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Senior Travel Programs Kelly Nicholls' photo of an inspired expatriate artist in San Miguel de Allende .

Senior Travel Programs

Worldwide Australia & New Zealand France Germany Italy

  = Programs reviewed by Senior Travel Editor Alison Gardner

Worldwide

AmeriSpan, 117 South 17th St., Ste. 1401, Philadelphia, PA 19103; 800-879-6640 or 215-751-1100; info@amerispan.com, www.amerispan.com. AmeriSpan offers immersion programs worldwide to learn 20 different languages including Spanish, Italian, German, French, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. Specialized programs combine activities including cooking, wine-tasting, sailing, golf and dance with language classes. With over 28,000 clients to date, the company offers instruction from beginner to advanced together with memorable cultural experiences. Some seniors prefer to avoid June, July, and August, which attract droves of college-age students; excellent months, particularly in Latin America, are February to April and September to December when older participants receive more personalized service. Visit AmeriSpan’s best programs for seniors at: www.amerispan.com/language_schools/seniors.asp.

Center for Global Education, Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454; 800-299-8889 or 612-330-1159, fax 612-330-1695; globaled@augsburg.edu, www.augsburg.edu/global/triplist.html. Through travel-study seminars to Latin America and Southern Africa, learn about unfamiliar cultures and contemporary challenges with all-inclusive tour itineraries and themes such as fair trade issues in Nicaragua, immigration in Mexico, and microfinance in Namibia.

Elderhostel Educational Programs, 11 Avenue de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111-1746; 877-426-8056 or 617-426-7788, fax 877 426-2166 or 617-426-0701; info@elderhostel.org, www.elderhostel.org. Now 30 years young, Elderhostel is the world’s largest educational travel organization for adults 55 and over, providing exceptional learning adventures with over 8,000 programs a year in all 50 states and more than 90 countries. Participants come from every walk of life to learn together, to exchange ideas, and to explore the world. Elderhostel programs are all-inclusive with no hidden expenses, including all meals, lectures, field trips, cultural excursions, gratuities, and medical or insurance coverage. As a more recent offshoot of Elderhostel catering to a slightly younger, more active, independent-minded educational vacationer, Road Scholar is developing its own following with 29 programs. With a common age of 50 to 60, these are more up-scale and less structured than Elderhostel programs, which generally attract the 65 to 75 age bracket. Same address as Elderhostel but separate phone and website: 800-466-7762; www.roadscholar.org.

Routes to Learning Canada (Canadian Elderhostel provider), 4 Cataraqui St., Kingston, Ontario K7K 1Z7, Canada; 866-745-1690 or 613-530-2222, fax 613-530-2096; information@routestolearning.ca, www.routestolearning.ca. With 20 years of experience, Routes to Learning Canada (formerly Elderhostel Canada) is Canada’s first and largest educational travel organization for adults 55 and over with a priority on high-quality, best-value learning travel experiences. Participants have direct access to leading scholars and experienced field staff that provide expert knowledge and thought-provoking activities. Participants come from every walk of life to learn together, exchange ideas, and explore every part of Canada as well as such destinations as China, France, the U.S., New Zealand and Ecuador.

TraveLearn, Inc., P.O. Box 556, Hawley, PA 18428; 800-235-9114 or 570-226-9114, fax 570-226-6912; info@TraveLearn.com, www.TraveLearn.com. TraveLearn is a leading educational tour operator with 28 years’ experience planning and delivering learning vacations. Seventy percent of clients are over 50. Reflecting land, land/cruise, and cruise-only itineraries from Alaska and Antarctica to Ireland and China’s Silk Road, programs deliver in-depth learning at a pace that allows for time to absorb surroundings and experiences. Each month TraveLearn’s free cybertravel newsletter immerses readers in the culture of one of its worldwide destinations. TraveLearn also offers “Budget Learning Vacations” for adults, where more modest accommodations and meal arrangements and a minimum group size allow for lower trip fees.

Australia and New Zealand

Elderhostel
Programs in Australia range from wine tours to exploring coral reefs. Programs in New Zealand range from visiting geysers , the Maori, to taking a train around the country.

Contact: Registration@elderhostel.org, www.elderhostel.org.

France

All Languages Abroad: 50 Countries 30 Languages 1 Adventure! We offer a variety of language courses for all ages & budgets. We also offer some programs that are designed for people who want to learn another language and experience the local culture with other students of a similar age and interests. Please remember that all of our programs are open to adult participants of all ages and that these programs are our recommendations for schools and locations where our slightly older students might flourish. Visit: www.languagesabroad.com/matureadults.html

Featured

French Courses and Culture in Montpellier with Accent Français Learn and Study French in our French school Accent Français: French courses for everybody in the south of France! Accent Français offers intensive courses, Academic year courses, cooking classes, senior classes, summer courses, French for teachers, individual classes… We offer personalized and high quality service in a warm and friendly atmosphere (accommodation attendance, pedagogical follow-up, …).Thanks to our activities program renewed every week, you will have the opportunity to discover Montpellier, capital of Languedoc, a dynamic city full of culture, and located in one of the most genuine region of France. Dates: Starting dates every Monday, all year round Contact: Accent Français, 7 rue de Verdun 34000 Montpellier – France Tel/ Fax: 33/467 5812 68 Email: info@accentfrancais.com Website: www.accentfrancais.com

Featured

Germany

All Languages Abroad: 50 Countries 30 Languages 1 Adventure! We offer a variety of language courses for all ages & budgets. We also offer some programs that are designed for people who want to learn another language and experience the local culture with other students of a similar age and interests. Please remember that all of our programs are open to adult participants of all ages and that these programs are our recommendations for schools and locations where our slightly older students might flourish. Visit: www.languagesabroad.com/matureadults.html

Featured

Italy