Tips for Travelers

The Council on International Educational Exchange (7 Custom House St., 3rd Floor, Portland, ME 04101, 207/553-7600 or 800-407-8839, www.ciee.org [1]) provides information on low-cost travel and work-study programs in the United States, including New York State. The CIEE also sells the International Student Identity Card, good for travel and entertainment discounts.

Help for disabled travelers is available through the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality (212/447-7284, www.sath.org [2]), a nationwide, nonprofit membership organization that collects data on travel facilities around the country.

Disabled residents of New York State should apply for the Access Pass, which provides free entry to most state parks and recreation areas. For an application, contact New York State Parks (Empire State Plaza [3], Albany, NY 12238, 518/474-2324, www.nysparks.com [4]).

The Golden Age Program provides New York State residents age 62 or older with free entry to state parks and recreation areas any weekday, excluding holidays. Simply present your current driver’s license or Non-Driver’s Identification Card at the entrance gate.

Similarly, the National Park Service issues Golden Age Passports to people 62 years or older for national historic sites and parks. For more information, visit the National Park Service website (www.nps.gov [5]).

Anyone over age 50 is eligible to join the AARP (601 E St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20049, 202/434-2277 or 888/687-2276, www.aarp.org [6]), which provides its members with hotel, airfare, car-rental, and sightseeing discounts. Elderhostel (11 Avenue de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02110, 617/426-7788 or 877/426-8056, www.elderhostel.org [7]) offers educational tour packages in New York City [8] and New York State [9] for travelers age 60 and older.