10 Ageless Travel Tips From the Senior Nomads
Debbie and Michael Campbell are spending their retirement years seeing the world — here’s how they’re doing it on a budget.
In July 2013, Debbie and Michael Campbell sold their Seattle, Washington, home, and most of their possessions to spend retirement as full-time travelers. Today, they are known as the Senior Nomads, and have visited 80 countries, 285 cities, and called more than200 Airbnbs home. Here are their favorite tips for frugal travelers like themselves.
Take a Free Walking Tour
Walking tours can be found most everywhere and provide a great way to get acquainted with a new city. Rick Steves offers free downloads of excellent walking tours in many European cities and museums. You can also search online for free walking tours or ask at the local tourism office. The tours are typically free, but hopefully your guide will have earned a generous tip at the end!
Find Affordable Entertainment
We use apps like Culture Trip, Field Trip, and Time Out to learn what’s going on in a city. We also scan the posters in libraries, churches, and museums for grassroots events including free concerts and lectures.
Plan to Eat In
Since we live full time in Airbnbs, we always have access to a kitchen. We eat breakfast in most days, find street food for lunch, and enjoy foraging for fresh ingredients to prepare locally inspired dinners. When you’re out exploring, it’s always a good idea to carry water and a snack to keep you going, so you can avoid tourist prices aimed at the desperately thirsty and hungry.
Unlock Your Phone
We purchase phone and data plans from reputable companies in each country using a SIM card inserted into our phones. The price varies from country to country, but overall we’ve found this to be an affordable and reliable way to always have enough data to text and run apps and maps.
Use Public Transportation
Walking is the best way to experience any city, and Google Maps does a great job of navigating walking routes. It also interfaces with public transportation so we can take buses along popular routes to create our own, more affordable, “Hop-On-Hop-Off” city tours. And figuring out a new metro system is far more satisfying than any mind-improvement app!
Try Our Go-to Apps
Aside from Google Maps, we use Skyscanner, Rome2Rio, Expedia, Trip Advisor, and Airbnb as our go-to apps for travel planning. And Google Translate has saved us many times — especially in taxis!
Keep a Journal
We have filled nearly 20 simple notebooks over our five years of traveling. We jot down what we did each day along with our expenses and tape in our receipts, tickets, and other mementos. This system has helped with our budget (since we are accountable to each other on our spending), and the entries help when it’s time to write our blog.
Slow Down to Save Money
You don’t have to do everything on your list! Leave room in your schedule for some spontaneity and time to rest. The free concert you find in the park around the corner can be as memorable as an expensive night at the opera, and the delightful bistro your host recommends will be your secret to share as an insider tip when you get back home.
Take your Pillow!
If you have room in your suitcase (and we suggest you make room), take your favorite bed pillow from home to instantly feel you belong anywhere.
Remember: Politeness Is a Second Language
Keep in mind when you enter a country that you are the foreigner! We’ve found if you take the time to learn a few phrases that include a greeting, please, thank you, and something like “I’m sorry to bother you” (a great one before launching into your urgent question), you’ll find people soften before your eyes and do their best to help.
To learn more about the Senior Nomads and their incredible journey, visit seniornomads.com, where you can read more than 150 blog posts and purchase their book, Your Keys, Our Home.
