Traveling in Our 60s: A Beautiful Getaway to Gangneung with Old Friends
Updated: Aug 27
There is something very special about traveling with friends who have known you since you were young.
The five of us first became friends in our second year of middle school. More than four decades have passed since then. We raised our families, lived our own lives, and each traveled through different seasons of adulthood.
And now, in our 60s, we finally have a little more time to travel together.
Gangneung was one of those trips where we didn't feel the need to rush from one famous attraction to another. We wanted to see the ocean, eat good food, drink coffee, laugh a lot, and simply enjoy being together.
And that is exactly what we did.
The Sea Was Everywhere
One of the things I loved most about Gangneung was how often the sea became part of our day.
The East Sea has a different feeling from the beaches I am used to seeing in California. The water seemed especially clear and blue, and sometimes we did nothing more than sit near the sand and look at it.
We took the usual group photos, of course.
But one of my favorite photos from the trip is much simpler—just our feet stretched toward the water.
There is something about that picture that I love.
At this age, perhaps a good trip doesn't always need to be filled with activities. Sometimes sitting beside friends and looking at the ocean is enough.
Anmok Beach and Gangneung Coffee Street
Gangneung is famous for its coffee culture, so naturally coffee became part of our trip too.
We visited the Anmok Beach area and Gangneung Coffee Street, where cafés line the coast and the ocean is never far away.
This bright red mailbox was impossible to pass without taking a picture.
And with five women who have been friends since middle school, taking a normal group photo apparently wasn't an option. 😄
That may actually be one of the nicest things about traveling with very old friends.
You don't have to impress anyone.
You can laugh loudly, make ridiculous poses, wear matching or colorful shirts, and simply enjoy yourself.
Wolhwa Street and a Little Wandering Around Gangneung
We also spent time walking around Wolhwa Street and the older parts of Gangneung.
I enjoy places like this because they give you a glimpse of everyday Korea—not just the polished tourist attractions.
We wandered around, stopped when something looked interesting, took pictures and, naturally, found more things to eat.
Our trips tend to work this way.
Walk a little.
See something interesting.
Take a photo.
Find something delicious.
Then repeat. 😊
And Yes… We Ate Very Well
Food is a big part of traveling in Korea, especially when traveling with friends.
We shared bowls of noodles, seafood dishes, market snacks, bread and desserts—and probably talked just as much about what we were going to eat next as where we were going next.
Gangneung Jungang Market was especially fun because there were so many things to taste.
Instead of everyone ordering the same thing, we could buy different foods and share them.
That's another advantage of traveling as five!
Some meals were simple, some were more memorable, but eating together was always part of the fun.
Coffee, Cake and Time to Talk
And then there were the cafés.
This is one of my favorite photographs from the trip.
Coffee, strawberry cake, flowers on the table, and the blue East Sea outside the window.
Nothing extraordinary was happening.
And perhaps that's exactly why I like it so much.
When we were younger, life was often about what needed to be done next—children, work, family and responsibilities.
Now there is something luxurious about being able to sit with friends in front of a beautiful ocean and say,
"Should we order another coffee?"
We certainly didn't skip dessert.
Where We Stayed: Chonpines Ocean Suites
Choosing the right accommodation becomes especially important when five friends travel together.
We didn't just want comfortable beds. We wanted enough space where we could all sit together at the end of the day.
Our stay at Chonpines Ocean Suites worked beautifully for that.
The suite had a spacious living area, kitchen and a beautiful view toward the sea. It felt more like staying in an apartment than being separated into small hotel rooms.
That made a bigger difference than I expected.
After sightseeing and eating all day, we could come back, sit around together, have something to drink and keep talking.
When you've known each other for more than 40 years, apparently there is still plenty left to talk about. 😄
South Korea
For a group of friends traveling together, I would definitely choose this type of accommodation again.
Sometimes the best memories of a trip aren't made at famous attractions.
They're made back at the hotel, sitting around together after a long day, talking about everything and nothing.
Haslla Art World
One of the most visually interesting stops on our Gangneung trip was Haslla Art World.
The combination of contemporary art, unusual installations, architecture and the surrounding landscape made it completely different from the other places we visited.
There seemed to be another photo opportunity around every corner.
And naturally, we managed to turn the art into another excuse for a group picture.
This photo still makes me smile.
We may be in our 60s, but put five old friends together and somehow we become girls again.
That, more than any particular attraction, is what I remember about this trip.
Gangneung Travel in Our 60s: Traveling Differently
Gangneung travel in our 60s turned out to be less about seeing everything and more about having time to enjoy each other.
Traveling in our 60s is different from traveling when we were younger.
We don't need to see everything.
We don't need to rush.
If we're tired, we sit down.
If we find a beautiful café, we stay longer.
If lunch is especially good, that can become one of the highlights of the day.
And if we see a beautiful ocean, sometimes we simply stop and look at it.
I've come to appreciate this slower kind of travel.
There is less pressure to collect destinations and more time to enjoy the people you're sharing them with.
More Than 40 Years of Friendship
When I look at these photographs, I don't only see Gangneung.
I see five middle-school girls who somehow grew into women in their 60s.
Between those two points are more than four decades of stories—marriages, children, work, joys, disappointments, changes and countless ordinary days.
We couldn't have known, sitting together in a middle-school classroom all those years ago, that one day we would be standing barefoot on a beach in Gangneung together in our 60s.
Maybe that's why this photograph means so much to me.
The destination was Gangneung.
But the real gift of the trip was realizing that, after all these years, we are still walking through life together.
And I hope we have many more places left to go.
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