No matter whether you are traveling in your mid 60's or planning a trip for your aging parents, you are about to embark on a great adventure. As more and more baby boomers and newly-retired professionals are beginning to conquer the world, traveling safety and well-being for seniors is brought to attention. By following some tips, seniors can still enjoy a safe and fun trip.
Think ahead and plan ahead
When planning a vacation involving a flight, you would want the research and reservations to be accomplished sooner rather than later. By doing that, you will have the chance to access several benefits such as priority boarding, seat choosing and senior discounts (only available from certain airlines, though). When booking flights, choose the aisle seats as it gives better mobility, especially on long international flights.
When thinking of a destination for seniors, choose a place that is easy to get around. Think ahead of all scenarios that you might encounter by doing pre-journey research and you will learn what to expect and prepare. Some seniors might bring a wheelchair along or need to rent one at the airport or destination; early research and reservation usually makes this possible.
Things can change so quickly and you don't want to bear the loss. If you are using a travel agent, early reservation has its perks on changes and cancellation. As for Asia Highlights, we allow a full money-back cancellation when it is made more than 31 days before the arrival date.
>>>Read about how to plan a trip to Thailand, Singapore and Bali
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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My husband and I are planning a 3 week…
Alisa was a great listener to all the things we wanted to incorporate into our trip. We discussed everything throughly, and when I had questions, she had answers the next day. I really appreciate her responsiveness and detail with me. I feel like we are in the best hands with Alisa and Asia Highlights. More
, Mar 2024
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Very great experience our driver D was…
Very great experience our driver D was never late and always had waters and a cold towel for us and our tour guide Som was very informative and had amazing English I recommend them both highly for anyone else traveling More
Rylan Coache, Feb 2024
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Excellent guide in Siem Reap
Our recent time spent in Siem Reap was made even more memorable by our expert guide, Som Piseth. Som was knowledgeable, attentive, flexible and super helpful - we learnt so much about Siem Reap and Cambodia in our 3 days with him. His English was excellent and his knowledge of, and pride in, his country was outstanding. We would highly recommend Som for anyone wanting an excellent guide in Siem Reap! More
Sharon Townshend, Feb 2024
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Asia Highlights trip to Thailand
Our first tour guide in Bangkok, Marie, was great to tour around with. She was extremely friendly and knowledgeable and spoke wonderful English. Our next stop in Chang Mai we were greeted by our new tour guide, Rafael. He too was extremely friendly and knowledgeable and spoke wonderful English. He made it feel as if we were traveling around with a long time friend. Every time we arrived at a new destination, we were greeted at the airport by someone with a sign with our name making our travels easy. I would definitely recommend Asia Highlights to anyone looking for a well planned trip of a lifetime! More
Tricia, Feb 2024
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Amazing Thailand experience
The tour guides were all knowledgeable and accommodating, especially Mayuree in Bangkok- absolutely wonderful. We felt taken care of and every step of the way was catered to our needs. More
Ashley White, Feb 2024
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Private tour perfect for our times
Asia highlights organized a private tour with our requests. Everything was perfect ?? the driver Tom and the guide Ying were always on time with a smile in their face. Always willing to help and make our trip perfect. Bangkok is a very hot city so we minimized the time outside. The driver always had cold towels for us in the van and cold beverages. More
Virginia, Feb 2024
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Thailand
We loved Chiang Mai and Susie did a great job showing us several temples, taking many pictures of us with the elephants at the sanctuary (a definite highlight of the entire trip!), and making sure we were well fed, which became a running joke between us.We had a very relaxing few days in Phuket enjoying the beautiful beaches. Kai was great, answering all of our questions and giving us a nice tour of the old town. The all-day speedboat tour of the Phi Phi islands started off a little shaky as the sea was quite rough so if you’re at all uncomfortable bouncing around in a speedboat, you might want to skip that tour. Things did calm down as the day went on and some of the areas they took us to for swimming, snorkeling, etc were really beautiful. A couple of the islands were too crowded with people. More
Andrea Roberts, Feb 2024
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What a Wonderful Trip
What a Wonderful Trip! We booked with Sharon and our trip was great - guides were waiting for us at each stop, and they were all very nice and helpful. I cannot stress how amazing the guides were - they made the trip. More
Rachel, Feb 2024
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Ask for Victor!
