When She and I think of overseas travel, we always tend to err on the side of big trips to faraway places - but we are now tempering that view! For a few reasons - we have commitments at home and in our community; we miss the kids, the grand-kids, "H" and Millie (the cat) dreadfully; AND we are finding that the longer trips are proving not only looooonger as we get older but also, especially for us retirees, way too expensive!
But with the very competitive "budget" airfares and "last minute" cruise deals seemingly always about these days - vigilantly watch for them in your local Sunday paper Travel section, or go online to any number of speciality travel websites - you can whizz off from Australia to New Zealand, Singapore, Bali or Hong Kong for a short and relatively inexpensive holiday, without too much forward planning or fanfare! That's for the Aussies, who unfortunately live the farthest away from anywhere! For those of you living in the Americas, Africa, Asia or Europe, your ability to take shorter trips (comparatively to ours) abound, but the same principles still apply.
So many of us retirees spend far too much time worrying about whether or not to dip into the retirement "nest-egg" to go on a big overseas trip - if that's you, I do strongly encourage you to do something rather than being too frightened to do anything! A short, less expensive trip will likely be more appealing price-wise anyway, AND it just might satisfy that travel urge within. So, whether cruising is your preference or if you want to fly and stay somewhere, with easily accessible exotic destinations and with really attractive package deals readily available, you can be totally spontaneous and take a short break - be it for only 2, 5 or even 7 days - which will most certainly exhilarate you, without breaking the bank!
Importantly, if overseas travel does not appeal and you'd rather stay locally on terra firma, then I would again remind and recommend to you, the virtues of hiring a caravan for a short break to one of the scenic destinations in your own state or even a little farther afield. Oh, you don't have a tow vehicle? - well, I understand that at least one of the major car rental companies will rent you a tow vehicle (a Prado or similar) with full approval to hook up a caravan. I've referred you previously to our friends at Baby Boomers Caravan Hire, who will gladly look after all your van hiring needs - they tell me they are in huge demand particularly from us grey nomads, but if you are in or planning to visit the Sydney NSW region, be sure to contact them at: Baby Boomers Caravan Hire . If you prefer not to tow then you might want to just jump in the car with an overnight bag of clothes etc. and head off to a favourite resort for a few days, be it by mountain or sea, staying in the local B&B, hotel or motel and just relax - its good for the soul and again, it will not break the bank!
My message here is consistent with my earlier travel posts - make sure you don't have any regrets later on by not doing some sort of travel now, while you are fit and able. There are some truisms here to remember and invoke:
No one knows what lies ahead in life - so make the most of every day!
No one knows whether they have a big enough "nest-egg" to adequately fund their retirement - but use what you have wisely and enjoyably
Too many of us worry too much about things we cannot control and do too little about those things we can control - you have the power to change that paradigm, relative to your specific circumstance - SO DO WHAT YOU CAN, WHILE YOU CAN and manage the retirement lifestyle!
