9 boomer journey tendencies millennials name “weird,” however truly make complete sense

I spent final spring watching my dad and mom plan their annual journey to Sedona, and truthfully, I could not determine what they have been doing half the time. Printed maps? A bodily journey agent? An itinerary that regarded like a army operation?

Fast-forward six months, and I discovered myself caught in Porto with a lifeless telephone battery, no concept the place my Airbnb was, and a sudden appreciation for why my dad all the time carries a paper backup of all the pieces.

Turns out, a number of boomer journey habits that appear fully weird to these of us who grew up reserving flights on our telephones even have some severe knowledge baked in. Today, we’re exploring 9 boomer journey tendencies that millennials name “weird,” however make far more sense than you’d suppose.

1. Printing out confirmations and itineraries

My companion used to chortle each time I’d see my dad and mom print out their boarding passes three days earlier than a flight. “You know it’s all on your phone, right?” she’d say.

Then we traveled by means of rural Thailand final 12 months, and guess what? Not in every single place has dependable WiFi. Not each airline kiosk can pull up your digital affirmation. And when your telephone dies at 3% since you’ve been utilizing Google Maps all day, that printed paper all of a sudden seems fairly good.

Boomers aren’t being old school right here. They’re being sensible. They bear in mind what it is wish to journey with out assuming know-how will all the time work completely. And truthfully? After being caught at a check-in counter in Chiang Mai frantically looking for an outlet, I now hold a printed backup of main confirmations in my bag too.

It’s not about rejecting know-how. It’s about having a Plan B when know-how inevitably fails you.

2. Booking by means of journey brokers

I’ll admit it: when my grandmother talked about she was utilizing a journey agent to e book her journey to Italy, I believed she’d misplaced contact with actuality. This is 2025! We have Expedia, Booking.com, and seventeen different apps that do that free of charge!

But here is what I did not perceive: journey brokers aren’t simply individuals who e book flights. They’re problem-solvers with precise relationships and leverage.

When my pal’s flight bought canceled in Athens throughout an enormous airline strike, she spent 4 hours on maintain with customer support getting nowhere. Meanwhile, my grandmother’s journey agent had her rebooked on a special airline inside twenty minutes. No maintain music, no automated methods, only a human being who knew what strings to drag.

Travel brokers additionally know issues algorithms do not. They can inform you which lodge rooms have the most effective views, which tour operators truly ship, and which “deals” are literally horrible. That data prices cash, certain, however it’s usually value each penny when issues go sideways.

3. Arriving on the airport three hours early

Show up three hours earlier than a world flight? That’s boomer paranoia, proper? Millennials know you possibly can breeze in ninety minutes earlier than boarding and nonetheless have time for a espresso.

Except when you possibly can’t.

I realized this the arduous method flying out of LAX on a Friday afternoon. Construction had closed half the terminal. Security traces snaked again to the parking storage. I made my flight with about 4 minutes to spare, sweating and livid at myself for reducing it shut.

Boomers aren’t displaying up early as a result of they’re anxious. They’re displaying up early as a result of they’ve lived by means of sufficient journey chaos to know that airports are unpredictable. Security traces surge. Terminals change. Shuttles run late. Traffic occurs.

That further hour is not wasted time. It’s insurance coverage towards the thousand small disasters that may derail a visit earlier than it even begins. And truthfully? Having time to sit down down, breathe, and perhaps seize an honest meal earlier than a protracted flight is not the worst factor on the earth.

4. Carrying money in a number of currencies

My dad travels internationally with this elaborate system of envelopes containing completely different currencies, rigorously organized and stashed in varied pockets. I used to suppose this was absurd. Dude, bank cards work in every single place now. Venmo exists. Who wants bodily cash?

Then I spent a weekend in a small Portuguese village the place precisely zero locations took playing cards. Not the restaurant, not the little grocery retailer, not even the gasoline station. Cash solely, and the closest ATM was a forty-minute drive away.

Boomers do not forget that the digital fee infrastructure we take with no consideration is not common. Rural areas, small companies, creating international locations, even some European spots that simply choose money all function outdoors our tap-to-pay bubble.

Plus, having native foreign money means you are not getting destroyed by ATM charges and change charges each time you want cash. That envelope system begins trying fairly good whenever you’re not hemorrhaging 3% on each transaction.

5. Eating breakfast on the lodge

Why would you eat the mediocre lodge breakfast buffet whenever you’re in Paris? Or Bangkok? Or actually anyplace with higher meals choices inside strolling distance?

This was my perspective till I truly did the mathematics on a two-week journey to Japan. Those “authentic local breakfast spots” have been costing me $15-20 each morning. The lodge breakfast was included. Over two weeks, that is $200+ saved, which paid for a whole further day journey to Kyoto.

Boomers aren’t consuming lodge breakfast as a result of they lack culinary journey. They’re consuming it as a result of they’ve realized that journey bills add up quick, and free meals is free meals. You can nonetheless have your genuine native dinner and lunch experiences. But beginning the day with included eggs and occasional? That’s simply good price range administration.

