Best Baby Boomer Travel Products and Accessories

I love to travel and do it as often as I can. In fact, I’m ready to take off at a moment’s notice. Now that my kids are out of the house, it’s much easier. But Baby Boomer travel can be challenging, especially when you’re lugging things through airports, train and bus stations. It’s a workout but so good for your body and soul. Below, I list the best travel products and accessories for Baby Boomers that I have found so far.

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Best travel products for Baby Boomers

My favorite place to travel is in Europe. I’m obsessed with it and there’s nothing better than a European river cruise. River cruise ships are smaller and more intimate than huge cruise ships. (although I love those too) It’s so fun to be dropped off for the day in quaint little towns so you can meet the people and experience their culture. Then, you’re back on board for dinner and a relaxing float down rivers strewn with castles and other beautiful sites.

I also love traveling throughout the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and well, just about anywhere including my hometown of Los Angeles. There are exciting things to see and do.

I’ve also written a post on how to travel light: A Baby Boomer’s Guide to Travel Light and Nifty Over 50.

Senior Discounts – (we may not like being called seniors, but the discounts are awesome! Affinity Groups, like, AAA, Senior’s Coalition, AARP, Veterans Organizations, Alumni Groups, etc. offer tremendous saving opportunities for seniors. People traveling as a member of an affinity group enjoy terrific discounts. So, if you’re not part of any affinity group, think about joining one.

Airport services

CLEAR – Move to the head of the line at the airport. This even beats TSA-pre. Watch this video to see how it works. All you have to do is sign up for an Annual Membership. No lines and no ID.

Booking sites for flights and hotels

Agoda.com is excellent for booking hotels, especially in South East Asia. It’s based in Singapore. If you’re traveling to an Asian destination, you can’t beat it for best hotel deals and vacation rentals. You can also find good prices for travel in Europe, Australia, and the Middle East.
Booking.com – The premier site for booking everything from flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation rentals, restaurants and more. They service over 1,000,000 properties all over the world.

Expedia – This site does it all – affordable flights, hotels, cars, vacation rentals, cruises, bundle deals and more – It’s one of the most trusted sites online.
Expedia subsidiaries: The company owns several other booking aggregators. They all offer similar services and you will probably find almost the same prices for flights, hotels, etc. It’s always good to check, though, as they often feature their own special deals.
- Hotwire – You can save up to 60% when you book 4-star-PLUS hotels using Hotwire all over the world. It’s also a great site to book flights, cars, and to create your own vacation packages.
- Travelocity! – Home of the travel gnome. The Amazing Race uses Travelocity to book trips for its contestants all over the world. Find flights, hotel rooms, cruises, car rentals and activities at competitive rates.
- Orbitz – You can earn Orbucks on flights, hotels and more.
Trip Advisor – Before you go anywhere click Trip Advisor to find reader reviews on hotels, restaurants, and activities. I never go anywhere without consulting it. And now, you can also book hotel reservations. You’ll find amazing ideas and tips for activities, restaurants, tours, and more all over the world.

Booking.com

Just Flights

CheapOair – This is an independently owned company. They are more competitive for international flights rather than domestic and you can find great deals. They also offer hotels, cars, cruises and vacation packages.
Cheap Air – This company was founded in 1989, Its search engine finds 100 times more low fare flights that other booking sites may miss. They specialize exclusively on flights.
Skyscanner – This search engine uses a unique technology that searches hundreds of travel sites directly. It is not reliant on third parties. They go directly to the airline, hotel, or car rental site giving you the lowest prices out there. They also have a free and easy to use the phone app.
Jet Radar – will help you find the cheapest deals on flights, hotels, cars, and buses. It aggregates rates from Priceline, Expedia, Momondo, JetCost, Orbitz, and Travelocity

Cruising

Cruise Direct – Cruise Direct has incredible discounts on cruises all over the world. Cruise lines include Carnival, Celebrity, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Disney, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. You can even book last minute cruises at the best prices.
MSC Cruises – Book your cruise on their website and find an incredible deal! – MSC offers all the quality and comfort of a 5-star hotel, and much more, offering great cruise deals.

