How This 70 Year Old Couple Traveled the World

When I saw him in the hostel, I couldn’t help but smile. There he was, a man who could have been my grandfather, hanging out with college-aged backpackers and having the time of his life. The younger travelers were enamored with his stories of past travels and his ability to drink them under the table. No one cared he was in his 70s. Age mattered not one bit.

I believe that most of my advice on this website is universal. Maybe as an older couple or family you’ll skip hostels or avoid Couchsurfing, but when we land in Paris, we all face the same costs and list of potential activities, regardless of age. But I think, especially here in the United States, there is a belief that you just can’t travel when you’re 70 or have medical problems. And while there are a few things to be more mindful of as you get older, I disagree that there is a special category called “senior travel.” The differences between how I travel and how a 70-year-old travels are really minimal.

So when Don and Alison approached me about their story, I had to share it. Because here is a “senior” couple, limited by some medical issues, engaging in adventures I only dream about. I think their story can teach and inspire a lot of us.

Nomadic Matt: Hi guys! Tell everyone about yourselves.
Don: I’m a 70-year-old retired neuropsychologist. Two years ago, I made a decision to retire, because I’d developed a number of medical problems due to stress from work. I was working myself into sickness. Alison (my wife, who is 63) and I didn’t have enough savings to be able to keep our home and do the kind of world travel we wanted to do. We agonized over what to do for a long time until it became clear that it came down to the question of “Do we want to have a home or do we want to have a life?” So we made the decision to sell our home. We’ve now been on the road, with occasional trips back to our hometown to restock our basic supplies and see our friends, for two years, and plan to continue living a nomadic life for the foreseeable future.

What inspired you to become nomadic?
Don: Initially it was the desire to see the places that were at the top of our bucket list, and after that to see as much of the world as we could before we got too old to travel.

Alison: Inspiration came first from Don writing daily “morning pages” (from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way) in search of some answers to the retirement/income dilemma. One day out of the blue, he suggested to me that we could sell the condo and go traveling. I didn’t immediately say yes to this, but it was a seed that grew of its own accord until one day, we realized this is what we’d do. I had a nice life at home, but Don was done with work and struggling to keep going. Something had to give.

Where have your travels taken you so far?
Don: After selling our home, we went to Europe. Following that we went to Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India, where we stayed for 10 weeks in order to spend time meditating at the ashram of Ramana Maharshi. From there we went to Bali, then to Australia to spend time with some of Alison’s family and friends. We’ve also been back to India, all over Southeast Asia, and most recently, Mexico.

Did your friends and family think you were crazy for doing this?
Don: Probably, although no one said that to our faces. Everyone was surprised, some of them seemed perhaps a bit shocked, and many of them told us that we had a lot of courage for taking this step and encouraged us to go for it.

Do you feel that your age was in any way a problem or limiting?
Don: When we first began traveling, I was concerned about my health and whether I’d be able to stay healthy, particularly when traveling in Third World countries. However, as we’ve traveled, I realized I can get sick overseas, take appropriate medications, and get well again. It’s not as hard as I thought to get the necessary care when you travel.

Alison: It never occurred to me that age has anything to do with anything. I’m young, fit, and healthy, and mostly do what I need to do to stay that way. At the same time, I’m aware that Don has some manageable health issues that we need to pay attention to, but nothing that really prevents us from doing what we want to do. He’s so much healthier and happier than when he was working.

Having said that, we’re not cavalier about our bodies. We know that things sometimes take longer to heal than when we were younger. For this reason, we draw the line at things like white-water rafting. Apart from the fact that neither of us are experienced at it, we know that one good jolt could result in whiplash that could take weeks to heal. Still, we’ve hiked in fairly difficult terrain, been swimming with elephants, gone kayaking, ridden camels at dawn in the desert, and climbed volcanoes in the dark.

