Thanks so much. I'm a widow and 72 years old. My dear husband and I used to travel a lot. But alas, that ceased several years ago. I've come up with a formula that works for me: I book a tour (like Smithsonian or Road Scholar). Sometimes with a buddy; sometimes not. Then I bookend it with travel on my own, akin to what you two do. I'm pretty friendly, fearless and speak German and some Spanish, which helps in some locales. But even I tire of being totally alone for a month or more. I also look at other people's blogs and sometimes even steal ideas from packaged tours, for the things and places to visit when I'm on my own. This seems to work for me. And Yes: DON'T overpack. Use Public Transport. Rather than "learn to be uncomfortable," I would say: "learn to be flexible and get out of your comfort zone." A slight semantic difference. Your other recommendations are terrific.
Fantastic tips. I particularly liked #4. Some of my most memorable travel experiences occurred in lesser-known destinations. Thank you for sharing your tips with us. Happy travels.
Thanks and glad you enjoyed it. Most of our best adventures have been in lesser-known places that far exceeded our expectations. Thanks for following along. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Two comments: Recently my friends went to Prague, and they booked a private cooking lesson with a local chef. He took them to the market to buy the ingredients, and then they were given a demo on preparing a three-course meal, which of course, they enjoyed eating. I know that the street cars in Melbourne can be ridden for free, within the CBD. I suppose there must be other cities with the same transportation deal.
Within Luxembourg all public transport is free. In Prague people over 70 travel free, a passport or ID card is sufficient for proof of age. A few years ago in Prague people between 65 and 70 also travelled for free but they had to get a special pass for a few dollars, I do not know if it is still the same. In Hungary most public transport is free for people over 65, but only for people from the EU countries. Express trains and buses might require compulsory seat reservation which costs about 2-3US$. EU citizens over 70 can also visit state owned museums for free.
Thank you for sharing. You are so right about not listening to the naysayers. When we went to Costa Rica, we were warned about theft. We didn't encounter any issues whatsoever. It doesn't mean we were complacent, but we also didn't live in fear. It makes sense for some places to go with a tour group. We went with a trekking company to hike in Nepal. It was money well spent as they took care of all the logistics and most importantly, the Sherpas are trained in how to keep you safe. If you get serious altitude sickness, they make arrangements to get you evacuated out via helicopter.
Great examples! There is definitely a time and a place for using tour companies. We also had no troubles in Costa Rica, Guatemala or Colombia from a safety standpoint. Thanks for following along and appreciate the engaging comments. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Aloha John & Bev, I like tip #6 because my wife and I have always planned our trips to Europe. This gives us an opportunity to choose our itinerary, when, how long and where. The planning alone is an adventure it itself. Recently (mid-May thru end of July), we went on a 4 country trek-Greece (Athens, Paros, Naxos, Santorini, Crete), Croatia (Plitvicka Natl. Park, Split, Dubrovnik), Iceland (the entire country via Ring Road), and Spain (Barcelona, Granada, Alicante, Valencia and back to Barcelona). It's very time consuming and at times maddening, but very satisfying to know that we were going to where we want to go. A lot of research is involved, reading travel guidebooks, your youtube vids, asking friends for tips. When we got to some of our destinations, we did go on day tours to places that cannot be access by foot, for instance the sunset catamaran cruise in Santorini, with only a few people on board, a walking tour (FREE) of Dubrovnik. All in all we enjoy traveling this way and we are now in the early planning stages for our next trip... back to the motherland, the Philippines. THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your vids, great content as usual, please keep traveling so we can learn more from you! Aloha, Ed.
Thanks for the kind words and for following along with us. You've been on some great trips. We hope to return to the Philippines next year. Safe travels and many blessings. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
I love the way you laughed together at the "what to wear" comment. Of course you stand out with your Retirement Traveler's T-shirts and your baseball caps! Ha ha But seriously, worrying about what to wear is really dumb. I think that's one of the beauties of being an older traveler. I'm not trying to bring on-trend boots or sandals that are in style this season. I dress for comfort and practicality. That is all that matters! And it does make it a lot easier to pack lite! Well, to be honest I do pack a lot of Magenta though... 😂
We are sure people probably make fun of us for wearing matching shirts🤣, but they sure are fun and we have met many new people because of the shirts. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers New here, and the t-shirts and caps are charming! Reminds me of families who have matching reunion shirts or at Disney so they don't lose each other. 🙂 Love your points in this video, and off to expore your channel and site!
Yes, the videos about what not to wear in Europe are funny! Public transportation knowledge and comfort is my biggest obstacle. I would love to see you show more about the transportation you use as you travel.
Thanks and great suggestion on public transportation. We will get something planned. We also have a website where we share blogs about our travels. We recently did one on train travel through New Zealand. Thanks again and stay tuned. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
NO!!! You just shared Folegandros. That’s like sharing a secret fishing spot😂✌🏽 In fairness, you need to see Santorini…ONCE. Tourist crowd = pickpockets/scams. Great outlook on true adventures, thanks for sharing. I travel 9 months out of the year. Only in the States to visit love ones. Be safe and See you guys on overseas❤
Thanks for sharing. Love your traveling lifestyle. Thanks for following along with us and perhaps our paths will cross someday. Happy journeys, John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
You two are so inspirational! I discovered your channel recently, while researching for our honeymoon - it will be on the island of Crete :) We booked our own trip, without a car and too much hassle, we are looking for relaxation, beauty and amazing food. I am so in line with everything you say and advise, you are so right. Keep it up and enjoy!
From my experience Not true about Europe that 90% is wearing like Americans. I travel frequently to Europe ,clast time April/May, and they wear much more elegant and classy and still practical then average American.
May I ask your age? I have been an intermittent traveler for 40 years but still have the bug, which you are nurturing. However, we are in our late 70s and, though still healthy, we had to return to the U.S. from a trip to Portugal for surgeries. Though people laud the reasonable prices for medical care in Portugal, both of our surgeries (heart and hip replacement) were fully covered in the U.S. with Medicare and our supplemental policies. When we inquired about a hip replacement in Portugal we found the price to be 11,000. I have spent a great deal of time in Portugal, but I think the costs are often under stated by too many. I do love the country for itself, not for what it costs.
We are 59 and 60. We do lots of preventive health things overseas, but we keep our main coverage in the US if anything serious happens. Happy trails, John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
John, Bev, we are SUPER impressed by these tips! Y'all are true pros when it comes to world travel. I'm saving this video to watch in a decade or so once we can travel abroad with our kiddos! Thank you!
A couple of years ago we went to Israel with a tour group. All our meals were local, though mostly at the hotel. However, it was fun to eat at a McDonald’s with the “golden arch sign” written from right to left and in Hebrew. Great job on your videos! I watch them over and over!
Thanks for following along and glad you are enjoying our videos and website. Love the travel story. Thanks for sharing. Happy journeys, John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
I agree with your tips except that Europeans dress like Americans now. Americans still stand out by their clothes. Just returning from Portugal for a month, i did not see the locals in baseball caps, graphic tees, and cargo shorts. I do like to blend in and not be so obvious.
