SENIORS AND SAFE TRAVELS

Your choice of where to take your elderly loved ones affects how good (or bad) your trip will go

- Katherine L. Magsanoc

My mom came home from the US last November to celebrate my 45th birthday with me. She is already 70 years old.

My first thought when she said she would be in the PH for three weeks was to spend a week taking her to a place she had never been to.

Mom took care of my younger brother and I on her own since I was 16 years old. We would only occasionally travel around the country when we could—when we could afford it.

(As fellow solo parents and single-income households may know, if you are a solo parent in our country, you are probably automatically in the bottom part of the middle class bracket. And education for the kids is not cheap.)

WHERE TO TAKE MOM?

I had traveled to memorable places and coverages in 2024: one was in Cebu and another in Davao (another, a short trip, in Iloilo City proper). When I asked Mom where she wanted to go, she picked Davao—probably our least-explored part of the Philippines.

Dusit Davao immediately came to mind after a memorable first coverage there last February. Specifically, Dusit Thani Lubi Plantation Resort where we had spent too short a time during that coverage.

I wanted to make beautiful memories with Mom.

My considerations were:

• Has she been to a place like that before?

• Who else would I want to take there?

• Will she be able to go around on her own if she wanted to?

• Will the risk of accidents be low?

• Will there be help or assistance just in case?

How about you? When you travel with a senior, what factors do you consider about your choice of destination?