Multigenerational Travel

My parents and I went to Scotland when they were 80. They were both quite active although my dad did hurt his foot just before the trip. :( There were no issues with the airplane trip and it was a very long one. We left Madison WI at 3 PM and flew to St. Louis, London, Edinburgh, Inverness (no plane change though!) and on to arrive in Kirkwall at 6 PM the next day, which was 22 hours of travel. Now, I did have access to airline clubs which helped.

We did not do a tour. Rather we rented cars and I drove. We spent three nights in Kirkwall with a rental car. We took the ferry and bus to Inverness where we picked up another car. We spent that evening with friends. The next three days we spent driving around the top coast of Scotland. I did all the driving. We had places that we stopped and toured, Inverewe Gardens for example, and the Clearances Museum in Betty Hill. We ended the circle back with friends near Inverness. After a stop in Dunkeld, the last few days were spent in Edinburgh at the Inverleith Hotel. My Dad picked out the hotels and the B&B in Kirkwall. I did the rest or relied on book a bed ahead through the TI. We were traveling in September.

I was very glad we had a car. Because of my Dad's foot I kept finding myself walking 3-4 yards ahead of them, which I think I may finally have resolved by the end of the trip. :) My mom and I each had roll aboard bags, but my dad had his convertible bag. I think it would have been better for him to have had a roll aboard bag too. But, remember the rolling bags don't always roll, so pack lightly. I was definitely helping with all the bags. Do check for elevators or at least that their room is not at the top of the third (our fourth) floor after four flights of stairs. Our days weren't quite as long as mine. But it was a great trip. My Dad died 4 and a half years ago and I cannot tell you how very, very happy I am that I did this trip with them. My dad would have hated a tour, but I am glad that we did our own thing. it did allow us to make our own decisions about when we got on the road and when would decide to push on to another destination.

Pam

I would suggest you go someplace where you can rent a home or a couple of adjacent apartments in a city that will hold everyone's attention for a week or so. Paris and Budapest come to mind for that. Naturally my first choice is Budapest because I know it and I can plan it easier. If that sounds interesting then let me know, would love to help. Taking old folks behind the Iron Curtain can be a thrill for that generation. I know that because it was a thrill for my generation.

For the crossing I think the kids should pitch in and but the old folks first class or at least business class tickets. Then it will be a lot easier. Just make sure you get them up and walk them around a bit during the long flight. Make sure you have about 3 hour layovers and it would be great if you could get a club card like Priority Pass so they can be comfortable while waiting. I know about this because I drag my 80something year old mother in law around from time to time.

Carole,

I've taken my mom on a handful of trips since she turned 80.

I know that she would not enjoy a tour because tours tend to be too rushed & exhausting.

Our most recent trip was this past Sept/Oct. when we visited northern Italy. She is 87, active and in fairly good health.

Here are a few tips that come to mind when traveling with elderly parents.

• travel light-- my mom & I each had a small carry-on sized roller suitcase and I was the one lugging both bags 99% of the time.
• make sure all accommodations you book have elevators-- beware, because some hotels have a flight of stairs just to get to the front door.
• avoid over-scheduling your days-- they need to take frequent rests.
• make sure they bring medications (prescription & OTC)
• Consider requesting wheelchair assistance at airports if they have trouble walking fast-- our flight was delayed & we'd have missed our connecting flight (terminals were far from each other) if we didn't have this help for my mom.

• check weather reports for countries you want to travel to before making any plans. Summer is very hot in Europe.

• If flying over-seas, make sure they get up every 60-90 minutes to walk
  up & down the plane corridor to avoid DVT's (deep venous thrombosis-
  blood clot formation)

Where are you planning to travel?

I think you have gotten some very good advice.. I would pay attention to it.

I would never consider a tour for for the over 80 set unless they were very fit for age.

I might consider a RIVER cruise.. expensive.. but easy for every one.. unpack only once. but see many places,

Another option is to rent a canal boat and do your own cruise.. same idea though.. same bed every night.

I also think if it can be swung I would try for at least a premium economy seat for them on the flight. First class is VERY expensive.. but even a few extra inches of room and comfort on a long flight help.. so prem. Ec is a good compromise .

I also think it would be far wiser to rent a few apartments or a villa..

