One of the great dreams of retirement is to travel. To some people this means buying a mobile home or simply enjoying lots of short breaks. To others it means a chance to explore the WORLD and visit all of those places that you’ve always dreamt of.

Travelling around the globe, in retirement, is often referred to as a ‘golden gap year’ and this is what we are looking at in this edition.

If you are planning to ‘see the world’ what sorts of things do you need to consider?

1. Choosing where to go (Your ‘bucket list’)
2. What kind of holidays or adventures do you want?
3. Health, fitness & ability
4. Budget/Funding

1. CHOOSING WHERE TO GO

You now have the time (and maybe the budget) to go wherever you want. So just go for it, sit down and make a list of all those places you’ve ever dreamed of going to. The chances are that you’ll end up with quite a long list (and extra destinations will keep popping up into your mind).

We don’t like to think about the aging process but, at some point, you either won’t be able to or won’t want to travel any more. I’ll let you decide for yourself how many ‘active years’ you think that you have in you but I’m looking at being able to travel until I’m 80 years old. This gives me 16 years.

If I’m looking at exotic or expensive holidays then perhaps I can manage 2 per year. In which case I can probably choose 32 destinations. It sounds a lot but just compare it with your list and you might find that, unless you group destinations together or limit visits to countries just once, you don’t have enough ‘active years’ to achieve what you want to do. Therefore you need to both create your list and prioritise the destinations.

2. WHAT KIND OF HOLIDAYS OR ADVENTURES DO YOU WANT?

The next question is what type of travel or holiday are you looking to have? Is it just some rest and relaxation (with a little sightseeing thrown in), touring/exploration or full blown adventure that you want?

If you are a ‘sun and relaxation’ type of person then maybe the ‘walk up Mount Kilimanjaro’ should be crossed off your list and you need to look at the likes of cruises (and associated destinations).

Likewise if you are more of a touring/exploration type you should consider:

a/ How active do you want to be – are you up to lots of walking, climbing or not?

b/ How much do you value comfort – are you happy to really rough it, want to have some comforts or do you want luxury?

c/ Do you want something bespoke to you or are you happy to travel as part of a group?

Whatever sort of traveller you are, I’d suggest that you plan to go to the more far flung places on your list first based upon the fact that comfort becomes more important as you age.

3. HEALTH, FITNESS & ABILITY

As I’ve alluded to above, travelling becomes more challenging as we age. Whilst we may be happy to fly for 12 hours plus, sleep on the ground or maybe venture well away from civilisation at present these things become harder as the years tick on.

I’d suggest that you make the most of your current health, fitness and ability now, and be prepared to scale back on your ambition later on in life. (Do also read the small print on any travel itineraries to ensure that you’re not signing up for something that your body can’t manage or, conversely, are committing to a trip with people whose fitness levels are a lot less than yours.)

When it comes to flying you may also want to consider leaving your short haul trips to later years and concentrate on long haul journeys whilst you can deal with them.

4. BUDGET/FUNDING

Unfortunately travel isn’t free and , unless I’ve missed something, your income does drop in retirement (no matter how good a pension you have). However there are a number of ways you can fund your fun. These include:

a/ LUMP SUMS – If you received a package to leave your company you can use that.

b/ OPT FOR CHEAPER HOLIDAYS – Even going long haul you can find travel dates that offer cheaper fares, or maybe organise your own flights and use a tour company at your destination to organise a trip, or opt for a mid-market tour rather than the luxury version.

c/ OFFSET THE COST WITH BILLS AT HOME – We know a couple who travel to India for a 6 week break in the winter since the fully inclusive holiday costs less than being at home and heating their house. (This may also apply to air conditioning savings for people living in hotter climates.)

d/ HOUSE SWAP – Home exchange holidays offer you the chance of staying in someone else’s house whilst they stay in yours. In effect this means you save on accommodation costs which can significantly reduce your overall costs.

e/ VOLUNTARY WORK – If you are happy to work, whilst you are abroad, then you can exchange your labour for subsidised holidays and have the satisfaction that you are doing some good for other people.

PERSONAL DISCLOSURE

OVERVIEW: We decided a number of years ago that we needed to go and see our bucket list (which does keep growing even though we’ve travelled quite a lot).

PRIORITY: Even though there are some great places to explore in Europe, we decided to prioritise our long haul and more adventurous destinations (so that we can visit them whilst we can).

