Top 3 Tips when planning an Aged-Friendly Travel Itinerary

Do your parents dream of globe-trotting after their retirement? My mum has been touting this idea to my family ever since I was a teenager. She would often remark in Mandarin, “我退休后,我要玩游世界。” Her biggest fear is that she would be forgotten and left behind at home, alone, while her grown children go on vacations. My parents are approaching their twilight years, even though I would very much like time to come to a standstill. I have finally grown up, but now they are old.  They are no longer who they used to be – strong, energetic, and always on the go for a long weekend vacation amid their hectic work schedule!

When I had the opportunity to plan a trip for my parents to visit Europe this year, I was immensely excited! My mum missed the opportunity to visit Europe 32 years ago with my dad when he went on an extended work trip because she was pregnant with me. 32 years later, her baby girl brought her on an adventure to see some of the most beautiful alps in the world.  

I am happy to play a part in fulfilling my mum’s dream of travelling around the world. In a world where some people are forced to flee their homeland, we are immensely privileged to be able to travel as a family to enrich our life experiences. 

When I dwell on the fragility of life, it saddens me that we may not have much time left to spend together. Therefore, for every moment that we have together now, I am immensely grateful. I want to create more memories with my parents. I hope to inspire you to spend more time with your parents and repair any strained relationships to the best of your ability.

Travelling may not be your parent’s cup of tea. Nevertheless, if it happens to be, and you are also transiting to the role of planning a trip for them, I would like to share 3 tips that I have learned with you. 

1. Book Accommodations with lifts

With a single objective to minimise cost, half of the accommodations that I booked did not have a lift. I did not realise that climbing more than 2 flights of stairs was hard on my dad’s knees.

Moving forward, I will definitely check if the potential accommodations are equipped with lifts. 

2. Reduce the walking duration

At the start of the trip, my dad was limping and wincing in pain when we had to walk for more than 20 minutes. However, I noticed that by the end of the trip, he could walk further without a break. Therefore, I am still learning if walking is good for my parents or causes further ligament tears. 

Nevertheless, for our next trip, I will try to reduce the need for walking in the future by perhaps renting a car instead of relying on public transport.

Having a spot to sit and rest after every 15-20 mins of walking was helpful to ease his joint pain and enable him to walk further over the 21 days trip. 

3. Buy travel insurance and have a contingency plan for illness

The most important tip, which you may probably be aware of, is to buy travel insurance with sufficient coverage. Unfortunately, the medical coverage for travellers above 70-year-old reduces significantly for most travel insurance plans that I am aware of. Therefore, do not assume that the best policies for your parents are the same as yours. I personally believe it is important to list down the biggest risks that you would like to insure your parents for and research extensively to identify the most suitable or least bad policy.

As my parents are fast approaching their 70-year-old mark, I felt a sense of urgency to travel as much as possible with them before their travel insurance coverage reduces dramatically.

Another mistake that I made was not to insure them till they land in their home country. Add a day or 2 to the length of the policy coverage if they are taking long-haul flights. 

 

What are some tips that you have? I would like to hear them too! Leave them in the comments and share this article if you like it!

三大贴士规划适合乐龄人士的旅游行程

 

您的父母是否梦想退休后环球世界呢?从我十几岁开始,我妈妈经常把这个梦想挂在嘴边。当她老了,最大的恐惧是,她会被成年的子女遗忘,孩子去度假时,把她一个人留在家里。

我的父母即将步入暮年。我终于长大了,但现在他们也老了。他们不再像从前那么健壮、精力充沛!

当我有机会为我的父母策划一趟欧洲之旅时,我非常兴奋!三十二年前,我妈妈错过了与爸爸去欧洲公干及旅行的机会,因为她怀了我。 三十二年后,她的宝贝女儿要带她第一次踏入欧洲,一起去探访世界闻名的阿尔卑斯山。

我很高兴能参与实现我妈妈环游世界的梦想。在一个有些人被迫逃离家园的世界里,我们非常幸福能够全家一起旅行以丰富我们的生活经验。

当我想到生命短暂,不是永恒时,我很难过我们可能没有多少时间可以一起度过。因此,对于我们现在在一起的每一刻,我都非常感激。我想和父母一起创造更多的回忆。我希望能激励你花更多的时间和父母在一起,并尽你所能修复任何紧绷的关系

如果你碰巧也正在为父母计划旅程,我想与您分享我从中学到的三大巧门。

(一)预订有电梯的住宿

为了节省旅费,我预订的住宿中有一半没有电梯。我没有意识到爬两层以上的楼梯对我父亲的膝盖来说很困难。下一次计划行程时,我一定会检查住宿是否配备电梯,才预订。

(二)减少步行时间

在旅行开始时,当我们步行超过二十分钟时,我的爸爸膝盖开始疼痛,需要坐下来休息。但是,我注意到旅行结束时,他可以不间断地走得更远。因此,我仍在观察走路是否对我的父母有好处或会导致进一步的韧带撕裂。

尽管如此,对于我们的下一次旅行,我会尝试租一辆车而不是依赖公共交通工具来减少步行的需要。

每步行十五至二十分钟后,找一个地方坐下来休息,有助于缓解爸爸的关节疼痛,并使他能够在二十一天的行程中走得更远。

(三)购买充分的旅游保险,提前拟定疾病应急计划。

不怕一万,只怕万一。旅行保险对于每个年龄层的游客都很重要。可是,对于老年人,购买旅游保险是万万不可忽略的。非常不幸的是,目前在市面上,许多旅游保险计划大大的削减了七十岁以上的投保人所能享有的医疗保险顶线的数额

因此,千万不要以为给你最多福利与优惠的旅游保险也适合你的父母。你应该了解保险的详情,仔细做比较。我个人认为,你可以列出旅游景点的一些风险,审查父母的健康情况,了解该国的医疗设施与价格,然后决定要投保的范围和金额。

由于再过几年,我的父母即将步入七十岁大寿,我心中有​​一股紧迫感,在他们的旅行保险范围急剧减少之前尽可能地与他们一起旅行。

对此课题,你有什么建议吗?我也想听听你们的分享!请留言在评论中并与亲朋好友分享这篇文章!

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