BOSTON –Following a highly successful pilot, Road Scholar announces its ‘Age Well’ lecture series, provided online for free, will become an ongoing offering among the organization’s robust online course curriculum. The not-for-profit world leader in educational experiences for older adults launched the Age Well initiative to provide expert-led guidance on how to navigate the challenges and opportunities of life’s later years, from health and wellness to social connection and emotional resilience.
“Preparing for the changes that come with older age, particularly the time of life we call the ‘Fourth Age,’ can be challenging,” said James Moses, President and CEO of Road Scholar. “We launched this lecture series to offer guidance and practical advice.”
Over the course of six pilot lectures in spring 2025, these free, one-hour lectures attracted thousands of attendees eager to explore health, wellness, and longevity through the lens of education and community. The series has already had a powerful impact.
“I recommend this to everyone because the advice and recommendations prepare you for the negatives and positives of aging and how to cope,” said participant Terri Lee Knutson of Orange Park, Florida. “I wish I had known this information when I was preparing for retirement. I sign up for all the Aging Well programs as soon as they appear.”
Topics have included traveling with dementia, aging in place, relocating in retirement, technology that supports aging, and more. The program’s overwhelming popularity has inspired Road Scholar to make “Age Well” a permanent part of its curriculum. They will offer two free live online lectures each month, starting in January.
“The response has been profound. We know these lectures provide vital information for everyone preparing for or helping others navigate this stage of life,” said Moses. “We all seek to live vibrant, purposeful lives, and these ‘Age Well’ lectures are helping people achieve that aim.”
The inspiration for “Age Well” was deeply personal for Moses, as he cared for his mother who lived to be 101.
“Being a caregiver myself, I experienced firsthand the difficulty of navigating the later years of life— both for aging adults and their loved ones,” said Moses. “It made me acutely aware of the need to help people make this fourth stage of life both joyful and meaningful. Road Scholar’s mission is to inspire adults to keep learning, exploring, and connecting. ‘Age Well’ brings that mission to a new stage of life helping people prepare for and embrace life’s fourth age with wisdom and confidence.”
Exploring Life’s Fourth Age Through Education The “Age Well” series invites participants to think of life as a journey — one that benefits from curiosity, preparation, and lifelong learning. Expert-led lectures cover topics including:
Health and wellness strategies to maintain physical and mental vitality
Building emotional resilience and finding purpose through life’s transitions
Fostering connection and community to combat loneliness
Leveraging technology and accessibility tools for independence and aging in place
Lectures are led by notable experts in the field of aging and gerontology, like Dr. Lakelyn Eichenberger, gerontologist and caregiving advocate, and Catherine Sanderson, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Amherst College and author of “The Positive Shift: Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity.”
Beyond the Lectures: A Growing Community To extend the learning beyond the virtual classroom, Road Scholar has launched a companion online Age Well Discussion Group on Facebook as well as an Age Well Blog Series. A newsletter and bookshop will follow! These spaces allow participants to continue their conversations, share experiences, and connect with others who are also navigating the aging journey.
To learn more and enroll in the free Age Well online lecture series, please visit www.roadscholar.org/agewell.
Not-for-profit Road Scholar is the world leader in educational experiences for older adults, serving 6.5 million lifelong learners since 1975. Road Scholar programs combine travel and education to provide experiential learning opportunities for adults over 50, featuring an extraordinary range of topics, formats, activity levels, and locations—on all seven continents and throughout the United States. From immersive travel to engaging online learning, Road Scholar inspires adults to keep exploring, discovering, and growing through the joy of lifelong learning.
“Summer of Reflection: The Legacy of Anne Frank” citywide initiative expands with “Summer of Service” to thank those who educate, protect, and inspire New Yorkers
New York, N.Y. — This summer,Anne Frank The Exhibition is expanding its efforts to introduce as many New Yorkers as possible to Anne Frank’s legacy of hope and courage, offering enhanced access and free admission to thousands of public service champions, including teachers, first responders, active military, and librarians. The immersive and historically significant exhibition, presented by the Anne Frank House in Union Square at the Center for Jewish History, will launch the new initiative beginning Friday, July 11th through Friday, August 29th.
