What It’s Like Traveling Full-Time in Retirement with the Retirement Travelers

SUMMARY:

John and Bev Martin, also known as the Retirement Travelers, are a couple that is traveling full-time in retirement. They share their adventures through their YouTube channel and other social media platforms with their thousands of subscribers. John retired at age 55, and both he and his wife, Bev quickly realized that what they had always envisioned for this phase of their lives, was actually not what they wanted. Being debt-free when they retired helped them decide to sell all of their possessions to travel “stuff-free” around the world. After receiving their adult children’s blessings to go live their dream life, updating their will with an estate planning attorney, and investing the money from the house they sold, they set sail to new horizons. John and Bev have been traveling full-time for almost 4 years now, and have visited 76 countries so far. They don’t plan on stopping there and have a goal to see 125 countries by the end of next year. 

A “Stuff-Free” Retirement Style

While a minimalist lifestyle is not for everyone, many people dream of downsizing in retirement. The Retirement Travelers explain that living a life with only a backpack of clothes doesn’t happen as a single event, but it’s more like a process of constantly downsizing over a period of time. It takes going through everything you have to donate and throw the unnecessary away. There is a concept called swedish death cleaning, which consists of doing exactly that, getting rid of most of your things so your family doesn’t have to deal with it at the time of your passing. The Retirement Travelers chose to use this system not to prepare for their “death”, but to start living their dream life of traveling around the world.

Their Top 5 Favorite Destinations

In general, the places that have brought them the most joy are those off the beaten path with lesser crowds. When visiting these places they have been able to appreciate the uniqueness of each different corner of the world.

1. The Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are part of the kingdom of Denmark, where you can find incredible natural beauty. For those who enjoy cold climates, the weather consists of cold in the summer and colder in the winter.

2. Lake Atitlán

This lake is situated in Guatemala in a massive volcanic crater surrounded by 12 villages. The only way to get around to them is by water, so they use “water taxis”.

3. Folegandros

Folegandros is a small island in the Aegean Sea. The island has beautiful hiking trails and huge fields of wildflowers in the spring. 

4. The South Island

The South Island is located in New Zealand and it has it all from mountains to secluded beaches.

5. The Raja Ampat Islands

In the Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia, you can stay at an excellent resort for a great price. The resorts promote diving excursions where you can see one of the biggest corals in the world and admire the beauties of the sea.

Budget travel or luxury travel?

The retirement travelers claim to be neither budget nor luxury travelers. They fall into a different category which they like to call bargain traveling. Because they are not 18 years old anymore, they do not stay at hostels and eat street food 100% of the time. On the other hand, they also feel uncomfortable staying at 5-star hotels where people are always offering to carry their luggage for them. They have found that bargain hunting is part of the fun when traveling the world. It allows them to see more places, and travel longer.

Connect with the Retirement Travelers:
– Website
– YouTube
– Instagram
– Facebook

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