Bitten by the Travel Bug for 2026
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Not even back three weeks and I'm ready to plan again. The Greece trip for me starts March 3rd with a long two stop flight and a change in time zone, meeting friends on the 4th. I've already committed and the expensive parts, flight and hotel, are done and paid for since August. I know that is just a taste of what I want to do in 2026. My UK friend and I have talked about Scotland next fall, perhaps starting again near her, driving north to see that part of England, and onwards to Edinburgh or perhaps even a stay on a Scottish Island. I'd definitely need to do much more research and price comparing before committing, but it's on my list. The last season of Outlander hits in early 2026 so my Scottish FOMO will kick in. As I've looked at costs though, it might really stretch me too far. I need to be wise and if I need to wait a year, so be it.
I booked Greece on a whim, though had done a lot of looking for months before hand, I knew I was getting a great rate on flight and hotel. I could end up doing that again with another destination if the price is right. I've not seen anything close to what I booked that trip, considering it is nine nights and a triple room, including daily breakfast. I know people that live in France may disagree, but I absolutely loved Paris and would go again no question if the price was right. I'd love to see Rome, Venice, or Milan...add Madrid and Barcelona, and maybe Seville and take my daughter as a tour guide. These are all possibilities, and nothing is a given other than I know with each year, my endurance to explore, walk for long periods of time, and take risks will diminish.
There are logistics back home that put a lot on my kids, so I need to be cautious to balance. I have pup and grand pup to consider. While grand pup is not mine, my husband and I made a commitment to my daughter when she took him in and quickly got overwhelmed with the responsibility and time commitment versus the reality of her work and social life, that we would be her support, care for him as our own as well. He at least though can-do doggie day care and seems to love it. Pup on the other hand needs to be cared for at my house, where he knows the layout. He doesn't see well, and his mobility has limitations plus he is a Velcro dog. He needs to know where I am at all times, or in my place, the person caring for him. He does though do well for long hours alone if he did his jobs and has water close by. He'll sleep for 8 hours straight! I just need to build in more home care for him the next time I go as the kids had to do some juggling with their schedules to accommodate his needs more so than I wanted them to have to do.
I'm playing with my budget, looking at ways to tighten non-essential spending and reduce necessary spending by watching waste and price comparing. I put aside dollars in various sinking fund line items of my spending plan, including one for travel. On paper, it won't cover every aspiration unless I increase the line which means either reducing another or increasing the input on the revenue side. My health insurance is increasing by 11% for 2026, property taxes and house insurance are expected to increase by a double digit percentage as well. I feel I have 5-7 years of a "just right" budget, withdrawing only what experts say I should at most to ensure my money outlives me. In five years, unless the US goes even farther down a financial dark hole, I will be eligible for Medicare, and in 6 years, my work pension will be fully matured. But I'll be 5-7 years older as well and don't want to take my current adequate health for granted. As I figure things out, I'll keep you all posted as you all help with both accountability and giving me ideas, I don't always think about to refresh my plan.
Sounds like a great fun plan! Cindy in the South
ReplyDeletePlanning is part 1, but means and opportunity are 2-10.
DeleteSounds like you have a new passion
ReplyDeleteI've always liked travel as dud my husband. Time and money are factors then and now.
DeleteYou've given this such thoughtful considerations, Sam. You've definitely got this!
ReplyDeleteIt's all in my head for now. Let's see how the new year treats me.
Deletegreat thought processes going on for your future. The only difference I see is that, as long as you stay active and get exercise, your energy will not dwindle for a long time. I'm healthier at 64 with 2 knee replacements than I was at 50. My oldest sister is 75 and continues to take long walking travel trips including mountain hiking in National Parks. You likely have many years of active travel ahead of you!!
ReplyDeleteHappy planning :-)
I do have a couple chronic conditions though that I don't talk a lot about in my blog. I have no crystal ball as to when these might be a larger issue in my health and ability to travel easily alone.
DeleteLove that you have so much fun planned! For me, the planning & organizing is at least half of the enjoyment. I'm an optimizer in all areas of life, but particularly for budget, so it makes it fun to see where I can find deals, point redemptions, etc. I also want to maximize trips that would be challenging to do as I get older (also, M is 9 years older than me), so we can enjoy our time now being very active. We are looking at Iceland in 2027, and will probably add Sedona in the fall of 2026, for some additional hiking time. We'd love to tag on a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park when visiting Nick. We have too many trips, and not enough vacation time! :-) - Hawaii Planner
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the planning is part of the fun. I'm in the exploring phase, no commitment beyond Greece yet.
DeleteSam, love your newfound passion (GREAT!!) and love even more your thoughtfulness (what it puts on your family in terms of pets and house) and planning fiscally to make it happen. May your dreams come true!
ReplyDeletePets are a big commitment that I think people don't consider enough. Pup is old too and he needs appropriate care.
DeleteI sincerely doubt you will ever regret a single dime spent on travel, so I hope you go for all of the trips on your list as soon as feasible. In looking back over the 15 years I've been retired, the trips taken still reside in my memory, and still deliver much in the way of pleasure. Experiences over things every single time, for me at least.
