Do you have fears that stop you travelling in general? Will 2017 differ from any other year?

We at To Travel Too recently asked 100 travellers over 60 to share what would stop them from travelling in 2017. The results are in and they are really interesting. Do any of their comments resonate with you?

Lack of Funds

We had 28% of respondents cite lack of funds. This is an interesting one. For us, it costs more to sit on the couch in our hometown of Sydney, Australia than it does travelling the world. Our Sydney costs are AUD165 (USD122) per day and our travel budget for 2016 is AUD92 (USD68).

We travel to low cost countries and mix house sitting with staying in hostels, hotels and apartments. The first half of this year we blew our budget, but as we are now house sitting our costs have come down and we are within budget again.

Our advice is to look at what you spend on a daily basis. As just one example, how many coffees do you buy? Two coffees a day for us in Australia costs us $8 (USD6), which comes to AUD2920 (USD2160) a year. If we went out for coffee just once a week the cost would come down to AUD416 (USD308). Just that change alone can keep us travelling on the road for nearly a month.

Are there areas of leakage in your budget that you could refocus towards a holiday or longer-term travel? Could you shop at your local green market and support your local growers, or consider changing your brand of supermarket? Do you really need those extra pairs of shoes?

Fear Not a Major Factor

We saw only 26% cite fear as a factor, which is a great response. As travel bloggers we belong to quite a few Facebook groups where there are travellers over 60 who are writing about their fears. It is comforting to know that they can discuss their issues, but it is also comforting to know that we are out there “and nothing will stop us” from enjoying our travels.

Health as a Consideration

Only 15% cited health, which we thought would be higher up in our survey. The participants’ responses ranged from the health of their parents to their own health and health whilst they were out on the road.

How do we stay healthy? We are conscious by eating healthily, taking daily supplements of Echinacea, walking and doing yoga. Water and sunscreen are musts when we are out and about sightseeing. In our three years of travelling we have had about three cases each of mild food poisoning. We also take comfort in taking out full travel insurance for the duration of our travels.

War and Terrorism

For the 13% who cited war and terrorism, we can understand. As certain areas of the world heat up we are all too aware of these dangers. The Australian Government has a website called Smart Traveller and we receive regular updates on Countries’ health and political situation.

Do you subscribe to your government’s equivalent? We also keep up to date with the current situations happening in the world and would not put ourselves at risk. At times, however, we have found that the media has blown quite a bit out of proportion.

Fear of Flying

Another five percent responded with a fear of flying. Even though we are experienced travellers we from time to time become very nervous about air travel. By meditating and using self-breathing techniques we have overcome these fears. If you do have a fear of flying please don’t let this stop you traveling. Most airlines have programs and workshops to help resolve these fears.

Remaining Responses

The remaining responses included a variety of concerns: Trump being elected and the unknown (3%); traveling solo (3%); not wanting the trip to end (2%); leaving pets (1%), politicians (1%); travelling Qantas (our Australian Airline; 1%); packing (1%); earthquakes (1%).

Where do you stand on travel in 2017? Are you with the “nothing will stop us travelling” group, or is there a fear holding you back? Which of the survey responses do you find surprising? Is there a factor that you would add as a consideration? Please share in the comments section.