Travel Deals for Retirees: Hotels, Cruises and More

Unencumbered by a demanding job or limited time off, many retirees are eager to indulge their wanderlust. About 40% of leisure travelers are 60 or older, according to 2023 data from SquareMouth, a travel insurance aggregator. But the flip side of freedom from the 9-to-5 — and the paycheck that goes along with it — is that you may have to manage your budget more carefully.

Luckily, many travel vendors offer deals for older adults, who can take advantage of the savings to substantially lower travel expenses. Here, we’ve rounded up discounts and special programs for older travelers, from deals on lodging and cruises to tour operators that provide low-cost trips.

Road and Rail

You can get deals on car rentals, cruises, vacation packages, hotels, rail tours and travel planning with an AARP membership. The annual fee is $20, and adding a secondary member in the same household is free. By booking your travel through the AARP Travel Center, powered by Expedia, you can easily access discounts and deals. Visit AARP Travel Center or call 800-675-4318 for assistance with bookings.

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Some of the steepest AARP discounts are for car rentals. You can get up to 30% off select car rentals through Expedia, up to 35% off the base rate (the standard charge for a rental car before taxes and fees) with Avis and Budget, and $20 off an annual membership with car-sharing service Zipcar, which typically costs $90 per year for gas, insurance and up to 180 miles per day.

AARP members earn extra points when they link their AARP membership to the ExxonMobil Rewards+ program. Every 100 points that you earn equals $1 in savings that you can redeem on fuel, car washes and store purchases.

Rather travel by rail? Amtrak offers a 10% discount on rail fares to passengers 65 and older who book directly through Amtrak. And AARP members can access discounted train tours through Vacations by Rail (for more, see the section below on tour operators).

Airfares

Most airlines don’t offer a blanket discount on airfares for older adults. But you may be able to get deals for certain flights. American, Delta and United airlines, for example, offer discounts to passengers who are 65 or older on fares for select travel destinations.

When you book a flight online, check whether you can choose a senior traveler classification or discount (such as “Senior 65+” with United). To get a discount on certain Delta itineraries, you can call the airline’s customer service line at 800-221-1212.

Travelers 55 and older were eligible to get 55% off base fares on select flights with Frontier Airlines during a promotion earlier this year. Keep an eye out for more promotions of this kind at flyfrontier.com.

If you book a flight through the AARP Travel Center at the same time you book a hotel or car rental, you’ll get a $50 Visa prepaid gift card. AARP doesn’t provide direct discounts with most airlines, but AARP members who book a flight with British Airways online can get anywhere from $65 to $200 off round-trip fares.

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Explore plans at www.withfaye.com.

Cruises

Cruises are particularly popular among retirees. Nearly 25% of all cruise passengers are 65 or older, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. Cruise lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America, Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises offer discounts to older adults.

The discounts are typically available to travelers 55 and older and hover at about 10% off. Some are available only for last-minute bookings. You usually must enter your date of birth while booking a cruise online, and when you check in, you may be asked to provide proof of your age with a government-issued ID.

On select cruises that you book through the AARP Travel Center, you can get up to $100 in credits for meals, spa services and other onboard expenses. AARP members can also get up to $200 in onboard credits with select Holland America cruises.

Hotels and Resorts

Many large hotel and resort chains — as well as smaller, independent hotels — offer discounts to older guests. For example, Hyatt has been providing discounts of up to 50% for guests who are 62 and older at participating hotels in the continental U.S. and Canada. Omni Hotels & Resorts offers discounted rates of up to 15% to guests who are 55 or older at participating locations.

Look for senior discounts at checkout when you book online, or call the hotel directly and ask about senior discounts before making your reservation. When you check in, you will typically be asked to present identification to verify your age.

Here, too, an AARP membership can save you money. AARP members get 5% to 10% off at most major hotel chains, including Best Western, Choice, Hilton, La Quinta, Marriott and Wyndham. When room availability allows for it, many hotel brands, including Hilton and LXR Hotels & Resorts, offer late checkout (until 2 pm) for AARP members.

And you can get a 20% discount if you book a stay at one of more than 150 resorts throughout the U.S. and Mexico through the Extra Holidays rental platform. To make a reservation, call 800-428-1932 and mention your AARP membership. Or book at extraholidays.com and use promotion code 8000000048.

Many all-inclusive resorts offer deep discounts of up to 50% to AARP members. For example, a springtime stay at Secrets The Vine Cancun, an adults-only resort in Mexico, was recently available starting at $908 per night for AARP members, compared with the standard rate of $1,396 per night. Finest Playa Mujeres by The Excellence Collection, a family-friendly resort in Mexico, recently offered AARP members springtime stays starting at $759 per night, down from $1,459 nightly. You can use the AARP Travel Center to find all-inclusive resort stays with discounts for AARP members.

Tour Operators

Road Scholar

For adults 50 and older, nonprofit organization Road Scholar offers immersive travel experiences throughout the U.S. and in more than 100 countries. It also has programs through which grandparents can travel with their grandchildren or three generations of a family can go on a trip together.

