The days of grandparents being left behind to age gracefully in old folks' homes are slowly changing as more senior citizens are being included in intergenerational travel bookings or going on bike tours to help fellow grannies in Africa.

Phil Hoffmann, managing director of Phil Hoffman Travel in Adelaide, observed a 25 per cent hike in such kind of travel books for a variety of trips booked by parents and includes their parents and kids. Popular destinations for the intergenerational travel include Disneyland package tours, African wildlife sojourns and European cruises.

These types of tours cater to both young and old travelers because of the fun activities it offers across ages. Most of such types of bookings are made by members of the Baby Boomer generations who have started retirement.

Besides offering a time for family bonding, these tours give the parents an opportunity to rest since they could count on the grandparents to help babysit the younger kids. However, Mr Hoffman said professional childcare is also available in the grandparents also need a break from their own children and grandchildren.

Matthew Cameron-Smith, managing director of Trafalgar Tours, observed a 70 per cent rise in intergenerational travel the past three to four years. He said the inclusion of grandparents is an opportunity for the seniors to expose their grandchildren to their overseas heritage.

In some cases, the parents break off from the clan for other destinations or head home earlier and leave the grandkids with their grandparents. The second generation stays in touch with modern communication methods to track how the third generation while touring with their grandparents.

Some grannies in Victoria did not go on such tours, but will instead tour the state on bikes in September as part of the yearly Victoria Grandmothers for Africa Cycle Tours.

Thirty grannies with an average age of 65 signed up for the bike tour this year even if some of them have various health issues such as chronic ailments as well as have undergone surgeries related to ageing such as hip and knee replacements.

Jocelyn Green, the race organiser, said the grannies are making the 275-kilometre bike trek to help their counterparts in Africa, 40 to 60 per cent of whom are raising their orphaned grandchildren with more difficult circumstances,

Ms Green, 64, organised the bike tour inspired by the success of the Tour de Rock in Canada.

When the Victorian grannies first held the bike tour in 2007 they raised $16,000 and since then had raised $250,000 for the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign.

The old ladies undergo a 100-kilometre training every Monday, which they consider worth the effort.

"That money will go such a long, long way in Africa. The poverty there is unbelievable I have never witnessed anything like that," VicNews quoted rider Joanne Egan.

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