FUNDING: We choose to prioritise travel over other items, I’ve now work part time and we tend to choose mid-level accommodation (partly on a cost basis and partly because that tends to offer you a more genuine flavour of the country you are in rather than ‘international hotels and food’).

DESTINATIONS: Over the last couple of years we’ve visited lots of places including Kenya (safari), Ecuador & Galapagos, Alaska and Northern India

SUMMARY

If travel is on your mind, don’t delay, commit to it whilst you can and prioritise those places that are more effort to get to and need more of your energy. You won’t regret it!

MY UPDATES & TIPS

JOURNEY TO INDIA

In the section above, I did say that we’d been to Northern India (last month). We visited Amristar, Dharamsala (home to the Dalai Lama), Shimla, Haridwar (where the Aarti ceremony is performed every day) & Jim Corbett National Park.

Below I’ve added 17 images to provide a flavour of the area (Slide 1: Golden Temple – Amritsar, Slide 6: Church of St. John in the Wilderness – Dharamsala, Slide 10: Viceregal Lodge – Shimla, Slide 12: Aarti Ceremony – Haridwar, Slides 13-17: Inhabitants of Jim Corbett National Park).

TRAVEL TIPS & SUGGESTIONS

1. PLAN TO BE SPONTANEOUS – I research all of the locations, accommodation, local food/drinks and crafts. Th idea is NOT to try and see everything but to offer us the opportunity to be spontaneous i.e. if we have some free time, or there is something planned that we don’t feel like doing, we already have the best options to hand. It means that we able to make the most of our trips (and this often results in some really precious memories).
2. REVIEWS – Let reviews help to guide you. I tend to use Tripadvisor as a reference guide (although I filter out those reviews with specific complaints or from nationalities who expect different standards). It has helped us to find a lot of interesting places and great restaurants. (Since I use this resource I also add reviews on there myself.)
3. SIM CARD – Connectivity is a great luxury and can really help you in your travels. We used to buy local SIM cards (much cheaper and convenient than using your home version.) However we now use an eSIM which is much more convenient.
4. DOOR WEDGE – As a visitor you’ll often be seen as wealthy. For extra security we therefore always take a door wedge which is an easy way to protect yourselves.
5. ZIP OFF TROUSERS – For convenience and multi-functionality I’d recommend packing zip off trousers. They’re great for lots of adventures and give you the option of everything from shorts to ‘evening wear’.
6. CRUISE TRIPS – If you are taking a cruise then book any cruise excursions before you go (otherwise they may be booked up). However also look at similar trips provided by local agents in your ports of call. We’ve often found better trips, cheaper when you book local (before you arrive).

EARLT RETIREMENT: HOW’S IT GOING?

EXERCISE – I will go into fitness in greater detail in another blog. However, on a personal level, I have now replaced my daily walks with ‘gym sessions’.

COMMITMENTS – I’m finding that my projects (365 Days of Photography – 365 Days of Photography – Gallery link – , weekly LinkedIn Articles & this Blog) are taking up more time than I thought. In addition my ‘business activities’ (part time job, Contract & Leasing project & training activities) are starting to involve greater commitment. So maybe you should be careful in estimating how much you can fit in to your new life.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Please find below my answers to your questions from the last blog:

1. IDEAS JAR: What kind of things should you include in an ‘ideas’ jar & what’s in yours? – This is something of a topic in its own right and so I’ve added an extra page to cover this topic. The link is: https://rookieretiree.com/about/
2. SAYING ‘YES’: So what kind of things have you said ‘Yes’ to? – So far I’ve seen a performance of ‘Calamity Jane’, attended a commercial photo shoot, listened to a Beatle tribute band & have been to an art exhibition.
3. RETIREMENT FINANCE: When are you going to cover this subject? – Since the topic of finance seems to be well covered already (mainly by finance companies who would like to provide you with their advice) I’m planning on just sticking to tips and suggestions on how to stretch your budget.

NEW QUESTIONS: Please either post any new questions in the Comments section below or contact me.

FUTURE BLOG CONTENT

Next time I’m going to be looking at how to stay connected with other people and finding new interests to follow.

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Links to previous (Part 2) & next post (Part 4) are provided below.

Link to PRIOR POST

Link to NEXT POST

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Every chapter explores a different side of life after full-time work — from personal stories to health, purpose, and travel.

👉 Browse the full series here: [Contents Page]

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