Staying at home is more comfortable and safer for seniors, but sometimes, opting for a change of pace can be a worthwhile experience.
While long trips away from home provide seniors with life-changing opportunities to enliven their everyday routines, quick day trips to local attractions, restaurants, or museums can be as exhilarating since they can venture out and return the same day.
Planning to take your parents on a field trip? Explore 7 ideas to plan new adventures and field trips for seniors.
7 Best Ideas to Plan Unforgettable Field Trips for Seniors
The Benefits of Getting Away for Seniors
Whether you are up for long-distance trips or brief getaways away from home, travel has long been praised for offering tremendous benefits for people of all ages. Numerous studies have shown a strong connection between getting away from mundane routines and invigorating health in seniors.
In one way or another, travel means stepping out of your comfort zone, visiting new locations, creating lasting memories, and meeting new people—all of which are crucial for seniors to stay healthy, feel elevated, and achieve a more fulfilling life. In addition to being an uplifting social activity, field trips offer seniors the following advantages:
- It helps seniors soak up more vitamin D and breathe some fresh air.
- It helps seniors foster feelings of relaxation, contentment, and satisfaction.
- It helps seniors get up, move and stay active.
- It stimulates seniors’ brains and keeps them healthy.
- It increases social interactions and helps build relationships.
- It offers more opportunities for seniors to engage in meaningful and fun activities.
7 Ideas to Plan Unforgettable Field Trips for Seniors
Here are some ideas to plan unforgettable, budget-friendly field trips for your parents and their friends.
Tour The City
Taking a tour to the nearest city can be quite an exceptional experience if your parents have spent all their lives in rural or outskirt areas. While having an adventure to another place is already enjoyable, add more excitement to your parents’ day trip by researching and enlisting activities offered by the city, such as seasonal events, carnivals, or parades. Remember to create a list of must-visit restaurants and local attractions to make the field trip more enjoyable.
Explore Restaurants & Cafe Shops
Sometimes, visiting renowned restaurants or cafe shops can turn an unplanned day trip into a memorable experience that your parents will cherish for years. In addition to tasting exquisite cuisines from different regions across the states, you and your parents can also discover various dining options that may keep you all coming back for more. Remember that you don’t have to drive far, but it is OK to stick to new restaurants and cafe shops in your town or local area with unique concepts and menus.
Head to the Sunny Sandy Beach
Planning visits to the coast is the perfect way to beat the heat, especially during summertime. With salt air blowing through your hair, nothing’s comparable to dipping your toes in the warm sands and sipping a glass of icy lemonade while watching the waves wash up the shores and listening to the gulls. Seaside towns also come with recreational activities that your parents might be hooked on, such as fishing, sailing, kayaking, or simply enjoying the diverse range of cuisine from the-sea-to-the-table seafood eateries.
Visit the Zoo, Aquarium & Botanical Garden
Zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens are the perfect venues for seniors to connect with wildlife and learn more about the natural habitats of many species.
Botanical gardens are a beautiful place to spend a day striding along acres of well-planned landscapes and admiring the beauty of exotic plant collections and rare butterfly species. According to Botanic Gardens Conservation International, the U.S. has anywhere from 296 to 1,014 botanical gardens. World-renowned San Diego Zoo and Georgia Aquarium are popular choices if your parents want to get up close and personal with land and sea animals.
Hit the Museum
Museums are a gateway to unlock different ancient and modern cultures around the world. Another perk of planning a day trip to a museum is that you can find many museums where you live, with some of the top museums in the world located right here in the United States. If your parents are passionate about archeology, artifacts, sculptures, and paintings, museums are the ultimate destination for spending a day. Check here for the 30 best-ranked museums in the U.S.
Enjoy the Vineyard
Are your mom or dad big fans of wine? If they are, it is time to plan a field trip to a vineyard.
When visiting a vineyard, your parents will have a chance to taste various wines, listen to experts talking about the wine-making process, and eat fancy finger food paired perfectly with each wine. Another thing about this unique field trip is that they may expand their wine collection by picking up some bottles directly from the vineyard. There’s not much better than that, is there?
Admire the Natural Beauty of National Parks
From captivating canyons to mighty stretches of towering mountains covered in snow, the United States has some of Earth’s most enormous, beautiful, and iconic natural wonders and landscapes.
Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Glacier, and Yellowstone National Parks are some of the U.S.’s national park systems that you and your parents could visit when seeking a lookout for just a day. As a paradise to an incredibly diverse range of plants and animals, you and your parents can take the challenge by hiking, paddling, walking, or simply planning a camping trip while sightseeing the raw beauty of North America. There are diverse and beautiful National Parks all over the country for you to enjoy. Check here for more national park options across the country.
If you have questions about ideas to plan field trips for seniors or any topics discussed here, connect with us and learn more.Â
At 12 Oaks, our team of caring professionals is dedicated to keeping residents safe, engaged, and connected to their families and friends while leading fulfilling lives. 12 Oaks senior living communities are an ideal place to enjoy the encore season of life.
For questions or to schedule a personalized tour, don’t hesitate to contact us.Â
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