Aging. It’s an unavoidable yet good “problem” to have. As we evolve, so does the way we travel.
While we don’t all follow the same timeline, we can make a few generalizations about what to expect during different stages of life and how to make the most of the trips we take at each stage.
Here’s what to expect as you age and vacation gracefully.
Vacationing as a Child
If you were fortunate enough to travel during your own childhood, you likely have some trips that you don’t remember at all and others that left indelible memories on your psyche.
“When I was a baby, my parents didn’t take many vacations. At least there isn’t visual proof of many,” said Clay Coomer, a former (Millennial) Seven Corners blogger. “The only pictures I’ve seen were from a vacation to Disney World, and I was being pushed around in a stroller.”
Looking back at these pictures is fun for you, but it'll send your parents through a wave of nostalgia.
As you got older, your family might have traveled more often (flying with small children is hard, after all). You might have ventured farther afield. When I was young, my family made frequent trips to Indianapolis, just a few hours from home. By the time I was in middle school, we made the occasional trip cross-country to places like Seattle.
These are the first trips that stick in our memory. They tend to create our idea of what a vacation should be. As we got older, we might’ve stretched for more independence, perhaps exploring a bit more on our own, or asking our parents if our friends can come, too. As a teen, you might have liked vacationing with your family, but you loved taking trips with your friends.
Through all of this, vacations were worry-free. Your family planned everything. Someone else paid for everything. They might have even packed your suitcase for you, stocked the cooler with road trip snacks, and handled all the things that stress us out as adults but weren’t even on our radar as oblivious youths.
Vacationing as a Single Person
Now we’ve reached the college-aged years. Spring break. Road tripping and crashing on the couch of a friend of a friend of a friend. Spontaneously running off to Latin America because the airfare was dirt cheap and your responsibilities were relatively non-existent.
Like a lot of 20-somethings, you might still not be stressing about itineraries and logistics. You might be going solo more, but not without a safety net. Some of us have families waiting for us back home, ready to prop us up when we need the extra roadside assistance.
We don’t think we need travel insurance, but if our parents convince us to get it anyway, we don’t want to spend more money on it than absolutely necessary. The key requirements? Trip cancellation benefits, baggage coverage, and budget. And it had better be customizable so I only pay for what I need.
Then we get a little older. Maybe you started traveling with a significant other or friend group, which means you have another schedule to balance, another travel bucket list to consider, another vacation style to accommodate.
You can still afford to be spontaneous — and in your early career you might have a bit more money to actually afford it — but you are spontaneously in it together.
Some of us pause here. We spend the rest of our lives traveling solo or with only a select cast of others. We’re more established in our careers, which means we have more fun money to spend on trips, we become the “Cool Aunt” and treat other peoples’ kiddos to adventures, we go where we want and do what we want when we want, and there are zero regrets.
We’re more sophisticated in our trip planning than we were in our early 20s, and we learn where our priorities lie. Do we prefer to splurge on the more luxurious hotel or use our extra cash for an exciting safari?
You’re getting more responsible, so security is more than just an afterthought. Yes, it’s about staying safe, but sometimes it’s also a matter of making our trips easier. As our vacations get more expensive and we decide we have less tolerance for things like flight cancellations and delays (ain’t nobody got time for that), we look for more ways to protect our peace and our money.
Perhaps for the first time in your life, you’re taking travel insurance seriously. You want protection against cancellations. You want the flexibility to get your money back if something happens and you can’t travel as planned. And if you travel a lot — more than two or three times in a year — then you consider annual travel insurance so you don’t spend time researching plans over and over.
Vacationing as a Family with Kids
Perhaps now you’re the parent or parent-type figure planning a trip. You’re Googling things like “budget family vacations” and "can I bring breast milk on a plane?”
You want to create memorable experiences for others while also keeping your own sanity. Some look to their own parents to help with planning again, leading to the rise in multigenerational vacations.
This stage is where family vacation packages really shine. You and the family can have an amazing getaway while someone else finds age-appropriate activities, lodging, and transportation and makes all the travel arrangements for you. You might end up paying a bit more for their expertise, but what you get in return is ease and convenience.
The reality is that despite its rewards, it’s hard to travel with kids. “My wife lived her 20s to the fullest and I have to admit, I have some travel envy,” said Clay. “I did my fair share of traveling, though. Notable trips of mine were Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Helena, Montana, to name a few.
“But now we are parents, and traveling is a little more difficult. Not only is it harder to get from point A to point B, but saving money for vacations when you’re paying for daycare, diapers, and formula is challenging.”
It’s also challenging when you’re paying for band camp and club sports as those toddlers get older. Which is why protecting your investment — the money you spend on airfare or rental cars, hotels, tickets to amusement parks, cruise excursions, and all those other trip expenses that multiply exponentially with each additional kid — is increasingly important.
Trip protection includes coverage for trip cancellations and delays, but also baggage loss. If your luggage doesn’t make it to your destination on time, your travel insurance could reimburse you to replace essential items like clothes and toiletries for you and your kids. This probably sounds even more appealing as you realize just how much stuff you’re packing now that you have kids.
One plan can cover everyone in the family (some plans do have age limits, so be aware), and with customizable options, you can find the right coverage for your budget, even when you’re trying to save money on your family vacation.
Vacationing as an Empty Nester
Eventually your kids are out of the house, leading their own independent travel lives. This is your opportunity! When you were solo the first time around, you didn’t have money. Then you got a little more money, but thanks to family and careers, you didn’t have the time.
As you enter your 50s and beyond, we often have more disposable income and fewer responsibilities that keep us tied to home. This opens so many doors.
You can travel during the off-season, when travel arrangements are cheaper and crowds are smaller because everyone else is in school. You can take long, slow trips because you aren’t restricted to a few weeks of PTO every year.
If you’re still working, consider becoming a digital nomad or taking an adult gap year. They’re not just for so-called young people.
If you’re thinking about moving when you retire or want to purchase a second home, spend some time testing out different destinations. Often, we think we’d love to live somewhere only to find out that while it’s great for vacation, it’s not home.
Most importantly, don’t limit yourself because you’re “too old.”
Whether we like to admit it or not, with age comes more health concerns. Those don’t go away just because we’re on vacation.
When you travel, especially overseas, look for travel insurance that includes medical benefits. Travel medical insurance can pay your doctor's bills if you get sick or hurt during your trip and you need treatment while away from home. Some also have coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Because your domestic health insurance often does not cover you overseas and it may be restrictive depending on your network, having this additional insurance could save you lots of money. It’s also important to realize that Medicare and Medicaid also do not cover you outside the U.S.
And because you’re likely spending more on vacations than ever before, those trip protection benefits still apply to you. Make sure you’re covered if you have to cancel your trip or interrupt it and come home early. This is as important as ever if you’re treating the extended family to a vacation for an anniversary, special birthday, or just because.
Travel Insurance for Any Life Stage
No two people follow the same timeline through life, and no two people take the same vacation. That’s why having options with travel insurance is important.
Find the right coverage and talk to a licensed agent for more help customizing your plan at SevenCorners.com.
