On June 4, the 38th Grandparent Adventure season was launched by the educational travel organization, Road Scholar, renowned for its programs designed for older adults. This year, the focus for Road Scholar’s grandparents and grandkids has been on exploring destinations far from their homes.
Recent reports from Road Scholar indicate that their international Grandparent Programs are gradually approaching pre-pandemic numbers, despite facing limited capacity due to the ongoing efforts to rebuild their offerings. Interestingly, the domestic grandparent enrollments for 2023 only reached slightly more than half of the pre-pandemic figures.
According to Maeve Hartney, Road Scholar’s Chief Program Officer, there is a significant surge in the desire for global exploration. Participants have expressed their enthusiasm for venturing out to discover the world once again, and this eagerness extends to their grandkids, who are equally keen on accompanying them on overseas trips.
To cater to this growing trend, Road Scholar is taking proactive measures and expanding their international programs for the upcoming year. Nearly two-thirds of the new Grandparent and Family programs scheduled for 2024 will be international, and these programs are already witnessing high demand and filling up rapidly.
Notable additions for 2023 include adventures to destinations like Japan, Australia, Greece, Idaho Whitewater Rafting, Hawaii, Chincoteague Bay, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Sailing the Maine Coast, Puerto Rico, San Juan Islands, San Diego, and STEM Kansas. Moreover, the roster for 2024 includes exciting destinations such as Germany, Copenhagen, Amalfi Coast, Alaska Family, Barrier Islands Family, and they are teasing the upcoming Grandparent & Family Programs in Panama.
The trend of international travel with grandchildren is evident in the experiences of travelers like Cindy and Jim Horner from Sterling, Colorado. In 2022, they embarked on an African safari with their two grandsons through Road Scholar and this summer, they journeyed to Iceland with their two granddaughters. The Horners expressed their deliberate intent to expose their grandchildren to diverse geographical settings, cultures, and standards of living, hoping to broaden their understanding of the world.
Jean McMillan from Wayland, New York has been on multiple Road Scholar adventures with her grandchildren. While it was her grandkids who chose the international trips, Jean played a supportive role in encouraging them to dream big and create lasting memories that only they could share together.
For the past four decades, Road Scholar has been organizing exceptional programs for grandparents and grandkids, often referred to as “skip-gen” experiences within the travel industry. Additionally, they offer Family Programs, specifically designed for grandparents traveling alongside their children and grandchildren, creating a memorable experience for the whole family.
As the nation’s largest not-for-profit educational travel organization for adults, Road Scholar stands as a veritable university of the world. With a vast array of educational adventures, they boast thousands of programs spanning almost 100 countries and 50 states. The roots of Road Scholar’s educational journeys trace back to Elderhostel, the pioneering leader in educational travel since 1975. Since 1985, Road Scholar has been dedicated to providing programs specially crafted for grandparents and their grandkids, fostering meaningful intergenerational experiences. To discover more about Road Scholar and its offerings, visit www.roadscholar.org/about.
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