Anyone else finding travel harder the older you get?

Oh yes of course. I was just clarifying that I had done my due diligence. You’re absolutely right to highlight the need for that.

Sorry - I meant other possible purchasers should read through the conditions because they need to know about health if it’s on their list of questions.

Yes, I have had detailed discussions with them twice. Once when I was declaring health conditions after my aforementioned surgery and once when booking our forthcoming Antartica cruise. I have also read through all of the terms and conditions.

@CurlyhairedAssassin Small ship cruises. It’s surprising but they sell like hot cakes. Ship has around 100 passengers and uses zodiacs for exploring. We just like these holidays and we are not alone! Also got the last 2 places to Bhutan and Nepal for Oct 25. That’s a small group tour and a clearly popular too!

@AnnieSnap We have the Alianz cover too via Lloyds. You do need to be aware there are health questions. We are 69 and 71. We have no health issues and yes, it covered us for Antarctic - we’ve been. You must read the conditions though. It paid up when DH had his camera stolen a few years ago.

We had a really a triple whammy, cruising,USA and 45 days!

Yes, I’ve factored that in, including the phone insurance, RAC, which I believe includes home start and another benefit that we can choose from several. My choice is Disney + TV. On top of that, I’m really happy with my bank account and its app (had it several years now).

@AnnieSnap Ah yes thanks. I plan to look at packaged accounts when my current travel policy expires. You'd have to factor in that you pay £270 already towards it, but could still be competitive

No Woffley, it’s up to 80! See here

I don't self check in, certainly it's ok with Easy Jet and BA to do that. Much easier!

Yes I found a recent trip to the states very draining at 59. We were touring without a car so lots of carrying cases around. We used many Ubers though!

That's interesting @AnnieSnap .
Some of my conditions are expensive to cover but very unlikely to be an issue on holiday. I looked at the Lloyds package account but it's only up to age 65 and we are 66/75

I’m 65, husband 75. Our travel insurance is included in our Bank account with Lloyds. The insurance company is Alianz. We we first used this, I had recently had major surgery and paid £80 for the year to cover my pre-existing health conditions. They are very helpful with information on cover when contacted direct and unlike other travel insurance, Alianz cover everything that isn’t a pre-existing condition whether or not you ‘declare’ all of your pre-existing conditions. Now that I’m a few years on from the surgery my other health conditions arthritis, well controlled asthma, and because my husbands pre-existing is well managed type two diabetes, we choose not to have them covered and don’t pay anything for the policy! Cruising is covered, including our Antartica expedition cruise, which includes landings reached by zodiacs (inflatable boats with a little engine)! Most travel insurance covers cruises. The only difference with specialist cruise policies is that they will give a small pay out if a ship has to miss out a scheduled port. We don’t really care about that. All insurance costs much more if you include America because the cost of medical care is so ridiculously high there.

No I'm not.

Affordable is subjective. Once you are 65 the days of £20 travel insurance are behind you.

I am 66 and have multiple health conditions including a history of cancer and a heart related one. DH has AF and high blood pressure and is 75. My last annual cover was £450 for two of us with Holiday Extras. I'm just happy I can get cover and travel.
Staysure are often mentioned but they are top price and over hyped IMO. Furthermore they get their rating by chasing reviews and get 5* reviews... of the purchase process. When it comes to claiming they all use a handful of claims management companies.
If you use a comparison website like Quidco compare you can still get cover with most health conditions at a better price than Staysure.

Are you over 65?

The PP I was asking was doing worldwide incl USA and cruises which will be significantly more than Europe-only cover.

We live in Spain so we gave to get the right ex pat insurance . We use Staysure. Very good but very expensive......2000+ euros for 45 days cruise and USA. Couldn't find cheaper that was much good.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-travel-insurance/

This is how I got my £43 annual European cover and got health issues

The return journey was a 9 hour flight, with only 20 minutes to change to a different plane (had to run), and then a 14.5 hour flight, then change to another plane at Heathrow for a 3rd flight back to our regional airport, then a bus to the park and ride, then a short drive home after that. I was knackered.

If I'm flying long haul / overnight on the return flight, I get a taxi to and from the airport. Yes, it costs more than driving myself but it's so nice to just come out of the terminal, get in a taxi and relax.

Can you recommend a travel insurance company? Friend struggled to find affordable cover after 65 with minor health conditions.

We have four holidays booked for 2025 - nothing for 2026!

2 stone over the recommended weight is not enough to account for your aches and pains. Perimenopause and Menopause is though. I remember aching to the point that I thought I had fibromyalgia. Later in perimenopause, I also started to have horribly heavy periods and brain fog. HRT gave me back my quality of life. Within two years or so of the pause in Menopause, I no longer needed it. Some women need it for years longer though and I wouldn’t have hesitated to take it if I’d been one of them.

Unless you have a family history of breast cancer, based on what you have said, I see not reason for you not to take HRT. The increased risk of breast cancer is very, very low. Much lower in fact than the increased cancer risk with the contraceptive pill, which most women are keen to take. As a good doctor pointed out to me, HRT is a considerably lower dose of hormones than the pill!

I am 66 now. I have osteoarthritis, so have to pace myself a bit and make sure I wear ‘the right’ shoes, but I still enjoy travelling a lot (including through Heathrow and to various out of the way spots in Africa, requiring multiple flights each way). My husband is 71 and does it all with me without a problem. He has had long covid, so sometimes, if there is a long walk, he’ll have to stop and rest for 10-minutes along the way. That seems to be down to LC though, not age. Neither of us carry backpacks though. We have cases and cabin bags on wheels.

I think you need to maybe see a different GP, or visit a menopause/women’s health clinic if there is one near you. Get your health sorted out, stop carrying a backpack, wear very supportive, comfortable shoes and revisit your travels.

A long haul trip can be harder that way.

I used to book morning flights and an airport hotel the night before.
However I now book a mid- afternoon flight, plus an extra night in the destination hotel. So much better than a crummy airport hotel.

YABU: for climate change reasons.