We've been fortunate so far. This is a great idea for a video, so perhaps we will do one in the future. Thanks for the suggestion. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
You guys are great; so encouraging and helpful to point us all to see more of our planet. I'm sure it is tons of work to do these presentations, but thank you, thank you for the valuable info and especially the exhortation to get out and see for oneself. Blessings to both of you 🏵
Thanks for the kind words and it is our pleasure. We want to live our best retirement life possible and encourage others to do the same. Safe travels and many blessings. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Amazing video! I love these tips and we also have made so many of these mistakes as well. Our experiences are so similar on our travel journey. We love authentic local experiences with travel. Eating local foods, taking public transportation, and interactions with the people. Its always about the experiences that make the best travel!
Thanks. It was a real pleasure meeting you two. We look forward to following your adventures around the world. Safe travels. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com
Ah, Americanspotting. I miss the sport. Wasn't always easy. Some were very shrewd, blended in with the natives perfectly. 😊 You're absolutely right about using public transport. One gets the real feel of a country. I crossed Italy by train, from Ancona to Catanzaro. Roma Termini Station is the size of a small airport. "Planning your owns trips : if we can do it, so can you." Your modesty is delightful, John and Bev. You sound so...grateful. I love it.
In 1999 I started traveling internationally with new friends. We went to Netherlands,Germany,Norway, Sweden,Denmark in off season. We landed in Amsterdam with a car reserved. We had a list of things we wanted to see in each country. Each day we traveled seeing things on our list until a few hours before dark then started looking for sleeping options. Many nights we stayed in B&B with breakfast for $12 per couple. For travel in China we did use a tour company due to some friends had traveled alone in China a few years earlier and were detained with their passports with “ authorities “. We travelled on our own to South America in October 2001. We Americans were well received everywhere we travelled and felt safe. One of the things my traveling companions and I do is get off the beaten path and talk to locals. It’s been amazing what we have seen. The “ chicken” buses in South America was so much fun and educational. Met many USA people on them. I’ve been to 20 countries. I’ll be in Israel in November 2023. My daughter and son by love will be traveling with me as we travel with First Baptist Atlanta.
John and Bev, Thank you so much for your entertaining and informative blogs. My husband and I have been traveling for 6 months and have learned some of these lessons first hand. It has reinforced my personal adage," I am my own pack mule" and am always attempting to carry less. Your suggestions are awesome as well as your journey to share with us your travel experiences around the world!. The world is a wonderful place filled with much excitement, exploration and wonders. Again, thank you so much for sharing your wealth of information with us. Have a blessed day. G&M
Hi folks, new subscriber here, older than you but my wife and I have been and continue to be travelaholics, (is that a word?), Me now into my 70's wife coming up to 70 we usually nowdays do our travelling in Asian countries because of proximity to our home, Australia. We love cruises but have also done extensive trips to most parts of the world in previous times, except the USA. And also I was wondering if you've ever toured Cuba, it is amazing, we found it so interesting. We mainly appreciate the culture of our destinations. Your mindset and advice is very much in alignment with our philosophy, we have structured our life and finances to make travel a priority, except we really need to say, "it's nice to have a home base to come back to". Ours is just a simple 2 bed apartment in the far north of Australia that we can "lock up and leave" relatively cheap body corporate costs so not an enormous financial drain, possibly a concession to a modicum of insecurity. Loving your TH-cam channel!
Thanks for subscribing and following along. Nothing wrong with a small, low cost home base. We have not visited Cuba, but plan to in the future. Thanks for the suggestion. Enjoy your cruises and Southeast Asia. We recently did an Oceania cruise (check out the video) from Sydney to Tahiti and loved it. Safe travels, John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Hello Guys & Gals, I have recently retired, and am 6 mos. ( Oct. 09 flight), from traveling to Cebu, then Valencia in the Philippines. Just began watching your videos and seriously thinking about doing a similar trek. Your videos give much-appreciated information, and I will probably become a fan. Enjoy your life folks.
Thanks and we hope you have an amazing retirement and hope you can follow along on our journey around the world. We are actually in Philippines now and loving it. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks guys. Informative as always. Thanks for the tips. When Darren gets to Bungy he's going off backwards John. Thanks for that tip! "Adventurous" it is. Oh, and we have the same backpacks as you both. Thanks for that one. We listened early. Love you both. You are inspirational to us all. 🥰
I absolutely love your videos. So informative! My husband and I would love to travel your way, but we have a question. If you stay in an airbnb somewhere for say a month in Europe, how are you able to see different cities and so forth without having to come back to the airbnb same day? We want to see a lot of things, but we can't go far.
Thanks so much. We like to stay in each place about a week and move on. We can still do short day trips from each place, and then travel 2-4 hours to the next destination. We are not slow travelers, because while we are young enough and healthy, we want to experience as much as possible. Thanks for following along on our journey. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com
We try to eat local as much as we can but every couple weeks we want a "McDonalds" type meal. Sometimes you just need a "comfort" type thing but it is rare. Example: after a week in Shanghai and just eating local, we were tired and bopped into a McDonald's for an oj and Sausage Biscuit before heading out for the day.
haha You reminded me of my first big trip - high school cruise in the late 70s. We were mostly rural kids and enjoyed all the fancy meals on board, but by the time we got to the Bahamas we all crowded into Pizza Hut! Oh, and that's when we found out that that the local Subway didn't have lettuce because they didn't have land to dedicate to growing it and it had too short a shelf life to import. Interesting stuff for a teenager! 🙂
Since May 2023 one can buy in Germany for 49 euros per month a ticket that allows you to use all city busses, metro and local trains in Germany. You need for that an European Bank Account, because the money will be withdrawn once a month. Looking forward to see, if people drive less cars here in the future.
I remember as a teenager my mom was amazed I was traveling to Spain from the UK with a small back pack and just one pair of shoes. She wasn't impressed with my answer of "I'm sure they sell shoes in Spain if I really need another pair".
So glad you found our channel and please stay in touch. We love meeting fellow travelers on our journey. Many blessings, John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
I stumbled on your channel. Thank you . I am definitely a do it yourself traveler . Many people are AFRAID and many people do not want to do all the plotting and planning of a do it yourself vacation. I went to BOSTON in January and I stayed in a hotel on Revere Beach and rode the T trains EVERYWHERE. it was a five star trip and cost ow because it was off-season! Very rewarding to cobble together you’re own vacation! happy trails!!
Great job. We love hearing stories like that. Very rewarding! We hope you enjoy our channel and follow along with us around the world. Safe travels, John and Bev ttps://retirementtravelers.com
Thanks. The only issue so far was Virgin Australia. They have really strict weight limits. We’ll see in Asia, but we still love these packs. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com
A thought on doing tours within a city- use a good guide book. You can choose where to go and what to see. Also, if you see a cruise boat- go somewhere else till it leaves. Prices go up, everything local is crowded and everybody living there seems to have one objective- extract as much as possible for as little as possible.
This is such a great list! We wholeheartedly agree with everything you said here. So refreshing to hear how much you enjoy travelling on public transport. We're big fans of public transport as well. Interesting to hear that people told you to avoid Guatemala. We found that country very safe.
Thanks. Guatemala was one of our favorites. We didn't get to go to Nicaragua like you guys, but we had heard similar things. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers you guys should definitely visit Nicaragua when you get the chance. It definitely has similar vibes to Guatemala. Your footage of Lake Atitlan with the volcanoes in the background reminded us of Ometepe Island in Nicaragua.
Agree with everything you said. We travel to explore different cultures, to experiment with various foods, and to encounter the locals. I am especially interested to understand how locals make their living and how they live under their given environment. We had the most interesting conversations while taking public transportation. The locals are often eager to share their knowledge with us. Yes, we also use public transportation. We backpacked through Japan using the JR train pass. Finally, DO NOT eat McDonald's in Israel, BAD...
