Craig and I are planners. We like to have lots of details sorted before we leave home. Whether it’s a short trip by car or a month-long international journey, We enjoy it more when we know where we are sleeping and how we will get there before we depart. We also ensure we have the up-to-date visa/passport/vaccines necessary.

We book in this order:

1. flights

2. accommodations

3. car rental or other transportation such as Parknfly If you are an Ontario educator make use of the EDvantage Parknfly discount code!
There are lots of car rental and airport transfer options too.
Here’s our post about how we research airport-to-hotel transfers in different places: https://lifeafter50travel.net/2024/06/14/airport-and-hotel-transfer-options-when-travelling/

4. activities – I use Trip Advisor to get recommendations for things to do and places to eat. Trip Advisor is still reliable as long as the reviews are recent. Once we select activities, I then search Viator, Gurwalk and GoCity for possible guided tours.

Trip Advisor Searches

Accessing Trip Advisor to search for the latest reviews for places to stay is always part of the research. It is still a great place to begin your research as a 50+ traveller. Many of the reviewers are our age:)

Also as a 50+ couple, we find hotel stays are more reasonable than Airbnbs. Selecting boutique or smaller hotels in the heart of the cities we visit is part of the experience. We are not loyal to one hotel chain.

Expedia Searches

We generally book through Expedia because Expedia bookings are insured through TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) for Ontario residents. We also like their search filters. Terms like fully refundable, breakfast included and/or pet-friendly places are the ones we use most often.

Our earned loyalty points with Expedia provide discounts and often perks at check-in (free wine, breakfast, upgrade options). We also appreciate that all our flight and hotel bookings are in one app! If you are loyal to one hotel chain it is worth signing up for their loyalty program.

Book 90 days out!

We usually make our bookings at or around 90 days before departure. This is usually the sweet spot for the best flight prices and provides a good selection of accommodation choices with free cancellation rates. Many tours can be booked with free cancellation options in case plans change.

Some of our best ideas and travel tips come from travel bloggers on YouTube or Instagram. Ask me in the comments for recommendations!

At this moment, we do not have a travel theme credit card. Here’s why:

• We don’t spend enough to meet the monthly spending targets to earn sign-up bonuses.
• We don’t pay annual credit card fees. We already have health and trip insurance included with our health insurance plan. If we needed travel insurance and wanted lounge access, then we would reconsider this decision.

Instead, we prefer to earn points with a no-fee grocery-earning credit card. We earn approximately $1000 a year in free groceries. We then use the $1000 saved as funds available for travel.

Not being locked into a specific airline plan means we are free to book flights with any carrier. We do have an Aeroplan membership (not linked to a credit card) so we book Star Alliance flights when possible. Even though we don’t have a travel-themed credit card, I read several newsletters because they are filled with great travel tips.

Travel Points – Credit Card Tips

If you want to learn more about maximizing travel credit card options and points we suggest you follow the @karanadnate team that publishes content at:

• Daily Drop Lounge on Facebook.  There are 45 000 keen travellers sharing ideas. I tend to mute their FB posts because they are so active. Instead, I use this FB community as a search engine. This is helpful when looking for things to do and where to stay in a specific place. It’s up to date and contains no selling!
• The Daily Drop newsletter is an excellent list of travel tips and travel credit card suggestions (mostly for American travellers)
• If you are flexible about when you travel and are booking further than 90 days from your departure date, consider using one of the following flight tracking sites. If you Join FareDrop– You can create multiple flight price alerts with a paid subscription.
• We use the free option powered by Google Flights called Skyscanner and Kiwi.com to find flights
• Canadians may want to follow RWRDS.ca The Canadian perspective is excellent! They have up-to-date tips on points options/cards/promotions. I like that they highlight when hotel chains have promotions too!

We assemble all our bookings in one place (Google Drive) or in our airline or travel app.

We install an eSim using the Airalo app That way we have data as soon as we land in a new country. Here’s a post that describes our experience with eSims in Europe: https://lifeafter50travel.net/2024/05/10/airalo-an-esim-solution-for-data-when-travelling/

Before we leave for a trip, we feel ready if our accommodation and flights are booked and we have identified a few well-rated places to eat. Part of the fun of travelling is the planning as it builds the anticipation of things to come! Always leave some room in your itinerary for unexpected additions and changes. Travelling never goes to plan. The more you travel the more you learn to lean into the unexpectedness and enjoy the wave!

Once you have made your bookings it’s time to pack!
Here’s a link to our page for packing suggestions: https://lifeafter50travel.net/packing-suggestions-for-50/