tell me about your Elderhostel trip...
 

This is probably the best thing about turning 55. Many of these trips sound fabulous. Anyway, I'd love to hear about your experiences.
Faith

There is a discussion board with reports on EH. You can also sign up to receive those reports through e-mail.

A dear friend (she's not an internet user or I'd ask her to answer this herself!) has traveled with Elderhostel often. She just returned from a fantastic sounding 3 week trip on the Amazon and to Machu Pichu. She has also gone with them to Spain, China, the Seychelles, and Iran that I can think of right off.

She is very satisfied with them. The itineraries are slow paced (i.e., not rushing around) often 3 week trips and the accommodations very nice (5-star) but not excessively fancy or showy. Groups typically of 35 people or so. They seem aware and sensitive of local people and economy (not to mention catering to and taking good care of their somewhat older guest travelers). She has also mentioned how good the food is!

Thanks FainaAgain & Suze for your feedback. I've looked at the EH website and bb but figured I'd ask about them here too.
Faith

My 3 reports on West Coast EHs are buried here somewhere. Maybe a search for "elderhostel" will bring them up.

At 55 you will be the youngest on those trips. 99% of participants are retired.

True, my friend's 60 and she's the "baby" of each group, unless someone brings a guest like an adult child or relative.

Just got back from Boston for 5 day
EH."Art and Architecture of Boston" & Harvard
It was wonderful...
Lectures in AM at our motel by retired professor from Harvard..Then bused to various museums and historic city area . then "escorted" back to site via "T"
Accommodation were at Constitution Inn (formerly YMCA for service people at Charleston Navy Yard - Where "Old Ironsides" is moored and open for visitors) All Renovated rooms, all with refrig,microwave and coffee pot.**great fitness center with indoor Olympic size pool and laundry facilities..
great breakfast next door in cafeteria in building renovated by Mass. Gen. Hospital (for their imaging department and offices)
--three blocks to passenger ferry that goes to waterfront adjacent to
Aquarium .
Average age of the 40 people was 70.. and about 1/2 group were couples.. I travel solo and felt very safe and at ease with the program and the people...
Planning another EH in Oct. near Richmond VA...

My wife & I have been on several Elderhostel trips in the Southwest. Agree with comments before. These are like learning vacations. Groups not too large and not rushed. Best buy for the money anywhere. Trips for any activity level from very active to very sedate.

My in-laws have taken many EH trips and loved them all. They are in their early 70s and have loved the adventure trips with rope courses and rapelling off mountains. (Not something you'll likely find me doing)! About 10 years ago, they took my children with them on a inter-generational EH trip (not an adventure trip)and both generations had a wonderful time.

Thx everybody for your feedback.
I've been on 2 Grand Circle Tours (GCT)--Mexico/the Copper Canyon and to Thailand. Loved the slower pace of the trips. I was really surprised I was not one of the youngest of the crowd at 54--many people brought along their adult children.
Anyway, I'll probably do a trip with EH next year.
Faith

topping for faith77

Just topping this up...
Anyone else have any stories to tell.
Thx again for all the great feedback.
Faith

We have done several international and US trips with them. We are now signed up with EH for a walking trip in Glacier NP. They are well run, with a good educational bent, and relatively inexpensive. The international trips have better accommodations than ones in the US. I would guess that the average age is 70. ((R))

Ah, there's always got to be one in the pack - I'm the contrarian here, looks like. We've done two EH trips - one in the Texas Hill Country and one on Tybee Island/Savannah. I know there are many, many loyal fans of EH, but one of the reasons I'm not eager to do another EH trip is that I found the scheduling just too tight - not enough free time. Programs on both of our trips were very good, but the folks who ran the Texas one seem to have missed their true calling. Should have been boot camp sergeants...in Germany. The gal who was in charge in Savannah was a charm. But it's that go here-go there-next class-whew! scheduling that left us cold on the idea.

