Interest Holidays for Older People

As you get older you sometimes want a holiday that's a little different from the usual beach holidays, or the resorts full of young families or youngsters living it up. You just want to get away from it all and relax and enjoy yourself doing something that you are interested in. There are lots of travel companies who specialise in interest holidays for older people, offering a wide range of destinations and catering for all kinds of interests.

Whether your interests are, sport, wildlife, nature, history or any other number of activities there will be a holiday available somewhere that will be suitable for all your needs.

So just what sort of holidays are there out there?

Golf

If you play golf then you have a wide range of holidays available. From Spain to Portugal, Ireland to the home of golf itself -Scotland- a trip will be available to suit you no matter your handicap. Portugal's Algarve has many championship quality courses where tourists can play for reasonable fees. A country which is just starting to advertise itself as a golfing holiday destination is Cyprus, where many new courses are springing up and holidays are available at reasonable prices.

Walking

Many walking holidays are available in the UK. The beauty of the highlands of Scotland can be explored with your own guide who will lead you through peaceful glens and spectacular countryside. There are different tours available some more difficult than others, so be prepared to ask how far you will be walking each day and the level of difficulty of the tours before booking. Walking holidays in Wales and in many regions of England are also available, so if you enjoy the outdoors and are relatively fit this is a great way to see the countryside and get close to nature.

If you want to travel further afield, France and Austria also offer marvellous walking tours.

Creative Holidays

For the less energetic and the more creative type of person some holidays that are available include: writing-writing retreats and courses are available in the UK and all over Europe including Spain, Greece and France. Courses on various genres of writing are available, these courses are mainly for small groups of individuals and the tutors on some of these courses are quite well known authors and poets.

Other crafts and creative courses available include: Painting, pottery, song-writing, sculpture, learning to write comedy or stand-up comedy, and photography, to name just a few.

Food and Wine

For food and wine buffs there are wine tasting holidays and tours of vineyards available in France and Italy. These consist of visits to vineyards, with wine tasting and wine samples as well as history and background information on the vineyards and grapes used in the production of the wine.

A little bit closer to home, you could book a Scottish whisky trail tour, which will take you to distilleries in the highlands and islands of Scotland for tastings of the various malt whiskies.

If food is your passion there are gourmet tours available where you can sample the delights of French cuisine, or even learn to create and cook your own wonderful dishes. Cookery holidays are available in the UK, Ireland and many countries in Europe.

Wildlife

The thrill of getting up close to wild animals in their natural environment is a once in a lifetime experience, lots of travel companies offer safari trips to Kenya, Zambia and South Africa where local guides will take you to see lions, elephants and a host of other animals in their natural habitat.

The barrier reef in Australia offers you the chance to see marine life like sharks, colourful tropical fish, turtles and a host of other sea creatures. You can swim, scuba dive or snorkel in the reef and see first hand all the beautiful coral in clear blue water.

Companies run cruises to the reef and some of the islands, and non swimmers don't miss out on the underwater adventure either, as many of the boats have glass bottoms so you can view the marine life on the bay from the comfort of the boat. A few of the tour operators also offer trips in submersibles where you can view the reef from beneath the waves.

No matter what your interest, there are specialist travel companies who will have a tour available of some kind that will be suitable for you. If you have an idea what you would like to do just visit your local travel agency and let them find a suitable holiday, or search the internet for one of the many specialist tour operators and see just what is on offer.