Travel safety
After a year when the COVID-19 virus has devastated the world’s tourism industry and thwarted vacation plans of millions of travelers, vaccinations have arrived that offer hope that 2021 may usher in some return to normalcy.
And none too soon for baby boomers, who have seen precious travel time and opportunities slipping away: cruises cancelled, tours postponed, bucket-list destinations closing their borders.
The fact that all this has been necessary to curb the ravages of the killer virus doesn’t make it any less painful — especially when you factor in the economic toll on tourism-dependent destinations. Estimates are that one in ten jobs worldwide are travel- and tourism-related.
And it’s not just airlines, cruise lines and big hotels that are hurting. As Scott Keyes, CEO of Scott’s Cheap Flights, puts it:… Continue reading
For years, I resisted getting a massage, fearing I was too ticklish and would embarrass myself by laughing out loud on the massage table.
Then one day while traveling with a press group I was offered a free massage and, egged on by the group leader, decided I might as well give it a try.
Five minutes into it, I was already hooked, and would have kicked myself for missing out on all those massage-less years if I hadn’t been so relaxed I couldn’t move a muscle.
This guest post by Dr. Brent Wells, a chiropractor based in Anchorage, Alaska, delves into some of the reasons why massages are particularly helpful to travelers, and gives a rundown of the types of massages you can choose from.
By the way, after having dozens of massages during and after my travels, I’ve never burst out laughing. I did cry out in agony… Continue reading
In the midst of a world pandemic — and, in the United States, the culmination of a bitterly divided, exhausting election season — I can offer a few words of advice: Take a hike.
Hiking is an ideal way to get out of your cooped-up house into the fresh air and, certainly for less-crowded trails, is well suited to social distancing.
It’s a healthy activity and usually fun as well. (Some tougher trails aren’t always fun, but tackling — and conquering — them can be highly satisfying.)
But hiking right — meaning minimizing any risk of injury or other problem that may occur — requires adequate preparation and thought.
Guest writer Rebecca Brown lays out the key things to keep in mind for three different types of hikers: day hikers, overnighters, and multi-day hikers.
So lace up your boots, fill your water bottles, and don your backpack — but first,… Continue reading
Would you take a walking tour in Ireland now — and tell your friends about it? Photo from Walking the World
As dedicated travelers, what are we to think of the concept of “travel shaming” — the notion that it’s irresponsible to travel or even plan future trips during a pandemic?
According to a recent New York Times article, people desperate to get out of their houses after months of self-quarantining are heading off on the road — but are traveling on the sly, reluctant to post pictures on social media or even to tell friends they’re leaving, for fear of being judged.
As the Times quoted Harvard Business School assistant professor, Jillian Jordan, who studies moral psychology: “The pandemic presents a unique case of travel entering the moral sphere, because there are two things that happen when you travel: The first is that I put myself at risk, and… Continue reading
This morning I received an email (below) from Scott’s Cheap Flights, which is my go-to website for airline deals.
Scott Keyes’ site regularly turns up airfares that are 50 percent off the regular price, and sometimes up to 90 percent off — but they’re often good for just a day or two, so you need to act fast. (Sign up to get email notifications of the daily deals.)
But acting fast to grab great fares (and with airlines anxious to fill seats again, they are plentiful) isn’t easy in the midst of a pandemic — because it’s difficult to know what the situation will be next year, much less a month or two from now.
While I’ve been on the cautious side of the when-is-it-safe-to-fly debate — as a baby boomer, my age puts me in a higher-risk category — I found Scott’s take on the risks… Continue reading
Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia. Photo courtesy of GoldenIsles.com.
Looking for an uncrowded beach this summer where you can maintain social distancing, keeping you safe and virus free?
That’s not easy to do on the East Coast of the U.S. But according to the website Homes.com, these 10 secluded beaches — situated along the Atlantic Ocean coast from Maine down to Florida — will allow you to relax in or near a beach town in style, away from the tourist hordes.
“Some of these beaches are in state parks or owned by conservation trusts dedicated to preserving coastal land to provide habitat for threatened species. Others are simply local, out-of-the-way beaches untouched by development,” notes Homes.com.
So pack your swimsuit, beach towels, and sunscreen and get ready to stake out your place on the sand. It should be all yours.
Island Beach State Park, Seaside Park, New… Continue reading
Pacing yourself is easy on a beach in the British Virgin Islands. Photo by nickelstar, on Flickr.
With travel largely curtailed this summer, basic travel wellness procedures may get overlooked. But when it’s time to travel again, it’s wise to review some of the basics, such as getting enough sleep, eating well, pacing yourself, and making sure any medications are in order.
Guest writer Shaun DMello has some good tips and reminders for staying healthy on the road, especially for those past 50.
By Shaun DMello
The growing population of senior travellers is evidence that you can live a life of travel and adventure no matter your age — especially if you stay healthy. Adopting healthy habits won’t diminish your vacation fun – it’s just about making smart choices that allow you to keep having fun. Here are some you can incorporate into your travel routines:
- Fight Jet Lag… Continue reading
Here’s Part 3 of the Travel Like a Pro Summit, with links to the interviews with a variety of travel writers and bloggers. My segment on tips for baby boomer travelers comes up at noon.
See Parts 1 and 2 of the Travel Like a Pro Summit here. If you’ve missed some or just want extra time to view or review the segments, consider buying one of the summit’s All-Access Passes, with details below.
Now here’s your host, Jerry Winans:
Hey everyone!
Today is the third day of the 3-day Travel Like a Pro Summit! Our presenters have lots of great info to share with you. That’s the goal: Equipping you to travel safely, affordably, and adventurously! Many of us are eager to get back out there, to see the world, but we know it’s best for now to stay home to safeguard our health and… Continue reading
Here’s a way to get some of your travel juices flowing even if you’re confined at home for safety purposes, as I am, and can’t travel for the time being.
It’s the three-day Travel Like a Pr0 Summit, with Jerry Winans as ringmaster and interviews with more than 20 travel writers and bloggers, including yours truly. It’s filled with travel tips that, with good fortune, we’ll all be able to use as the world eventually return to normalcy.
I hope you’ll find it informative and inspirational, in a time when we could all use a little inspiration — keeping in mind the thousands of Americans and those around the world who have lost their lives to COVID-19, many of whom contacted the coronavirus while traveling in infected areas, on cruise ships, and in other settings.
Links to the interviews for days one and two are available today; watch… Continue reading
Iceland is drop-dead beautiful in many locations (but don’t take that literally). Photo from Inspired by Iceland
By a nice coincidence following our last post on travel safety, two new surveys are out that try to identify the safest countries in the world, with implications for travelers as well as residents.
One, called the Global Peace Index 2018, comes from the Institute for Economics and Peace. It looks at 23 relevant statistics for 163 countries — including political terrorism, murder rates, and deaths from internal conflicts — and ranked them for overall safety.
The second, from the Gallup polling organization, takes a different tack: Gallup went straight to nearly 150,000 residents of 142 countries and asked them how safe they felt, based on factors such as their own experiences with crime and their attitudes toward local policing.
The results, as you might imagine, were quite different, though one country… Continue reading
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