Thanks so much for the information and it sounds like we have similar travel styles. Thanks for following along on our journey and stay in touch. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers Similar age and being engineers have something to do with our styles. We were trained to understand, discover and find solutions. BTW, you inspire us to plan the 2025 Osaka World Expo. We will fly to Hokkaido and backpack our way using JR pass to Osaka. 8+ months till retirement.
Hi John and Bev, thanks for providing such valuable info for traveling tips. I like your videos and your travel style. I am a retiree and planning my travel around north America. Can you share your experience of staying a place for a longer duration than your original plan?
Glad you are enjoying our videos. Since we are trying to visit so many places now, we have been pretty structured and not able to stay longer in most places. We plan to slow down in a couple of years and leave room for much more flexibility. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Now in my 70s I've been traveling on and off for 55 years and I'm glad that I began that very early on in my life. Much of the world has been turned into a commercial park. Try to go and see a beautiful waterfall in the country of Laos. There will be fifty sixty tour buses each with 40 people on them trying to see the same waterfall. Everyone is looking for the secret unexplored place and guess what everyone is there.
We try to avoid the high touristy areas as much as possible or go during the shoulder seasons when it is less crowded. Thanks for sharing. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
This summer, upon arrival at Arlanda airport there were prominent QR codes that directed to a Web page to buy tickets for the train to Stockholm Central station, 420 SEK ($41) for the two of us. I thought a bus might be cheaper and indeed it was, 258 SEK ($25) for us both. We were inclined to take the bus but we figured we'd walk over to it before purchasing the ticket. We stopped at an information kiosk to confirm the way because it was a bit confusing. The woman there told us there was another option. We could catch a local bus, #579 or #583 to Märsta and then transfer to the commuter train on the same ticket for a total cost of 52 SEK ($5.10) for us both. We haven't rented a car in years.
Thanks so much for the kind gesture. 😊 Good luck with the retirement process and let us know if we can ever help with any travel questions. Many blessings. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com
Excellent as always. I do agree about not reading and listening to people’s fear mongering about certain countries. Why let them stop me, eh?! Just travel wisely!
Thanks so much and agree completely. Naysayers will keep you from living your best life. Safe travels and many blessings in 2024, John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Years ago we travelled all over Europe on our own. We just got on a plane to somewhere and rented a car. We could go anywhere we wanted in that car. We would go without any reservations in the spring or fall and I always overpacked because I didn’t want to have to worry about having to do laundry. It just worked great for us. I would always listen to language tapes so I could say some things in the various languages. We even did this in Romania! Now we are old (77&85) and we go on cruises and tours and my husband is talking about not wanting to go next year, but oh boy we sure have had some wonderful trips!
@@RetirementTravelers Thanks so much. We are heading out Monday to go to Bangkok for an Oceania cruise from Bangkok to Tokyo. This will be our longest cruise ever and my husband has become a little reluctant the closer we get. But barring any accident or illness, I think we’re going. I had always wanted to go to Japan and I thought it would be easier on a cruise because we only have to unpack once. Have great times on your travels.
No doubt! 🤣 We've had a tough time blending-in in Asia. Come to think about it, we had a hard time in Central & South America and a hard time in the Middle East, too! It's a problem, but thankfully, we're on to those guys, and we are cautious. 🤓 Thanks for the comment! John & Bev
I love Guatemala also and about 20 years ago I went by myself there and rented a car and drove to the Mayan Ruins at Copan Honduras. I never felt fearful but then I speak fluent Spanish, I don't go out much at night and stay in decent hotels so it minimizes the risk. At the border crossing a 4 foot 10 inch border guard who weighed maybe 120 lbs. asked me if I wasn't afraid to be out there traveling alone. I told him why should I be afraid, I am twice as big and twice as mean as men here. He laughed and off I went to Copan.
You have really great advice. These tips are very valuable. Ive done solo trips to Europe and find your suggestions spot on. You are both so warm and thoughtful. Love your videos!
Thank you for your interesting videos. We organise our own daytrips where possible and where we can visit another town/city by public transport we often book a Free Walking tour. The guides are very knowledgable and enthusiastic, have a good sense of humour and can suggest places of other places of interest if you ask them. You pay them what you think it's worth at the end, so they want to make sure you enjoy it! €15 upwards seems to be the going rate! Also ... totally agree with what you say about not trying ro do everything! Less is more!😂😂
In Thailand I am obviously a foreigner. Since I wear decent clothes instead of beach or hiking clothes, I am treated with more respect. There is no weight difference between a t-shirt or a blouse and long trousers protect me better from heat or dirt than shorts. I travel for six weeks with an eight kilo backpack. I choose hotspots and and travel 100 kilometers away from them. Same country, better food, nicer people and cheap. I love your attitude and kindness.
I love the flexibility of changing where you go when travelling alone. I ended up in Belize that way. I also spent 11 days in Cartagena and saw some amazing things by hanging out there and seeing unexpected things that were wonderful.
@@RetirementTravelers I agree. Airlines have previously lost my luggage permanently and delayed deliver at least 6 times. So now I only take carry on luggage.
On the subject of not listening to what people say about particular countries, I would recommend travelling through Cuba. You may find you, as Americans, have not always been given the real picture.😮
Yes, we love Colombia! Just like any major metropolitan area around the world, you must be sensible. We’ve never had a problem. We are careful, but we aren’t scared. John and Bev
20-30 years ago I read an interesting recommendation about packing a suitcase. Pack everything you think you need and carry it for half a mile. If you can not do it remove things from the suitcase until you can do it.
We went to an out of the way restaurant in an alley way in a suburb, and had a true Korean BBQ lunch. We spoke no Korean and they spoke no English, but we managed to have an incredible meal that we will never forget!!
Love the Guatemala shout out! My husband is from there and it always amazes me how undiscovered it is. So beautiful, perfect weather, great people - I could go on! Great videos - thank you for all of the helpful info.
Thanks. It is one of our favorite places anywhere in the world. It is beautiful and the pretty were so nice. We have several videos and shorts from Guatemala from early 2022 when we visited. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks for putting out your videos. I am 48 now and hope to follow in your footsteps in the future and appreciate all the great tips you share. I was curious if you are deducting all your travel expenses as part of your business. In the future I plan to have a travel related TH-cam channel and plan to deduct as much as I can related to my channel. If you do this and want to share any tips I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you. Respectfully, AJ
Thanks so much. Yes, we are treating Retirement Travelers as a business and following proper tax procedures for a small business. Good luck on your future endeavors and continue to use us as a resource. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com
Thanks for sharing the tips John and Bev. Hope to be a retirement travelers like you guys soon. Valuable tips indeed. I too noticed the people that advise against going to a certain destination actually never been there themselves. LOL
Thanks and best of luck with your retirement travel plans. Guatemala, Colombia, Morocco, Vietnam to name just a few. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com
Being aware of surroundings and local culture etiquette along with common sense can play a part in safety. I have friends that left their backpacks unattended in a third World country. Their nice camera was stolen.
You two are great on everything, thank you for sharing, love all your clips and songs, I share with my friends who are also retired and not retired, they definitely love it!
