Best Retirement Getaways 2015 Advisors

Planning future adventures? Our seasoned experts have trapiesed the globe to bring you Travel's Best Retirement Getaways 2015.

Get to know Donna Hull of My Itchy Travel Feet, Valerie Conners of Retire Here and Tom Bartel of Travel Past 50 and our other esteemed panelists who narrowed down the can't-miss experiences on this year's list.

Valerie Conners, Co-Founder Retire There

Valerie Conners is a location-independent freelance writer, editor and producer who has worked with the Travel Channel for more than 14 years, specializing in topics including the world's best beaches, outdoor travel and romantic getaways. She co-founded Retire There after discovering a need for honest, well-researched advice about the best places to retire and how to relocate for retirement. Her work has been featured in the Travelers' Tales Best Women's Travel Writing anthology and also appears in many online and print publications, including BBC Travel, AOL Travel, Discovery Channel, World Hum, Frommer's travel guides, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

She's happiest when she’s eating spicy Thai food, snorkeling with sea turtles in Indonesia and bargaining for bangles in Indian markets. She blogs about her travels at PassengerConners.com. 

Donna Hull, My Itchy Travel Feet

Donna L. Hull is so obsessed with travel that it makes her feet itchy when she’s not out exploring the world. Since 2008, Donna has been checking off adventures one trip at a time at My Itchy Travel Feet, The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Travel, her popular website about active travel for baby boomers. She’s also the author of New Mexico Backroads Weekend Adventure.

Tom Bartel & Kristin Henning, Travel Past 50

Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning sold their home, their business, all their possessions, and gave their dog to their daughter in 2010. They’ve been traveling full time ever since. They blog about their travels at Travel Past 50. 

Lynne Martin, Home Free Adventures

In 2011, Lynne and Tim sold their charming house in Central California’s wine country, gave away their furniture, and stuffed their art, clothes and small treasures into a 10 x 15 storage unit. They said goodbye to their surprised children and quizzical friends and now live in rented apartments and houses internationally, putting down new roots one country at a time and blogging about it at Home Free Adventures.

They have no property taxes, roof repairs or home insurance, so all of their spendable income is used to fund our new way of life. They do have small suitcases, an appetite for new experiences, good computers, and the savvy and flexibility to make themselves at home in almost any situation.

They have lived in Mexico, Argentina. Turkey, France, Italy, England, Germany, Portugal, and Morocco and are currently living in a wonderful 1943 HomeAway.com vacation rental bungalow on a hill atop Paso Robles, California, smack in the middle of the Central Coast Wine District.  It’s a great place to write, enjoy family, and plan their next adventure!

Alison & Don Armstrong, Adventures in Wonderland

In their 60s, Alison Armstrong and Don Read sold their apartment and car, sold or gave away all their stuff and set off to discover the world. And themselves. They will continue travelling until it's time to stop - if that time ever comes. They are interested in how the world works, how life works, how the creation of experience works, how the mind works. As they travel, they discover the "mechanics" of life, the astounding creativity of life, and a continual need to return to trust and presence. Opening the heart, and acceptance of what is, as it is, are keystones for both of them. Follow their journey at Adventures in Wonderland.