Summer travel opens new places, relationships for Atlanta’s seniors

Sweeping mountain views, pristine beaches, endless ocean horizons. All-inclusive group trips, and budget-planned family excursions. Travel options for older adults this summer hold all kinds of promise and endless options.

Here are some tips for where to go and how to get there.

Two types of travelers

The way Jacque Lederman sees it, there are two types of travelers: those who prefer group travel and those who like to plan things independently. She and her husband, Kent, started Stockbridge-based Ageless Adventures in 2017, offering day-trip, motor coach, and fly-out opportunities to travelers ages 55 and up, although anyone can join a group.

“It’s two different mindsets, and it does come into play with how one goes about choosing experiences. I would say group travel would tend to serve those who do have some resources at their disposal,” she said. “It does cost more to go as a group because you’re paying for the services of those who are planning and leading and all the transport … There is value in it with the less stress and all of that. The budget traveler, or maybe even just simply the self-planner, is more inclined to get in the car and drive.”

Credit: Contributed by Ageless Adventures

Credit: Contributed by Ageless Adventures

For those considering local trips this summer, Lederman recommends state parks, museums and zoos.

“I would encourage people, if they live here and they like to drive and plan their own travel, to check out our state parks for the summer or national historic sites. We have so many terrific museums in Georgia — and botanical gardens,” she said. “You could get creative and simply choose an area or an interest that you would like to explore this summer … That can really provide an interesting itinerary. And then, do an online search for that interest or region.”

Her state park picks include Richard B. Russell State Park near Elberton, Georgia, with its lake opportunities, and Vogel State Park in the mountains of Union County. Roosevelt State Park, in Pine Mountain, Georgia, she pointed out, has lots of things to see nearby, including Callaway Gardens and the Little White House. And Cumberland Island National Seashore is a great overnight or weekend option that offers glimpses of feral horses.

National parks, with their discount options for seniors, she said, are great for a flyout adventure.

“Many people pick a region and just go explore the parks, and that’s a great summertime thing to do,” she said. “The closest actual park (for Atlantans) would be the Smoky Mountain National Park. You could go to Florida — the Everglades.”

Northern Michigan, Lederman said, is “off the beaten path,” and visitors can see beautiful small towns and dunes near Lake Michigan and tour Sleeping Bear National Seashore and Mackinac Island.

Cruising, she pointed out, is great for older adults who aren’t up for as much walking, and this mode of travel appeals to budgets across the board. Alaska, with its stunning mountain and water views, is one of her favorite cruising destinations, and she also recommends cruising through New England, beginning in Boston or New York City and on into Canada.

Credit: Contributed by Senior University of Greater Atlanta

Credit: Contributed by Senior University of Greater Atlanta

Local and day-trip draws

Senior University of Greater Atlanta is a Tucker-based nonprofit catering to participants ages 55 and up with educational classes and trips. There’s an international component to the travel, but Norman Slawsky, 74, a past president of SUGA, spoke to the AJC mainly about local excursions.

Day trips are a significant draw. The group has been to the Carter Center near Poncey-Highland in Atlanta and Cartersville to see the Booth Western Art Museum and the Tellus Science Museum. SUGA often arranges a tour guide for these trips, and it’s a plus Slawsky said, when there’s a cafe on site like at the Carter Center. About a year ago, the group traveled via rented bus to Montgomery, Ala., to see The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

“It takes about two and a half hours each way,” Slawsky said. “It was a long day, but we managed to do it. I think people found it to be a very worthwhile trip.”

The group has also stayed in town for backstage tours at venues like the Fox Theater, he said.

Credit: Contributed by Ageless Adventures

Credit: Contributed by Ageless Adventures

International considerations

George Brown, 78, owns GTB Travel, another agency geared toward senior travelers. The Druid Hills resident coordinates several international and domestic trips each year. Recent destinations have included Kentucky, Alaska and Ireland. Atlanta, he said, is a great place for seniors to fly out of because there are so many nonstop flights.

“From Atlanta, you can get anywhere in the world in a day,” he said. “Each time you change airports, the anxiety of being late or missing (a flight), or if you have to go through customs really makes travel more difficult.”

Nonstop flights, he pointed out, also reduce the risk of lost luggage. Travelers who do need to transfer flights need to allow enough time; a 50-minute, airline-scheduled transfer is not long enough, Brown said.

“It’s much better to allow extra time in your transit than cut it too close,” he said. “I always tell people if it’s an international flight, you should look for three hours or more.”

He advises scheduling around school holidays and avoiding midsummer price spikes.

“The great thing for seniors, if we’re retired, is that we can choose when to travel,” he said.

May and June are great times to go just about anywhere, he said. Seniors benefit by looking for tour programs with last-minute discounts as companies try to fill their participation limits.

Domestic destinations that work particularly well that time of year include Santa Fe with its abundance of history and a topography that differs sharply from Atlanta’s, he said. It’s a destination where travelers can settle in for a few nights and see Native American pueblo dwellings and the Museum of International Folk Art. The Hudson River Valley in upstate New York, with its agricultural beauty, is another place Brown recommends for a few days away.

Credit: Contributed by GTB Travel

Credit: Contributed by GTB Travel

Those looking to travel to Europe should research England, Scotland, and Ireland this time of year, he said.

“Their spring will be a little later than ours,” he said. “Even June is great for there.”

Spring is also a good time to visit Japan as are September and October, he said.

Brown will be leading a 32-person trip to Scotland soon. The trip kicks off with a nonstop flight from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Edinburgh. The group will spend a few days in Scotland’s capital. Then, they’ll head to the Highlands before traveling to the country’s west coast to the isles of Mull and Iona andGlasgow. They’ll take a train from Glasgow to London, an activity Brown recommends for trips abroad.

“Americans don’t have great passage trains. And so I say, when you go to Europe, go first class. It doesn’t cost that much more,” he said.

The group will end the trip with a six-day transatlantic cruise back to New York. Group participants will likely find benefit in the built-in companionship, along with the convenience and safety, he said.

“It gets to the point where you come to value the group for the safety and security,” he said. “Someone else is making the arrangements. Probably three-quarters of the people that travel with us are women that live alone. They have that security, but also the added benefit of the enjoyment of traveling with the group.”

Learning opportunities

Inevitably, with group travel, relationships blossom.

“We’ve seen lots of friendships — even a couple of romances because of our trips — camaraderie,” Lederman said. “Also, group travel provides learning opportunities, sometimes that people wouldn’t experience on their own.”

Overall, people who choose to travel to destinations near or far benefit from expanded worldviews and emotional capacities, she said.

“It helps people to be more physically active to travel,” she said. “It aids in promoting mental health and emotional well-being. I’d say travel does expand our understanding of other people groups in our world. It enlarges our world to travel. It’s very beneficial just from an emotional and physical health standpoint.”

Get traveling

These groups cater to local seniors interested in traveling locally, across the nation, and around the world.