ReplyDeleteI think you will love Greece. Athens is amazing, but also very big and populated, so just keep that in mind if that is where you begin your trip - all other locations in Greece for the most part are serene by comparison. (I've been to Athens twice - it's absolutely amazing - just know that slower everything awaits once you depart it.)
I know Athens is not all of Greece, but for this trip will need to serve as the home base. I agree with experience over things and I need no more things. I will have replacements needed though as things break, wear and tear etc. My budget needs to reflect that I must hire out practically everything and on my own fixed income.
DeleteI am thinking I need to travel. DH used to plan all our trips, or, advise.(Given his job, he knew what he was doing.) Every time we discuss a dog here, I shut it down for this very reason.
ReplyDeleteHealth insurance..I am where you are in terms of waiting for Medicare. It was my husband’s union that had to set the coverage straight after he died. We were cancelled, re-enrolled and over charged. I pay no premiums under the survivor plan, and the kids are the same for 2 or more, but the carrier tried to charge us more after the re/enrollment …it was all a nightmare. Go Union. A call to the union benefits line resulted in a conference call with the carrier and the problem was solved. Hopefully, that is…I haven’t had any medical appointments since then!
-Meg B.
My retirement benefits even with a union, are horrible, barely better than open market. But, they're the safety net right now I need for peace of mind. As mentioned to Elle, I have more need than I write about and under insured could leave me in a bed place should anything surface aggressively.
DeleteSam, one additional comment - I found many thousands of dollars in my first year retirement budget, that I was able to move over to Travel, once I had the time to go over every expenditure with a fine tooth comb. Some of the 'found' money came from cutting cable and our land line, relying solely on internet to stream content and my cell phone for calls, spreading my haircuts out an additional two weeks (which saved many hundreds of dollars, incredibly), cutting off no longer essential services that auto-renewed, scrutinizing auto-renews at which point I found annoying duplicates and then terminated, chasing down senior citizen discounts (our trash service had one, for example), better planning meals which lowered overall grocery bill. And so on and so on. Even $100 per budget line item per year reduced, added up to a lot of thousands to move to Travel.
ReplyDeleteGood reminders though, I have found most of them already. I just have our combined accounts and now as a widow, I'm both stuck with higher taxes and one less Income source. I've already had to be careful to not waste money and more so now with health insurance costs.
DeleteI hope you get to travel more, but as you said there are many things to be weighed at the same time. If the supply teaching still is a go, hopefully that extra can help with some of the extra costs that come with travel. I hope I can travel next year too!
ReplyDeleteIt's possible, but most jobs have been day of, not scheduled ahead so that doesn't work well for me right now. I'm hoping by April like last year I can accept more that are requested in advance.
DeleteI'm not big on travel, but it is exciting to see other's grand adventures!
ReplyDeleteYou're still working a lot though and travel might just seem like a burden. Nothing like being satisfied with your home. I guess I just am looking to run away a bit.
DeleteI'm so glad you are able to enjoy all the traveling, Sam! Definitely don't take your health for granted. I was perfectly healthy the year my husband passed away, and then my health took a huge spiral about six months later. Do what you can while you can and take good care of yourself.
ReplyDeleteThat's my fear. I have days that just moving is very painful. Fortunately I had no flare-ups while in the UK, but the bitter cold was hard on me this weekend.
DeleteI highly recommend Scotland and Edinburgh, we lived there for a couple of years over 20 years ago and I really enjoyed it. I liked the Boarders a lot though it’s not an area that most tourists hit. The Highlands are beautiful also. I can relate to worrying about an older dog, luckily she can stay with my daughter but I do feel guilty leaving her so much. Have fun in Greece! Kathy
ReplyDeleteThese are the tips I love to get. I do not know what The Boarders are but will research.
DeleteIt’s the area south of Edinburgh but before the English boarder. There’s lots of old abbeys in the area to visit. I used to pack the kids up on school holidays and drive down from Edinburgh for the day. The Scottish Seabird sanctuary is nice too, it’s east of Edinburgh in North Berwick and there’s lots of beautiful beaches to walk along. But it’s usually pretty chilly! Kathy
DeleteThe travel bug is probably the only good bug to get in my opinion. I swore no more long hauls after Thailand last year but now I'm still playing with the idea of India in spring. Then tomorrow I'm off to a presentation by one of my favourite travel agents here as a "representative" of the old fogeys club and am keen to see what they have coming up (but all within Europe). My sister just got back from the Christmas market in Prague and and and .... Gotta play with the budget again!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to include Prague on my list! But, I need to add some small town/ country vibes to the list as well. I loved the smaller communities in France and the UK as well. I'd love to do New Zealand and Australia but those will be after that pension kicks in.
DeleteWhat great fun to have such plans!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be able to travel more, not necessarily overseas, there is a lot I'd like to see in the states, but husband has a couple of years until retirement.