We keep our expensive retiree healthcare for a catastrophic backup plan (i.e. cancer or other major medical issue) It is expensive, but we both have pre-existing conditions, which makes cheap more difficult. Regarding dental, routine medical, prescription drugs, etc, there are MANY options in much lower cost countries around the world. We have been doing a lot in Colombia, but also looking at other options. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks. The link on our travel products on our website is the 40L model that Bev carried last year. This year she carries the 55L with detachable day pack, since that is all she carries. They are currently sold out of this model. We both carry the 55L and has worked on great this year. Hope this helps, John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Location, reviews, cost. Since we typically don't have a car with us, we like to be is a safe neighborhood near bus or metro. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks for you videos. Would love to hear some advice on how you manage your phone service as you change from country to country. What do you do, and what are the costs?
You are welcome. Thanks for the suggestion on phone service. We are planning to make a video on that topic in the near future. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks for following along. We got our website up and going, so hopefully can manage making videos more often now. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com
You guys are right on with your advice. Too often, I find I need a vacation after going somewhere because I tried to see everything, do everything. Public transportation in Europe is great and the cities are so walkable (In Florida, things to see may be 10-20 miles from each other while in Paris or other cities- 2-5 miles). We learned early about traveling light and usually bring one carry on and one backpack. Being retired, we can travel off seasons when the crowds are lower; We saw Santorini in December and had the whole island to ourselves it seemed. Keep traveling and enjoying!
Thanks for following along with us. Thanks for sharing your Santorini experience. Safe travels and many blessings in 2024, John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
I'm up to 60 countries and most baseball caps I've seen are on Americans talking very loudly. Please be respectful of places of worship. If they require head coverings, legs covered etc., Don't go in if you don't have the appropriate clothing. A shawl can cover your shorts for women. Men can wear roll down pants. There are travel pants that are super thin, light weight and dry quickly.
Thanks. We know we stand out with our shirts 🤣, but overall see a big change from 10 years ago. Much less difference in clothing today vs. a decade ago in our opinion. John and Bev
Any suggestions on international medical insurance? Also do you have any type of insurance in case you have to return to the States because of a medical problem or emergency? Love your videos. Thank you for all of the valuable information.
Glad you are enjoying our videos. We don't use international insurance. We keep our US based retiree coverage and if we would get a serious issue, we would return to the US for treatment. Otherwise, treatment costs are so much cheaper outside the US that we just pay out of pocket. Safe travels, John and Bev
I confess to thoroughly enjoying a Subway sandwich in New Delhi after 3 months of 100% local food in Nepal and India. But even the Subway had an Indian flair - no vegetarian patty to be found but an array of spicy stuff like paneer masala etc to have with the salad ingredients. It was awesome though. Then back to traditional food for another few months....
Thanks. We had a similar experience in China several years ago and ate at KFC because we just couldn’t handle the other options. Even the KFC was very different than what we were accustomed to. Heading to India next year, so it should get interesting. Thanks for sharing your story. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com
OK, you have really hit on one of my pet peeves! I have so many friends that ONLY travel on cruises. If you are elderly and severely mobility impaired, I understand that might be the only option. But for a healthy people in their 30s 40s 50s and 60s... I really wish they would try some DIY travel and just go explore on their own!
Maybe that is what makes them happy! We aren’t retired so don’t have a lot of vacation time, so we typically will do a cruise and then explore on our own for a week. A good combo for us, but everyone is different.
We actually just finished a cruise in the South Pacific. We still go on occasional cruises and use them for hard to access places and for enjoying grandchildren. 🥰 John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
This was all such good advice! One thing I love about traveling in Europe is just using trains to get around. We did rent a car last fall in Austria for a little while because it was so mountainous that it looked like train travel would take forever. But in the end, it was super expensive and stressful and I regretted it .
Thanks. We do love train travel. In addition to everyday trains, we have a bucket list of train journeys from around the world on our website that inspire us. John and Bev retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks so much. I'm a widow and 72 years old. My dear husband and I used to travel a lot. But alas, that ceased several years ago. I've come up with a formula that works for me: I book a tour (like Smithsonian or Road Scholar). Sometimes with a buddy; sometimes not. Then I bookend it with travel on my own, akin to what you two do. I'm pretty friendly, fearless and speak German and some Spanish, which helps in some locales. But even I tire of being totally alone for a month or more. I also look at other people's blogs and sometimes even steal ideas from packaged tours, for the things and places to visit when I'm on my own. This seems to work for me. And Yes: DON'T overpack. Use Public Transport. Rather than "learn to be uncomfortable," I would say: "learn to be flexible and get out of your comfort zone." A slight semantic difference. Your other recommendations are terrific.
Thanks. Glad you found it helpful.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Local FOOD is literally the best part of travel for me ❤
For us as well. We just love to eat great food from around the world!
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Fantastic tips. I particularly liked #4. Some of my most memorable travel experiences occurred in lesser-known destinations. Thank you for sharing your tips with us. Happy travels.
Thanks and glad you enjoyed it. Most of our best adventures have been in lesser-known places that far exceeded our expectations. Thanks for following along.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
You're right about Guatemala. I just got back from a solo trip Antigua/Lake Atitlan. One of the best vacations I've ever taken.
We agree. Those are special places for sure!
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
I love colorful Antigua.
Two comments: Recently my friends went to Prague, and they booked a private cooking lesson with a local chef. He took them to the market to buy the ingredients, and then they were given a demo on preparing a three-course meal, which of course, they enjoyed eating. I know that the street cars in Melbourne can be ridden for free, within the CBD. I suppose there must be other cities with the same transportation deal.
Thanks for sharing!
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Within Luxembourg all public transport is free. In Prague people over 70 travel free, a passport or ID card is sufficient for proof of age. A few years ago in Prague people between 65 and 70 also travelled for free but they had to get a special pass for a few dollars, I do not know if it is still the same. In Hungary most public transport is free for people over 65, but only for people from the EU countries. Express trains and buses might require compulsory seat reservation which costs about 2-3US$. EU citizens over 70 can also visit state owned museums for free.
Thank you for sharing. You are so right about not listening to the naysayers. When we went to Costa Rica, we were warned about theft. We didn't encounter any issues whatsoever. It doesn't mean we were complacent, but we also didn't live in fear. It makes sense for some places to go with a tour group. We went with a trekking company to hike in Nepal. It was money well spent as they took care of all the logistics and most importantly, the Sherpas are trained in how to keep you safe. If you get serious altitude sickness, they make arrangements to get you evacuated out via helicopter.
Great examples! There is definitely a time and a place for using tour companies. We also had no troubles in Costa Rica, Guatemala or Colombia from a safety standpoint. Thanks for following along and appreciate the engaging comments.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Aloha John & Bev, I like tip #6 because my wife and I have always planned our trips to Europe. This gives us an opportunity to choose our itinerary, when, how long and where. The planning alone is an adventure it itself. Recently (mid-May thru end of July), we went on a 4 country trek-Greece (Athens, Paros, Naxos, Santorini, Crete), Croatia (Plitvicka Natl. Park, Split, Dubrovnik), Iceland (the entire country via Ring Road), and Spain (Barcelona, Granada, Alicante, Valencia and back to Barcelona). It's very time consuming and at times maddening, but very satisfying to know that we were going to where we want to go. A lot of research is involved, reading travel guidebooks, your youtube vids, asking friends for tips. When we got to some of our destinations, we did go on day tours to places that cannot be access by foot, for instance the sunset catamaran cruise in Santorini, with only a few people on board, a walking tour (FREE) of Dubrovnik. All in all we enjoy traveling this way and we are now in the early planning stages for our next trip... back to the motherland, the Philippines. THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your vids, great content as usual, please keep traveling so we can learn more from you! Aloha, Ed.
