You’re never too old to start traveling! Samantha Taki is the founder of the Golden Age Traveling blog. It focuses on her and her husband Gene’s travels through the US, Canada, Caribbean, Europe and Mexico — a total of 42 states and 10 countries. She and Gene joined the 55+ club last year. Samantha gives a lot of great traveling tips in this interview and I’m sure she’ll inspire you to start putting your dream trip together. 

If you prefer, you can listen to the whole interview on my Reel Travels podcast here. 

Where did all of this start? 

I’ve always had the desire to start traveling and see more and do more. I just never had anyone to do it with or the money. And then when my husband and I got married, I guess in our mid-30s, we tried to focus on travel more. By the time we were in our 40s, it was a passion. I wanted to blog and I knew we were nearing 50.

How did you overcome the financial difficulties that prevented you from traveling earlier?

I just started saving, even if it was 20 bucks, 50 bucks here and there. We paid off our credit card bills as much as we could and that helped a lot because we didn’t have to worry about those. But even when we were paying all these other bills, I always tucked away a little bit every month, because I knew I wanted to travel even if it was only two times a year.  I know it’s hard but just put a little bit away that you don’t even realize or look at. And all of a sudden it adds up.

I also tried to look for good deals. I usually fly Southwest a lot. So I have their lists. I know when they’re going to be opening up the next group of deals so I can travel as cheaply as possible. Just looking for deals, and mostly just trying to save. 

What was the first trip after you had saved?

We went to Puerto Rico. 

Where did you start looking for deals?

I would just look at websites like Travelocity. They have a lot of good deals. Conde Nast is good and I like TripAdvisor. Most people asked how we do it and they wanted help so I usually just help them. I just love it. So I try and figure out what they want to do and try to book things around that. 

Have you been able to start traveling in 2020?

We’ve done a lot more road trips, and we actually flew to Alaska, which was nice, because nobody was there. The cruises weren’t going through, so we had the whole place almost to ourselves. There were some tourists, but it was so nice and peaceful. Of course, some things were shut down. And we didn’t get to do any of the boat tours or whale watching tours that we had wanted to do but it was a unique exposure to Alaska. 

What have been your favorite trips? 

Oh, my goodness. We had a great few trips to New York. We’ve actually just got back from Louisiana and I really enjoyed that. Everyone fits in and everyone’s welcome. It’s just a happy attitude out there. I’ve also loved Twin Falls, Idaho. I mean, it’s really hard to pick a favorite because we’ve had so many wonderful trips. Hawaii is a standout just because it’s beautiful.

And internationally? 

I love Paris. Paris is still my favorite. We loved the food in Germany. I actually have some German ancestors. I really really liked Italy, but we were only there one day. 

Don’t be scared

What do you think some of the biggest fears are for people who are older and who haven’t started to travel? 

Not being able to find things that they need like medication. Not knowing if they’re going to be able to get something if something happened to their prescriptions or their eyeglasses broke and not being able to get around or speak the language. Being older, people may just dismiss them. 

I always make copies of my documents and scan them and send them to my email. I always take two passport photos with me as well just in case for some reason we had to get new passports and we didn’t have to go running around trying to find a photographer to take two more shots. My husband lost his ID on our honeymoon in Cancun. 

What have you learned on your trips? 

I don’t need three big bags for two weeks. When we go to Hawaii including our snorkel gear and everything, we each carry one carry-on and backpack and we’re fine. We try to book Airbnb that have washers and dryers. 

How do you overcome feeling alone while traveling?

I’ve only traveled solo in the U.S. but when we were in Germany and Paris we each had a day where we wanted to do something different. So we actually separated for the day, and did our own thing. My sister-in-law thought I was crazy, because I did my thing and she asked me if I was afraid. Of what, I said. We were in Paris and I knew the metro. I knew where to get off. I knew our flat. 

Thinking it through and knowing ahead of time what to have on you and making sure somebody knows where you’re going and when you’re supposed to be back are just really important. And I don’t think that it should stop anybody from traveling. 

What inspiring words do you have for new travelers? 

Just go do it.