As far as I remember, there was no roll call or final exam.

just topping this up--anybody else go on a trip with EH?
Faith

FainaAgain, or anyone who knows, you said there's a "discussion board with reports on EH". This lead me to scan the list of Fodor's boards which I hadn't done for ages & discover the Solo Traveler one, which was great since I am now a Solo Traveler. However, no board assocated specifically with EH. Can you (or someone) provide a web link? Thanks

Why would somebody look for EH discussion board on Fodor's is beyond my understanding, sorry.

www.elderhostel.org is the EH website. On the right side - Elderhostel discussion forum.

http://www.elderhostel.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi

Because I was looking for/hoping there was a completely brutally honest discussion of EH & its various trips. I'll take another look at the boards sponsored by EH, but feel that boards so closely associated with the commercial "parent" are apt to censure their comments even if the sponsor does not.
Thanks.

MHS - How about this?

<b>http://members.aol.com/ehindex/</b> ((f))

Thx everybody for the great repsonse to this thread about EH. I figure that, if I have questions about EH trips, the best place to ask them is the Fodors bb.
Faith

Good luck, Faith - and keep us posted on any EH experiences.

I fail to see the dividing lilne between an EH trip (i.e., &quot;travel')...and any other Fodors-style journey.

Shortly after I turned 55, I did the Ethnic New York Elderhostel week, based at the West Side YMCA in Manhattan. It was an excellent program, which I enjoyed very much. And I had enough evenings free to do things on my own – a New York Philharmonic concert, a St Lawrence String Quartet concert at the Juillard School, an evening of blues at the now defunct Chicago Blues, a piano recital at the Metropolitan Museum with Ruth Laredo.

While roughly half of the group was under 65, and they were all nice people, I still felt too young to be part of it. Sort of like travelling with my parents. Not quite, because my parents, even in their late 70's, early 80's, were more fun.

I haven’t done one since, but have just booked two activity holidays in Arizona for this October, “Hiking the Slick Rock, Slot Canyons and Red Rocks” and “Grand Canyon: Hiking the Back Country”. Hopefully, 8 years later, I have matured enough.

Guess I should chime in as an Elderhostel fan. We have just returned from our 4th Grand Circle European trip and have traveled overseas by other means. (See Europe: Back from Central Europe).

But we have enjoyed 21 Elderhostel programs with most all being excellent ones. Some are outdoors with RVs, some more classroom learning, some focused on studying history of an area, and some intergenerational with grandkids. We've done each, mostly domestic ones. I've done reviews for some http://members.aol.com/ehindex
I think you find the reviews by email at
//EHnotebook/earthlink.net

There is a learning component to Grand Circle trips and some touring with the usual Elderhostel program, so we see similarities. And tuckerdc is right...if you want free time EHs are not for you. Participants do want a little but will complain if too much.

Excellents ones: Chicago Art Institute, San Francisco Art &amp; Humanities, Irish Heritage &amp; Culture, History &amp; Culture of Puerto Rico, Okefenokee, Foreign Policy-American Foreign Service in D.C., Mighty Mississippi-Northern Illinois Univ., Sights of the Shore-Ocean City, MD, Christmas in NY-Warwick Center, Southern History, Culture etc. (now Interhostel sponsored).

ozarksbill
[email protected]

Thx Tuckerduc, Ron, &amp; Ozarksbill for the feedback on your trips.
You all and Elderhostel have given me another idea--I think I'll combine an Elderhostel trip with a visit to family or/and friends in another part of the country.
Faith

Good idea...that's exactly what we do. We consider Elderhostels in areas en route or near family and also places we haven't seen before.

ozarksbill

ttt
Just figured I top this up again. Anybody else have experiences with Elderhostel trips?
Faith

Hi (again) from ozarksbill...

Looking at the thread, I must insist that this does belong on Fodors travel, most EH programs are study-travel events. Yes, I would certainly endorse site prviously posted for past reviews and that to receive reviews on line. The one we intended to enroll in was (and I use the past tense) the People's Program in New Orleans.

Now then, traveler24, would you contact us about more on the EH in Boston...our next one in Oct. We now have family in Boston so that is one reason for signing up. Like faith77 we've enjoyed some GCT trips (4) and BTW would like more on that Copper Canyon one.

ozarksbill
[email protected]