Travel Clubs for Seniors

The Best Travel Clubs for Seniors are a great way to travel with others. You can find new senior travel partners and make friendships. In some clubs you can even travel with friends or family plus enjoy the company of new travel companions.

Senior Travel Club

What are Travel Clubs for Seniors and Why Join one?

Senior Travel Clubs differ from other types of group travel. Travel clubs usually charge a small fee. Sometimes they ask for a modest initial fee to help cover their own expenses. To justify paying these fees realize that there are benefits. 

• Club only discounts
• Travel Brochures or other well-researched resources.
• Host visits from experienced travelers who can offer advice.
• Often, you can personally ask questions and get helpful information.
  

Meetings

Clubs have meetings and Senior Travel Clubs aren’t any different.

These meeting might be once a month or only a few times a year. When a trip is being planned, it is a social event.

You can help in the decision making; it can be fun and rewarding. You don’t need to do it all alone and you can get or receive help.

The planning becomes a shared experience and the excitement can be contagious!

Senior Travel Club Meeting

Club Safety

For many reasons, there is always safety in traveling with others. It may deter being targeted by those eager to steal from you or con you. 

With a Travel Club one important consideration might be transportation.

Many Club Trips are taken by bus or car. 

Even some bus, plane or train trips require transportation to the bus station, airport, or train station. So if the destination is close or far, you can usually share the driving or not drive at all if that is your preference. 

You might have difficulty driving at night now or a disability might hinder your safety with driving. Whatever the reason, being a member of a travel club solves the problem.

Health

As older adults, health is often a consideration when traveling. Taking trips with a group is one way to leave some of our health concerns behind. 

An advantage of a club is traveling with others closer to our age. Many will have health issues of various kinds just like you. 

Have you ever rejected family vacations with younger members because you didn’t want to slow them down? At this time of life we are entitled to travel on our own terms.

Covid has presented most Senior Travelers with additional challenges. Senior Travel Clubs will have health safety requirements which will give you a sense of protection. 

Types of Travel Clubs for Seniors

Senior Travel groups vary by size. While some have a small number of travelers, others are much larger.

Another distinction is whether or not a club allows you to bring a partner, friend, or family members along. Some clubs do not allow this but rather require exclusive membership for all travelers.

Although not all clubs are commercial, many are. These commercial travel clubs are hosted by large companies. 

Some advice, beware of scams in regard to commercial clubs. Do your research, check for references, and if necessary use the Better Business Bureau. 

One Red Flag might be pressure to join. Another would be a high fees in exchange for promised large discounts. Legitimate Travel Clubs usually charge a modest fee.

Where to find Senior Travel Clubs

Some examples:

• Alumni, Veterans, Retiree organizations
• Sporting, arts, nature, birding
• Community Centers,  religious, volunteer
  
• Cultural or languages
• RV, motorcycle, car, train groups. 

Sometimes you will find that your church or Senior Citizen Center may have their own travel clubs.

You may also discover travel clubs to suit you on the Internet or through Social Media such as Facebook and Pinterest.

How to choose a Travel Club for Seniors

This personal choice has criteria that can differ from person to person.

Do you want your trip to reflect your hobby or are you interested in the adventure of sightseeing a new location?

What is your age and activity level? How does the club support these individual needs? Are there any levels to determine this?

Many of us seniors can choose the length of our vacations. How long would you like yours to last; a day, a week, a month?

What kind of transportation do you prefer when traveling?

If you are wary of traveling right now due to Covid concerns, some clubs have Virtual Trips.

These can be interesting and a way to meet some of the members for future trips. 

These are all considerations for choosing a club that will enable you to travel with “peace of mind” as a senior worry free and get the most out of your travels. 

Senior Travel Club Tour

Examples of Travel Clubs for Seniors

Kindred Tours: 

The fee to join is $36 for a one year membership. You will receive a monthly newsletter. 

The majority of members are Solo Travelers or couples who meet the age requirement of 55 plus. The trip group is small ranging from around 8 to 16. 

The trips offered span the globe but the main focus is the Southwestern United States. 

Another advantage of this club is that they will customize a trip specifically for your club. Additionally, all travelers do not need to be members of your club.

You can find Kindred Tours here. 

The Affordable Travel Club:

Club members must be over 40 and pay $15 for a single membership and $20 for a double membership, U.S. dollars. 

This club is similar to a house/home exchange membership program. They call themselves a “Hospitality Exchange” club.

It has a North American Membership Application (for those joining from U.S./Canada/Mexico) and an Overseas Membership Application (for those joining from overseas). 

This club was established to provide low cost accommodations for older travelers. When you join this club, you receive an Online Directory and Host Membership Card. 

You can use this directory to search for all the accommodations in the location of your travels. You can then contact the owner directly to arrange your stay. 

As a member, you will host approximately 3 times throughout a year. You will be expected to provide clean and comfortable sleeping quarters for your guest/guests to stay. 

The club rules ask that you provide breakfast and an hour of your time to acquaint them with the area.

You can find the Affordable Travel Club here. 

Travel and Leisure Travel Club:

This club is large and well known. You can try if for Free for 30 days and then there is a monthly fee of $14.95. 

There are numerous benefits including:

• A subscription to the famous “Travel and Leisure” Magazine 

• Access to tours of all types around the world 

• Activities, excursions and a lot more. 

You will receive members only pricing on rental cars and discounts on cruises.

You can find the Travel and Leisure Travel Club here. 

There are many advantages to joining a Travel Club for Seniors. 

First and upmost, you will find new and old friends to travel with.

There are many choices out there. Look for one near you.