How did you save money for your travels?
Don: I had been putting money into a Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plan for many years. These savings and any interest earned on them are tax-free until such time as I begin to withdraw them. We sold our home at what appears now to have been the peak of the Vancouver housing market in August 2011 and put the money to work in investments. We also receive a monthly pension from a Canadian federal government plan that I contributed to from the time I was in my early 20s until I retired.

How do you manage your money on the road?
Don: We budget about $50 per day for our accommodation, plus another $50 for meals and entertainment. Recently, we’ve started staying in places for longer periods of time and have begun renting apartments instead of staying in hotels. The price per night is often about the same as a hotel room, but we save money by making our own meals. We regularly splurge on guided tours or treks, or big events like the Guelaguetza Festival in Oaxaca.

A lot of older couples and individuals feel that round-the-world trips are for young people. What would you say to them?
Don: Do it anyway while you still have the health and strength to do it. We’re more flashpackers than backpackers: we usually stay in three-star hotels because we can do that on our budget, and the rooms we rent must have Wi-Fi and an en-suite bathroom. We book hotel rooms or apartments online using Agoda.com, Booking.com, Wimdu.com, or Homeaway.com.

Alison: I think there are a lot of myths about “old age” that people live into. I don’t understand the idea that adventure and a love of life are only for “the young.” We’ve met a full-of-life 92-year-old who learnt to play the fiddle in his seventies and regularly jams with a group of buddies, a 78-year-old woman who says when she’s 80 she’ll be ready to sell her house and go traveling, and an eighty-something woman who was traveling alone in Myanmar. We love role models like this. Life’s what you make it, and you only get one chance to live this life.

Do you stay in hostels? When you meet young backpackers on your trip, how do they react? I usually find that they tend to get excited about senior travelers. It’s a “cool” thing.
Don: We haven’t stayed in hostels for two main reasons: the first being because of my concerns about the security of our belongings, and the second being that we like the luxury of a private bathroom. That being said, the young backpackers we’ve met on the road have been very positive about us doing what we’re doing at our age.

Did you have any fears about traveling before you started?
Don: Alison has always been much more adventurous than me, so when we first began traveling I had a lot of fears about getting sick in Third World countries. Now that we’ve been traveling for almost two years, a lot of those fears are gone because we’ve been sick and recovered without having to be sent back to Canada.

Alison: I don’t like flying. It’s one of my biggest fears. As long as things are going smoothly and I can immerse myself in a movie I’m fine. But any turbulence and I’m a white-knuckle mess. [Matt says: me too!] Apart from that I don’t think I was ever really afraid, because I’d done so much traveling when I was younger.

What was the biggest thing you’ve learned from your travels so far?
Don: That traveling really does broaden the mind. We’ve discovered that people are people wherever we go and that the great majority of them are friendly and helpful. If you approach people in a friendly and open-hearted way, that is what you are most likely to get back. We do our best to come with a sense of respect for the people we meet on our travels, regardless of their circumstances. We’ve also found that making the effort to learn a few basic words and phrases of the local language does wonders for connecting with the people of a country!

I’m much happier and healthier than I was two years ago. I now know from personal experience why people love to travel. The world and its peoples are much more friendly and much less scary than various government websites would have us believe.

Alison: Everything Don said, and always learn how to say “I’m sorry” in the local language. And presence. There’s no past, no future. Only now. The longer we travel the more this truth is actually lived. Whenever I feel vulnerable I return to the present because it is here that life is lived.

What advice would you give to people looking to do something similar?
Alison: Don’t go blind. Do your research. The more information you gather before you go, the better you’ll be prepared, and the less vulnerable you’ll feel. At the same time, don’t organize yourself into a tight schedule. Leave room for spontaneity. Trust yourself, and go for it. Until you do it you cannot even begin to imagine the rewards that come from such a life. The world is an astonishing place, and people are more open-hearted than you’d ever believe from watching the nightly news. Oh, that’s another thing — stop watching the news: it gives you a very negative view of the word!

