Anyone else finding travel harder the older you get?

[menopausalminnie1]

Just back from a long haul trip. Had a wonderful time, but really struggled with some aspects of the trip. For context, I'm 55, menopausal, and I ache A LOT.

We had to go from Heathrow, which is HUGE. I found the sheer amount of walking required to be quite difficult, as my back kills me, and I was lugging a heavy suitcase and a backpack. Don't get me wrong, I did manage it, but it felt exhausting.

We also struggled a bit with the self check in pods and trying to figure out where on earth to drop our bags after that. Nothing seemed to be well signposted or obvious.

On a day to day basis, I feel quite young, but on this trip I felt a bit concerned about whether we were going to manage long haul travel 10 years from now, which is a worry, as we plan to travel a lot in retirement.

Anyone else?

A lot of people in my wider circle have died in the last 6 months so we have decided to travel now. No waiting for retirement. 3/4 of kids are at uni and living elsewhere. We are 53 & 55.

Good for you! Where are you going to go first?

OP I'm mid 60s with arthritis in my back and hips. I flew long haul last summer and booked assistance. It worked really well for me and my OH.

@menopausalminnie1
Was that booked as a through ticket? if yes then I’m really surprised an airline has done such a tight connection. We took flights last year with connections, one was about 50 minutes and we had to run, the other was 40 minutes, unfortunately our arriving flight was late so we missed the connection despite running for it. By the time we got to the gate, we’d already been booked on the next flight two hours later, so the airline knew we’d miss it.
We always try to leave at least two hours now between connecting flights so it does take some away some of the worries about missing a connecting flight.

I suppose with regard to the 20 minute connection a lot might depend on whether that was planned from the get go or not…..if the first sector ran very late there’s not much the poster could do..

@Femalefootyfan
By the time we got to the gate, we’d already been booked on the next flight two hours later, so the airline knew we’d miss it.

Yep, an airline with a good flight connections system/protocol/office looks at this stuff whilst you are airborne and if the connection looks like it is going to be broken will almost certainly rebook you on the next onwards before you’ve even landed.

Where I worked if we were running very late we’d often get a message pinged up to the aircraft with all the details so we could tell those passengers involved that they’d been rebooked and details thereof…reduced their stress levels a bit.

Yes but that flight might be the next day! Or even after that. It’s foolish to not allow reasonable time. Never mind the stress. It just takes a bit of thought. Planes get delayed. If you want to minimise stress, plan well.

Thing is, while we were still in the air, we realised we were likely to miss our flight, cabin crew told us we’d probably make it, explained which gate we’d need to get to and let us go. There were six of us, all running and we all missed it. It would have been less stressful if they told us we’d miss it and we’d be rebooked and we could’ve taken our time.

I understand where you are coming but what is a reasonable time? I don’t think there’s an answer.

Planning a sub one hour connection is possibly foolish but I know people who do it (all depends on tolerance to risk and the consequences of missing the connection)..OTOH a nice conservative two, three or more hour buffer many of us might be more relaxed about can be utterly worthless if there’s a big delay on start up for the first sector……(e.g. due ATC problems/slots/ weather..you name it…)…but at least the bigger buffer improves your odds.

@Femalefootyfan

It would have been less stressful if they told us we’d miss it and we’d be rebooked and we could’ve taken our time.

Agreed..I know the system where I worked didn’t always work as advertised but it was good when it did.

I love being in transit and I love airports - even the terrible signage and the shouty security bootcamp and Crystal Maze-esque self-service bits.

@notimagain DD missed a connecting flight. Had 1 hour but flight delayed from UK. She said, as everyone else says, they will put you on the next flight. They did but you miss part of your holiday. It’s all very well quoting the rules but you have the stress, the hotel, the uncertainty and you don’t get your full holiday! Just because you didn’t book an earlier flight! No doubt it would cost more for the flight but it’s the price we pay for a calm holiday. Mostly at least 3 hours for us these days. Or even the day before and take a bit longer for the holiday if you are older.

No, not yet. I’m younger than you, dh is older and we manage absolutely fine. He has a back issue which means he can no longer get the suitcases off the carousel (he can’t lift and twist) but I am strong (I weight lift 5 x per week) so I can do it no problem. Get a trolley (which I push whilst he moans - he hates that he can no longer do it, but he is working up to being able to again) and off we go.
Like pps, we have lost some friends recently at really quite young ages and have others who have had life changing illnesses. We are doing as much as possible whilst we are fit and well.

So are we. We’ve holidays booked up now in 2026. What we like sells out!

@Lisanoonan Florida next week (paid with points), Brussels (Eurostar offer) in December, NYC in Jan (750€ for flights and hotel), Milan (by train) in Feb. I make DH nervous. Fortunately he has 11 weeks holiday a year and I'm between jobs / reinventing my career.

Just a point about the passport scanners. It's taken me a couple of trips to work out that most of the problems are caused because people expect instant responses from technology. The gate doesn't open so they think they have the passport in wrong and move it.
Whereas in fact it's actually quite a slow process for the scanner to pull up your picture from the chip, then you must be looking directly into the camera for it to compare.

All airport travel is much more comfortable IMO if you check in your luggage and take the minimum hand luggage.

One tip I am going to take from this thread is to book VIP lounge.

E-security gates where you scan your passport. Photo on passport is me without glasses (no glasses are allowed) and can't see much without glasses, I was rejected and told to get passport checked by a person.

I wish I could book the airport lounge last month. Though at Brum they open at 4:30am and my flight was at 5:45am.

Flights have to be in the morning. I cannot be doing with any flights after 1pm now (Europe).

As a kid, we had a flight at 22:00. Yes day one of holiday in airport. With the flight being 3.5 hours long, 1 hour added on as hour ahead, 2 hours at arrival airport. Another 2 hours transfer, 30 mins waiting to check into room.

So check into room the same time as breakfast room is open.

I cannot sleep on planes. My DM sleeps during take off and you know how noisy the plane's engines get.

One of the main reasons why next year we are flying from Brum not East Midlands

What's really annoying, though, is when you rush through an airport for a connecting flight and you make the flight - hurray! But your luggage doesn't. And then you have a 2 hours wait the other end for your luggage to arrive. DH was seething this year when that happened to us.

What do you like that is booked up that far ahead?

Why would you wait? If it didn't arrive in your plane then airline will take it to hotel. This has happened a few times to me. Usually on arrival at Bangkok for some reason

YABU: for climate change reasons.

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.

A long haul trip can be harder that way.

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.

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