I'm hoping to be traveling into my 80s. Now in my 70s and have to coddle my knees. I travel light, rest a lot, take taxis when hauling luggage, and stay at hotels with elevators. With your parents, don't expect them to go at your pace; schedule rest periods for them. I also suggest eating main meals mid-day rather than at night. Digestive systems slow down as we age; late meals can interfere with good sleep. Somewhere in your luggage include an elastic knee brace and ankle brace. These help a lot with iffy joints.

I've done several river cruises with my mom since she turned 80, and my 15yo daughter joined us on the first one. We have really enjoyed them! It's great to settle in to one room and then be carried to the different sights, and the pace worked pretty well for all of us. If you do this, it would be a good idea to arrive a day or so early so your parents have one day to deal with jet lag before the tour starts; on our last cruise, we reached the ship at 6 pm and our group left for the day's activities the next morning at 8.10. That really wore Mom out; she's a night owl and needed to be able to sleep in that first day.

Last October, Mom and I did a trip mostly to the Loire region. Having learned my lesson from the previous trip, this time we just spent our first day in France near CDG airport and stayed at a hotel near the airport our first night. The next day we rented our car and headed out for the sights. We had a couple of 1- or 2-night stays but also rented a gite [cottage] in a village south of Amboise for a week. That was a lot of fun - walking to the boulangerie for breakfast croissants, picking up dinner at the local market. My sister and BIL joined us there at the cottage, and Mom took one day off touring to sit home and read while we saw some more demanding [hilly] sights.

You could plan a great 2-week trip with just 2 home bases; maybe Paris and the Loire, or the south of France... or London and Edinburgh... If that sounds appealing, think about what countries/locations would be of most interest to the family and come back to the forum with more specific questions. People here are a wonderful resource!

I agree that an organized tour is potential trouble, since it forces you to move at its pace rather than yours. A river cruise does sound like a good idea if you want to see a lot of different places. Or, in two weeks you could just plan to stay in one or two places. A city is good because it will offer daytrips if you get bored, and will have a variety of attractions for the varied ages in your group.

While centrally located hotel rooms or apartments in cities are always a good idea, it's particularly important for your group. This way if your parents get tired, they can just take a taxi back to the room to rest, then meet you for dinner. It will also allow your teenager to explore on his/her own easily. Do make sure everyone in the group has a card with the hotel's name and address on it, so that they can just hop in a taxi and show it to the driver if they want or need to get "home" quickly.

As for air travel and time adjustment, Pat's advice above is good: spring for the best seats you can afford (first class, business class, premium economy, and economy plus, in that order, are all preferable to regular "steerage"). And plan at least 3 days at your first stop, so that you can get acclimated to the time difference. I find that jet lag hits me differently every trip. Spending more time at your first stop also allows everyone to acclimate to other things - how the local buses or Metro work, where the nearest supermarket is, which local restaurant you want to go to for your last night, etc. After a few days, you start to feel like a temporary local, as you have "your" Metro stop, "your" cafe, etc.

How about the "big 3" - London, Paris and Amsterdam. There is plenty to see and do in these places and day trips so if your parents want an easy day, you can split up and do something more strenuous. Each city is much different from the others, so it's a nice mix of cultures, architectures, experiences. There are high-speed trains between the cities, making it easy to go from one to the next. There's nothing physically strenuous about these destinations, you're just limited by your stamina, with lots of opportunities to sit and rest along the way. If there are any potential hip/knee issues, avoid lodging with a lot of stairs.

London is closest, so a somewhat shorter flight. Look for non-stop flights using the "multi-destination function" and fly open-jaw, starting in London and ending in Amsterdam. Or go with London-Paris. Can you get to O'Hare fairly easily (yeah, I know it's not exactly down the road). Maybe arrange to spend the night before the flight close to the airport so the trip is a little shorter and less tiring than flying from WI and having to change planes.

My dad took me and my sister to Europe in 2013. He was 88 at that time, also in pretty good health. We took a British Isle cruise and then spent 3 nights in London after the cruise. It was a perfect trip for my dad and us, too. No fusing with meals, no packing and unpacking, etc. We had three stops in Ireland, three in Scotland, one in France (got to see Normandy- the basic reason for the trip) and also England. I had encouraged my dad to let me plan a ground trip and spend more time (like in Normandy) for a lot less cost than the cruise. He insisted on the cruise. However, when it was done, I was really happy we did a cruise. The pace was much better for my dad, everything was easy.