Category Archives: 40Plus Travel
Trekking in Nepal When You Are Over 40 – What’s the Options?
Trekking in Nepal is an activity that appeals to a huge variety of people. It gets interest from young backpackers, from long term travelers, all the way through to retirees and other older people.
Quite often get asked though, what is the best way for a traveler who is in their 40′s or more, to fully experience the majesty of the Nepalese Himalaya. And my simple answer is that there are many different ways for any traveler to experience these mountains, and this applies just the same to the traveler who is aged over 40. There is several “considerations” for any prospective traveler to take into account, when they are deciding if they are up to the challenge. I have listed below a few of these questions you should ask yourself, and in answering these, you, as a 40 plus year old traveler, should be able to assess if you will be up to a trek and what type of trek you should take -
Trek Tea House
1. How much time do you have?
Treks in the Himalaya can be a variety of different lengths. Day walks are possible, there are several treks of 3 – 4 days and most of the more popular treks are from 8 days up to 30 days or more. Annapurna Cuircut Trek, for example is usually going to be at least 18 days So, your first consideration, of course, has to be how long to you can allow. If you only have a week off work, you are only going to be able to manage a 4 day walk at best, once you allow for arrival in Kathmandu, see the city (not much point visiting Nepal and not spending at least 1 full day in the capital) and then get to your trek start point.
2. How fit are you?
Your level of fitness will also dictate, or at least, eliminate, some of your trekking options. If you are in your early stages of planning a trek, you can make plans assuming you can improve your fitness with a training regime, although it is important to be realistic, and take into consideration unchangeable health conditions, and mobility concerns. That said, I have seam some highly escorted tours on the Royal trek (Annapurna Skyline trek), with one on one guide assistance that can get even the least mobile trekker into the mountains. Everest Base Camp trek, on the other hand, required a reasonably high level of fitness, with continual, day long step climbing required. That said, no trek is a race, and determination and rest can break down a 1000 step climb into lots of small ones!
Getting tough
3. How independent are you?
Trekking most of the “regular” treks in Nepal can be done in a variety of levels of pre-organisation. Many trekkers will book an organised trek in their home country, knowing that all their journey will be planned and organised in advance. This will ensure the maximum use of limited time, but could also make you feel it was a little less of an “adventure” than you might have hoped. At the other extreme, Most of the well known treks can be walked with no assistance from others at all. The “big” treks are busy enough it would be difficult to get lost, and tenting or tea-house accommodation are plentiful. In between these , it is also possible to book organised tour in Nepal, or to secure the services of a guide and/or porter to travel with you.
4.What level of comfort do you require?
Many of the main treks, including the Helambu Trek, the Langtang trek, Annapurna base camp or Annapurna circuit treks, and the Everest base Camp ,can be trekked in varying levels of comfort (not the walking, more the accommodation, food etc). Organised tent treks can be very comfortable, having tens assembled, comfortable mattresses, cooks, porters, semi western meals, and portable showers. Of course, there are plenty of camping treks that are not nearly as comfortable (or expensive), and then there is Tea House accommodation, in simple bunkhouses, with daal bhaat meals 3 times a day.
So, how does any of this help you? Hopefully, it gives you an idea of the option available for trekking in the Nepalese Himalaya. Quite often prospective travelers only hear about the organised tour from their local travel agent in their home country, and don’t realise this is not the only way to see the majesty of the “top of the world”. We were fortunate enough to have arrived in Kathmandu over a month into an extended travel experience, and as a result, organised our own trek in the capital, catching a local bus to our Pokhara, our departure point, and then meeting up with a guide and a porter. Even looking back, it still looks a bit scarily independent, but in reality, it was all very comfortable. We think you should consider this option (so much of a better story once you get back!).
Good Luck, It’s Worth It!
Looking back from the end!
Travel Luggage for the Over 40 Long Term Traveler
Firstly, I need it to be noted, that I HATE travel bloggers who post about selecting the right backpack! It is an extremely boring post topic, and clearly written by most travelers because they have either scored a free backpack, or they want to. I recommended the “UltraGlide 1000″ because…!!
I guarantee this post is NOT like them! I thought it may actually be useful to the 40 plus long term traveler to share a few of my experiences with different types of luggage, and how they work for the long term traveler, who just happens to be 40 or more. I have done overland travel with a backpack, with duffel bags, and with suitcases, and am going to give a quick summary of each, with advantages and disadvantages (in order of worst to best) -
Duffle Bag, Backpack and suitcases!
