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If you’ve always enjoyed travel or always wanted to travel, retirement offers the perfect opportunity. You’ll have the time to enjoy your holiday – whether it’s in this country or abroad’ Travel can also have health benefits, reducing stress, bringing a feeling of ‘well-being’ and improving your cognitive function – but where to travel?
Paris is one of the best choices for older travellers being less hectic than Amsterdam or New York.
There are lots of discounts for the over 60s in Paris – most of the city’s tourist attractions offer discounted rates and some have elderly access points where it’s possible to avoid long queues or crowds and these types are generally wheelchair friendly.
Do make sure that you choose a hotel with lifts from top to bottom and en-suite shower rooms. Paris has a lot of older buildings that have stairs not lifts and, in smaller hotels, there may be shared bathrooms.
Avoid the Metro – it can be full and challenging – take taxis or buses! Do book ahead for anything you wish to visit.
Advantages of travelling to Paris for older people:
Best things to do in Paris:
Madeira is very hilly, and a holiday here will involve some uphill walking so may not be the place for the physically challenged.
Most hotels are also on slopes so if you do choose to visit the island and have mobility issues, do choose one of the hotels on the main road that doesn’t have so much of a hill. You will need to make early reservations as these get booked up very quickly.
In Funchal, the capital city, the promenade and marina are relatively level and accessible with plenty of buses and taxis. There are many tours specifically designed for older travellers providing activities and trips that are suitable for the group. Cool Destinations have a selection of things to do in Madeira.
Advantages of Madeira
Best things to do in Madeira
South Africa and particularly the opportunity to see wild animals in their native habitat is on many people’s bucket lists.
Cape Town offers plenty for the over 60s in terms of tours, shopping, entertainment and sights and you’ll find an excellent range of discounts for senior travellers.
South Africa offers some of the best safaris for seniors and daily commercial flights link all the country’s major cities whilst chartered planes can get you to the Kruger National Park – the biggest and best-known safari destination – easily. Admission for attractions is often reduced for pensioners so don’t worry about asking for discounts and always carry identification that shows your date of birth.
Do think about taking anti-malarial medication or visiting one of the country’s malaria-free destinations. For some ideas of things to do take a look at this guide from Cool Destinations.
Advantages of South Africa
Best things to do in South Africa
Cruises, sailing and water tours
Choose one of the fantastic safari experiences
Book a wine tour
For senior travellers who enjoy walking, hiking, bird watching and rugged scenery, a holiday in the Outer Hebrides is a must.
The Outer Hebrides, known as the Western Isles, is a chain of more than 70 islands off the northwest of Scotland – and only 15 of these are inhabited. The main inhabited islands include Lewis and Harris, North and South Uist, Benbecula and Barra.
You can take the Western Isle Ferries across to the islands – and you will feel you’re getting away from it all. For the less mobile or less fit, we would advise booking a group tour to make the best of the islands.
Advantages of the Outer Hebrides
Best places to visit
Cruise holidays to any destination are ideal because you can get to see many destinations whilst travelling in comfort and no need to worry about organizing anything.
The food is good and plentiful, there’s evening entertainment and there are optional organised excursions.
One of the most popular destinations are the Norwegian Fjords. So many companies offer such cruises including P & O, MSC cruises, Fred Olsen cruises, Saga and many more. Take a look at Sunday Times article on the best cruises here.
Advantages of Norwegian cruises:
Different travel companies and surveys reveal a wide range of top travel destinations. Last year, countries such as Dubai and Mauritius topped the polls. While these locations remain dream destinations, British retirees appear to be staying a little closer to home.
The website Retirement Pasta lists Spain as the top destination for 2025, offering a warm climate, beautiful coastlines, and opportunities for relaxation. Popular locations such as the Costa del Sol, Alicante, and Mallorca provide affordable accommodation, a laid-back pace of life, delicious cuisine, and stunning views. Portugal ranks second on their list, with Italy close behind in third place.
Insurance provider AllClear Travel also highlights the Mediterranean as the destination of choice for older travellers, with 42% of people aged over 55 choosing to holiday there. Spain leads strongly, attracting 31% of travellers, followed by Italy at 20% and France at 17%. Spain achieved the highest scores across three categories important to older holidaymakers: safety (39%), quality of medical facilities (36%), and affordability (30%).
Final Travel also names Portugal as a top destination, citing its mild climate and cities such as Lisbon and Porto, which offer a balance of history and relaxation. Fresh seafood, calming waterfront views, and welcoming locals all contribute to the country’s popularity among the over-55s. For those seeking a more far-flung adventure, Final Travel highlights Japan as a popular choice. The country is easy to navigate thanks to its excellent transport system, and cities like Kyoto offer quiet temples, beautiful gardens, peaceful teahouses, and a slower pace of life compared to Tokyo. Hot spring towns such as Hakone are also ideal, allowing visitors to soak in mineral waters while enjoying scenic mountain views.
The dream destinations for retired people differ from the holiday destinations we tend to choose. In 2025, the website booking.com surveyed 1,000 UK respondents over the age of 65 to discover their dream holiday destinations. Over 56% of the older generation are keen to show that travelling the world is possible at any age and 27% say they the desire to travel and explore has come with age. The top five destinations were New Zealand (24%), Japan (21%) , Australia (20%), India (12%) and Thailand (10%)
Saga Holidays: Offering holidays for the over 50s, Saga has 2.7 million customers and a range of destinations to suit all types of mature travellers. The company’s award-winning escorted tours provide VIP door-to-door transfers, flights, transfers and travel insurance and the services of a tour manager. There are hosted holidays and, if you really want to ‘push the boat out’ and have the holiday of a lifetime, there are individual, tailored, long stay holidays for two people to destinations such as Australia and New Zealand.
Newmarket Holidays: This company offers holidays for the over 50s. These are group holidays, for groups of less than 24 people, and there’s a range of over 50s tours run by welcoming and knowledgeable guides. From trips to Scotland and Ireland to the Italian Dolomites, South Africa, India and Canada, there’s a wide range of choice.
One Traveller: If you’re on your own, One Traveller offers solo holidays for the mature traveller. Travelling on your own can be difficult but this company advertises its holidays as ‘social occasions’ when travellers have the chance to make new friends and explore the world with like-minded solo holiday makers. A team of Tour Managers is on hand to help ensure your holiday is enjoyable.
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