If you are traveling to Bangkhok you need to request Victor. He made our trip amazing! My family completed bucket list items with his guidance. He knew exactly how to get us places, kept us on time, made us feel safe, educated us on history, spoke excellent English and was genuinely a nice man! Everyone we encountered was awesome- but Victor is the reason for my 5 star review! More
Sandy, Jan 2024
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Thank you Alisa for helping us plan a…
Thank you Alisa for helping us plan a wonderful trip to Thailand. We had a great time. The tour guides were wonderful as were the hotels you booked for us. We will definitely contact you to plan our next trip More
Carol Yeung, Jan 2024
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Ying was the best
Ying was the best. She was really knowledgeable and kind. Thank you Ying for wonderful experience in Thailand! More
Sylvester Yeung, Jan 2024
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Very well organized
Very well organized. Our tour guide, Ying, was amazing! She had full knowledge of every location we visited and made sure our itinerary was fulfilled as expected. She was extremely helpful for our airport experiences, and made sure we arrived at an appropriate time. More
David M. Kang, Jan 2024
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Family trip to Thailand
We were lucky to be greeted by Marie and her driver.In Marie, we have made a friend for life. She is incredibly smart and knowledgeable about her home country. From the vast number of temples to safely traversing Chinatown.She helped give us tips on our free days, locate left behind lost clothing and arrange for pickup. She even helped check us in for our flight to Chiang Mai.She prepared us ahead of time for every event we had scheduled and bonded with our kids, 3x 13 year olds. More
Justin Levenbrook, Jan 2024
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Thailand with and amazing tour guide Ying
I highly recommend Ying as a tour guide in Thailand. Her expertise in Thai culture, combined with her passion for food and genuine love for her country, made the tour an exceptional experience. If you're looking for a guide who will not only show you the sights but also immerse you in the local culture and help you discover delicious Thai cuisine, Ying is the perfect choice. More
Diana Irizarry, Jan 2024
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Asia Highlights Thailand trip
Asia Highlights provided us with a great travel trip. They made it very easy to navigate through Thailand with everything going very smoothly. From the easy transportation to the great day itinerary everything was awesome. Will definitely look to use this agency again in the future. More
Taylor Jones, Jan 2024
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Perfect 2 WK Thailand Trip for a Solo Female Traveler
Bank was our guide in Bangkok and he showed us around the city with ease and we were able to see and try things I never would have planned on my own. After Bangkok, our small group flew to Chiang Mai for Yi Peng lantern festival and that was a breathtaking experience that I will never forget! Pop was our guide in this city and she was knowledgeable, kind and caring which made our experience even more memorable. More
Tia, Dec 2023
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We recently have just returned from Thailand
We recently have just returned one from a 5 week trip to Thailand through Asia Highlights. We had a wonderful time and Asia Highlights went beyond our expectations. They truly tried their best to make sure everything went smoothly and we were taken care of! Everyone was amazing and we would definitely use them in the future!! Many thanks to everyone that helped to make this an incredible once in a lifetime experience!! More
Karen Rocque, Dec 2023
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Indochina Experience
On our 5th day of our trip with Asiahighlights. We felt well taken care of before and it hasn’t changed since we started from Bangkok to Hanoi (guide Kim was verrry knowledgeable!) to Halong Bay (spectacular scenery) to Hoi An (guide Nhieu Tran, giving great local (shopping) tips and insights). More
Stefan Eisenhut, Dec 2023
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Double check your travel documents
As for Asia, visa policy varies from country to country, and it is important to check if you have the valid travel documents before hopping on a flight. Some countries and regions, including Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Malaysia, Maldives, Hong Kong and Taiwan allow visa-free entry for 15 days and up to 90 days for most westerners; others require a pre-journey visa or visa-on-arrival.
Make sure your passport is still valid for at least 6 months after your journey. In some western countries, passport validity for travelers over 60 is 5 years, and the expiration date can easily be overlooked. Renewing a passport takes at least one week. Important documents should be with you at all times. Make a list so as not to forget any, and share the copies of the documents with your family at home as well as saving them on your phone or iPad.
Stay healthy during the journey
No issue is bigger than staying healthy and safe on a journey to an exotic land. Bring along basic medical information, such as your doctor's number, medicaid cards, social security information and number of your travel insurance company. As for important daily medications, the amount to bring should be a little bit more than for the duration of your journey. If you are taking a 10-day international cruise, bring at least 11 days' worth, just in case your flights get delayed and you get stuck at the airport.
Purchasing medication in Asia is not a brilliant idea, especially for certain prescription drugs.
Asia is frequently reported for severe diseases, yet no need to raise alarm. Most travelers only touch the tourist areas, where outbreaks of diseases are rare and would be contained properly. Once again, early planning comes in handy as you can cancel the trip if you are concerned about some recently reported news. Consult with your doctor for necessity of vaccinations or precautions.
Special notification for travelers with a pacemaker should be given ahead of time to your travel agent. It is also brilliant to print out a sign saying "I have a pacemaker, please don't use magnetic sensor" in local language, which can be used at the airports.