Duffel Bags – On our first trip to Vietnam, we decided Duffel bags would be a good way to go. Our reasoning was we would be on and off buses and trains for most of the trip, and they would be easy to throw into luggage holds, and to sit and lie on if necessary. What we failed to consider, is that they are quite awkward to carry, as you need to hold them out from your body, that most hotels in Vietnam at the time were multistory, but did not have lifts, and that I was travelling with my 48kg wife and 13 year old daughter! Ultimately, the disadvantages of the Duffel bag, far outweighed the advantages, and I can think of very few times when a duffel bag would be the best option (except when you join the army!!)
Backpack – well, when you are in the back-blocks, it is what everyone else is carrying. They Are of various sizes,and sometimes you wonder how young girls are keeping these things on their backs! The answer is, THEY ARE 20!! The only time the backpack is the best option for a 40 plus traveler, is when you genuinely need to carry your luggage over a considerable distance. We carried a backpack when we did the Annapurna Base Camp trek, as we left the road on day one, and didn’t see a vehicle or road for the next 9. In that case, you need to carry you ESSENTIALS with you, so at least a backpack spreads the weight over you shoulders, where you can bear the most weight. However, even in this case, we carries only day-packs, and paid a porter to carry our backpack! If you are over 40, ONLY carry a backpack in extreme circumstances, as once you put all your gear on your back, it is f!!!ing heavy!!
Backpacks are great (when your porter carries it!)
Suitcase – I know, it is such a boring piece of luggage!, but honestly, it is by a country mile, the best option in 99.5% of situations. We now ALWAYS carry a small (around 70l) suitcase each, with an extend-able pull handle, and on wheels (they all are now, anyway). It doesn’t look cool, but, honestly, as a 40 plus year old traveler, you are not going to look cool anyway! (get a tattoo if you want to). On a couple of occasions, when catching a water taxi between islands in Thailand and Indonesia, and having to get off the boat 20 meters from shore, suitcases have been humiliating, but as soon as you are on a solid road, you luggage choice is validated immediately! On arriving at Railay beach once, we were embarrassed to try any carry suitcases out of the water and up a busy beach, but once we had to walk around for an hour to find accommodation, we were more than happy to be able to pull our luggage around!
So, I am not talking brands or features (Hello, sponsorship opportunity??), I might later (sic). But I just, really, cant see many situations, where a 40 year old, long term traveler, would not be best suited with a nice, small and portable suitcase (and a day-pack - I recommend the MaxiGlide1000)! Anywho, enough of my chatter, what do you think??
Is Long Term Travel Wasted on the Young?
I read a lot of travel blogs, and I travel quite regularly to some of the more popular “backpacker” friendly countries in Asia.
And I notice that most of the long term travelers are backpackers, and I estimate most of their ages to be between 18 and about 25. I don’t think these young folk shouldn’t be travelling, in-fact, I wish I had traveled a lot more extensively when I was that age. But, although this is a massive generalisation, I do think that many of these young travelers are more looking for a party and and adrenaline rush that a travel experience.
If a travelers primary objective is to have a party every night, with others of a similar background to themselves, and they move from one destination to another, but look to have the same experiences, then they don’t really need to be traveling. In this scenario, they don’t necessarily need to be on a Thai Island to get this experience. (I sort of think the same principle applies to Bungee jumping!)
Fun Experiance - Sonkran Celebrations
I think the older traveler is probably the one who, potentially, can benefit most from long term travel. Yet, I am always disappointed to see how few people in the 40 year age bracket are on the road, enjoying long term, close to the community travel. For the 40+ year old, travel seams to be 5 days in a luxury resort, and then straight back to work. An, I think there lies the catch 22.
Most people in the 40′s don’t travel long term, as they cannot afford to, ether financially or time-wise. As we age, we stack our lives with commitments that tie us to our homes, jobs and families, a commitment the 18 year old has not yet gotten drawn into.
It just seams unjust that the age I think most suitable to long term traveling, probably 35 – 50, is the very age where least people are actually doing it. This in an age where we are still physically capable to traveling a bit rough if necessary, of walking and swimming extensively enough, but also we are an age less likely to become obsessed in our pursuit of alcohol, the other sex, parties and “thrills”. Controversially, I think we at 40+ are also more patient as well as better observers than the young, and would, therefore, are likely to get a better ”feel” or understanding of other cultures, customs and countries.
