Virtual options give travelers a different path to getaways

Before the pandemic, Jan Casner of Dallas loved to travel. The retired elementary school principal and her husband took church trips to England, Israel, South Africa, Prague and St. Petersburg. At least once a year, she joined her girlfriends for an educational tour with Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel).

But this year, Casner, 80, is staying close to home. She picks up her groceries curbside and see friends and family only in small, socially distanced, outdoor gatherings.

Still, she managed to get away virtually to two destinations on her bucket list: Normandy and Giverny in France, via an online Road Scholar tour.

“I think we actually saw a lot more than you would if you were taking the tour in person,” she says. “The tour guide had done a tremendous amount of research. He had some fabulous shots of the beach taken via a drone.”

Like Casner, many older adults are trying alternative forms of adventure this year, says Sheryl F. Kline, professor of business and economics at the University of Delaware.

“Those in the baby boomer generation and older aren’t traveling, for obvious reasons,” she says. “They’re less likely to travel than other age groups, and I don’t anticipate they’ll come back to traveling soon.”

Virtual travel

The good news is that armchair travelers can find a wide array of options, Kline said. Museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre in Paris, have added virtual tours. Theater companies and musical groups are presenting online performances. Visitors' bureaus are offering online tours.

“These destinations are creating ways for you to explore now, with the hope that, when this is lifted, you’re going to want to go in person,” she says.

After Road Scholar suspended its tours, which are largely aimed at older travelers, it turned to free online lectures presented by the same guides that led in-person tours pre-COVID. The lectures were so popular — 45,000 viewers registered since last spring — that Road Scholar took the option a step further.

“We realized that this is a very isolating time period, and so much of what people love about our tours is the social camaraderie and interaction with like-minded people,” said Maeve Hartney, vice president of programs for Road Scholar. “We wanted to bring that social part to the virtual tours.”

The company added multiday Adventures Online, in which a group of virtual travelers gather daily via Zoom for lectures, video presentations, Q&As and breakout discussion groups. Tours run three to 10 days and cost $349-$749; most sell out quickly. About 85% of those on the online trips are veterans of Road Scholar tours, but 15 percent are newbies. Hartney says the company may continue to offer the online tours even after the pandemic fades because they’re attracting folks who can’t travel in person because of limited mobility.

Viking cruise lines also added online programming in March, shortly after suspending operations. Viking.TV is broadcasting daily cultural content that includes museum tours, history lectures, guest speakers, musical performances, yoga sessions and more. In October, the livestream featured an interview with Yo-Yo Ma. Each broadcast premieres daily at 1 p.m.

“Having a daily routine is important during times of stress and isolation, so we launched Viking.TV to livestream at a set hour each day,” says Karine Hagen, Viking executive vice president.

All the broadcasts are archived and available on demand the next day. More than 2 million viewers have tuned into the programming since last March.

Down the road

Although virtual travel options are growing, some seniors are devising ways to travel safely in person. Missy Buchanan, 69, and her husband, Barry, have come up with what they call COVID-19 day trips. Every Saturday morning, they get in the car, and Buchanan announces the surprise destination, a small town within 90 minutes of their home in Rockwall. So far they’ve visited Josephine, Kaufman, Bonham, Princeton, and Edom, among others.

They’ve discovered new spots on the outings, such the Kaufman County Poor Farm, the site of a home for poor and indigent people that was founded in the late 1800s, and the Old Mill Pond Museum and Parrott Park in Lindale.

“The Saturday trips turned into something that helps us mark the day,” she says. Without church on Sunday or other weekly appointments, “the days sort of run together. And you get tired of Zoom after a while.”

To keep the trips safe, Buchanan picks places where they can sightsee outdoors or from the car. She Googles each destination in advance to find outdoor landmarks or historic homes to check out. Around 11 a.m., before the crowds arrive, they pick up lunch at a local eatery and head to a nearby park to dine alfresco.

Normally, the Buchanans travel frequently. But with concerns about the safety of air travel, they’ve canceled trips to visit family in California and Florida in 2020 as well as the speaking engagement that Buchanan had lined up. (She’s the author of Beach Calling: A Devotional Journal for the Middle Years and speaks often to church groups.) The weekend day trips allow for a bit of adventure while minimizing risk of exposure.

“We really do love to go places,” says Buchanan. “But we’re in a vulnerable age group, and we’re taking the virus seriously.”

Going by car

In a typical year, Carole and Howard Greisdorf of Plano take several trips to visit friends and family, spend two or three weeks in Mexico and go overseas at least once every year or two. Not this year. They’re both in their 70s and don’t feel safe traveling by air. But with some planning, the Greisdorfs found a way to travel relatively safely by car, visiting friends in Paradise Valley, Mont., and family in Fort Collins, Colo.

Their COVID-19 strategy: They packed water and snacks to minimize stops for food and ate takeout in the car or the hotel. They chose hotels with strict cleaning protocols; asked for first-floor rooms, to avoid elevators; and wiped down high-touch surfaces like doorknobs and faucets when they got into their room.

“Normally we would take the scenic route,” says Howard Greisdorf. “But we decided to just stay on the interstate this time.” That minimized restroom stops and ensured they could find clean facilities. Usually the couple takes side trips to wander through galleries or museums, but those were out this time -- and many were closed anyway. But the Greisdorfs pronounced the trip a success.

“It involved a little research, but it was a good antidote for pandemic fatigue,” Carole Greisdorf says.

‘Revenge travel’

No one knows for sure when older travelers will feel safe to travel by air or cruise line again. But when that time comes, travel industry observers predict a wave of “revenge travel” — a rush to book trips to meet the pent-up demand.

Kline expects travel costs will go up soon after the coronavirus threat passes. Her advice: If you see a travel bargain for late 2021 with a cancellation policy you can live with, now is a good time to book.

All the travelers interviewed look forward to when they can safely venture forth again. And Casner, who visited Normandy and Giverny virtually, hopes to return one day — in person.

“The virtual trip was a wonderful taste,” she said. “I feel like I could go and enjoy it even more. I can’t wait to see it in person.”