“Seniors have eagerly returned to global travel over the past year and a half,” says Maeve Hartney, Chief Program Officer at Road Scholar. “There’s definitely a desire to make up for lost time.”
Road Scholar reports an increase in enrollments for international programs and longer-stay experiences, such as their six-week Living & Learning programs in Europe that give a taste of living abroad. “International
enrollments have been so strong that, for the first time in recorded Road Scholar history, we took more international enrollments in a single week than domestic,” says Hartney.
Hartney also reports that Road Scholar’s private plane programs have sold out faster this year than ever before. These “round-the-world” adventures allow participants to experience and learn about multiple countries and iconic sites all in one trip.
Road Scholar programs transport you to the places that are written about in textbooks where nature is at her most sublime and life is lived at a different pace. The places where history and culture are experienced not just read about. You’ll learn from expert faculty and meet fellow Road Scholars, who, like you, are students of the world. Inspiring instructors, spirited conversations, new friends, and new experiences, encompassing the best of the university experience are what make Road Scholar, unlike any other travel experience.
In response to the increase in demand for these round-the-world adventures, Road Scholar is adding three more— bringing back their World Academy on Queen Mary 2: Australia, South Africa & Beyond program from pre-COVID days and introducing two new itineraries: World Academy: Discover South America, Hawaii, Japan & Beyond and their second private plane journey: WWII by Private Jet, Boat & Train: A Pilgrimage Around the World.
Road Scholar’s World Academy programs take participants around the world by ship rather than plane. Participants will live on one of two ships (Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 or Holland America’s ms Amsterdam) for 3-5 months as they sail to up to 25 countries on four continents, learning from academic experts about iconic sites from the Panama Canal to Egypt’s Suez Canal, to the Sydney Opera House and beyond.
“The WWII private jet program is unlike anything available,” says Hartney. “For those who are interested in learning about WWII in the places where the history happened— there’s just really no other way to do it in one trip like this.”
On this 24-day program, participants will travel by 767 plane from one iconic WWII historical site to the next: from London to the beaches of Normandy, Paris, Berlin, Auschwitz, Hiroshima, and Pearl Harbor, before a final
flight to Washington, D.C. to visit the National WWII Memorial and take time to reflect on all they have learned during this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
About Road Scholar: Road Scholar is the nation’s largest not-for-profit educational travel organization for adults over the age of 50 — a true university of the world — offering thousands of programs in more than 100 countries and 50 states.
Road Scholar was founded in 1975 as Elderhostel. A not-for-profit education organization, we have guided generations of knowledge seekers on transformative learning adventures from Greenland to Cuba and nearly every locale in between. Elderhostel was rebranded Road Scholar in 2010 to reflect the growth and evolution of the organization and of the legions of loyal lifelong learners who rely on us for an in-depth study of the world.
*All photos used in this article are courtesy of Road Scholar.
