Originally published in Tribune Content Agency
By Eileen Ogintz | September 18, 2025
Congratulations! There’s no more carpooling, no more worry about teens getting home late, no more nagging about doing dishes or cleaning up their rooms.
Finally, you’re an empty nester. And whether you are a solo parent or a couple, you deserve to reward yourselves for making it this far.
Of course you don’t want to go overboard, not with tuition bills to pay. But fall is a terrific time to get away, whether you want to head to a festival, take a road trip to enjoy fall foliage (According to a new report from Airbnb, fall foliage is driving fall travel, with Vermont the top-rated state for foliage based on guest reviews.) Head overseas when it’s cooler, less crowded and cheaper.
Try leaf peeping in Wyoming without the crowds. Wyoming’s high elevation, crisp air and diverse landscapes create some of the most striking fall colors in the Mountain West. Routes like the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, Bighorn Scenic Byway and Battle Pass take travelers through golden aspen groves, cottonwood-lined river valleys and rugged mountain passes.
Take a few days to revel in a hot springs resort as we did in tiny Saratoga, Wyoming, at the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort. There are more than 250 developed hot springs in the U.S., according to Hot Springs of America. (You can search based on location.)
Perhaps you want to do something out of your comfort zone. Take a bike or hiking trip. Hop from island to island by boat and bike in Croatia’s South Dalmatia region on a Boat Bike Tours’ Split to Dubrovnik trip. A motor yacht provides elegant accommodations that cruise along with you and e-bikes help with hilly and mountainous terrain. Combine biking with wine tasting on Escape Adventure’s Napa Valley cycling tour through redwoods, vineyards, historic towns and more.
Opt for a trip just for women, including those offered by Road Scholar, Backroads or Women Traveling Together, among others. Grab your besties and take off for an indulgent spa weekend in Scottsdale with more than 50 spas. Spend a few days immersing yourself in theater in New York or London. Get two-for-one pricing on tickets during NYC Broadway week until Sept. 21.
The Gondwana Ecotours Alaska Northern Lights tour is ideal for fall. Experience local culture and see the Aurora Borealis at night, learn to curl and try dogsledding.
The key is since you are celebrating being an empty nester, you want to go someplace – and do something – you wouldn’t have done with your kids. Nor do you want to be surrounded by other people’s children.
Look for adult-only resorts like Casa Velas, an adults-only boutique hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, complete with cooking classes, Mexican spirit tastings and the chance to connect with locals. I escaped for an indulgent few days with my best grade-school friends to Sandals Dunn River Jamaica where guests said one thing they liked best about Sandals resorts was that there were no kids.
Do you want to focus on music? Cooking and eating? History? Adventure? Or do you just want to relax after the stress of sending that last child off to college? You can grab a deal at traditional summer vacation spots like Cape Cod in Massachusetts or Corpus Christi in Texas. You will find plenty of deals in the Caribbean too. Just make sure you purchase travel insurance in case a tropical storm interrupts your trip.
Head to a festival. In Orlando, the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival lasts until Nov. 22. Thrill ride lovers can also sneak in some time at the new Universal Epic Universe.
Without kids to worry about, you can be spontaneous. Get in the car and just go! (How about a trip on Route 66, celebrating its centennial next year. (Did you know Albuquerque, New Mexico, has the longest continuous urban stretch of Route 66, 18 miles.) Go to a national park you’ve never visited? Visit a college roommate you haven’t seen in years. Choose a destination based on the deal. (You will save money if you book flights, hotels and rental cars together.)
Cross the ocean the old- fashioned way – on a cruise ship as we did on the Regent Seven Seas Grandeur, from New York to Barcelona. There are many re-positioning cruises in the fall as ships will be returning for the winter Caribbean season. Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 routinely crossed the Atlantic to and from New York.
However, there are now also options to cruise in Europe and the Mediterranean into winter. Windstar, known for their small sailing yachts, calls this “local season.” Look for deals that can offer all-inclusive options, free air and last-minute cruise deals.
Take a river cruise as we just did on AmaWaterways on the Rhine River. (The Rhine and the Danube are especially popular for those new to river cruising.) Check out the special offers from CroisiEurope in Europe as well as South Africa and the Mekong River in Viet Nam. We hope to make that trip next year!
Head to a new exhibit in a city you love. The Chicago Architecture Biennial (opening Sept. 19 and running through Feb. 28, 2026) with the theme SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change. This ground-breaking event, now in its 10th year, is the largest architecture and design exhibition in North America.
Grab your cowboy boots and head to Nashville where the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is celebrating its centennial with a new exhibition, The Grandest Stage: The Opry at 100.
In San Francisco, the widely anticipated Art of Manga opens Sept. 27 at the de Yong Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museum. Be forewarned that your Japanese comics and graphic novels fans will be jealous as you will have the opportunity to see rarely presented original drawings and hear from manga artists.
What are you waiting for? It will be Thanksgiving break before you know it.
Since 1992, we at Escape Adventures have been blessed to shape and lead adventure travel vacations through some of the most awe-inspiring natural destinations in the world. Each successive season, our passion for adventure grows through memorable moments with our guests. Fresh air, faith, fitness and friends are the building blocks for our ventures, the treasured experiences that keep us moving forward. For those of you who have trekked and traveled with us over the past quarter century, Heather and I express our sincerest gratitude. The memories are priceless.