“We are honored to welcome public servants through enhanced access to the exhibition, inviting them to draw strength from Anne Frank’s enduring legacy of humanity and courage,” said Ronald Leopold, Executive Director of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, which organized the New York City exhibition. “Summer of Service not only recognizes the profound impact public servants have in safeguarding our freedoms, but also affirms their power to shape a more just world. By experiencing Anne Frank The Exhibition firsthand, they harness their collective empathy and resolve, becoming even stronger champions of human dignity and leading the way in the fight against hatred and intolerance.”
The new summer initiatives include:
Teacher Tuesdays:
From 9:30-11:30am, teachers will be granted free access for up to 2 adults and 4 children.
Valid school ID and email address is required for free entry.
First Responder and Active-Duty Wednesdays:
From 12:30-3:30pm, all first responders (including NYPD, FDNY, EMS, and PAPD) as well as active-duty service members, will be granted free access for up to 2 adults and up to 4 children.
Valid government-issued ID is required for free entry.
Public Librarian Weekday Evenings:
On Monday through Thursday, from 5:00-6:30pm, all NYC public librarians will be granted free access for up to 2 adults and up to 2 children.
Valid ID and NYC public library email address is required.
From 2:45-5:00pm, the exhibit is offering free entry to all visitors (last entry at 4:00pm).
The first 100 NYC library cardholders to arrive will receive expedited access on these Free Fridays. Free Friday afternoon access is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and is limited to 250 visitors each Friday. Last entry is 4:00 pm, one hour before closing (5:00pm on Fridays). Teacher Tuesdays, First Responder and Active-Duty Wednesdays, and Public Librarian Weekday Evenings begin on July 11th and will last through August 29, 2025. Originally planned to close earlier this year, Anne Frank The Exhibition is now extended through October 31, 2025 to offer even more New Yorkers the opportunity to learn about Anne’s life and writings.
A tribute to public servants, Summer of Service extends Summer of Reflection: The Legacy of Anne Frank with a powerful message of gratitude to those who educate and protect New Yorkers. Summer of Service expandsexhibition access for New York City’s everyday heroes, such as teachers, first responders, and librarians.
Summer of Reflection: The Legacy of Anne Frank includes the distribution of 10,000 copies of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl across New York City and is made possible thanks to the generosity of Bank of America and UJA-Federation of New York, in collaboration with the New York City Public Schools Office of Library Services, New York City Public Schools Department of Social Studies & Civics, New York City Public Schools Summer Rising enrichment program, and the New York Public Library, Queens Public Library, and Brooklyn Public Library.
About Anne Frank The Exhibition:
Anne Frank The Exhibition is the first time in history that the Anne Frank House presents a pioneering experience outside of Amsterdam to immerse visitors in a full-scale recreation of the Annex rooms, fully furnished, where Anne Frank, her parents and sister, and four other Jews spent two years hiding to evade Nazi capture.
Moving through the exhibition, visitors can immerse themselves in the context that shaped Anne’s life—from her early years in Frankfurt through the rise of the Nazi regime and the family’s phased move to Amsterdam across 1933 and 1934, where Anne lived for ten years until her 1944 arrest and deportation to Westerbork, a large transit camp in the Netherlands, then to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a concentration camp and killing center in Nazi-occupied Poland, and eventually to her death at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany when she was 15 years old.
Four exhibition galleries immerse visitors in place and history through video, sound, photography, and animation; and more than 100 original collection items from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Anne Frank The Exhibition provides an opportunity to learn about Anne Frank not as a victim but through the multifaceted lens of her life—as a girl, a writer, and a symbol of resilience and strength. This is a story inspired by one of the most translated books in the world.
The New York City exhibition occupies over 7,500 square feet of gallery space in the heart of Union Square. This marks the first time dozens of artifacts can be seen in the United States—many have never been seen in public.
Artifacts in the exhibition include:
Anne Frank’s first photo album (1929-1942);
Anne Frank’s typed and handwritten invitation to her friend for a film screening in her home (by 1942, anti-Jewish measures prohibited Jews from attending the cinema); and
Handwritten verses by Anne Frank in her friends’ poetry albums.
Advising the Anne Frank House on the New York City exhibition is Michael S. Glickman, CEO of jMUSE. Dr. Doyle Stevick, Executive Director of The Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina, the Anne Frank House’s official U.S. partner, is the educational advisor.
Anne Frank The Exhibition is a limited engagement, now extended through October 31, 2025.
