Many Texas hotels and motels offer discounts to seniors (especially if you're carrying an AARP card), and an increasing number of restaurants, attractions, and public transportation systems do so as well.
Members of AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons), 601 E St. NW, Washington, DC 20049 (tel. 888/687-2277; www.aarp.org), often 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 over 50 can join.
The U.S. National Park Service offers a Golden Age Passport that gives seniors 62 years or older lifetime entrance to properties managed by the National Park Service for a one-time processing fee of $10, which must be paid in person at any NPS facility that charges an entrance fee. Besides free entry, a Golden Age Passport also offers a 50% discount on federal use fees charged for such facilities as camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, and tours. For more information, click onto www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm or call tel. 888/467-2757.
Many reliable agencies and organizations target the 50-plus market. Elderhostel (tel. 877/426-8056; www.elderhostel.org) arranges 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); Travel Unlimited: Uncommon Adventures for the Mature Traveler (Avalon); 101 Tips for Mature Travelers, available from Grand Circle Travel (tel. 800/221-2610 or 617/350-7500; www.gct.com); and Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50 (McGraw-Hill), by Joann Rattner Heilman.