Don and Alison are a real inspiration. They found a way to make travel work for them, and it even made Don a healthier and happier person! I really do love their story as well as what they had to say about their experience. The couple have set up a blog about their travels that you can read here.

Become the Next Success Story

One of my favorite parts about this job is hearing people’s travel stories. They inspire me, but more importantly, they also inspire you. I travel a certain way but there are many ways to fund your trips and travel the world. I hope these stories show you that there is more than one way to travel, and that it is within your grasp to reach your travel goals. Here’s another example of people who made traveling the world a priority a little later in life:

We all come from different places, but we all have one thing in common: we all want to travel more.

Make today the day you take one step closer to traveling — whether it is buying a guidebook, booking a hostel, creating an itinerary, or going all the way and buying a plane ticket.

Remember, tomorrow may never come, so don’t wait.

How Helen Successfully Traveled and Volunteered Around Africa

Years ago, my friend Zach backpacked from Cape Town to Cairo. It was him, a small backpack, and nothing else. He hitchhiked, rode in the back of buses and trucks, slept in ultra-cheap accommodation, and ate only local food. I was fascinated by the stories he told me of his adventure. Africa is always seen as a scary place to travel alone, with danger and theft lurking around every corner for the unsuspecting traveler.

But there are a lot of people who travel the continent alone, people like Helen. Helen is a 33-year-old English woman who spent months volunteering and traveling around Africa on her own. Today, she shares how she did it and how you can do it too.

Nomadic Matt: Tell everyone about yourself.
Helen: My name is Helen, I’m 33 and originally from Liverpool in the UK. In 2009 I made a life-changing decision to backpack around the world, starting in Africa. It was one of the best years of my life, and since then some fantastic opportunities have come my way — but then I believe you make your own destiny! I now divide my time between my travel blog Helen in Wonderlust and my job supporting social entrepreneurs in business. Last year I was working as a tour guide in Zambia and Malawi.

What inspired your trip?
I’m a massive fan of the TV documentary shows with David Attenborough and Tribe with Bruce Parry. In the program, Bruce lives with remote tribes for a month at a time. I also grew up watching films like The Goonies, Indiana Jones, and Romancing the Stone, but I was always a little bit scared of actually going on adventures of my own. Then my grandmother, who I really admired for her adventurous spirit, became really ill. It really devastated me and made me think about what I had been doing with my own life. So I began to save and then I was made redundant from work, so I decided it was the ideal time to take charge of my future and go on the adventures I’d always dreamed of.

Did you feel overwhelmed when you were planning?
There were so many times when I was so overwhelmed! From deciding where to go to deciding which companies to choose, everything seemed daunting at first! I did as much research as I could and plotted a basic route and then booked a few things so I had a basic structure, especially for the first leg of my trip. Once I’d done that I felt a whole lot better and everything began to fall into place. Once you’re actually on the move, things tend to get a bit easier and you relax into your travels.

Where did you go on your trip?
I started off with a volunteering project in Zambia called the Book Bus. I spent a month there, before getting the Tazara Train across to Tanzania, where I spent a month volunteering for an orphanage that runs a lot of outreach programs in the Bagamoyo region on the east coast. After that I took the bus up north to climb Kilimanjaro. After that I took an overland truck through Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and down to South Africa, where I did a self-drive along the Garden Route.

What drove you to explore Africa?
Everyone thought I was crazy to be starting off my trip in Africa. I guess it’s not the obvious destination for your first solo venture. But I found Africa fascinating; it was a bit of an enigma. The media portrayal of Africa is rarely positive, and the history of the place is just mind-blowing, so I wanted to go and see it for myself. A few of my friends had spent their post-university days exploring Europe, Thailand, and Australia, but I didn’t know anyone who had been backpacking around Africa. I also love wildlife and sunsets, so Africa seemed the most obvious choice.