The exhibition is made possible by Leon Levy Foundation, with leadership support by David Berg Foundation, Rebecca and Jared Cohen, Stacey and Eric Mindich, The Koum Family Foundation, Merryl and James Tisch, UJA-Federation of New York, and corporate partner Bank of America. Educational patrons to the exhibition include Gray Foundation and The Fuhrman Family Foundation, with additional support by The Barbra Streisand Foundation.
Major support has been provided by Debbie and Mark Attanasio, Tanya and Ryan Baker, Einstein Astrof Foundation, Elyssa and William Friedland, Jesselson Foundation, Allison and Warren Kanders, Pershing Square Philanthropies, Sara Naison-Tarajano, The Krupp Foundation, Katharine M. and Leo S. Ullman, and Anonymous, with sponsorship support by GRoW @ Annenberg, Rita J. & Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation, Karyn Kornfeld & Steven Kobre, The Claire Friedlander Family Foundation, and Zegar Family Foundation. Pro bono legal services provided by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
General Information
Following months of being sold out, additional tickets have been added for the months of June, July, and August to ensure visitors have easy access to the exhibition. Tickets available at AnneFrankExhibit.org. The exhibition is designed for children (ages 10 and older) and adults. All general admission tickets include the exhibition audio guide. Visitors should plan to spend approximately one hour at the exhibition. Last entry is one hour before closing.
Individual tickets
Timed entry tickets, Monday through Friday: $24 (17 and under, $18)
Timed entry tickets, Sunday: $31 (17 and under, $24)
Flex tickets, Monday through Friday: $38
Flex tickets, Sunday: $54
Family tickets (2 adults + 2 children under 17 years):
Timed entry tickets, Monday through Friday: $74 (additional 17 and under ticket, $18)
Timed entry tickets, Sunday: $98 (additional 17 and under ticket, $24)
Group sales (adults)
$300 per group of 10, timed entry, Monday through Friday
$400 per group of 10, timed entry, Sunday
Hours: Sunday through Thursday: 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Saturday: Closed
Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, N.Y. between 5th and 6th Avenues
In July 1942, Anne Frank (13), her parents, Otto and Edith Frank, and her sister, Margot Frank (16), went into hiding in the annex at the back of her father’s company. The Van Pels family (Hermann, Auguste, and their 15-year-old son, Peter) followed the next week. Four months later, they were joined by Fritz Pfeffer. All of them were Jews daring to escape certain death at the hands of the Nazis amid the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. Unable to go to school, largely cut off from the rest of the world, and trapped in close quarters with others while a war raged outside, Anne poured herself into her diary. The people in hiding in the Annex were discovered in 1944, and Anne and the others were arrested and sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. Anne and her sister Margot were then sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus in February 1945. Anne was 15. Margot was 18 or 19. Otto Frank was the only person from the Annex to survive the Holocaust.
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, more commonly known as The Diary of Anne Frank, is one of the most translated books in the world. Transformed multiple times for stage and screen, the published book’s source is the personal diary that Anne Frank kept in multiple notebooks during the two-year period of hiding with her family in rooms located in the back house of her father’s company in Amsterdam. Soon after Anne and the others were arrested in 1944, Miep Gies, one of the people who risked their lives to help them in hiding, returned to the Annex and found their belongings ransacked. Miep was relieved to find Anne’s diary pages, knowing how important her writings were to her, and saved them for her return. Otto was the only person from the Annex to survive the Holocaust. When Miep first gave him his daughter’s diary, he could not bring himself to read it. Soon, he did and he could not stop, sharing it with relatives and friends who encouraged him to publish what they considered “an important human document.” Upon its publication, Otto Frank wrote: “How proud Anne would have been if she had lived to see this. After all, on 29 March 1944, she wrote: ‘Imagine how interesting it would be if I published a novel about Secret Annex.'”
The Anne Frank House was established in 1957 in cooperation with Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, as an independent nonprofit organization entrusted with the preservation of the Annex where Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in 1942 during the Second World War. The Annex is where Anne wrote her diary, and where she and her family hid from the Nazis during the occupation of the Netherlands until being discovered and arrested by police officers in 1944. Following her transport to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp, Anne and her sister Margot were sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they died in 1945. For nearly seven decades, the Anne Frank House has served as a place of memory and a place of learning. Committed to bringing Anne’s life story to world audiences, the Anne Frank House has emerged as a primary resource for teaching and learning about the Holocaust. Through Anne’s legacy the Anne Frank House empowers people of all ages—and especially young people—to reflect on the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and discrimination and the importance of freedom, equal rights, and democracy.
