When it comes to retirement, many people envision spending their golden years traveling the world. Those aspirations, however, involve a lot of money, effort, and planning to execute.
But did you know there’s a country that will actually take care of the majority of travel costs and logistics for its retirees to vacation? Spain, a country that consistently ranks among the best places in the world to retire, is the first country in the EU to give certain senior citizens and residents access to greatly subsidized getaways, with expenses like transportation, meals, and hotels included.
The program is run by Spain’s Institute for Seniors and Social Services (IMSERSO), which calls the concept “social tourism.” The gist is that investing in travel for seniors will help improve their health and keep them active and engaged. “The IMSERSO tourism program contributes to active aging and the promotion of an active lifestyle, while favoring intergenerational solidarity, generating employment and economic activity, and favoring inter-territorial solidarity through travel between different regions,” an IMSERSO spokesperson told EuroNews in February.
The discounted trips are available each year in the “shoulder season” from October through June. For the 2023-2024 season, the Spanish government made 886,269 places available for retirees in the social tourism program—that’s 70,000 more spots than the previous year. Prices for these vacation packages range anywhere from 124 euros to 435 euros, depending on the destination, length of the trip, and whether transportation is included.
Here’s everything you need to know about the program, including how American expats can apply.
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What type of travel is subsidized?
The types of trips range from four-day city break, five-day “nature tourism” trips that focus on exploring the natural areas of a particular region, or six-day culture circuits that explore several towns in a particular region. There are also longer vacations of eight to ten days in several regions along Spain’s coasts or in its islands in the Atlantic Ocean or Balearic Sea.
What destinations are included?
Destinations covered by the program include towns and cities throughout popular regions of Spain, including Andalusia, Catalonia, and Valencia. Pay a visit to Granada, the capital of Flamenco dancing, relax in the quiet beach town of Castellón, or soak up the culture and energy of Barcelona.
Among the nature-focused itineraries are jaunts through numerous striking areas like Asturias, an autonomous region on Spain’s northwest coast known for its breathtaking land formations, including dramatic seaside cliffs and jagged mountains rising out of green hillsides. Or choose to visit Aragon, a region that sits in the Pyrenees mountains and is home to Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For the longer trips, vacation hubs like the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands—home to iconic sunny destinations like Ibiza and Mallorca—are also on the table.
What costs are covered?
The program generally covers accommodations and meals, as well as insurance plans and sightseeing costs, however, some of the inclusions vary based on the trip package. For many of the packages, travelers can choose whether they’d like to include transportation to and from their destinations.
Spain’s IMSERSO tourism program allows seniors to receive discounted trips to destinations like Barcelona and Granada.
Alexander Spatari/Getty
Who is eligible?
According to a release from Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, to participate in the program you must be a legal resident of Spain. For expat retirees, the most common way to receive Spanish residency status is to apply for a non-working residence visa through the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or to make a real estate investment of at least €500,000, which qualifies you for a “golden visa”.
In addition to being a legal resident, you must be at least one of the following:
1. A retiree who receives a pension from the Spanish Social Security system
2. A person 55 years of age or older who receives a widow’s pension from the Spanish Social Security
3. A person 60 years of age or older who receives unemployment benefits or other subsidies from the Spanish Social Security system
4. A person 65 years of age or older who is insured or a beneficiary of the Spanish Social Security system
The site also stipulates that Spaniards who are residing abroad may also be eligible as long as they meet the above requirements or are pensioners of the public social security systems of the country or countries to which they have emigrated.
When evaluating who is accepted into the program, officials consider other factors like age, disability status, financial situation, and whether they’ve participated in a discounted trip before. Those who are older, lower income, or haven’t traveled on a social tourism trip are given priority.
Additionally, eligible retirees that are granted the discounted trips can bring along a spouse or partner, or a disabled child, even if they don’t meet the eligibility requirements.
How do you apply?
First-time applicants or new retirees can submit an electronic application on IMSERSO’s site. They can also print the application and mail it to: Imserso Tourism Program, post office box 10.140, 28080 Madrid. The application window for the 2023-2024 season has already closed, but it will likely open for the 2024-2025 travel season beginning in June.
Retirees who have participated in the program receive a letter in the mail with all the information they need to request a new trip.
Once accepted into the program, participants can request their ideal discounted trips using their program ID card on the program’s official travel site—turismosocial.com—when the booking window opens in October. Then it’s just a few short clicks to scoring a subsidized vacation and enjoying your Golden Years to the fullest.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler