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Travel Tips for Senior Travelers to Asia

By CindyUpdated Jan. 23, 2024

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

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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!

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