The Center for Jewish History illuminates the Jewish past for audiences today and preserves it for the future. Home to the world’s largest Jewish archive outside Israel, it is a dynamic space for learning and public engagement. Opened in 2000, the Center is the collaborative home of five partner organizations (the American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research) whose collections comprise over 7 miles of archival documents, 500,000 volumes of books, 12 million digital items, and thousands of artworks, objects, textiles, and recordings. The Center opens these vast archives to the public and activates the stories that they hold through exhibits, fellowships, genealogy programs, and an active calendar of events – making it a hub for Jewish culture and heritage. To learn more about the Center and its public programs, visit: cjh.org.
Road Scholar, the not-for-profit world leader in educational travel for older adults, released the top trending destinations for educational travel in 2025, ahead of its 50th anniversary next year. Based on year-over-year program enrollment increases, Road Scholar identified the top 10 trending destinations — five domestic and five international — that are capturing the attention of lifelong learners this year. These destinations reflect the highest increase in demand from 2024 to 2025, highlighting a growing enthusiasm for experiential learning through travel as more older adults seek opportunities to expand their knowledge and explore the world.
“As we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2025, the interest in our new and ongoing programs is a testament to Road Scholar’s exceptional experiences offered across the world and the growing demand for educational travel,” said Maeve Hartney, chief program officer at Road Scholar. “Across the U.S., Road Scholar participants are embracing the post-pandemic trend of discovering enriching, educational experiences closer to home. For international programs, we’re seeing a growing enthusiasm for deepening knowledge through once-in-a-lifetime learning adventures, exploring hidden gems off the beaten path, and immersing in the culture of more remote, lesser-traveled destinations.”
Based on the largest year-over-year increases of confirmed enrollments in Road Scholar’s programs, here’s a look at the top trending domestic and international destinations:
Top Trending Domestic Destinations By Year-Over-Year Enrollment Increase
Lincoln, New Hampshire, 550%
San Francisco, California, 257%
Norfolk, Virginia, 207%
Santa Rosa, California, 150%
Stowe, Vermont, 140%
Top Trending International Destinations By Year-Over-Year Enrollment Increase
Namibia, Africa, 155%
Tanzania, Africa, 153%
Peru, South America, 144%
Greenland, Europe, 133%
Mongolia, Asia, 129%
The Top 3 Trending Domestic Destinations for Educational Travel
Lincoln, N.H. – As a leader in the skip-gen travel movement, Road Scholar’s Nature of New Hampshire program provides a unique opportunity for grandparents to travel and learn alongside their grandkids in Lincoln. On this six-day, sea-to-sky adventure, participants ride along the Cog and Lake Winnipesaukee Railroads, sail on Squam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee, discover regional wildlife, taste maple syrup delicacies and more.
San Francisco, Calif. – To experience the best of the “City of the Bay,” Road Scholar’s six-day Signature City San Francisco program invites travelers to immerse themselves in the captivating story of San Francisco with the guidance of experts. Participants explore Alcatraz Island, learn about the fire of 1906, wander the markets of Chinatown and see iconic landmarks.
Norfolk, Va. – Perfect for music enthusiasts, Road Scholar’s five-day The Best of Norfolk & the Virginia International Tattoo program takes travelers back to the 17th century to discover the city’s military and art culture. Participants experience the nation’s largest military musical celebration at the Virginia International Tattoo, stroll through the Botanical Garden, attend an exclusive private musical performance and take a narrated Norfolk Naval Base cruise.
The Top 3 Trending International Destinations for Educational Travel
Namibia, Africa – Home to the world’s oldest desert and timeless cultures, Namibia offers travelers the chance to meet native communities and learn about wildlife conservation initiatives. Over a 16-day journey, Road Scholar’s Namibia’s Splendor: Desert, Culture and Magnificent Wildlife program, brings participants to the AfriCat Foundation for up-close experiences with Africa’s big cats, exciting safaris and a visit to a Himba settlement.
