Is 29 too old to travel ?

Go!! We're going RTW for 12 months starting in September and looking forward to celebrating our 30th and 33rd birthdays along the way.
I've been made redundant twice in the past 4 years and so now wouldn't let a job stop me doing anything, it's not guaranteed just because you'd stayed and how gutted would you be??
Have fun Reply to this

I had traveled around the U.S. and had been to Europe and Canada once by the time I was 28. The travel bug infected me severely at age 29 and I made a couple of trips to Europe that year before embarking on my around-the-world odyssey at age 30. I will be 37 in a week or so and have been to over 30 countries in the last 7 years. Travel has changed my life and the way I perceive the world and I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything on Earth. Barring infirmity, you are never too old to start traveling. Do it; you will not regret it!!! Reply to this

Vicky,

29 is absolutely not too old to start traveling! My husband Mike and I are on a one year sabbatical from life this year, we're both 29, and are traveling around Europe, SE Asia and Aus/NZ. We hadn't done anything more adventurous than a Meditterranean cruise before this and are having a wonderful time that we wouldn't miss for the world.

Feel free to send us a message and we'd be glad to chat about extricating yourself from everyday life and making a real trip happen. Good luck!

Mike and Kelley Turner Reply to this

I believe you must have got your digits mixed up and meant to say is 92 too old to travel. The answer is no. Reply to this

Too old? Considering that the average life span nowadays is 80+ years old, 29 is still so young. Maybe I'm a bit biased, because I'm 29, nearing 30 myself. But really, like the other posters have said- it's never too late. I never travelled internationally until 2005, when I went through Europe. Although at first, I regretted not traveling while I was younger, during my college days, I realized that the things I did, the things I experienced, that maybe back then, I wouldn't be able to truly appreciate the experience and value it for what it really was worth. It all works out the way it does for a reason...

Forget all those naysayers. Like you, I was bombarded with "Why don't you settle down?... Why can't you grow up?... Why don't you save your money?" But when I came home from my first solo trip, then my second... and they saw how excited, how refreshing it was for me to see different sights, meet different people... they couldn't take any of that away from me. In the end, I even got my homebody mother (who was initially negative about my travels) to start bragging about how "brave" I was to go to these places by myself (nevermind, that it was safe ol' Europe and Thailand!) and to even start planning a trip to Thailand with her girl friends.

The experiences you'll have will far outweigh the negativity that surrounds you now. And most likely, while you're out there having one of the best times of your life and they're at home sulking, you'll laugh it all off and continue on.

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Hi

I just returned from my first RTW trip a couple of months ago - I turned 29 half way round the world, in Auckland!!! Go for it, my other half & I have not regretted doing a trip ( partner is 34), we went away for 7 months and cant wait to do another!! we mostly hosteled it, but we had a bit more cash than some might and managed to stay in some hotels along the way too.

You will only regret it if you don't go!!!

JKRTW2006 Reply to this

Hey i'm 29 and in Bangkok now just starting my travels! go for it girl! it crossed my mind once or twice but then i thought what the hell, at least i know what i want in life now more than when i was 20 therefore probably appreciate it more too! xoxox Reply to this

Crazy talk 😊 I was in the same position as you. Good job, 29, regretting not travelling when I was younger. I just up and left. I've been travelling for more than 7 months now around the world, and it's the best decision I've made to date. Don't worry about their reactions, it's all caught up in the old notion of how things ought to be done. School, Job, Family, blah, blah, blah. When you get back you'll have much more interesting things to talk about, and believe it or not, you'll have a clearer idea of how you want to live your life. You won't regret it. Reply to this

Vicky...

been on the road for more or less 8 years now... and I started at 32. But it's not my case I want to state. I can tell the story of a lady who started traveling at more or less 60. And she's still going strong. She's now in the 70s, still in Patagonia. Of course she's not a backpacker, but the point is the spirit. The restlessness. The curiosity. I met an 80yo guy sailing boats in Alaska, a 65 yo couple riding motorcycles in Australia, and countless other examples. I can tell you for sure that people not 'in the wavard of youth' any more travel more and better than the youngsters... Have a look at the greates traveler of the 20th century: www.tilman.tv.

Cheers

M Reply to this

I spent 6 months in India and Nepal when I was 23, and then got my head down and worked far too hard for another 18 years. Where did that leave me? Depressed and divorced. I jacked in my well paid 'job for life' a year ago and spent 6 months in the South Pacific and New Zealand. Back home in the UK now, I've sold my house and now have so many travel plans I barely know which to do first. I'm 42, and there is no way I'm going back to my former life. My hopes are to become a travel writer and photographer to support myself, something which I know will be incredibly difficult and which may take years to generate any income, but at the end of the day it is better to try and fail than not to try at all.

Vicky ... it's never too late. Going travelling again has changed my life. My only regret is that I wasted all those years in between. Go for it! Reply to this