Was it difficult being a solo female in Africa?
To be honest, no. There are tons of preconceptions about what traveling in Africa is like, and about Africa in general. But in reality, it’s actually not that scary at all. Don’t get me wrong — there are places that I might not necessarily go to, but that’s not because I’m a woman or that I am alone. It’s more to do with the fact that there might be political unrest in the area or something like that. Africa is vast and there are many ways to travel safely and easily as a woman.

What safety advice would you give to others?
Africa can be a very safe place to travel, if you take a few basic precautions. First, take your malaria medication and get all of the relevant vaccinations. Drink bottled water, carry antibacterial hand gel, and wash your hands. The most common cause of illness is people not washing their hands properly around food.

Whilst most Africans are very gentle, honest and respectful, as with anywhere else in the world where there is a lot of poverty, you need to be careful with your belongings and not make yourself a target. Don’t keep huge amounts of money in your main wallet. I always carry the bulk of my money about my person, either in my bag or a hidden money belt, and then keep a small amount of cash in my wallet to pay for basic things.

Don’t walk around alone after dark: try to stay with a group or take a taxi. Your hotel or hostel will be able to recommend a reputable taxi driver to take you around town. I often get a couple of taxi numbers whilst I’m in a place and just use them. On another transport note, wear your seatbelt when available!

Was it hard to get around on local transport?
Local transport is not as well set up as in other parts of the world such as Southeast Asia, but it’s still fairly easy to get from A to B. There are a number of big bus companies that run between many of the main destinations, but they’re not as frequent, so be prepared that the bus you want to get may be full or only runs on certain days, so allow for that in your plans. The train I took from Zambia to Tanzania only runs on a Tuesday in that direction, and the train arrived 24 hours later than expected. But, there is a common saying, “T.I.A.: This is Africa,” and if you’re prepared for it, then it can be a real adventure.

Local minibuses can also be a good way to get around, if you don’t mind being crammed into a small space. At the end of my last trip to Africa, I had a few days spare in Lilongwe, Malawi, so I decided to take a trip to South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, which is about eight hours away by car. The safari company only ran four-day trips, and I only had three days. So I negotiated a discount, and told them I would make my own way back. When I arrived [back] at the camp, I made my way to the bar and asked around for local transport options. The bar man said he would sort something out for me and sure enough, on the day of my departure, I was picked up by a local minibus that took me close to the Malawi border. From there, I got a taxi, walked through customs, got another taxi to the next minibus stand and then another minibus all the way back to Lilongwe. It took a bit longer — maybe 12 hours, and wasn’t quite as comfortable — but it was cheap and I had absolutely no issues. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

You volunteered a lot in Africa. How did you find reputable companies to volunteer with?
I’ve actually been really lucky with the companies I’ve volunteered with, they’ve all been great. I had two months to spare before doing my Kilimanjaro trek, so I started looking around for placements. I saw an advert for the Book Bus on a job site, and they are a UK-based company. After exchanging numerous emails, I knew that they would be great to volunteer for. I also sponsor a little girl in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, so I wanted to find somewhere to volunteer near her so I could visit, and through a bit of Internet research, I came across the Baobab Home. The home is run by Terri Place, an American and her husband Caito, who is Tanzanian. I loved the look of the work they were doing, and asked if I could come along to help out! My third volunteering assignment was in 2011 at Soft Power Education in Uganda, with whom I’d spent a day helping out in 2009, so I knew they were a good company.

My main piece of advice would be to contact previous volunteers, which is easily done by Facebook these days, or look for recommendations from bloggers or online forums. I can recommend a lot of good volunteering projects that I’ve come across on my travels.

What advice would you have for people trying to backpack alone around Africa?
If you’re worried about going for the first time, joining an overland truck is a great way to see the continent. You won’t have as much freedom as you would if you were traveling completely independently, but transport and food is taken care of, and there are plenty of opportunities to get out and about and see the real Africa.

Joining a volunteering project can be a great way to get used to backpacking alone. Spending a month in Livingstone, Zambia, working with the local people and being an active member of the community really helped me settle in to Africa, and I was well prepared for all of the solo travel I did.

