Mention the fact if you're a senior when you make your travel reservations. Many hotels, resorts, and restaurants offer discounts to seniors. In most cities, people older than the age of 60 qualify for reduced admission to theaters, museums, and other attractions, as well as discounted fares on public transportation.
You can order a copy of the Mature Traveler Guide, which contains local discounts mainly on rooms but also on attractions and activities, from the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 8723 International Dr., Suite 101, Orlando, FL 32819 (tel. 800/643-9492 or 800/551-0181; www.orlandoinfo.com). You can also find it online at the CVB's website (click the "Mature Travelers Discounts" link under "Discounts & Promos" on the right side of the home page).
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 members a wide range of benefits, including AARP: The Magazine and a monthly newsletter. Anyone older than 50 can join.
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 -- national 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 older.
Recommended 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 2005-2006, 16th Edition (McGraw-Hill), by Joann Rattner Heilman.
