Travel Is Not What It Used To Be

5 shifts in perspective since retiring

Photo by author of Sky Lounge at Dubrovnik Airport

“When I was younger, I wanted adventure. Now I just want a hotel with a comfy bed and late checkout."

Right now, I am writing this from the Sky Lounge (thanks to Priority Pass Select) as we are finishing up a quick jaunt to Dubrovnik, Croatia — a travel destination that I’ve learned has become popular since Game of Thrones. (I never watched that show!) This short trip made me reflect a bit on how traveling is a different experience from when I was younger.

Spending time with family and friends

While travel in my earlier years was generally about seeing new places, pretty much all of our travel since retirement has been purpose-based, either to go with family, see family, or to visit friends.

In this case, we were already across the pond for our younger daughter’s graduation from University College London.

Photo by author’s brother-in-law

Given that she had to take time off from work anyway, we all decided to tack on a few days and experience Dubrovnik together given that it’s an easy flight from London with a low cost air travel option on Ryanair from London Stansted airport.

For me, this trip was also less about a first visit to Croatia but instead an opportunity to hang out with our younger daughter in a different venue. She’s working full-time in Chicago now, and we know our time together will be much more scarce going forward. Unfortunately, we know that things will just keep getting busier for her, as they have for our older daughter who couldn’t be with us because she had a conference to present at.

No need to “see it all”

Even though this is the first time we’ve all been to Croatia, we just decided to hang out and stick with doing a pretty limited urban experience in Dubrovnik. Pretty much all we’ve done on this trip is hang out in Old Town, walk the city walls, ride the cable car up to Mount Srđ, visit Lokrum Island, and spend a little bit of time at the (small) Banje Beach.

Selfie by author’s younger daughter

What we decided NOT to do was to see other nearby places, including Montenegro, Bosnia, or even other cities in Croatia (e.g., Split). We skipped seeing the great islands and waterfalls. I know that in my younger years, I would have wanted to see everything around here. Now, I just know we can’t “see it all” anyway. And, the other thing I’ve learned is that my life doesn’t really change after having seen things, whether natural or man-made. For example, in my youth, I liked going to the Great Barrier Reef, but I don’t need to go back. Similarly, I’ve been to the Eiffel Tower multiple times, and I don’t need to do that again either. There is something about aging that takes away much of the wonderment that I previously associated with travel.

People often joke about needing a vacation from their vacation. I now like to take things at a slower pace and not fill them so uncomfortably with activities.

Reducing travel stress

It’s funny how stressful moments can create unfavorable memories. Even though I’m pretty naturally cheap / frugal, I’ve found that it can be worth the expense to reduce travel stress. On a previous trip to London, Marsha and I had a pretty negative experience while struggling with our luggage during a busy mid-day transfer on the Underground when using public transit back to Heathrow airport. We have revisited that topic more than a few times since then, and I’d care not to pile on another one of those memories!

This time, to avoid the negative experience, we splurged for a “Wheely” (think high-end Uber) where we were picked up in a Mercedes and taken straight from our hotel to London Stansted airport. While it didn’t really save time (it was 1.5 hours whether taking either car service or the train), getting the car service was so much easier and worth avoiding a negative memory!

Thoughts about physical constraints

I used to never check luggage, always opting for carry-on, avoiding the wait at the carousel after the flight, the extra fees, and the potential for lost luggage. As a separate idiosynchrocy, I always used bags with shoulder straps (and never roller bags) because I didn’t want my luggage to make “floor contact” in an airport men’s bathroom. Of course, this all got worse as I started having to carry a CPAP for my sleep apnea. I had to replace my Tumi laptop briefcase with a larger duffle that could carry both the CPAP and my other traveling electronics. Between that duffle and another one for my clothes, I have become accustomed to carrying 40lbs worth of stuff through the airports.

This trip, we had to be much more careful because we were flying Ryanair from London to Dubrovnik. One of their “tricks” is to charge big fines for going over weight or size limits on luggage. The RyanAir standard size for a small carry-on bag is 40cm x 25cm x 20cm (15.75” x 9.84” x 7.87”), leaving me unable to get away with carrying on two reasonably large sized bags. Instead, I prepaid for the ability to check one 20kg suitcase, and I packed my CPAP with my clothes. I have to admit that having a small carry on for just my laptop and checking all the rest was way easier. I think I’ve now hit the age where checking luggage is a luxury worth splurging on.

In addition to luggage, I am also thinking more about accommodations. It was all fine this trip, but we decided to stay at a cool apartment just outside the city walls in Dubrovnik. The excellent “walk score” made this all worth it.

Screenshot of Google Maps by author

However, consistent with the theme of this place, the apartment is only accessible through stairs! I have to admit that carrying our luggage to the apartment initially and the nightly returns back to the place weren’t always that fun!

Photo by author

Enjoying other tourists is fun, too

In getting older, I’ve grown to realize that a big part of the fun of travel is interacting with other tourists, too. My first exposure to this phenomenon was while backpacking through Europe, riding trains and staying at youth hostels with other students.

Somehow, once we started traveling with young children, we forgot about the fun of meeting other tourists. Now, as we’ve become “empty nesters” once again, we’ve rediscovered the fun of interacting with other tourists. I am continually amazed about how much people in other countries know about the USA!

On this past trip, we visited a cocktail bar in the Dubrovnik Old Town, along other English-speaking tourists from South Africa, Australia, Ireland, England, and another from America. We had a good time! Here’s a picture of us closing the bar down!

Photo by our bartender

Going forward

People always ask us if we have a “bucket” list for travel in retirement. Since retiring, we’ve had so many good trips, including Germany, Thailand, Hawaii, Spain, Japan, the UK, and now Croatia. In the US, we’ve been out to New England and even a driving trip that included California, Nevada, and Arizona. (Marsha also took a cool trip to Italy with a girlfriend!) So far, we’ve just taken trips that were purpose-driven and not for any specific sightseeing adventure!

I’ve got a guys trip to Arizona coming up, and I also know I’ll be going back to the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, and Houston later in the year. In all cases though, the travel is to see people and not for any adventure! The personal rewards from travel evolved for me over time, and they may for younger readers, too! The other thing to note is recognizing the importance of taking the opportunties when possible. It may not make sense to wait at any age!