Yet so few of us (40+ year olds) do it?
Comments are welcome, even from angry young people! (I have included shinny pictures to hold your interest)
Life Experiance - Walking the Himalaya
Is Bali a good base for the Long Term Traveler?
Hey long term travelers,
why don’t travel bloggers choose to spend long term stints in Bali? It seam to me to be almost the perfect location for digital nomads, yet most of the travel bloggers and other long term travelers I read about, seam to choose Thailand as their base in South East Asia. In addition, Columbia in South America also seams to be one of the big locations.
But why not Bali?
Surf's Up!
I think it has so much going for it that should be absolutely perfect from Travel Bloggers, and I have chosen to act as a “Travel Blogger Recruitment Officer” and am offering the following reasons why YOU should consider BALI!
For example -
- Temperature - Bali is year round tropical paradise. Maximum temps are always around 30 degrees Celsius, (maybe up to 33 in the hottest time of year), and overnight minimums (away from the mountains) are 25 or more. This is serious “summer all year” stuff!
- Costs – everything is ridiculously cheap in Bali. With an exchange rate at close to 10,000 Indonesian Rupiah to the US dollar, the product for your dollar is great, weather you are American, English, European, Australian or just about anywhere else (except NZ, of course!). eat for 2 -3 dollars on the cheap, or $10 in a cheaper restaurant, beer for $1 a litre, motorbike rental for a few dollars a day, etc
- Accommodation – a great rage of accommodation, both long term and short term. Many cheaper hotel offer good monthly rates, and there is plenty of quality accommodation in villas for longer term. Short term, hotel rooms are available from $20 per night and less.
- Good Internet - Free Internet is available at cafes and restaurants everywhere,and most hotels and villas have good speed wireless networks.
Bintang and Wifi - what else do you need?
- Socialisation – there is plenty of nightlife, plenty of expats, and there should be plenty of bloggers (but I don’t think there is?).
- Friendly locals – Balinese love tourists, and are natural friendly people. They enjoy long term visitors, who will usually be culturally more sensitive than yobbos in 6 day booze-fests.
- Variety – Its a small island, but it has many different facets. Kuta is busy and commercial, the other beaches are much quieter, the North is Volcanic and quite, the mountains are cool and “arty”. And then there are the other islands easily accessible from Bali, including Lombok, Java, Lembongan, and thousands more not much further away.
- Travel hub – good access to the rest of Indonesia, South east Asia and the world. Garuda, the national airline, is now flying back to Europe, and considered one of the most improved airlines in the world, and Air Asia use Bali as a hub in the region, giving access to dozens of exotic locations.
So, I would love to hear why or why not, long term travelers would choose to live here, at least for a few months. Travel Bloggers in particular. Its my plan, just not quite sure when yet!
Himalayan Trekking when your over 40, do you need to going a group tour?
Last year, we visited Nepal, as part of our 3 month Asia tour, with the express intention of doing a trek of some description. We did limited forward planning in regard to which trek we would be taking, or how we would take it, but we did make sure we did a reasonable amount of fitness and trekking training. I am going to talk about trek fitness preparation in a following post, but this post I want to discuss whether or not potential travelers need to organise a trek from their home country, in advance? In particular, with reference to potential travelers who is not a young, carefree backpackers, but instead the 40+ year old traveler?
Short Answer – NO
Although I believe there is considerable pressure from travel agents and tour companies that a home country organised group tour, probably with a group leader from home, as well as a large local team, is the only way for a middle aged traveler to safely walk the Himalaya, in my opinion, this is not necessarily the ONLY option.
A quite momement!
I am not saying there is not going to be some benefits of being on a group trek, with a dozen or more similarly aged, same nationality hikers as yourself. However, there is also some major advantages of going it alone, getting to Kathmandu, finding a guide and/or porter and walking with them. For the over 40 year old in particular, some of the major advantages of an locally organised, independent trek are -
- Great ability in interact with your guide and/or porter
- With guides help, get a better interaction with locals
- Trek at your pace
- Amend your plans if you require
- Stay in Tea-houses instead of tent camps.