Tanzania, Africa – Road Scholar’s 13-day Tanzania and the Great East African Migration program invites travelers to follow the largest movement of wildlife on Earth, from the Serengeti to Maasai Mara Reserve. Participants stay in tents along the migration path, visit the Ngorongoro Crater and Olduvai Gorge and learn how the migration impacts the lives of Indigenous people.
Peru, South America – Road Scholar’s most popular program in Peru, A Taste of Peru: Discover Lima, Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, gives travelers a unique perspective on the country during a nine-day journey from Lima to Cusco. In 2025, a new solo-only date will be offered. Participants explore mountain villages, experience a traditional Pachamama ceremony, visit Machu Picchu and learn about ancient weaving traditions and music.
For more information, visit RoadScholar.com. Stay up-to-date on the latest news by following Road Scholar on Instagram and Facebook.
Wednesday, June 19 is Juneteenth, the national holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States. This year, Visit Williamsburg is again partnering with the Juneteenth Community Consortium to promote the significance the destination played in this Black experience in American history.(Photo from Colonial Williamsburg)
Wednesday, June 19 is Juneteenth, the national holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States. This year, Visit Williamsburg is again partnering with the Juneteenth Community Consortium to promote the significance the destination played in this Black experience in American history.
Among the events marking Juneteenth: talks and demonstrations at the Public Armoury by Master Blacksmith Darryl Reeves, a third-generation metal worker and owner of Andrew’s Welding & Blacksmith Shop in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward. In addition to his contemporary furniture and decorative art creations, Reeves is the most celebrated architectural blacksmith in the Gulf South. He is especially renowned for his meticulous, historically accurate wrought iron restorations of antique fences, gates, balcony railings, and window grilles in the French Quarter and beyond. Reeves is reviving the traditions of New Orleans’ 18th- and 19th-century African American ironworkers by transmitting his vast institutional knowledge and trade skills to a new generation of apprentices through the New Orleans Master Crafts Guild.
Art Exhibit, “I made this…”: The Work of Black American Artists and Artisans, on view in the Miodrag and Elizabeth Ridgely Blagojevich Gallery,celebrates the lives of eighteenth through twentieth-century Black American artisans and artists through the material culture they created. The title comes from a quote by 19th-century enslaved potter David Drake who inscribed these words on one of his pots despite laws prohibiting literacy for enslaved people. Drake is just one of the many artists represented in this exhibition. Objects from both Decorative Arts and Folk Art collections will be displayed in the same gallery contrasting the aesthetics and designs of men and women from different times, places, and backgrounds. These pieces represent the inspirations, resilience, and legacies of these talented makers.
Free Juneteenth Single-Day Ticket: In observance of Juneteenth, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is offering free admission to the Historic Area and the Art Museums on June 19 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Boston, Mass. — Road Scholar, the nonprofit that is a world leader in educational travel for older adults, is having an early kick-off of their 50th anniversary celebration with a contest called the “Great Global Giveaway.” Seven lucky winners will win one of seven educational adventures to seven continents, complete with airfare for two people. These seven trips, like all the programs Road Scholar offers, will have an emphasis on learning about the destination the winners are visiting through educational content and immersive experiences.
The seven winners will be drawn from a list of all or Road Scholar’s subscribers, including those already on their mailing list and anyone who signs up in 2024. To enter, starting January 1, 2024, and continuing throughout the year, anyone who’s not already on the Road Scholar mailing list can sign up at www.roadscholar.org/enter. Subscribers can also earn extra chances to win by referring friends who aren’t already on Road Scholar’s mailing list online at www.roadscholar.org/friend. Each friend referral provides another chance to win.
The Great Global Giveaway culminates in January 2025 when the winners will find a golden ticket on page 50 of Road Scholar’s January catalog. Winners will also be notified directly by phone or email so they’re sure not to miss the good news. The seven trips include:
Africa | African Safari: A Close-up on Wildlife
Antarctica | “Land Ho!” Icebergs and Penguins in Otherworldly Antarctica
Asia | The People of the Mekong: Vietnam, Cambodia and Angkor Wat
Australia | Discover a Land Down Under: Melbourne, Adelaide & Sydney
Europe | French Art Voyage: Paris, the Rhône and the French Riviera
North America | The Best of the Grand Tetons to Banff: Iconic National Parks
South America | South American Odyssey: Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Machu Picchu & More
“With more people than ever wanting to find meaningful experiences by studying abroad, we couldn’t think of a better way to stir excitement than to give away trips to all seven continents,” said Maeve Hartney, Chief Program Officer of Road Scholar. “The Great Global Giveaway celebrates our 50th anniversary in 2025 and our legacy of helping older adults find the joy of learning and exploration with friends old and new. Road Scholar has always been about active learning and fostering a love for adventure, and the Great Global Giveaway embodies that spirit,” she said.