Plus, lodge breakfast means you are fueled up and able to go with out having to analysis spots, anticipate tables, or navigate unfamiliar neighborhoods earlier than you have had caffeine. Sometimes effectivity beats authenticity.

6. Booking accommodations as an alternative of Airbnbs

I’ve talked about this earlier than however the shift away from Airbnb again towards accommodations is not only a boomer factor anymore. But boomers by no means actually left accommodations within the first place, and it seems they have been onto one thing.

Hotels have workers. Twenty-four-hour entrance desks. People who may also help when issues go fallacious. Cleaning companies. Consistent requirements. When I stayed at an Airbnb in Mexico City and the new water stopped working, I spent three hours texting backwards and forwards with a bunch who was “looking into it.” At a lodge, I might have referred to as the entrance desk and had somebody fixing it inside thirty minutes.

Boomers worth reliability over novelty. They wish to know that if one thing breaks, there is a system in place to repair it. They need somebody to carry accountable if issues go fallacious. And after coping with sufficient sketchy Airbnb conditions myself, I fully perceive why.

The “authentic local experience” of staying in somebody’s condo loses its attraction whenever you’re locked out at midnight as a result of the keycode stopped working.

7. Taking organized excursions

Nothing screams “tourist” fairly like following a information with an umbrella by means of a crowded sq. whereas they shout information by means of a microphone, proper? Real vacationers discover independently, determine issues out as they go, uncover hidden gems.

But here is what I realized exploring Venice alone versus becoming a member of a strolling tour in Prague: guides know issues you’ll by no means discover in any app or weblog put up. The Prague information confirmed us a tiny courtyard that does not seem on Google Maps, defined the symbolism in structure I might have walked previous, and linked historic dots I by no means would have made alone.

Organized excursions aren’t about being lazy. They’re about studying from somebody who truly is aware of what they’re speaking about. Someone who lives there, who studied the historical past, who can reply your bizarre particular questions.

Sure, you possibly can analysis all the pieces your self. But what number of hours will you spend studying weblog posts and watching YouTube movies to get perhaps 60% of the context a great information offers you in two hours?

8. Packing far more than they want

My dad and mom journey with baggage that would maintain them by means of an apocalypse. Extra sneakers. Backup medicines. A full first help equipment. Enough garments for twice the journey size. Meanwhile, I’m over right here with my carry-on and a dream, carrying the identical three shirts in rotation.

This appeared ridiculous till I bought meals poisoning in Vietnam and desperately wanted the anti-nausea medicine I did not pack as a result of “I probably won’t need it.” Or when it rained for 4 straight days in Seattle and I solely had one pair of sneakers, which have been soaked and disgusting by day two.

Boomers overpack as a result of they’ve realized that being ready beats being fashionably minimalist when issues go fallacious. That further pair of sneakers is not wasted area when your solely pair breaks. That backup medicine is not pointless whenever you’re sick and may’t discover a pharmacy that is open.

There’s undoubtedly a center floor between my dad and mom’ apocalypse preparation and my silly optimism. But I’ve began leaning extra towards their aspect of the spectrum, particularly for longer journeys.

9. Avoiding peak season journey

Boomers love touring in shoulder season. April as an alternative of June. September as an alternative of August. They’ll actively plan round avoiding crowds, even when it means doubtlessly worse climate or shorter days.

I used to suppose this was simply them being contrarian. But then I visited Rome in August, and it was legitimately depressing. Crowds in every single place. Forty-minute waits for all the pieces. Prices inflated. Locals exhausted and fewer pleasant.

The entire expertise felt extra like crowd administration than precise journey.

The subsequent 12 months, I went again in October. Half the crowds, higher costs, locals truly comfortable to speak, and the climate was nonetheless stunning. The metropolis felt fully completely different. More relaxed, extra genuine, extra just like the place I’d imagined.

Boomers aren’t avoiding peak season as a result of they’re bizarre about timing. They’re avoiding it as a result of they’ve realized that in style does not all the time imply higher. Sometimes the most effective journey experiences occur when fewer persons are having them.

Conclusion

Looking again at my dad and mom’ Sedona journey, all these habits that appeared so outdated truly made excellent sense. They had backups for his or her backups. They knew precisely the place they have been going. They’d inbuilt buffer time for issues to go fallacious.

Meanwhile, I used to be out right here winging it with a telephone battery and a prayer.

Boomer journey habits aren’t about being out of contact. They’re about having lived by means of sufficient journeys to know what truly issues. Technology fails. Plans change. Things go fallacious. And once they do, you may want you had that printed affirmation, that further money, that journey agent’s telephone quantity.

The greatest method? Take the boomer knowledge on preparation and reliability, mix it with millennial flexibility and know-how, and you have one thing fairly strong.

Now when you’ll excuse me, I have to go print out my boarding move for subsequent month’s journey. Just in case.