Thanks for the kind words and for following along with us. You've been on some great trips. We hope to return to the Philippines next year.
Safe travels and many blessings.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I am coming into santorini and myikonos (spelling!?) on a cruise, any suggestions to get away from the crowd?
I love the way you laughed together at the "what to wear" comment. Of course you stand out with your Retirement Traveler's T-shirts and your baseball caps! Ha ha
But seriously, worrying about what to wear is really dumb. I think that's one of the beauties of being an older traveler. I'm not trying to bring on-trend boots or sandals that are in style this season. I dress for comfort and practicality. That is all that matters! And it does make it a lot easier to pack lite! Well, to be honest I do pack a lot of Magenta though... 😂
We are sure people probably make fun of us for wearing matching shirts🤣, but they sure are fun and we have met many new people because of the shirts.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers New here, and the t-shirts and caps are charming! Reminds me of families who have matching reunion shirts or at Disney so they don't lose each other. 🙂 Love your points in this video, and off to expore your channel and site!
@@leapintothewild Thanks. We do enjoy our “uniforms” 🤣
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Yes, the videos about what not to wear in Europe are funny! Public transportation knowledge and comfort is my biggest obstacle. I would love to see you show more about the transportation you use as you travel.
Thanks and great suggestion on public transportation. We will get something planned. We also have a website where we share blogs about our travels. We recently did one on train travel through New Zealand. Thanks again and stay tuned.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great content guys…… still my favorite you tubers. Enjoy following your journey.
Thanks so much. That makes our day! 😊 Thanks for following along on our journey.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
NO!!! You just shared Folegandros. That’s like sharing a secret fishing spot😂✌🏽 In fairness, you need to see Santorini…ONCE.
Tourist crowd = pickpockets/scams. Great outlook on true adventures, thanks for sharing. I travel 9 months out of the year. Only in the States to visit love ones. Be safe and See you guys on overseas❤
Thanks for sharing. Love your traveling lifestyle. Thanks for following along with us and perhaps our paths will cross someday.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
You two are so inspirational! I discovered your channel recently, while researching for our honeymoon - it will be on the island of Crete :) We booked our own trip, without a car and too much hassle, we are looking for relaxation, beauty and amazing food. I am so in line with everything you say and advise, you are so right. Keep it up and enjoy!
Thanks so much. Hope you love Crete.
Safe travels.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
From my experience Not true about Europe that 90% is wearing like Americans. I travel frequently to Europe ,clast time April/May, and they wear much more elegant and classy and still practical then average American.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
John and Bev
May I ask your age? I have been an intermittent traveler for 40 years but still have the bug, which you are nurturing. However, we are in our late 70s and, though still healthy, we had to return to the U.S. from a trip to Portugal for surgeries. Though people laud the reasonable prices for medical care in Portugal, both of our surgeries (heart and hip replacement) were fully covered in the U.S. with Medicare and our supplemental policies. When we inquired about a hip replacement in Portugal we found
the price to be 11,000. I have spent a great deal of time in Portugal, but I think the costs are often under stated by too many. I do love the country for itself, not for what it costs.
We are 59 and 60. We do lots of preventive health things overseas, but we keep our main coverage in the US if anything serious happens.
Happy trails,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great advice as always. You both are so inspiring for world travel and having a great retirement. Thanks!
Thanks. Glad you found it helpful.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
John, Bev, we are SUPER impressed by these tips! Y'all are true pros when it comes to world travel. I'm saving this video to watch in a decade or so once we can travel abroad with our kiddos! Thank you!
Thanks. Sometimes you have to make all the mistakes first before learning lessons. We certainly have. So glad you found it helpful.
John and Bev
A couple of years ago we went to Israel with a tour group. All our meals were local, though mostly at the hotel. However, it was fun to eat at a McDonald’s with the “golden arch sign” written from right to left and in Hebrew. Great job on your videos! I watch them over and over!
Thanks for following along and glad you are enjoying our videos and website.
Love the travel story. Thanks for sharing.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I agree with your tips except that Europeans dress like Americans now. Americans still stand out by their clothes. Just returning from Portugal for a month, i did not see the locals in baseball caps, graphic tees, and cargo shorts. I do like to blend in and not be so obvious.
Thanks for sharing your experience and observations. Much appreciated.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Do you have any tips or advices to stay safe/avoid being scammed or being robbed? How and where do you keep your valuables? Thanks.
We've been fortunate so far. This is a great idea for a video, so perhaps we will do one in the future. Thanks for the suggestion.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Love your videos and I appreciate your advice. I've followed all of it and it's been so helpful!
Awesome! Thank you! So glad you are enjoying our channel and website.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
You guys are great; so encouraging and helpful to point us all to see more of our planet. I'm sure it is tons of work to do these presentations, but thank you, thank you for the valuable info and especially the exhortation to get out and see for oneself. Blessings to both of you 🏵
Thanks for the kind words and it is our pleasure. We want to live our best retirement life possible and encourage others to do the same.
Safe travels and many blessings.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Amazing video! I love these tips and we also have made so many of these mistakes as well. Our experiences are so similar on our travel journey. We love authentic local experiences with travel. Eating local foods, taking public transportation, and interactions with the people. Its always about the experiences that make the best travel!
Thanks. It was a real pleasure meeting you two. We look forward to following your adventures around the world.
Safe travels.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Ah, Americanspotting. I miss the sport. Wasn't always easy. Some were very shrewd, blended in with the natives perfectly. 😊
You're absolutely right about using public transport. One gets the real feel of a country. I crossed Italy by train, from Ancona to Catanzaro. Roma Termini Station is the size of a small airport.
"Planning your owns trips : if we can do it, so can you." Your modesty is delightful, John and Bev. You sound so...grateful. I love it.
Thanks. We are so grateful for this amazing opportunity.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
In 1999 I started traveling internationally with new friends. We went to Netherlands,Germany,Norway,
Sweden,Denmark in off season. We landed in Amsterdam with a car reserved. We had a list of things we wanted to see in each country. Each day we traveled seeing things on our list until a few hours before dark then started looking for sleeping options.
Many nights we stayed in B&B with breakfast for $12 per couple.
For travel in China we did use a tour company due to some friends had traveled alone in China a few years earlier and were detained with their passports with “ authorities “.
We travelled on our own to South America in October 2001.
We Americans were well received everywhere we travelled and felt safe.
One of the things my traveling companions and I do is get off the beaten path and talk to locals. It’s been amazing what we have seen.
The “ chicken” buses in South America was so much fun and educational. Met many USA people on them.
I’ve been to 20 countries. I’ll be in Israel in November 2023. My daughter and son by love will be traveling with me as we travel with First Baptist Atlanta.
Thanks for sharing your travel adventures. Have a great time in Israel.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
John and Bev, Thank you so much for your entertaining and informative blogs. My husband and I have been traveling for 6 months and have learned some of these lessons first hand. It has reinforced my personal adage," I am my own pack mule" and am always attempting to carry less. Your suggestions are awesome as well as your journey to share with us your travel experiences around the world!. The world is a wonderful place filled with much excitement, exploration and wonders. Again, thank you so much for sharing your wealth of information with us. Have a blessed day.
