Retirement is the perfect time to take up a new hobby, travel around the world, or make new friends. Organizations like Elderhostel can make all your plans a reality.
Ever dream of flying a plane? Cruising China's Yangtze River? How about going on an archaeological dig? Or helping a needy child as a foster grandparent? People over age 55 are making dreams like these come true every day through programs offered through organizations like Elderhostel, Grand Circle Travel and the Senior Corps.
Elderhostel is the pioneer of enlightening educational programs for older adults. It was founded in 1975 by Marty Knowlton, a social activist and educator, who, in his mid-fifties, took an around-the-world walk and stayed in hostels. Inspired by Scandinavian folk schools where elders passed on their knowledge of music, lore and dance to younger generations, Knowlton conceived a program that combined hostels and learning.
Knowlton and David Bianco, then director of residential life at the University of New Hampshire, founded Elderhostel. From its beginnings in the summer of 1975 on five college campuses in New Hampshire, Elderhostel has grown into a creator of worldwide learning programs. Last year some 30,000 Elderhostelers attended programs at 2,000 facilities around the world.
Programs cover a tremendous diversity of topics and locations, from bluegrass music in Kentucky to birding in Iceland. Most U.S. programs are held at educational institutions and run for five to six days (Sunday to Friday) and feature a mix of sit-down classes and and first-hand experiences. Instructors are university professors or specialists in a particular field. The average tuition of $440 covers accommodations, meals, instruction and field trips, but not transportation.
International programs are longer—one to four weeks. They delve into many aspects of foreign culture, history and nature. Two of the most exotic are an Antarctic Expedition and an exploration of the Midway Atoll Wildlife Refuge. Others include Ancestral Research in Ireland, Food & Wine of France, Opera of Berlin, Mayan Civilization of Central America and Poets of Chile. And if you've dreamed of finding shards of ancient civilizations on an archaeological dig you can do that, too, at various universities throughout Europe.
Service is also a part of the Elderhostel mission, with programs that offer participants the opportunity to help others and the world community by teaching English in China, building homes through Habitat for Humanity and working for community agencies.
Elderhostelers often enjoy behind-the-scenes experiences not available to a typical traveler, such as viewing special museum collections, operating an electron microscope or visiting the home of a former president of Costa Rica. Some international programs feature a stay at the home of a local family. For outdoors enthusiasts, there are special hiking,
walking, boating and bicycling programs as well as programs in arts and crafts, boat cruises and train treks.
For 2000, Elderhostel is featuring a special Atlantic crossing on the Queen Elizabeth 2 in which participants do more than just relax on deck; they actually study the legends of great ocean liners. Those who prefer to be airborne can learn to fly at the new aviation program hosted by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, which includes four hours behind the controls of a Cessna 172.
Inquisitive seniors can also fulfill their love of learning at Institutes for Learning in Retirement (ILR) held at many major universities. Participants can freely pursue their interests, taking courses in arts and literature, writing and current affairs.
"We have set a goal of confounding the experts on what aging means," said Michael Markowitz, director of the respected ILR program at the New School of Social Research in New York, in an article in
Modern Maturity
magazine. "Memory and cognitive functions actually can improve in old age by training and practice."
Seniors are obviously taking this message to heart as they flock to travel tours with learning opportunities sponsored by companies that cater to people over 55. "Our customers are looking for more than sightseeing; they are eager to learn," reports Karen Consoli, marketing manager for Vantage Travel. Vantage trips include lectures on local culture and history.
Vantage Travel
Consoli reports that travelers, typically active people whose average age is 69, particularly enjoy river cruises and rail trips. Vantage's most popular programs are a China trip with a Yangtze River cruise, Alaska cruises, Scandinavian capitals and the Great Trains of Europe. Since the end of apartheid, South Africa, a country of celebrated natural beauty and wildlife, has also become a popular destination.
Grand CircleTravel
Grand Circle's Discovery Series focuses on cultural enrichment and lifelong learning. Events include visits to the homes of local families with homemade meals, lectures and special tours by local experts and classes on local language, arts and crafts and cooking. On one trip to Italy, travelers visit a family at a villa and sample wine from their vineyard. An Eastern Europe tour features a lecture on The Czech Republic's economic challenges by a professor at the Prague Institute of Economics, polka lessons, a gypsy music and dance performance, and home-hosted dinner with a Polish family.
AARP
The American Association for Retired Persons also offers tours for members plus many discounts on travel services.
Overseas Adventure Travel
Adventure travel, which generally involves travel to more exotic locales and rigorous exploration, is becoming more popular among seniors. In addition to Elderhostel's "active" offerings, adventure travel companies like Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), an adventure travel pioneer recently acquired by Grand Circle Travel, are focusing more on older travelers. One OAT journey to the Amazon and Galapagos Islands includes a canoe trip down the Amazon River and cruise to the Galapagos Islands. Travelers can also venture to Africa for a safari or northern India for a camel and elephant trek.
Helping others is a time-honored way to learn and grow. Retirement is the ideal time and opportunity for people to perform volunteer activities that they neglected because they were working full-time and raising a family.
The Senior Corps sponsors several programs that enable participants to make a difference:
- The Foster Grandparents program, in which volunteers work with children with special or exceptional needs
- Serving the Community, which involves work on community projects like building houses
- Senior Companions who assist frail seniors or disabled adults
For those of you who fear that retirement means a life of early bird specials and lounge chairs by the pool, think again! Life is too short to miss out on all the opportunities to enrich your life and help others, as well.