Here are just some of the highlights that set MSC Cruises apart:

Elegant, modern cruise ships with comfortable, well-equipped staterooms
Expertise and experience on the sea: discover the world with the Masters of the Sea
Wide choice of restaurants serving high-quality cuisine prepared with fresh ingredients, as well as partnerships with market leaders like Eataly
Broadway-style entertainment in stylish theaters seating up to 1,600 people
Friendly, well-trained personnel dedicated to providing the highest levels of service
A special focus on families, with family staterooms, kids’ entertainment programs, and kids under 12 cruising for free when sharing a stateroom with two adults (only taxes and port dues, flights and transfers (where applicable applies) *
Lavish onboard spa offering a wide variety of relaxation and treatments

Earn Points

Points.com – It gets frustrating when you join a bunch of programs to earn travel points and then have to keep track of each one. Points.com make it possible for you to have one place and one password for all your programs. Your points are automatically updated and can be viewed on one dashboard. Trade and exchange your points or buy and gift miles.

Hotels and Vacation Rentals

Hilton Hotels, which include Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Canopy, Curio, Doubletree, Tapestry Collection, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, tru, Homewood Suites, and Home 2 always offer outstanding rooms and service all over the world. You can join Hilton Honors and earn points for future visits. If you are an AARP member you will receive a 10% discount.
Hotels.com – Simply the best for affordable Deals! They will help you find excellent hotels around the world and flight-hotel bundles.
Home Away – Not into staying at a fancy hotel? Rent a home or rent your own home out as a vacation rental. Home Away has properties all over the world. All you have to do is enter where you want to go, and arrival and departure dates, and their website will bring up rentals in big cities, in the country, by the lake, or any environment you desire.
Best Western Hotels – I’ve always had good luck with Best Western Hotels and have stayed in them many times. Their rooms are affordable, for those on a budget and well-kept. Best Western offers Senior Discounts so make sure to ask when you book your reservation.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts – You can find Wyndham Hotels and Resorts throughout the world and earn Wyndham Rewards each time you stay there. Don’t forget to ask for your 10% Senior Discount through AARP or AAA.
Motel 6 – Motel 6 offers Senior Discounts. It’s known for its “no-frills” affordable rooms if you’re on a budget and don’t want to spend all your cash on hotels along the way. You may want to check reviews before booking as some are better than others.
Radisson – Radisson hotels are available worldwide and are known for their outstanding service and properties. If you join their Club Carlson, you can earn points to stay at Radisson Blu, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM.
Extended Stay America – With over 625 hotels across the U.S., Extended Stay America offers affordable suites that don’t feel cramped as well as fully-equipped kitchens, Free GRAB-and-go breakfast, on-site laundry and other amenities. It’s perfect if you are staying for a long period of time as they have weekly, biweekly, and monthly rates.

Great restaurant deals

Restaurants.com – This site serves 62,000 restaurants and providers all over the United States. Find discounts, deals, and coupons for your favorite dining spots or give someone the gift of a night out on the town.

Planes, trains, buses, and cars

RentalCars.com – USA & Worldwide rentals – As the world’s biggest car rental booking service, we provide cars at over 53,000 locations worldwide
Rail Europe – The best way to travel through Europe is on a train. It makes life so easy! If you book a high-speed train it will take you where you want to go in much less time and it’s so comfortable.
Sixt Car Rentals – We used Sixt when we drove through Italy and everything ran smoothly. It’s affordable and reliable with wonderful customer service.
Hertz Rental Cars – A well-established rental car service. I booked a Hertz car to visit Pala Casino from Los Angeles and it was easy. I had unlimited mileage and used my AAA discount. It was affordable and I loved my car.
Auto Europe – This site offers the best auto rates in Europe. It’s been around for 60-years and has partnerships with all the most reputable car rental companies. If you find a lower car rate, they will lower their rates to beat the price. They also have a 24/7 service hotline – available from pick-up to drop-off and over 20,000 convenient pickup/dropoff locations throughout Europe.
Expert Flyer – Find Flight Availability, Flight and seat upgrades & awards, frequent flyer Information and more!
Big Bus Tour – I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Big Bus Tour we took in London. It’s the best way to get around the city. And what’s cool is that there are Big Buses throughout the U.S. and the world. Their Hop on Hop off buses are guided tours (sometimes live) that highlight points of interest but are entertaining and informative as well.

