Last year, I marked my 50th birthday by going on my first safari.
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I → mark → safari
It was up there with my other most extraordinary trips, such as riding the Trans-Siberian Railway, galloping a Marwari horse across Rajasthan, diving in Indonesia’s Banda Sea and watching the Northern Lights after a spectacular day’s heli-skiing in Iceland.
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It → rid → Iceland
Hitting mid-life has brought into focus an urgency to travel and experience those “always wanted to” moments.
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Hitting → hit → moments
Yet by 50, we often have increased demands – from ageing parents and tricky teenagers, to big mortgages and busy careers.
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we → have → mortgages
It makes getting on a plane and leaving the house, for even a week, more heavily weighted than ever before.
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getting → make → week
At this stage of life, the way we travel has begun to shift.
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we → travel → life
We might, if we’re lucky, have more to spend than when we were young, and while seeking adventure, are less inclined to want to rough it.
uncertain
we → ’re → it
Some of us might not be as fit as before (hampered by five knee operations, in my case).
uncertain
Some → hamper → case
We’ve also started to ponder our heritage and, perhaps, a deeper meaning of life.
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We → start → life
With all this in mind, here is my pick of the best travel experiences to have after reaching mid-life.
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pick → have → life
An expedition to one of the most remote and wildest regions on Earth is one of the ultimate wish-list experiences, whether you want to see emperor penguins and leopard seals in their natural habitat, send a letter from Port Lockroy – the world’s southernmost post office – or follow in the footsteps of adventurers such as Ernest Shackleton.
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you → want → Shackleton
If none of these blow your mind, simply seeing Antarctica’s sheer cliffs of ice is enough to make any mid-lifer feel small.
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lifer → blow → ice
Silversea has a nine-night cruise, Antarctica:
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Silversea → have → cruise
The Way of St James (aka Camino de Santiago) is Europe’s most famous pilgrimage and one of the most enriching and spiritual ways to experience the countryside and culture of northern Spain.
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Way → experience → Spain
Whatever your motivation, there are multiple routes starting in Spain, France and Portugal.
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motivation → be → Spain
A plethora of tour companies offer walking packages long and short, with accommodation from tents to five-star hotels, depending on your fitness, budget, time and hiking experience.
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plethora → offer → fitness
All conclude at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, said to be the burial site of James the Great, one of Jesus Christ’s 12 apostles.
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All → conclude → apostles
How to do it UTracks’ Camino Sarria to Santiago Classic takes eight days and covers the final 115 kilometres required to qualify for the official Compostela certificate.
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Classic → do → certificate
With turquoise-blue, glacier-fed lakes scattered among dramatic mountain peaks and abundant wildlife, from bald eagles to grizzly bears, Canada’s Rocky Mountains are a trip of a lifetime for anyone who finds solace in nature and big skies.
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who → feed → nature
APT’s 22-day Rockies Odyssey and Alaska Cruise is a return journey from Vancouver, combining a Gold Leaf journey aboard the Rocky Mountaineer through the Canadian Rockies with an Alaska cruise through the Inside Passage.
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Odyssey → combine → Passage
Departures in 2027 run from April to September.
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Departures → run → September
See aptouring.com
HOLIDAY WHERE YOU SPENT CHILDHOOD BREAKS
Returning to where you spent your holidays as a child can be fraught – a place can change a lot in 40-odd years.
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place → see → years
My family spent two weeks every summer in a delightful guesthouse in Coverack, Cornwall in the UK.
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family → spend → UK
Taking packed lunches to the beach and fishing with bright orange floats from the rocks, we’d return home sandy and happy with the day’s catch.
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we → take → catch
I did revisit Coverack a few years ago and found it changed, but also much the same.
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it → revisit → Coverack
It made me feel whole.
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me → make → ?
A five-night stay at Compass Point in Coverack, costs from £2850 ($5371).
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stay → cost → 2850
It sleeps eight.
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It → sleep → eight
Not every trip to the Himalayas must involve Mount Everest.
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trip → involve → Everest
With the mountain range stretching across northern India, you can take a gentler approach and join some of the region’s last remaining migrating shepherds, the Anwals, as they herd their flocks from lower-altitude villages to higher alpine pastures.
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they → stretch → pastures
Stay in village guesthouses or camp beneath the stars surrounded by Himalayan peaks, terraced fields and rhododendron forests.
How to do it Responsible tourism organisation Village Ways offers an 11-night In the Footsteps of the Anwals trip including accommodation, all meals, transfers and guiding.
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Ways → stay → accommodation
The trip operates from April 15 to May 15, 2027 and prices
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trip → operate → May
Mexico’s Dia de Muertos is one of the most extraordinary celebrations you’ll experience.
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you → experience → celebrations
While it coincides with Halloween and is themed around death and spirits, Day of the Dead – celebrated from late October into early November – is a joyous commemoration of lost loved ones.
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Day → coincide → ones
Mexican families welcome the souls of their deceased back to Earth with food, music and celebrations.
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families → welcome → food
Oaxaca is one of the most atmospheric places to experience it.
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Oaxaca → experience → it
You’ll find street-corner altars, marigolds, candles, copal incense, face paint, costumes, sugar skulls and dancing – an all-out riot for the senses.
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You → find → senses
How to do it Bunnik Tours offers a special departure of its 19-day escorted small-group (maximum 20 guests) Viva Mexico tour, timed to coincide with Day of the Dead festivities.
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Tours → do → festivities
The 2027 trip departs Australia on October 28 and costs from $13,995 a person twin-share, including international flights, accommodation, most meals, sightseeing and special experiences.
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trip → depart → flights
See bunniktours.com
SADDLE UP IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
The impossibly romantic notion of galloping a horse across rolling grasslands beneath wide-open skies is every bit as good as it sounds in real life.
Siwash Lake Wilderness Resort and Ranch in British Columbia’s Cariboo region is a raw wilderness hideaway offering a wonderful experience for beginner and experienced riders alike.
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Resort → see → riders
…and 65 more, not listed.
The Aporia
