Why wait for retirement for that big, bucket-list adventure? Here’s how this Explore Worldwide tour offers a taste of longer-term travel
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On the banks of the sacred River Ganges, in the Indian region of Uttar Pradesh, a sitar player plucks a haunting tune.
Sitting on a boat watching the sunrise, I see hundreds of pilgrims walk down to the water from one of 85 bathing spots (ghats). Further down is one of the most famous of all – Manikarnika Ghat, a public crematorium where families bring their loved ones at the end of their life.
As I watch the flames lick, I can’t help but think of my own mum, who died at the age of 50 and never made it to India, a country she always longed to visit.
As a child, Mum’s fear of flying stopped her going anywhere by plane – but we travelled together from the comfort of our living room, through the pages of her vast array of coffee-table books.
She would always show me a photograph of the Taj Mahal and tell me that one day, we would know how the walls felt beneath our fingertips.
People are no longer reserving their big travel experiences for early adulthood gap years or retirement
For years I put off a visit, relegating it to that ‘one day’ adventure. But as I approached my own midlife, and the government once again shifted retirement age up, I decided to act and finally make that bucket-list trip happen.
Retirement travel trends
It seems I’m not alone. According to a poll of 2,000 working people, commissioned by adventure operator Explore Worldwide, nearly a third of people (29%) in the UK are actively considering taking extended time out from their job – with travel the biggest motivator for half of them.
We’re not just talking an extra week of annual leave: with a period of one to three months, it’s being dubbed the ‘micro-retirement’.
“People are no longer reserving their big travel experiences for early adulthood gap years or retirement, as has always been tradition,” says Michael Edwards, managing director of Explore. “In our youth, finances often hold us back from travelling how or where we’d like, while later in life it can simply feel too late.
A crowd of Hindu pilgrims bathes in the Ganges. Image: Shutterstock / BTWimages
“More and more people are looking to ‘micro-dose’ big retirement trips, choosing to take chunks of time out from work to tick off bucket-list experiences.”
He adds that midlife is a time of change and increased pressure for many – from children flying the nest to ageing parents, work stress or relationship breakdown. “We’re living longer and working for longer than ever, so sometimes we just need a complete break to reassess or recharge.”
I spent a few days exploring the city, stopping to drink streetside chai in between riding yellow cabs
As a single mum to a five-year-old, that was certainly the case for me – and so I signed up to an Explore tour taking me from Kolkata to Delhi by train.
Things to do in Kolkata
I began early one morning with a ferry ride from the famous flower market floating on the Hooghly River, itself a branch of the Ganges, where a Baul (Bangali) musician wearing a long yellow tunic with bell-adorned anklets around his feet played a khamak – a drum fitted with a single string.
I spent a few days exploring the city, stopping regularly to drink streetside chai in between riding the traditional yellow cabs and visiting the Kali temple where offerings are made to the mother of power and ruler of time, which felt fitting on a trip that was all about reclaiming my own.
The 80-foot Buddha statue in Bodh Gaya, India. Image: Shutterstock / saiko3p
From there, I luxuriated on a stop at Bodh Gaya – the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site in the world, home to the tree where it’s said Buddha first attained enlightenment – then carried on to Varanasi.
As the sun rose, I took my ghee and a wax candle wrapped inside flower petals and dropped it onto the water – my guide Neha told me to make a wish. It immediately went out. But I still smiled as, in a way, it made sense – my wish to come here, for my mum, had already come true.
Best time to see the Taj Mahal
Following an overnight sleeper train ride, I finally made it to Agra on what would have been my mum’s 75th birthday. Here, I got a glimpse through the outer arches at the Taj Mahal – a building I felt I already knew so well.
After this, the itinerary allowed me to spend more time in Agra, making the most of every minute, before heading to Delhi.
Writer Phoebe Smith reaches the Taj Mahal; the sunset over the monument. Images: Phoebe Smith; Shutterstock/Michalakis Ppalis
But for now, I savoured the moment. Wandering closer to the Taj Mahal monument, I watched the macaque monkeys climb over the buildings that surround it, noticed the sound of the parakeets that fly overhead, the musty smell of the river Yamuna that runs behind it and finally, as I neared the ivory-white marble, I felt with my fingertips how the tiles hold the heat of the day so intensely it’s like basking in the reflected glow of the sun itself.
As dusk began to fall, I felt the true love embodied by the Taj Mahal and India itself, and muttered a few quiet words to my mum: “We finally did it.”
Book it
Explore’s 15-day Kolkata to Amritsar by rail tour travels overland through northern India by train, visiting Bodh Gaya, Varanasi, Agra, Delhi and Shimla en route to Amritsar, taking in key sites from the Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths.
Prices start from £1,825 per person (based on twin-share accommodation with someone of the same sex) or with a £655 supplement for a solo room, both based on an October 24 departure.
The price includes breakfast, transport, activities and excursions; international flights are extra. If booked back-to-back with another Explore trip (departing within a month), clients can save 5% on both tours.
explore.co.uk
Ask the expert
Philippa Baines, agency sales manager, Explore
Do:
Lead with the stats: Nearly half of those considering time off say travel is the main motivator.
Get the timing right: Our research shows most people are hoping to take one to three months off.
Ask who’s already booked: We can tell clients how many solo travellers and the age range of guests on their chosen departure.
Don’t:
Overcomplicate the logistics: Midlife trips don’t need multiple flights, ticking off several countries and repacking every morning. Micro-retirement means slower, more mindful travel.
Ignore the emotional side: Midlife adventures might be motivated by life events such as divorce, kids leaving home or burnout at work.
Wait for them to ask: Rather than saying “I’d like to take three months off”, they might say “I’ve always dreamed of doing the Inca Trail”. That’s your opening!
Lead image: The Ganges River, Varanasi. Credit: Shutterstock/Roop_Dey
