Australia for Older Travelers

Older travelers. Hah! You don’t feel old. And the one thing you have always wanted to do is travel – maybe to a foreign country. You’ve always wanted to go to Australia – and go to Australia, you shall. Except what can you do there except “hang out” with people half your age? Believe it or not, there are a lot of things to do, and you can do them with people who know what it’s like to “…walk 3 miles to school in the snow…barefoot…”

There are many ways to see Australia and many activities that are available for travelers of all ages. Like what? A guided tour is a good example. Ah, but what kind of guided tour? And where? And how? And where do you stay?

Before you travel to Australia, get on the Internet and find a web site that specializes in Australian travel. There are even websites specifically designed to help you make your entire trip perfect, down to the last detail. Here are some ideas to get you started in the planning process:

Day Trips

For a thoroughly enjoyable day trip, go to a winery. In Melbourne, there is a highly recommended wine tasting tour. The Yarra Valley wine tour goes to four of the region’s best known wineries: you will be assigned a guide to offer tips on how to taste and enjoy the wines you’ll be sampling. After the morning part of the trip, you’ll have lunch at the Rochford Winery and you can choose your accompanying glass of wine at the cellar door.

Lunch is followed by wine tastings at the rustic Yering Farm cellar door. In the afternoon you will get a private tour of the award-winning Domaine Chandon winery, where you can enjoy stunning scenery as well as wine. At the end of the day, you can enjoy a glass of wine at Domaine Chandon with a small appetizer. All in all, a great way to spend the day in Australia.

Book a Dinner Cruise

For couples with a true sense of romance, enjoy a night cruise on the Brisbane River. You will dine on a three-course buffet dinner and get to see Brisbane in its most beautiful setting. Have a drink at the bar and watch the lights of Brisbane go floating by and enjoy waterfront views from your dining table. Dinner cruises are also a perfect way to meet other travelers!

Hot Air Ballooning

If you aren’t afraid of heights, try hot air ballooning over the Gold Coast! This champagne breakfast tour is one amazing way to see Australia. You will be flying with the most experienced ballooning company, and with the newest state of the art ballooning equipment. The tour begins at dawn.

After landing, you are provided with a freshly cooked hot Aussie breakfast, during which you are plied with champagne. You will then be able to stroll the landscape gardens and checkout the vineyard. A pretty fantastic way to spend a morning…

Sightseeing

There are so many breathtaking places in Australia that it’s hard to choose which one you’d like to see. Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia is known for its spectacular sunrises and sunsets, and since you will be taking a two day (one night) tour through it, you’ll be able to experience them. You begin in Alice Springs and travel by luxury coach throughout the trip. All drinks throughout the entire trip are free. On the first day, you will stop at a camel farm and have a chance to ride a camel, and continue on to Ayers Rock Resort, where you will stay at your choice of a standard, first-class, or deluxe accommodation. In the afternoon you will go to the Cultural Centre and the Maruku Arts and Craft Cooperative where you can see Aboriginal artists while they’re working. You can then join a guided walk to Mutitjulu waterhole, take the Mala Walk around the base of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and explore Kantju Gorge. You will then be taken to sunset strip, where you will be offered a glass of wine to enjoy while watching the famed Uluru sunset. The next day, you can do the same thing for sunrise (you might want to nix the wine). You will then embark on a jaunt to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and to the 36 immense rock domes of Kata Tjuta. Enjoy a guided walk into Walpa Gorge before returning to the resort for your return journey.

There you go. A few ways to see Australia for the “old folks”. Now you can tell everybody that you not only walked to school – uphill – in the snow – but that you also have ridden a camel at a camel farm. They might not believe the story about the walking to school in the snow, but at least you took pictures when you rode the camel.

[box]This guest post article was written and provided by Erica Gustafson who is an avid Australia traveler, freelance writer and digital media consultant for Expedia.  When traveling to Australia she enjoys staying at theDuxton Hotel Perth.[/box]