable sources, the best time to book a hotel room is usually the day before! This is because hotels and other accommodation providers typically reduce costs in the days leading up to a booking period to give themselves the strongest possible chance of avoiding room vacancies.
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule too, like if you’re planning to travel during peak season or even during a special event, like the Olympics. In these cases, you can save by booking your accommodation well in advance, as the higher demand closer to the events will likely result in accommodation rates skyrocketing further down the line.
Whilst it’s generally decided that the ideal time to book hotel accommodation is one or two days before check-in or, even on the actual day you’re staying, we know that that may be a little too far out and anxiety inducing for most people, so we are here to offer the next best option – book no earlier than 3 weeks in advance.
Top Tip: According to expert travellers, 4pm is the best time to book accommodation as this is when the lowest average daily rates typically occur.
4. Save More with Group Bookings
Looking to travel with some friends? Then you may be able to save even further by booking as a group. There are plenty of travel tours that are designed specifically for senior travellers, ensuring gentle activities, or at least some adrenalin-pumping ones that are still senior-friendly! Tour packages also save you from having to make your own travel itineraries, which can be ideal for senior travellers who are looking to hop from one getaway to the next.
And even if you’re not booking through a tour provider, you can still save by even just preparing your own group bookings. Travel parties with 6+ members can enjoy discounts on group bookings across a range of attractions and experiences, from theatre tickets, to museum admission, river cruises and other types of sightseeing tours.
5. Eat Like a Local
Finally, there’s nothing greater than getting to taste and experience the cuisine of different countries. If you really want to immerse yourself in a new culture, we urge you to eat like a local. Not only will you be privileged enough to taste some of the most exotic ingredients in the world, but you’ll also save a ton of money in the process.
We recommend doing your research online and looking into local restaurants or joints that you can frequent during your travels. Many of these small businesses and restaurants charge a fraction of what larger establishments do, while also offering more authentic cuisine at the same time.
Top Tip: Our favourite way to suss out local restaurant suggestions around the world is to spend some time exploring reviews on Tripadvisor.
Stay Spend-Savvy on your Next Holiday
So seniors, take note! With a little pre-planning (and some deal hunting), you can elevate your holiday experience without any additional spend. Next time you’re planning a vacation on a budget, be sure to do precisely that alongside following our other tips to save money without compromising your experience.
