Mention that you're a senior citizen when you make your travel reservations. Although the major U.S. airlines (except America West) have cancelled their senior discount and coupon-book programs, many hotels still offer senior discounts. Boston-area businesses offer many discounts to seniors with identification (a driver's license, passport, or other document that shows your date of birth). The cut-off age is usually 65, sometimes 62. Restaurants, museums, and movie theaters may offer special deals. Restaurants and theaters usually offer discounts only at off-peak times, but museums and other attractions offer reduced rates at all times.

Members of AARP, 601 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20049 (tel. 888/687-2277; www.aarp.org), get discounts on hotels, airfares, and car rentals. AARP offers members a wide range of benefits, including AARP: The Magazine and a monthly newsletter. Anyone over 50 can join.

With the Senior Pass, seniors can ride the MBTA subways for 35¢ (a 90¢ savings) and local buses for 25¢ (a 65¢ savings). On zoned and express buses and on the commuter rail, the senior fare is half the regular fare. The Senior Pass is available for 50¢ on weekdays from 8:30am to 5pm at the Back Bay MBTA station, or by mail from the Office for Transportation Access, 145 Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA 02116 (tel. 617/222-5438 or TTY 617/222-5854). Enclose a 1-by-1-inch photo and 50¢.

The U.S. National Park Service offers a Golden Age Passport that gives seniors 62 years or older lifetime entrance to all properties administered by the National Park Service -- national parks, monuments, historic sites, recreation areas, and national wildlife refuges -- for a one-time processing fee of $10, which must be paid in person at any NPS facility that charges an entrance fee. For more information, go to www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm or call tel. 888/GO-PARKS.

Many reliable agencies and organizations target the 50-plus market. Elderhostel (tel. 877/426-8056; www.elderhostel.org) arranges study programs for those 55 and over (and a spouse or companion of any age) in the U.S. and in more than 80 countries around the world. Most courses in the U.S. last 5 to 7 days, and many include airfare, accommodations in university dormitories or modest inns, meals, and tuition.

Recommended publications offering travel resources and discounts for seniors include: the quarterly magazine Travel 50 & Beyond (www.travel50andbeyond.com); Travel Unlimited: Uncommon Adventures for the Mature Traveler (Avalon); 101 Tips for Mature Travelers, available from Grand Circle Travel (tel. 800/221-2610 or 617/350-7500; www.gct.com); and Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50 (McGraw-Hill), by Joann Rattner Heilman.