G&M
Thanks for watching.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Hi folks, new subscriber here, older than you but my wife and I have been and continue to be travelaholics, (is that a word?), Me now into my 70's wife coming up to 70 we usually nowdays do our travelling in Asian countries because of proximity to our home, Australia. We love cruises but have also done extensive trips to most parts of the world in previous times, except the USA. And also I was wondering if you've ever toured Cuba, it is amazing, we found it so interesting. We mainly appreciate the culture of our destinations.
Your mindset and advice is very much in alignment with our philosophy, we have structured our life and finances to make travel a priority, except we really need to say, "it's nice to have a home base to come back to". Ours is just a simple 2 bed apartment in the far north of Australia that we can "lock up and leave" relatively cheap body corporate costs so not an enormous financial drain, possibly a concession to a modicum of insecurity. Loving your TH-cam channel!
Thanks for subscribing and following along. Nothing wrong with a small, low cost home base. We have not visited Cuba, but plan to in the future. Thanks for the suggestion. Enjoy your cruises and Southeast Asia. We recently did an Oceania cruise (check out the video) from Sydney to Tahiti and loved it.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Excellent tips! I agree with them all! We’ve subscribed to your newsletter and it’s a wonderful site! Great job guys! ~Cara 😊
Hello Guys & Gals, I have recently retired, and am 6 mos. ( Oct. 09 flight), from traveling to Cebu, then Valencia in the Philippines. Just began watching your videos and seriously thinking about doing a similar trek. Your videos give much-appreciated information, and I will probably become a fan. Enjoy your life folks.
Thanks and we hope you have an amazing retirement and hope you can follow along on our journey around the world. We are actually in Philippines now and loving it.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks guys. Informative as always. Thanks for the tips. When Darren gets to Bungy he's going off backwards John. Thanks for that tip! "Adventurous" it is. Oh, and we have the same backpacks as you both. Thanks for that one. We listened early. Love you both. You are inspirational to us all. 🥰
Thanks. Can’t wait to see that backflip off the bungee platform!
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
I absolutely love your videos. So informative! My husband and I would love to travel your way, but we have a question. If you stay in an airbnb somewhere for say a month in Europe, how are you able to see different cities and so forth without having to come back to the airbnb same day? We want to see a lot of things, but we can't go far.
Thanks so much. We like to stay in each place about a week and move on. We can still do short day trips from each place, and then travel 2-4 hours to the next destination. We are not slow travelers, because while we are young enough and healthy, we want to experience as much as possible. Thanks for following along on our journey.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
We try to eat local as much as we can but every couple weeks we want a "McDonalds" type meal. Sometimes you just need a "comfort" type thing but it is rare. Example: after a week in Shanghai and just eating local, we were tired and bopped into a McDonald's for an oj and Sausage Biscuit before heading out for the day.
Thanks and well stated. We've done the same thing at times as well.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
haha You reminded me of my first big trip - high school cruise in the late 70s. We were mostly rural kids and enjoyed all the fancy meals on board, but by the time we got to the Bahamas we all crowded into Pizza Hut! Oh, and that's when we found out that that the local Subway didn't have lettuce because they didn't have land to dedicate to growing it and it had too short a shelf life to import. Interesting stuff for a teenager! 🙂
@@leapintothewild You do learn a lot with travel. Great story.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Do you have a Go Here, Not There list of suggestions?
We don't, but that's a great idea. Thanks.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Since May 2023 one can buy in Germany for 49 euros per month a ticket that allows you to use all city busses, metro and local trains in Germany. You need for that an European Bank Account, because the money will be withdrawn once a month. Looking forward to see, if people drive less cars here in the future.
I remember as a teenager my mom was amazed I was traveling to Spain from the UK with a small back pack and just one pair of shoes. She wasn't impressed with my answer of "I'm sure they sell shoes in Spain if I really need another pair".
Great story. Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great advice, thanks! I've been inspired by the two of you, and am now planning trips of my own to Guatemala and Panama.
Thanks and that's great. We had a great time in both countries. You will love it. Let us know how it goes.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I just stumbled upon your channel today and am SO glad I did! I would LOVE to travel with you two :-) Stay safe and keep traveling! 👍🏽
So glad you found our channel and please stay in touch. We love meeting fellow travelers on our journey.
Many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I stumbled on your channel. Thank you . I am definitely a do it yourself traveler . Many people are AFRAID and many people do not want to do all the plotting and planning of a do it yourself vacation. I went to BOSTON in January and I stayed in a hotel on Revere Beach and rode the T trains EVERYWHERE. it was a five star trip and cost ow because it was off-season! Very rewarding to cobble together you’re own vacation! happy trails!!
Great job. We love hearing stories like that. Very rewarding! We hope you enjoy our channel and follow along with us around the world.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
ttps://retirementtravelers.com
Another informative video. Do you ever have any issues using your Farpoint 55 as a carry-on? I don't want to check a bag if I can avoid it. Thanks.
Thanks. The only issue so far was Virgin Australia. They have really strict weight limits. We’ll see in Asia, but we still love these packs.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Huge respect for this video from a pre-retirement traveler from Europe! 👍
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed the video and hope you can follow along on our journey around the world.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
A thought on doing tours within a city- use a good guide book. You can choose where to go and what to see. Also, if you see a cruise boat- go somewhere else till it leaves. Prices go up, everything local is crowded and everybody living there seems to have one objective- extract as much as possible for as little as possible.
You are so right about avoiding the cruise boat!!!
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
This is such a great list! We wholeheartedly agree with everything you said here. So refreshing to hear how much you enjoy travelling on public transport. We're big fans of public transport as well. Interesting to hear that people told you to avoid Guatemala. We found that country very safe.
Thanks. Guatemala was one of our favorites. We didn't get to go to Nicaragua like you guys, but we had heard similar things.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers you guys should definitely visit Nicaragua when you get the chance. It definitely has similar vibes to Guatemala. Your footage of Lake Atitlan with the volcanoes in the background reminded us of Ometepe Island in Nicaragua.
We will. Thanks
In 2004 I traveled with friends in Guatemala. Then in 2019 I traveled there with a medical missionary trip. Felt safe both times.
Agree with everything you said. We travel to explore different cultures, to experiment with various foods, and to encounter the locals. I am especially interested to understand how locals make their living and how they live under their given environment. We had the most interesting conversations while taking public transportation. The locals are often eager to share their knowledge with us. Yes, we also use public transportation. We backpacked through Japan using the JR train pass. Finally, DO NOT eat McDonald's in Israel, BAD...
Thanks so much for the information and it sounds like we have similar travel styles. Thanks for following along on our journey and stay in touch.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers Similar age and being engineers have something to do with our styles. We were trained to understand, discover and find solutions. BTW, you inspire us to plan the 2025 Osaka World Expo. We will fly to Hokkaido and backpack our way using JR pass to Osaka. 8+ months till retirement.
Let’s stay in touch. Perhaps our paths will cross in Osaka. Sounds like a fun journey through Japan.
John and Bev
@@RetirementTravelers Will do.
Hi John and Bev, thanks for providing such valuable info for traveling tips. I like your videos and your travel style. I am a retiree and planning my travel around north America.
Can you share your experience of staying a place for a longer duration than your original plan?
Glad you are enjoying our videos. Since we are trying to visit so many places now, we have been pretty structured and not able to stay longer in most places. We plan to slow down in a couple of years and leave room for much more flexibility.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers got it. Thanks.
