Most attractions offer senior discounts on admission. You'll find them listed throughout this guide.
Members of AARP, 601 E St. NW, Washington, DC 20049 (tel. 888/687-2277; www.aarp.org), get discounts on hotels, airfares, and car rentals. AARP offers anyone over 50 a wide range of benefits, including AARP: The Magazine and a monthly newsletter.
The U.S. National Park Service offers an America the Beautiful-National Park and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Senior Pass (formerly the Golden Age Passport), which gives seniors 62 years or older lifetime entrance to all properties administered by the National Park Service -- parks, monuments, historic sites, recreation areas, and national wildlife refuges -- for a one-time processing fee of $10. The pass must be purchased in person at any NPS facility that charges an entrance fee. Besides free entry, the America the Beautiful Senior Pass also offers a 50% discount on some federal-use fees charged for such facilities as camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, and tours. For more information, go to www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm or call tel. 888/467-2757.
Many reliable agencies and organizations target the 50-plus market. Elderhostel (tel. 800/454-5768; www.elderhostel.org) arranges worldwide study programs for those ages 55 and over. ElderTreks (tel. 800/741-7956, or 416/558-5000 outside North America; www.eldertreks.com), for those 50 and over, offers small-group tours to off-the-beaten-path or adventure-travel locations.
Publications offering travel resources and discounts for seniors include the quarterly magazine Travel 50 & Beyond (www.travel50andbeyond.com) and the bestselling paperback Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50 (Joann Rattner Heilman; McGraw-Hill).
