Time to go. Not just a weekend jaunt but for long trips. Data’s showing the over 50 traveler is seriously making up for stuck-at-home pandemic years.
Trips of 21 days on a private plane to many places, or six weeks in the same place or, get this — three to five months at sea — are really happening.
What would that feel like, even thinking about such a long time away?
Since the over-50s solo and couples and group travelers are the ones booking long trips in recent months, that’s who I asked.
Here’s what 77-year-old Susan Schuyler Smith has to say about that:
“For me to book all the places on the 21-day private plane trip I took would take me years to organize. And, logistically, to get all the information from so many lecturers and experiences would be impossible.”
A bonus, she says, was discovering her interest in places she had not planned to visit, or enjoy. India was not on her personal want-to itinerary, but she’s glad it happened.
Smith liked her three-week international flying experience enough to book again. World War II sites are her focus this time.
“I was researching a trip to Normandy when I discovered 24 days on the private jet again to so many storied World War II sites as well as D Day.“
She booked for next year.
Over Age 50 Travelers Choosing Long Trips
Crunching the numbers showing this 2023 trend is Road Scholar because they research such long trips, and build the details.
“International enrollments have been so strong that for the first time in recorded Road Scholar history, we took more international enrollments in a single week than domestic,” says the non-profit’s chief program officer Maeve Hartney.
That non-profit structure may have something to do with it. Longer trips mean more learning opportunities and Road Scholar reports that people want access to local experts and historians, to lecturers and off-the-obvious path experiences.
Applying profits to programs instead of stockholders sets a standard of no more than 30 travelers with a leader guiding such an information support team
What Might a 21-day Private Plane Vacation Feel Like?
Comfortable because it’s all business class. Every seat is a lie flat in two-by-two arrangement. No middle seat.
The Boeing 767 holds 54 travelers in those seats, and includes an area to sit with others to socialize.
Expect lounge areas to socialize away from your seat. Look for camaraderie too, Smith says. “The same crew work the entire trip so they know one another and all of us become well acquainted.”
Smith, a solo traveler, said boarding passes for each leg of the trip were handed out at the beginning. “Perfect solution to the who-sits-where dilemma,” she said. “We switched around all the time, guaranteeing new conversations and relationships.”
Yes airport security still exists even when your jet is private. Maybe having a partner dedicated to the rules and regs at each destination eases planning ahead, international and stateside.
“Since we are dedicated to knowing the little details, the rules and regs of each destination,” says Meghan Flynn, “we take care of making every international entry and exit as smooth as possible.”
Program management and strategy is her Road Scholar focus.
How Broad Is The 21-Day Private Jet Itinerary?
On the Road Scholar private plane schedule: Explore parts of seven countries with lots of local-people involvement.
London and Stonehenge, then Egypt and the Nile. Jordan with Aqaba, Wadi Rum and Petra. Then New Delhi and the Taj Mahal and Jaipur before heading to Cambodia including sunrise in Angkor Wat.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Run the math in your mind, and the logistics of booking it yourself, piece by piece before looking at the price. Road Scholar figures it at $62,999.
What Would Three Months at Sea Mean? Or Even Five!
World Academy is the notion Road Scholar says is seeing bookings from the over 50 travelers making up for lost travel time because of Covid.
People choosing 113 days on the Queen Mary 2 are going to Australia and South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore, Dubai and Jordan, Barcelona and Cadiz, starting and ending in London.
A 131 day World Academy booking with Holland America starts in Florida and involves Central and South America, the Panama Canal, Amazon River, crossing the Equator, Hawaii, Guam, Japan, Shanghai, Viet Nam, Dubai, Jordan.
Retired travelers who love cruising often joke (or not?) that instead of preparing for assisted living eventually, they’re saving to live full time on a cruise ship.
If a national average price for assisted living is $4,500 a month, here’s the measurement for a many-months robust world travel experience at sea:
- $39,999 Queen Mary 2
- $46,999 Holland America
Not likely many “world academy” options in assisted living but Road Scholar’s Meghan Flynn says, “How we pull in education is the core of our mission. A lecturer is with you all the time.
“We like to help travelers process information, and focus attention.”
Field trips is what they call off-the-ship journeys. “We spend months, even years, researching the best things to do in every place,” Flynn said.
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