- All your expenditure goes to the Nepalese, and more of it goes to the people of the region you walk through
- In general, get a more “genuine” experience.
The second challenge, if you are considering the possibility of “going alone” on your trek, is that question that you find hard to get a convincing answer while in tour planning stage -
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO ORGANISE YOUR OWN TREK?
Short Answer – NOT DIFFICULT
Honestly, with a little research to know what trek you are considering taking, it is genuinely not difficult to organise all the details once you get to Nepal. There are travel agents and trekking companies in all parts of Kathmandu, as there is in the towns where the major treks depart from – Pokhara and Lukla.
Himalaya Hinterland
We organised a local Pokhara based guide, a porter from Kathmandu, a hotel in Pokhara, bus tickets from Kathmandu to Pokhara, all from a Kathmandu Travel Agent, and all of this cost about 1/10th (probably much less than that), of the cost of a trek organised and paid for in UK, USA or Australia. An example of our costs were
- Guide – $15.00 per day
- Porter – $10.00 per day
- Pre Trek Accommodation in Pokhara – $20.00 per night
- Bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara – $12.00
- Accommodation in tea houses on trek – $5.00 per night
- Meals while on trek – around $15.00 per day
So, in a nutshell – CONSIDER THIS OPTION
We genuinely believe this is the original way to trek the Himalaya. It is not impossible, and being over 40 is not an issue. While trekking, we met independent trekkers up to 70 years of age, and these people where all going to get to Annapurna Base camp, at 4100m above sea level. And that is a once n a lifetime experience at any age!!
Full Service v’s Low Cost Airlines – a 40Plus Travelers Perspective
Over the last few years the proliferation of Low Cost Airlines around the world has massively decreased the costs of international and long distance travel. These airlines have opened up travel to many who could never have afforded it, as well as increased the amount many of the rest of us are able to fly. Another major achievement of low cost airlines that we don’t always think about , has been to force down the price of Full Service Airlines! I think some of the worlds stodgy old, national carriers where bloated and unresponsive to customers, which is often the case in a monopoly or duopoly situation.
So along came the Low Cost Carriers, and these airlines started offering fares for $150 dollars, that the old airlines were charging $1200 for. And as a result, a good portion of their “customers” moved to the new carriers.
Now, finally, Some full services airlines, national carriers or not, have woken up and are sometimes offering some great pricing, working on the strategy of the new airlines – fill the seats!
This is a long introduction (or boring modern history lesson!), to get to the subject I want to discuss -
Are Full Service Airlines Deals now Better the Low Cost Carriers?
My case study for this article, is my recent flight (holiday) from Perth, Western Australia, to Bali, Indonesia. This route is one that is services by at least 4 low costs carriers, and only one major Full service Airline, being Indonesia’s national carrier – Garuda International.
So comparing the Garuda best price v the low cost airline best price
Garuda – $ 386.00 AUD return v’s Air Asia – $220.00 AUD return
But then, when you add the services that are included with full service -
20 kg luggage each way - $50.00
1 meal each way, 1 bottle of water each way - $40.00
Seat allocation – $20.00
Comfort kit – $11.00.
Theses extras then make the comparison, as follows -
Garuda – $ 386.00 AUD return v’s Air Asia – $341.00 AUD return.
If you then add the cost of a beer or wine with your meal ( not available on Air Asia, even at a cost), and in-flight entertainment service, and added those on at an extra $25.00, comparisons become -
Garuda – $ 386.00 AUD return v’s Air Asia – $366.00 AUD return.
So, then you need to decide if the full service Garuda flight is worth an extra $20.00? (if you consume any extra alcohol on full service, or if you are likely to buy more food than just the one meal on the Low cost airline, this changes the equation again).
In my opinion, the full service flight is worth the few extra dollars, for a couple of reasons.
- The seats are bigger, and the leg room is greater.
- The quality of passenger is better!
- Seat-back entertainment system help pass the time
Now, I am not saying Full Service will always be a cheaper option, usually it is not. I do recommend doing the math, and allowing for all the add-ons and if the difference is not much, it might be a good idea to opt for the Full Service option.
I would be interested in any other comparisons, any of you out there may have done. Quick $ comparison would be great. send them in!
A New Partnership with Agoda
Although I haven’t added any reference to it on this site yet, I have recently entered into a affiliate partnership with Agoda.com.