Tours and Fun Things to Do

Collette – This highly-respected tour company has been booking exciting trips all over the world for 100 years. You will save time and money and have all the details taken care of for you with their stellar and personalized guided tours. Their focus is getting the best prices for the most satisfying travel experience.
Viator – Tours, sightseeing tours, activities and special events. This company is affiliated with TripAdvisor and is based on best reviews with over 60,000 things to do. It’s vetted by personal experiences. Search by destination, popular attractions, and tours. It’s a wonderful way to find the best deals and ensure your vacation will be fun and exciting.
Tours4Fun – Nothing makes a trip more exciting than a wonderful tour. Tours4Fun offers packaged tours as well as day trips all over the world. They include bus and coach, train, bicycle, boat, and walking tours as well as special activities, events, and day passes. Rather than take your chances with a local tour operator, you can put your whole trip together on one site.
Stride Travel – This company designs tour specifically for Baby Boomers. You can book tours throughout the world without using a middleman directly with the operator. You’ll find everything from a relaxing river cruise to an African Safari at affordable prices. And just because Stride Travel is focused on Baby Boomers doesn’t mean they offer rocking chair tours. Some of their popular destinations include Myanmar, Machu Picchu, Tanzania, Cuba and the Galapagos Islands.
Sightseeing Pass – Sightseeing Passes are an exciting and efficient way to visit new cities while saving visitors a lot of money. They include free entry to many of the city’s best attractions, hop-on, hop-off bus tours, cruises and often provide visitors with exclusive dining options.
Starline Tours – If you are in the Los Angeles area and want to take fabulous tours around the city, there is nothing better than Starline Tours. They offer tours of movie locations, celebrity homes, historical tours of Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles, beaches and have multiple lines of Hop on Hop off Buses to take you throughout the LA area. I took the movie locations tour and loved it. It was informative, entertaining and comfortable.
365 Tickets – This site sells e-tickets to more than 2000 Visitor Attractions and Theme Parks worldwide. It’s built on the latest technology and sells directly with no middleman. You will find money-saving packages to your favorite fun things to do.

Travel insurance – make sure you get it before you travel

Allianz Travel Insurance – It’s critically important to protect yourself when you travel with coverage for emergency medical, baggage, travel delay and much more. Allianz offers special rates for those who are 55 and older. Don’t even think about taking a trip without travel insurance. Click here to compare.
Travelex Travel Insurance – Another great company that provides travel and trip insurance. Travelex makes it their priority to ensure you have the best vacation possible. Children under 21 are insured at no additional cost and they provide coverage for emergency medical evacuations. Other products include expedited passport services and international driving permits.

Best travel accessories – luggage and more

Ebags – Top brand luggage, purses, travel supplies, and backpacks at affordable prices. They have a huge selection of travel-related products at the best prices I’ve found.
Zappos Travel Page – This is new! Zappos now has a page dedicated to travel-friendly clothing, shoes, accessories and more.
Check out my Amazon Recommendations – I’ve added travel gear as well as other favorite products that I personally use and enjoy!

Travel Books

Lonely Planet – For the ultimate in guidebooks, coffee table books, eBooks, maps, phrasebooks, maps, magazines and how-to’s visit Lonely Planet. You will find over 500 inspirational and trusted books as well as award-winning digital products.