Now in my 70s I've been traveling on and off for 55 years and I'm glad that I began that very early on in my life. Much of the world has been turned into a commercial park. Try to go and see a beautiful waterfall in the country of Laos. There will be fifty sixty tour buses each with 40 people on them trying to see the same waterfall. Everyone is looking for the secret unexplored place and guess what everyone is there.
We try to avoid the high touristy areas as much as possible or go during the shoulder seasons when it is less crowded. Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
This summer, upon arrival at Arlanda airport there were prominent QR codes that directed to a Web page to buy tickets for the train to Stockholm Central station, 420 SEK ($41) for the two of us. I thought a bus might be cheaper and indeed it was, 258 SEK ($25) for us both. We were inclined to take the bus but we figured we'd walk over to it before purchasing the ticket. We stopped at an information kiosk to confirm the way because it was a bit confusing. The woman there told us there was another option. We could catch a local bus, #579 or #583 to Märsta and then transfer to the commuter train on the same ticket for a total cost of 52 SEK ($5.10) for us both. We haven't rented a car in years.
Great story. Thanks for sharing. So many great public transportation options out there
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
What phone carrier are you using?
We use Google Fi. Here is a video we recently made on international cell phones.
John and Bev
th-cam.com/video/mHx1wRMLJ-4/w-d-xo.html
Looking to retire in 3 years and love your videos! Keep up the great work and God bless!
Thanks so much for the kind gesture. 😊 Good luck with the retirement process and let us know if we can ever help with any travel questions. Many blessings.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Great video guys and great tips for all travelers.
Thanks and glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully others will learn from our mistakes.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Excellent as always. I do agree about not reading and listening to people’s fear mongering about certain countries. Why let them stop me, eh?! Just travel wisely!
Thanks so much and agree completely. Naysayers will keep you from living your best life.
Safe travels and many blessings in 2024,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Years ago we travelled all over Europe on our own. We just got on a plane to somewhere and rented a car. We could go anywhere we wanted in that car. We would go without any reservations in the spring or fall and I always overpacked because I didn’t want to have to worry about having to do laundry. It just worked great for us. I would always listen to language tapes so I could say some things in the various languages. We even did this in Romania! Now we are old (77&85) and we go on cruises and tours and my husband is talking about not wanting to go next year, but oh boy we sure have had some wonderful trips!
Thanks for sharing. Wishing you guys good health and a few more fun adventures.
John and Bev
@@RetirementTravelers Thanks so much. We are heading out Monday to go to Bangkok for an Oceania cruise from Bangkok to Tokyo. This will be our longest cruise ever and my husband has become a little reluctant the closer we get. But barring any accident or illness, I think we’re going. I had always wanted to go to Japan and I thought it would be easier on a cruise because we only have to unpack once. Have great times on your travels.
I would spot both of you as Americans from a mile away. Not a bad thing, but risky if you don't want to be a target for scammers.
No doubt! 🤣 We've had a tough time blending-in in Asia. Come to think about it, we had a hard time in Central & South America and a hard time in the Middle East, too! It's a problem, but thankfully, we're on to those guys, and we are cautious. 🤓 Thanks for the comment! John & Bev
Are you guys a husband and wife or a brother and sister? Ignore my ignorance😂
You just look so much alike!
Husband and wife 😊 Thanks for following along.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Oh yes! My favourite two persons. Was just pulling your leg but you look alike❤
I love Guatemala also and about 20 years ago I went by myself there and rented a car and drove to the Mayan Ruins at Copan Honduras. I never felt fearful but then I speak fluent Spanish, I don't go out much at night and stay in decent hotels so it minimizes the risk. At the border crossing a 4 foot 10 inch border guard who weighed maybe 120 lbs. asked me if I wasn't afraid to be out there traveling alone. I told him why should I be afraid, I am twice as big and twice as mean as men here. He laughed and off I went to Copan.
Love the story. thanks
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
In Quito EC ... google maps has bus number... none of the buses have numbers! I also recommend Valencia Spain, stay in the city center.
Thanks. We visited Valencia and loved it.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
You have really great advice. These tips are very valuable. Ive done solo trips to Europe and find your suggestions spot on. You are both so warm and thoughtful. Love your videos!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the kind words.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thank you for your interesting videos. We organise our own daytrips where possible and where we can visit another town/city by public transport we often book a Free Walking tour. The guides are very knowledgable and enthusiastic, have a good sense of humour and can suggest places of other places of interest if you ask them. You pay them what you think it's worth at the end, so they want to make sure you enjoy it!
€15 upwards seems to be the going rate!
Also ... totally agree with what you say about not trying ro do everything! Less is more!😂😂
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
In Thailand I am obviously a foreigner. Since I wear decent clothes instead of beach or hiking clothes, I am treated with more respect. There is no weight difference between a t-shirt or a blouse and long trousers protect me better from heat or dirt than shorts. I travel for six weeks with an eight kilo backpack.
I choose hotspots and and travel 100 kilometers away from them. Same country, better food, nicer people and cheap.
I love your attitude and kindness.
Thanks. Keep enjoying your travels and live life to the fullest.
Safe travels and many blessings,
John and Bev
tps://retirementtravelers.com
I love the flexibility of changing where you go when travelling alone. I ended up in Belize that way. I also spent 11 days in Cartagena and saw some amazing things by hanging out there and seeing unexpected things that were wonderful.
Flexibility is wonderful. Packing lighter certainly allows for that better.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers I agree. Airlines have previously lost my luggage permanently and delayed deliver at least 6 times. So now I only take carry on luggage.
One of your best videos. I love learning from others
Thanks. We love learning from others as well. TH-cam has so many great creators that teach on about any topic.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
On the subject of not listening to what people say about particular countries, I would recommend travelling through Cuba. You may find you, as Americans, have not always been given the real picture.😮
Thanks for the suggestion. It is on our list.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I’m told by many friends don’t go to Colombia. Drug cartels etc. I know you love Colombia.
Yes, we love Colombia! Just like any major metropolitan area around the world, you must be sensible. We’ve never had a problem. We are careful, but we aren’t scared. John and Bev
20-30 years ago I read an interesting recommendation about packing a suitcase. Pack everything you think you need and carry it for half a mile. If you can not do it remove things from the suitcase until you can do it.
Great advice. We completely agree.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Just found your channel! Enjoying your videos so much!! I’m so happy you found a way to travel the world!
Thanks. So glad you found our channel and enjoying our videos.
Many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Greetings from sofia, Bulgaria I really appreciate this video, thanks
Thanks for watching! We loved our time in Bulgaria and hope to return one day.
Safe travels and many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
You guys are AWESOME!! How nice to have stumbled upon your channel!! 🎉
Thanks. So glad you found our channel and hope you can follow along on our journey around the world.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
We went to an out of the way restaurant in an alley way in a suburb, and had a true Korean BBQ lunch. We spoke no Korean and they spoke no English, but we managed to have an incredible meal that we will never forget!!
Love it! Great story. Thanks for sharing and something you will never forget.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Love the Guatemala shout out! My husband is from there and it always amazes me how undiscovered it is. So beautiful, perfect weather, great people - I could go on! Great videos - thank you for all of the helpful info.