This came about as I have been searching for a good value 1 bedroom villa in Seminyak, Bali, for a quick trip to the island in early December. As I travel continually in South East Asia, I have spent many hours searching for good hotel deals in most of the South east Asian capitals, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bali, Bangkok, Phuket, and many other start points for my various travel itineraries. Over the last few years I have noticed that the old hotel booking sites I have previously used, have not been getting the best deals. And I have noticed that Agoda continually do.
So I found a good villa – Astana Kunti – and a comparison of rates varies from over $400 per night, to Agoda’s rate of $138.00. And I have noticed this happens over and over.
I expect that Agoda’a success is a result of the company being based in the region, coupled with being a part of Priceline, one of the big players in the industry.
Anyway, this may seem like an add for Agoda, but its not really. I do, however, believe they are the best in the South East Asian market at the moment. And that is why I decided to join their affiliate program! So follow my affiliate ink if you are interested in looking for South east Asian hotel deals. You will get the best deal, and I will get a couple of bucks!
Unfortunately for me, this means a lot of work, changing all my referral links on my websites. But anyway, that is my problem.
Traveling costs for BALI – a guide for the 40+Traveler
Like my previous post on traveling cost in Nepal, this post is aimed at giving the prospective traveler an idea of the all-round cost associated with visiting and traveling around the countries that I have visited. As before, the assumption is that you would be traveling at the same level of comfort as I do, and, as such, is directed primarily at the 40 year +, long term traveler. This implies a moderate level of comfort but without they high daily budget of the 10 day tourist. So, on to Bali -
Costs for Bali
- Getting There - As with anywhere, giving a general idea on the cost to get to Bali depends completely on where you are coming from. As I am Australian, Bali is close, and very well serviced by discount airlines, so it is very cheap to visit. Return flights from Australia can be from as little as $250.00. And because the same network of Low Cost airlines service the other major centres in the region, flights from most major South East Asian cities are often even cheaper. I have seen Air Asia flights from Kuala Lumpur for $19. So by extension, Bali should be cheap to fly into from other destinations, as long as you are scouring the cheep airlines, and prepared to hop flights and airlines a bit. Long term travelers will usually be happy to take the slower, less direct flights, and save on expense!
Kuta Beach
- Getting Around - Once you arrive in Bali, transport certainly doesn’t get any more expensive! It is one of the cheapest places to get around, as always, depending on your mode of transport. Taxis, for example, cost around 50,000 IDR (around $6) from the airport to Kuta hotels. Once in Kuta, taxi around town (witch can often be very busy and frustratingly slow) will cost somewhere under the 50,000. A quick trip could be from 10,000 IDR ( $1.20 ish) An alternative to Taxis (cos they add up??really!) is a scooter. These cost around $5 a day, with a better rate often available if you want longer rentals. The advantage of the scooter is that you can get in and around traffic jams in the Kuta area easily, but also, you can explore the whole island from the back of a scooter!
- Accommodation – Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur and Nusa Dua, on the Southern Beaches, are where the bulk of the tourists visit, and these areas have the biggest range of hotels. Villa’s and Resorts at $500 a night are a plenty, but cheaper options are definitely available, often only a street or 2 back from the beach. I have always been able to find comfortable hotel accommodation, with own bathroom, air-con, bar fridge, TV and Pool, for around $40 per night in all of the above areas. Once you get out of these centres, to Ubud, the Northern and Eastern beaches and the inland parts of the island, even $25.00 rooms appear to be quite reasonable. Shop around n the net for Kuta, and on foot when you are visiting the other areas.
- Eating and Drinking – The Southern beaches are awash with bars and restaurants, so getting a feed is never a problem. Standard local/Asian/ simple western meals cost from 50,000 to 150,000 IDR ( $6 -$18), with 750ml beer bottles at about 30,000 each. Beer is around 1/2 that if you by from a supermarket, by the dozen (not a mini mart). Street food and local eats are available on the outskirts of the major areas, as well as in the capital, Denpasar. Also, away from the Southern Beaches, food becomes simpler, and cheaper, and the difference between tourist food and local eatery diminishes.
Ubud Hotel
- Attractions – Attractions can be more expensive, and many are charges in USD. Visit to the water-park at Waterbon is reasonable, and if you hunt around you can get Diving and Rafting adventures at reasonable prices. Like everything else, these are usually very negotiable, and I have found diving trips at 1/2 price when business is not good.
