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Benefits of TRAVEL
Whether sunning yourself on a beach or exploring museums and historical points of interest, travel is an excellent way for older adults to experience different cultures and create new memories in retirement. Travel also offers numerous mental and physical health benefits.
Boosts Mental Health: Traveling provides seniors a sense of adventure and excitement and can help alleviate feelings of boredom, depression, and anxiety.
Keeps the Mind Active: Traveling exposes older adults to new experiences and environments and helps keep minds active and improves cognitive function.
Improves Physical Health: It’s important for seniors maintain an active lifestyle. Activities such as walking tours, hiking, and other forms of physical activity provide seniors with easy and enjoyable ways to get exercise while exploring.
Strengthens Relationships: Whether traveling solo or with family and friends, going on trips opens doors for older adults to create new memories with loved ones and forge new friendships with peers who share similar interests.
Socialization becomes increasingly important as we age, and traveling with others is a wonderful way to combat loneliness and stay active and engaged.
Enhances Self-Esteem: Traveling can give seniors a sense of accomplishment and help to boost self-esteem. Exploring new places and trying new foods and activities can also increase confidence and independence.
Provides Learning Opportunities: Active minds help keep people young. Learning about new cultures and customs can broaden one’s understanding of the world and enhance appreciation for diversity.
Offers New Perspectives: Provides older adults with an opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and gain new perspectives on life. Travel also doesn’t have to mean getting on an airplane. There are many local travel adventures that are mere car rides away. Senior centers, senior communities, and other businesses and organizations often offer organized travel opportunities.
In 2022, Capri Communities launched Enjoy Life on the Road, which invites residents, family, and friends to take guided road trips to select travel destinations in the United States. Meghan Davis, director of lifestyle enrichment for Capri Communities says, “We’re thrilled to offer Enjoy Life on the Road to our residents. The excitement of getting out to explore our country and make memories with friends new and old is contagious!”
Capri’s first group travel adventures will be in June 2023 to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, followed by Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, and Black Hills of South Dakota in September 2023. Older adults interested in learning more can visit enjoylifeontheroad.com.
One thing is for sure, whether you’re traveling on your own, with a group, or as part of a senior living community, travel is good for the soul. So dust off that bucket list and start planning. No matter your age, there’s a world of adventure that awaits you!
Contributed by Capri Communities, a Wisconsin-based senior living company that realizes the value travel brings to older adults. Their tagline, enjoy life, is something they strive to deliver to residents every day.
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Founded in 1992, Capri Communities operates more than 18 senior living campuses in southern Wisconsin, including Drumlin Reserve of Cottage Grove, Hyland Campus of Sun Prairie, and Vista West in west Madison. Capri serves 2,200 residents daily. Each independent living, assisted living, and memory care community is designed to provide for the unique needs and desires of today’s seniors. capricommunities.com
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