Thanks. It is one of our favorite places anywhere in the world. It is beautiful and the pretty were so nice. We have several videos and shorts from Guatemala from early 2022 when we visited.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks for putting out your videos. I am 48 now and hope to follow in your footsteps in the future and appreciate all the great tips you share. I was curious if you are deducting all your travel expenses as part of your business. In the future I plan to have a travel related TH-cam channel and plan to deduct as much as I can related to my channel. If you do this and want to share any tips I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
Respectfully,
AJ
Thanks so much. Yes, we are treating Retirement Travelers as a business and following proper tax procedures for a small business. Good luck on your future endeavors and continue to use us as a resource.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Thanks for sharing the tips John and Bev. Hope to be a retirement travelers like you guys soon. Valuable tips indeed. I too noticed the people that advise against going to a certain destination actually never been there themselves. LOL
Thanks and best of luck with your retirement travel plans. Guatemala, Colombia, Morocco, Vietnam to name just a few.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Being aware of surroundings and local culture etiquette along with common sense can play a part in safety.
I have friends that left their backpacks unattended in a third World country. Their nice camera was stolen.
Great video! We have made the same mistakes. This needs to be shared and liked.
Thanks so much and glad you found it helpful. Hopefully we are learning from our mistakes. Safe travels.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
You two are great on everything, thank you for sharing, love all your clips and songs, I share with my friends who are also retired and not retired, they definitely love it!
Thanks for sharing!! So glad you are enjoying our channel.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Re; bunny jumping. Have you ever watched Jeanne Robertson's video on bunny jumping? It's FUNNY 😂
That was hilarious. Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers my phone changed it to bunny 😁
How do you deal with health care? Insurance cost and making routine dental and medical appointments?
We keep our expensive retiree healthcare for a catastrophic backup plan (i.e. cancer or other major medical issue) It is expensive, but we both have pre-existing conditions, which makes cheap more difficult. Regarding dental, routine medical, prescription drugs, etc, there are MANY options in much lower cost countries around the world. We have been doing a lot in Colombia, but also looking at other options.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great video!
Could you please share a link to Bev's backpack?
Thanks so much!
Thanks. The link on our travel products on our website is the 40L model that Bev carried last year. This year she carries the 55L with detachable day pack, since that is all she carries. They are currently sold out of this model. We both carry the 55L and has worked on great this year. Hope this helps,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Question: How to find a place to stay ? safe? good location? .....
Location, reviews, cost. Since we typically don't have a car with us, we like to be is a safe neighborhood near bus or metro.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Don't add ice to your drinks.
Good one. Thanks.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Too bad there's not nearly the same amount of love for bus/rail travel in the US.
You are right, it is just not the same!
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks for you videos. Would love to hear some advice on how you manage your phone service as you change from country to country. What do you do, and what are the costs?
You are welcome. Thanks for the suggestion on phone service. We are planning to make a video on that topic in the near future.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
What credit card do you guys use for your travel your points and your bookings
Chase Sapphire Reserve.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
We have used cruises to get a taste of different countries and then we pick which ones to go back to on our own.
That's a great idea. We also use the cruises to hit the places that are difficult to get to. Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Angor Wat is one of my top bucket list destinations! Can’t wait to see your next video.
We loved Angkor Wat. We were also in Siem Reap for the 3-day New Year celebration. SO much fun 🤩. We got soaked.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Learning by doing or learning by watching your videos. Great tips!
Excellent. Thanks so much.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks,,,,, What size osprey backpack do you carry? L ? Is it pretty theft proof?
We carry the 55L with the detachable day pack.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
55L holy smokes. Thats huge, isnt it ?
Ty
You are welcome.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
ttps://retirementtravelers.com
I did one of those "what not to wear" videos. And it was comical! Lol
We didn't see that one, so we weren't talking about yours. 🤣
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers oh I know 😉... it is a popular topic.
When are you coming to the UK?!
We will be in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in August.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks you so much for the valuable information
Thanks. Glad you are enjoying our channel.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Did y’all already post a best travel apps video?
Here is one we did last year.
th-cam.com/video/gssYn0PEvmA/w-d-xo.html
John and Bev
Glad the algorithm popped you guys up!!
We are too!!! Hope you enjoy our channel. Safe travels and many blessings.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I’m delighted to find you on TH-cam again. ❤
Thanks for following along. We got our website up and going, so hopefully can manage making videos more often now.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
You guys are right on with your advice. Too often, I find I need a vacation after going somewhere because I tried to see everything, do everything. Public transportation in Europe is great and the cities are so walkable (In Florida, things to see may be 10-20 miles from each other while in Paris or other cities- 2-5 miles). We learned early about traveling light and usually bring one carry on and one backpack. Being retired, we can travel off seasons when the crowds are lower; We saw Santorini in December and had the whole island to ourselves it seemed. Keep traveling and enjoying!
Thanks for following along with us. Thanks for sharing your Santorini experience.
Safe travels and many blessings in 2024,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I'm up to 60 countries and most baseball caps I've seen are on Americans talking very loudly. Please be respectful of places of worship. If they require head coverings, legs covered etc., Don't go in if you don't have the appropriate clothing. A shawl can cover your shorts for women. Men can wear roll down pants. There are travel pants that are super thin, light weight and dry quickly.
Thanks for the feedback. We are always respectful and remove hats, etc
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Loved your very informative video, but saying that 90% of people in Europe wear what you described is just not true. You do stand out as Americans!
Thanks. We know we stand out with our shirts 🤣, but overall see a big change from 10 years ago. Much less difference in clothing today vs. a decade ago in our opinion.
John and Bev
Any suggestions on international medical insurance? Also do you have any type of insurance in case you have to return to the States because of a medical problem or emergency? Love your videos. Thank you for all of the valuable information.
Glad you are enjoying our videos. We don't use international insurance. We keep our US based retiree coverage and if we would get a serious issue, we would return to the US for treatment. Otherwise, treatment costs are so much cheaper outside the US that we just pay out of pocket.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
I confess to thoroughly enjoying a Subway sandwich in New Delhi after 3 months of 100% local food in Nepal and India. But even the Subway had an Indian flair - no vegetarian patty to be found but an array of spicy stuff like paneer masala etc to have with the salad ingredients. It was awesome though.
Then back to traditional food for another few months....
Thanks. We had a similar experience in China several years ago and ate at KFC because we just couldn’t handle the other options. Even the KFC was very different than what we were accustomed to. Heading to India next year, so it should get interesting. Thanks for sharing your story.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Running shoes and a baseball cap in Europe ?!!!!! Not tourists ? who would say ?
🤣
Sydney trains!
Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
OK, you have really hit on one of my pet peeves! I have so many friends that ONLY travel on cruises. If you are elderly and severely mobility impaired, I understand that might be the only option. But for a healthy people in their 30s 40s 50s and 60s... I really wish they would try some DIY travel and just go explore on their own!
Maybe that is what makes them happy! We aren’t retired so don’t have a lot of vacation time, so we typically will do a cruise and then explore on our own for a week. A good combo for us, but everyone is different.
@@joannenardi4234 a combo sounds nice 👍
We actually just finished a cruise in the South Pacific. We still go on occasional cruises and use them for hard to access places and for enjoying grandchildren. 🥰
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
That does sound like a great option for a combo.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Funny you mention Guatemala became one of my favorite spot . Especially Attila lake area
Lake Atitlan rocks. Such a beautiful place.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
This was all such good advice!
One thing I love about traveling in Europe is just using trains to get around. We did rent a car last fall in Austria for a little while because it was so mountainous that it looked like train travel would take forever. But in the end, it was super expensive and stressful and I regretted it .
Thanks. We do love train travel. In addition to everyday trains, we have a bucket list of train journeys from around the world on our website that inspire us.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/