Bali is a wonderful place to visit, and very well suited to the long term traveler. The Balinese people are very welcoming, and, apart form the shopping areas, not completely focused on relieving you of your US$. A lot of visitors decide to stay, and there is a large Ex-pat Australian community. Living costs come down the closer you get to local living, such as self catering. I will post more later on Bali and specific destinations to visit as against this overview.
The next TRAVELING COSTS episode will be Vietnam, so stay “posted”
40 Year old travelers to join our team
We need your help.
We want to keep our site fresh and relevant to travelers who are 40 years old and older, and to do that we are seeking contributors. We want a couple of guest writers who can get a post to us about once a week, who we can “travel with”. IE we want an ongoing series of posts where we can share your experiences as you travel, and you can run us through a summary of what you have been up to for the week. I am not really looking for philosophers, experts or travel advise, just some people who are living the dream, and want us to be a part of it. I would love to have a contributor who is currently traveling in, or about to take off for, Central and South America, one who is off to Africa, a Non European in Europe,and one or two in different parts of Asia.
Chris at an Indian Bank
Only qualifications are
1. you need to be 40 years old or older
2. you need to be currently long term traveling ( 3 months at least)
3. English needs to be your first language, and you need to be traveling outside your home country.
Any volunteers should send me an email via our contact page, and we can discuss. This is unpaid, and the only reward will be the warm, fuzzy feeling you get. It will however, be a record of your travel, published under your category and heading, and a link to your blog or website will be fine.
What have you got to lose?
Bruce
40+ Year olds on the Backpacker trail?
Why not?
It worries me when travelers who are over 40 pigeon hole themselves into certain kinds and destinations of travel, sometimes just because they feel that that is what is appropriate. I am not saying as a 40+ year old traveler, you should not go on a Caribbean cruise, or a tour of London Museums, bit I also don’t think you should feel obliged that that is the type of travel you must experience.
Lunch break
If, on the other hand, you, as an over 40 year old, have a yearning to follow the South East Asian backpacker trail through Vietnam, then I think you should definitely do it. It is important to remember that the classic backpacker trails are classic for a good reasons. (Keep in mind, it was our generation and before that pioneered these travel adventures in the 60′s and 70′s!).
An important thing to remember when considering your travel options, is you don’t necessarily have to completely conform to the backpacker or Hippie lifestyle lust because you are thinking of visiting a backpacker orientated destination. I see no problem with a partial backpacker experience, where you extract the parts of the backpacker travel experience you want, and exchange the bits you don’t for something more suitable.
For example, a long term, unplanned journey though Central and South America would be a once in a lifetime experience for any traveler. If you are over 40 and going to embark on this type of trip, I think you can easily make a couple of substitutions, as per below, and still capture the essence of an overland adventure, without the things you just know will make it impractical.
Examples
1. Substitute backpacker accommodation in hostels for 1 or 2 star hotel rooms. If you are traveling as a couple, this will often be no more expensive, and definitely quieter and more peaceful! We are definitely going be more comfortable with our own room, and not needing to rely on communal activities.
2. Substitute Full Moon Parties and big nights of drunken partying, for a couple of drinks in a picturesque beach-side bar, after a great local meal from a street vendor ( if your game), or a local restaurant. What you will save here, you can spend on better digs!
3. Substitute Bungee Jumping, Abseiling and hang-gliding for less adrenaline pumped, genuine cultural experiences, like a walking or bicycle tour, or a guided hike.
Exploring Hoi An by bicycle
But once you take out some of the experiences that 20 year old backpackers are loving, and make a few substitutions to more age appropriate activities, you will find the rest of the experience can be very similar. Things like using local transport, walking and hiking, vegging out on a beach and people watching in a city cafe are all part of an enjoyable long term travel experience and should be appreciated. Some of the best experiences of travel come from being away from home for long enough to immerse yourself in a different culture, and to this end, the backpacking experience has the benefit of being able to stay away longer, by spending less.
So, in summary, I think the 40+ year old traveler should definitely get on the backpacker trail. It is travel, as against a holiday, and can be life changing, even at 40(+)! I am terming the phrase “OLDPACKERS” for us - Just like backpackers, but older, wiser and crankier if we don’t get enough sleep!
