Solo Travel by Design logo with a calm coastal path and horizon

Start Here: Build a Retirement Travel Plan That Fits Real Life

Solo Travel by Design is for women and solo travelers in midlife and beyond who want more travel in retirement without pretending the numbers, logistics, routines, and trade-offs do not matter.

Here, retirement travel planning means looking at the whole system: money, pace, housing, cruises, dog logistics, routines, recovery time, and the decisions that make flexibility possible.

I’m building this lifestyle myself and sharing the numbers, trade-offs, systems, and test-drives along the way. The goal is not to create a perfect plan on paper. It is to test a life before depending on it.


Choose Your Path

Path 1: Test the Life

Use this for retirement planning, lifestyle design, systems, and readiness.

If retirement feels exciting but still vague:
Read: Designing a Life I Don’t Need a Vacation From

If you are trying to understand what kind of life you are really designing:
Read: Test-Drive Your Retirement Lifestyle Before You Retire

If you are worried about leaving too soon or moving too fast:
Read: Retirement Isn’t a Leap — It’s a Series of Tests

If you want to think beyond the budget:
Read: Before You Retire, Test the Systems — Not Just the Budget

If you want a practical place to begin:
Get: Retirement Test-Drive Checklist


Path 2: Run the Real Numbers

Use this for baseline budget, travel costs, and money clarity.

If you are worried about the money:
Read: Baseline First: The Reality Check Before You Plan Extended Travel

If you are trying to plan slow travel:
Read:The Real Cost of Slow Travel

If you want the real cost picture for cruising:
Read: What a “Cheap” Cruise Actually Costs

If you want to understand how I’m planning the budget:
Read: Building My Retirement Income Before I Retire

If you want to start with your own numbers:
Get: Retirement Test-Drive Workbook


Path 3: Plan Travel That Works in Real Life

Use this for cruising, slow travel, pacing, routines, logistics, and figuring out how travel fits into the life you are building.

If you are planning or choosing a cruise:
Read: Cruise Planning for Solo and Retirement Travelers

If you are comparing cruise costs:
Use: Cruise Cost Planner

If you are thinking about longer stays and slower travel:
Explore: Slow Travel After Retirement

If you are trying to find a travel pace you can actually live with:
Read: The Best Part of Slow Travel Isn’t the Savings—It’s the Pace

If you are worried about the logistics of being away longer:
Read: Planning Extended Travel Without Stressing Yourself Out