Look for senior-friendly hotels
Accommodation in Asia is mostly built on the idea of leisure vacation, which means you needn't worry about comfort and services. The location should be near the major sites so that you can get around with ease. Nevertheless, be aware that such locations sometimes means noise and heavy traffic.
Besides the location, some other features should be taken into consideration when choosing hotels: wheelchair accessibility, elevators, A/C, in-room handrail or anti-slip facilities, on-site restaurants and medical aid. Wheelchair rental is helpful if you get under the weather or don't feel like walking too much. Sometimes you may want to stay in for the night, so an on-site restaurant should be available for dinner at a reasonable price.
Space out your day
Keep your ambitions at bay and don't try to gush multiple cities within just one week. Although border-crossing flights in Asia are frequent and short, getting in and out of the airports and packing and unpacking all the time wouldn't be much fun, right? Instead of visiting Myanmar and Thailand in 10 days, savor every moment of a week-long Myanmar vacation.
No matter during what season you are traveling, or what your physical state is like, a break during the day is rejuvenating and better than non-stop attraction hopping. During a day of visiting four major attractions, take a short rest after lunch, or even a nap back at your hotel.
Choose a good travel agent
Senior travel shouldn't be cheap or boring. There are a lot of ways to try and make it a journey full of authentic experiences. No matter whether it is a present to your aging parents or your own 40th anniversary trip, you may want to hire a travel agent to do all the ground work for you.
From applying for a visa, to checking in at a beach resort, an Asia-based provider certainly has more and better resources than you do. You might be surprised by how much time and trouble, even money, you can save. Some senior travelers might not be that familiar with internet or e-mail. A provider who is available for calls 24/7 and has direct access to all action in Asia, outmatches planning independently.
We have created authentic journeys for a lot of travelers and they remember and recommend us because of amazing value and great services. Start your easy planning with just an email now!
Why Asia Highlights (10,000+ reviews & 98.8% 5-star rating)
- Save Your Time:
- Less research, more enjoyment!
- Real-time 1V1 expert planning
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- Personal local guide and ride
- Explore at your own pace
- Celebrate Your Journeys:
- Specially-crafted family adventures
- Celebrate milestones with style!
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Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
Our guide lele is a wealth of information, Lele is very professional and very attentive to our needs. Lele is amazing. Lele got everything spot on. It probably helps that Guilin is a brilliant place to visit so Lele has great material to work with but that doesn't take anything away from how much Lele helped make it a great trip.
moreOur guide for Beijing was super knowledgeable and experienced and able to help us to achieve as much as we wanted within the time given. We had a fun time guided by him as he is also super humorous and you can see how he interacts with the vendors and people whom he comes by. Thank you for a very enjoyable time in Beijing and accommodating to all our needs!
moreOur China Highlight guide. Michael, was attentive, thoughtful and knowledgeable. He narrated many interesting historical events about Chengdu while touring around the city and having afternoon tea with us. He was thoughtful to provide us with snacks during long hikes at Leshan or walks around the city.
moreShe was very flexible and added extra time when we needed it and we felt extremely well taken care of. She also chose the best restaurants for us,
moreOur tour guide Helen, was excellent, she was very kind, professional and passionate for her work and she also loves Pandas! She will take you to take the best panda photos and to know more about Chengdu city. Our tour was great, she took us to all our destinations always with the best spots: Temples, pagodas, famous streets, theaters, pandas...you name it! Everything was great.
moreHe picked up our pre-booked boat/other excursions tickets so we were able to avoid all the long lines and chaos. He is knowledgeable of the places we visited, courteous, fun to travel with and well-versed in Chinese classics.
moreTom is the guide that will take you to where no other guide will. We pushed for the experience and Tom and the team delivered more than what we could have ever asked for. His English speaking ability and his Chinese history knowledge is second to none.
moreTom is the guide that will take you to where no other guide will. We pushed for the experience and Tom and the team delivered more than what we could have ever asked for. His English speaking ability and his Chinese history knowledge is second to none.
moreOur day trip to Hangzhou was phenomenal. Derek, our guide, was impeccable. By far the best guide we have had so far. He is extremely knowledgeable about the country’s history and geography and was always excited to share his insights.
moreXian es encantadora, el hotel Eastern house boutique muy buena elección por parte de la agencia, los desayunos muy completos para complacer todo tipo de gusto, lo recomiendo 100%, el itinerario fue muy acertado fueron 2 días en la ciudad xian, compartimos con la guía Susana, la atención, la amabilidad y sobre todo su profesionalismo fue lo que marcó la diferencia, sus detalles, estaba siempre en el lugar y momento correcto para hacer de xian un lugar inolvidable.
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At Asia Highlights, we create your kind of journey — your dates, your destinations, at your pace. You can have any trip tailor made for your travel.