Too old to tour at 81 – are age limits on holidays fair?

I can’t think of anything worse than a tour holiday, but that is because I have always taken holidays with friends or with my family. Maybe I will be glad of them one day, but I would not want to join a party with people who are 20 or 80. Companies who have age restrictions will lose potential customers but presumably the reason is to make the tour holidays work better. I am happy for age restrictions to apply, though I suggest that there are exceptions to help keep families together.

When I was travelling in New Zealand we did lots of ‘tramping’ (their word for long, often strenuous, walks). On one three-day tramp we got friendly with a man who was in his late 70s. He was on holiday on his own and was checking out different tramps ahead of a tour he was organising the following year. He was unbelievably fit – everyone takes the walking at their own pace at meets at the point in the evening, but he was far from last to arrive. My point is that everyone is different – he was probably fitter than many people in their 40s or 50s – age isn’t necessarily the defining factor in whether you’re up to a certain trip or not.

I do agree that certain holidays that are targeted at a certain age group, like Saga or 18-30, should have age restrictions – purely because it wouldn’t be much fun for people way outside the age group to be on a holiday like that, but then again, I can’t imagine many would try to book anyway!

As long as the Rolling Stones are still touring, I don’t think anyone has an excuse not to 🙂

Some tests can compute your mental age so perhaps other tests could be devised to compute ones effective physical age – at least as far as participation on holidays go.

In 2006 I was on a walking holiday in North Wales with HF. The venue also hosted a Painting holiday so when an grey haired lady in her 70’s started talking to me on arrival day I naturally assumed she was a painter – an assumption which her boots and rucksack the following morning quickly disabused me of. I was on the “High Level” walking group – so was she. I was 20 years younger than she was, and she was walking way out in front. Moreover on the mid week “day off” she went off with the sole 20 year old in the party to scale the more difficult peaks in the Snowden range, that HF deem too hard for ordinary folk like me!

Years earlier, also with HF, I had been clambering over Barnacle Ridge on the Isle of Arran admiring the daring of the man in front. Now in his 70’s he had only taken up walking after a life as a butcher. Whilst I was wet, tired , puffing with exhaustion and extremely fearful at the death defying scrambling I was committed to, he was looking for more interesting (= difficult) routes across the ridge ahead. On being asked if he worried about the dangers he responded that he had enjoyed a good life and it did not matter much if he fell off in pursuit of a little more excitement. Intellectually I agreed, but emotionally I was not comforted!

So although I too have suffered from slow people holding up a holiday group – they have almost always been my juniors by a generation or two. The only “age” that matters in such matters is the effective age for the activity and who can manage to define that?

I’ve been on a lot of guided walking holidays and age has no bearing on the clients abilities; the older walkers usually have more stamina and are still going strong at the end of the walk !

How can age restrictions be fair unless they are in place for legal reasons? It’s ridiculous! However, ageism does seem to crop up rather often in our society. I would suggest any elderly citizens affected by such ludicrous ‘rules’ simply take their business elsewhere.

I know there are tour operators who cater for over 80’s because the WW2 veterans can still apply for lottery funding (ends Jan 2012) through the Heroes Return 2 programme. I’ve just finished reading about Ted Cachart, who, at 85, is now helping others apply for these grants so they can afford to travel overseas on World War Two heritage tours, even if it’s for no other reason than to pay their final respects to lands where their loved ones fought and died. It’s still a tour and it’s still over 80s, no age restrictions that I’m aware of – I expect all veterans and their spouses, widows or widowers must be 85+

18-30 I can understand, it is age specific and it is drawing a similar group of people together without there being a generation gap if they ‘get it together’ while on holiday. But imposing an upper limit without involving the health, fitness and mobility aspects is just ridiculous.

Honestly, I feel that age limits as well as being unfair, do not always solve the potential problems that traders invisage.

In the case of Martin Randall’s Travel policy, I know of several over 80’s who are very fit and would easily manage this type of holiday. I also know of just as many under that age – some in their 50/60 who are in poor health and would not be able to manage a holiday of this type. In that respect, what about the disabled? Are they to be refused admission to certain types of holiday because of sight/hearing/mobility problems? This is certainly a contensious issue and I will be interested to hear the judgement in this matter.

Some years back we travelled with a major group tours company on a quite adventurous itinerary in Costa Rica. Before we left Heathrow we had met one of our fellow travellers, who was extremely confused and probably would not have made it onto the plane without assistance. He was in his mid-eighties. On day three of the holiday, we travelled by coach over unmetalled roads then by boat to a remote beach/jungle area inaccessible by road. The man slipped on leaving the boat and gashed his shin quite badly. It transpired that he was on Warfarin and the bleeding could not be staunched. He had to be air-lifted to hospital accompanied by our tour manager, whom we did not see again. We eventually completed the trip with a local guide only, thankfully a very good one.

Whilst I do not think a blanket age-related ban would be reasonable (we have travelled with remarkably fit octogenarians) I do feel that travel companies would be well-advised both to make clear the fitness levels they require for a given trip and to require clients to sign up to them, including provision of a ‘fit to travel’ medical certificate where felt necessary.

PS I have always wondered whether or not he had travel insurance and if so, how he secured it (or at what price).