If you do decide to go it alone, I’d recommend booking accommodation for your first few nights. Most good guesthouses will be able to help you book your onward travel.

Check the visa requirements for the countries you are going to. Most allow you to get entry at the borders, but it’s best to check beforehand. You will need a yellow fever certificate for many African countries.

Always take a mix of dollars in various denominations, that are dated post-2002. Some currencies are only available in country, but visas can be purchased with dollars. Traveler’s checks can be difficult to change, so I’ll leave it up to you whether you take them. A Visa card is much more widely accepted than any other card.

Be flexible, make sure your schedule isn’t too tight, and expect the unexpected. If you can embrace that, then you will have an unforgettable adventure.

Oh, and be prepared that you WILL fall in love with this continent.

***** A lot of people view Africa as this monolithic place, but it is a gigantic continent with a lot of variety. You can’t lump it all together. There are many safe areas and many, many dangerous areas.

A lot of people view Africa as this monolithic place, but it is a gigantic continent with a lot of variety. You can’t lump it all together. There are many safe areas and many, many dangerous areas. I loved my time in Africa . I met some amazing, friendly, and helpful locals and never once felt unsafe where I was.

Helen’s story (as well as my friend Zach’s experience) shows that while there maybe be touts, scams, and petty crime (my friend got robbed at knifepoint in Malawi), if you keep your wits about you and use some common sense, you can safely backpack around the continent of Africa.

Just like any other place in the world.

If you want to read more about Helen’s adventures, check out her blog, Helen in Wonderlust.

Become the Next Success Story

One of my favorite parts about this job is hearing people’s travel stories. They inspire me, but more importantly, they also inspire you. I travel a certain way, but there are many ways to fund your trips and travel the world. I hope these stories show you that there is more than one way to travel and that it is within your grasp to reach your travel goals. Here are more examples of people who gave up living a typical life to explore the world:

We all come from different places, but we all have one thing in common: we all want to travel more.

The 11 Best Accessories for Your New iPhone 7

If you were one of the first people in line for Apple’s newest iPhones, you’re not going to want anything less than the best accessories.

And even if you weren’t, you have probably noticed by now that the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus cameras don’t quite line up with the last generation’s cases.

Of course, there’s more to the iPhone accessory world that just protective cases and wireless headphones (though there are plenty of standouts in those categories, too). Improve your Instagram game, polish your personal tech style, and make the one item you’ve probably never traveled without even more of a multi-tasking essential.

Celebrity Kids Who Have More Passport Stamps Than You Do

Princess Charlotte turned one year old May 2, marking another milestone for the royal family this year. In honor of her big day, mom Kate Middleton and dad Prince William released several photos of the tot walking with a toy stroller at her parent’s home in Norfolk. And though she was enjoying some playtime at home, the youngster has already started racking up air miles with a recent trip to the French Alps.

If her big brother Prince George is any indicator of how many passport stamps she’ll soon have, then Charlotte could be a jet-setter before her next birthday. At just six months old, George enjoyed a tropical getaway to the Caribbean island of Mustique and later joined his parents on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand—all before he turned one.

Of course, Charlotte and George aren’t the only tots with frequent flier miles that could rival any businessman’s. Many of Hollywood’s offspring have traveled around the world before they were even out of diapers.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s daughter North has been to St. Bart’s, Mexico, Vail, New York, Thailand, and even Israel.  North’s pal Blue Ivy has traveled to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Paris, and Spain with mom Beyonce and dad Jay Z. Likewise, Suri Cruise has traveled France, Italy, Spain, and Brazil with parents Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise in her few short years on this planet.

And who could forget the Jolie-Pitt kids? Members of that six pack can check off London, Australia, the Galapagos, Turks and Caicos, Tokyo, and New Orleans—just to name a few.

So, in honor of Charlotte and her globetrotting future, we’ve rounded up the most well-traveled celebrity kids who have likely already crossed off most of your bucket list destinations.

Click through to see these jet-setting tots.