Age can have its advantages when you travel. One specifically is Elderhostel Adventures Inc.

If you want learning, adventure and fun all in one package, Elderhostel offers more than 8,000 programs each year in more than 90 countries, including several getaways in Missouri. The non-profit organization offers an all-inclusive price for its programs, which include lodging and food at a lower cost than you would find in traditional travel packages. The only catch is you must be at least 55 years old, or be with someone who is, to participate.

A sampling from offerings in Missouri this month include biking the Katy Trail, America’s longest rails-to-trails project through Missouri’s heartland; “Meet Me In St. Louis,” discovering the neighborhoods and icons of the city; and Mystery Week in Potosi, where you become a super sleuth as part of a detective team deciphering clues for a reward. There also are intergenerational programs for grandparents and grandchildren to do together. Although you can do some of these things on your own, Elderhostel programs have one distinct difference.

“For it to be an Elderhostel, you must have at least 21 hours of higher-education lectures,” says Nancy Pittman, associate dean of St. Charles Community College, an Elderhostel partner for 17 years.

So while participants are bicycling the Katy Trail, they also are learning from experts about the local flora and fauna, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad history, Daniel Boone, the Osage Indians and the German settlement of Hermann, Mo.

It’s all based on the idea that learning is a lifelong pursuit, not something you stop after you graduate from school. Elderhostel founders combined that idea with a concept modeled after the European youth hostels, which offer safe, inexpensive lodgings and opportunities to meet fellow travelers. Since its inception in 1975, the program has continued to grow in popularity around the world.

“In the first years, we were lucky to see 200 participate per year,” says Nathan Ho, Elderhostel media relations. “Last year, there were 850,000 worldwide.”

The popularity of programs like the bike adventures also debunks the stereotype that tour buses are all you can handle once you are of a certain age.

“We have people that are 85 years old biking the Katy Trail,” Ms. Pittman says. “And we have 85-year-olds biking across the state of Missouri.”

Of course, they have the Elderhostel advantage. Everyone is provided top-of-the-line bicycles. Water, drinks and snacks are available at every stop, with dinner at local wineries. Participants are shuttled by van each day from the trailhead to hotels. Then there’s what they call a “sag wagon,” which is a bus that follows the group. So if you should get too tired, just climb on board.

For more information on Elderhostel programs, visit www.elderhostel.org.

Lifestyles reporter Sylvia Anderson can be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com