Prices vary by destination and the type of trip. The average six-day, five-night program in North America goes for about $1,200; a typical international program costs about $3,000. Road Scholar also offers extended trips for individuals interested in immersive, educational travel. The trips last about 130 days; costs range from $20,000 to $25,000.

Scholarships are available for all Road Scholar trips. For example, the Professional Educator’s Assistance & Recognition (PEAR) scholarship provides a maximum award of $1,500 toward a program that costs up to $2,000. Anyone who works or has worked as a professional educator is eligible.

Road Scholar also offers need-based scholarships, which are generally awarded to individuals whose household income is less than 80% of the median income in their state of residency. Income eligibility alone doesn’t guarantee a scholarship. At the same time, an applicant is not automatically disqualified by having a household income higher than the guideline.

Applicants can include in their application any personal, financial or medical circumstances that make it difficult for them to attend a Road Scholar program without financial assistance. Visit Road Scholar to learn more.

Discover Corps

Discover Corps specializes in “volunteer vacations” designed for active older adults and couples who want to participate in volunteer projects while exploring destinations around the world. The trips often focus on cultural immersion and wildlife conservation.

For example, you might work on a wildlife conservation project with a local sanctuary in Kenya. Or, after venturing into the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru or taking time to reflect in the mountains of Bhutan, you may lend a hand at schools in the region. Groups may include families, but trips are designed with active older adults in mind.

Each Discover Corps itinerary features a rating for physical difficulty. Nearly all of the trips fall on the easy to moderate end of the range. For most vacations, adults should be comfortable walking several miles a day, often on uneven ground. Trips include activities, lodging, and most transportation and meals. A typical Discover Corps vacation can cost anywhere between $2,500 and $5,500 per person, depending on the destination, length of the trip, and type of accommodations chosen.

Gate 1 Travel

Gate 1 Travel, which offers escorted tours, river cruises and vacation packages, doesn’t provide discounts to older adults. But it is popular with older travelers because of its competitive pricing. For example, Gate 1 recently offered an eight-day escorted tour through Scandinavia and the Baltics for $2,809, including flights, meals, tours and accommodations.

Linda Taber Ullah, 79, of southern California, is a fan of the tour operator. “When I was in my twenties, I hitchhiked through Europe, backpacked alone through India and Bangladesh, and camped across the U.S. and down through Mexico with a friend,” she says, adding that she has been to all U.S. states except North Dakota. Now, she and her husband, who is 80, continue to travel as much as they can and have gone on trips through Gate 1 since 2013. “We did a Holland America cruise to Alaska a couple of years ago. We really think they offer good value,” she says.

AARP discounts

Collette, a tour operator that boasts more than 170 tours across all seven continents, offers AARP members up to $100 off per person on small group tours that focus on cultural immersion. You can make a reservation by calling Collette at 866-242-9540 and mentioning your AARP member benefit.

Similarly, AARP members get up to $100 off per person on more than 300 guided vacations and river cruises throughout Europe and other destinations around the world through the tour operator Grand European Travel. You can book online with an AARP discount at getours.com/aarp, or you can call 866-847-3858 and mention your AARP membership.

For train travelers, Vacations by Rail offers discounted rail tours to AARP members, who can get a 5% discount on the company’s vacations and tours as well as select train tickets.

Attractions

Many museums, sporting events, theaters, national parks, ski resorts, golf courses and other attractions offer special rates to people older than a certain age.

For example, U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are 62 or older can purchase an annual America the Beautiful — National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass for $20, or a lifetime pass for $80. The pass provides admittance to more than 2,000 recreation sites managed by six federal agencies, including the National Park Service. Applicants must provide documentation of age and residency or citizenship. You can buy a pass at certain federal recreation sites or order one online.

Some Major League Baseball teams offer discounts to adults 55 and older, and discounts on Broadway tickets are available to retirees 62 and older through the Theatre Development Fund.

While most large ski resorts don’t offer discounts to older adults, many smaller, independent operators do. And golf courses commonly provide discounted greens fees for those older than 55 or 60. Browse other deals at TheSeniorList.com.

Alumni trips

An alumni trip organized through your alma mater can provide a unique travel experience. Many colleges and universities offer these programs to strengthen the alumni community and give former students the chance to advance their knowledge through an immersive and educational travel experience.

Institutions may also organize alumni trips so that they can use the proceeds to fund other programs and activities at the school. Especially if fund-raising is part of the goal, these trips may run on the pricier side. Expect to pay anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 for a typical 10- to 14-day alumni trip, not including airfare. Alumni trips typically include shared housing, meals, guided tours and other activities suitable for trav­elers of all ages.

Alumni trips may be more adult-oriented than those the college offered to you as a student; you might enjoy a wine tour through Italy or Spain, for instance. The University of Washington’s alumni association recently offered a nine-day trip with prices starting at $4,995. The trip included private tours and tastings throughout the Catalan region of Spain, meals, accommodations, and airport transfers.

To find about your alma mater’s trips, check the website of its alumni association, and consider signing up for the association’s newsletter (if it offers one), which may provide updates on upcoming trips.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

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