In addition to the Great Global Giveaway, Road Scholar wants to hear the stories of its participants over the last half-century. “For nearly 50 years, six million Road Scholar participants have experienced the joys of learning and travelling with us,” said Hartney. “We’re gathering 50 of the most heart-warming, poignant, charming and funny stories from the Road Scholar community.” Past Road Scholar travelers are encouraged to share a story about their travels with Road Scholar have impacted them at www.roadscholar.org/story.
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, not-for-profit Road Scholar is one of the world’s largest and most innovative creators of experiential learning opportunities. Founded in 1975 as Elderhostel and rebranding as Road Scholar in 2010, the tour company serves 80,000-100,000 lifelong learners annually. Programs combine travel and education to provide experiential learning opportunities featuring an extraordinary range of topics, formats and locations in more than 100 countries and throughout the United States. Alongside renowned experts, participants experience in-depth and behind-the-scenes learning opportunities by land and by sea on educational travel adventures designed for boomers and beyond. Road Scholar is a diverse community of knowledge seekers and explorers, united in the belief that lifelong learning is a vital part of overall wellbeing. For more information, visit www.roadscholar.org.
A survey by Road Scholar on trends in solo travel finds a surprising percentage, 60 percent, of its solo travelers in 2022 are married but traveling without their spouse.
Boston, Mass. – Road Scholar, a world leader in educational travel for older adults, has released a report on trends in solo travel that finds a surprising percentage, 60 percent, of its solo travelers in 2022 are married but traveling without their spouse.
Further, 27% of married women surveyed have never traveled with a spouse on a Road Scholar program. When asked why they travel without their spouses, 42% of women surveyed said their spouse isn’t interested in traveling and 40% said they have different interests when it comes to travel.
“I cherish my time to explore and do what I want on my timetable,” says Road Scholar solo traveler Marcia Henderson, 66. “I like to walk, hike, etc. He has knee issues and doesn’t share my passion for nature, culture, and history. It would be an atrocity to not travel just because my spouse doesn’t like it. This is my passion, and he is supportive as I support his golfing.”
Road Scholar compiled data for this study from the community of 80-100,000 adults over 50 who travel with them each year, including a survey conducted earlier this year. They report that nearly 70% of their travelers are women. Compare that to the overall population breakdown in the U.S.- 58% of Americans 65 and older are women- and this suggests that women are generally more likely to travel in their later years.
There are also far more female solo travelers than male solo travelers among older adults: Road Scholar reports that 85% of their solo travelers are women. They gathered data from outside sources to suggest some reasons why so many more women are traveling solo than men, pointing out that nearly half of women over 65 in the U.S. are unpartnered, that there are far more widowed women than widowed men, and that the divorce rate is highest among older Americans and on the rise. But their finding that so many of their solo female travelers are married tells an intriguing story about the behaviors of Baby Boomer women versus men.
“I think this trend is really a mark of the population that we’re serving currently,” says Road Scholar’s PR Director Kelsey Knoedler Perri. “Two-thirds of our participants now are Boomers, and Boomer women are so much more independent than their mothers and grandmothers. It would have been far more unheard of for previous generations of women to be traveling the world without their spouses. And society has shifted to ‘allow’ older women the freedom to do it.”
Perhaps because of the increase in independence among Boomer women, Road Scholar has been seeing a steady increase in solo travel over the past 10 years. As a response to this increasing demand, they shared the exclusive news that they are developing a collection of programs for solo travelers, which they plan to debut in 2024, with departures starting in 2025.
Road Scholar is a world leader in educational travel for boomers and beyond. This not-for-profit organization was founded as Elderhostel in 1975 and has served more than 6 million lifelong learners over the past 50 years. With educational adventures hosted by expert faculty in nearly 100 countries and throughout the United States, Road Scholar truly is a university of the world. Learn more at www.roadscholar.org/about.
Read Road Scholar’s full study on senior solo travel here, and find their programs for solos here.
