Tips for Single Senior Travelers

If you're a single senior, you probably remember the opening line of that great Rodgers and Hammerstein song, "You'll Never Walk Alone" from "Carousel: When you walk through the storm, hold your head up high and don't be afraid of the dark..." If you're planning to travel by yourself, forgot those silly lyrics! The first tip for single senior travelers is, "For safety's sake, don't ever walk alone."

The world today is a far darker place than it was decades ago during your student days, when you could backpack alone just about anywhere, You could happily traipse through the Paris Latin Quarter, the Alps, the Gobi Desert, Greenwich Village, Golden Gate Park, Acapulco waterfront or the Casbah in Marrakesh. Unfortunately, increasing street crime, ethnic conflicts, terrorism, anti-American attitudes and rising rip-off prices have made travel much less simple and attractive.

If you're planning a trip to a destination that has any hint of danger for a single senior walking the streets, take along at least one friend or family member. If you can stand traveling with groups, check with your travel agent, church, school or other local organization to find out if any of their group travel plans appeal to you. Wandering around the Casbah with 30 other tourists is a lot safer than just one little old retiree doing it alone. The internet is also a great source of hundreds of options for group senior travel.

Since our retirement, after at least 15 sea voyages and although we don't travel as singles, we've found that most safest, all-inclusive vacation sources is cruising. All cruise liners, which are usually chock full of seniors, have great programs for singles. Gathering at meals, social events, exercise programs, entertainment, shore excursions and other activities are natural magnets for singles to meet and mingle.Although it may not be for every single woman or widow, some cruises feature male ship employees who serve as escorts at dances and excursions. If you saw the final movie of that great pair of actors, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, "Out To Sea", it gives a hilarious version of the shipboard male escort service. I'm not sure if cruise lines offer the same service to single male travelers, but as travel statistics show, the ratio of single women to single men aboard ship is at least 75-25 percent.