Grandtravel is likely to become even more popular in the future with the aging of the baby boomers, who are living longer and are more physically active than their parents’ generation, said Lori Pennington-Gray, a professor in UF’s tourism, recreation and sports management department who supervised Palmieri’s research.

“Perhaps because baby boomers were the first generation where large numbers of mothers went into the work force and might not have been around as much as they wanted to be for their own children, they now see this is a way to be involved with their children’s children,” Pennington-Gray said.

Palmieri did her research at The Villages, an active retirement community near Lady Lake, Fla., which has more than 40,000 residents. In the summer of 2005, she surveyed 166 female and 78 male residents about their attitudes toward grandtravel with a “favorite grandchild.”

The vast majority of grandparents surveyed endorsed the idea, with 43 percent strongly supporting it and 38 percent supporting it. Forty-two percent said they had experienced it.

The most popular destinations were theme parks, such as Walt Disney World, and cultural centers, including New York City and Washington, D.C., Palmieri said. Safaris were a hit with those who wanted more extensive travel, she said.

Palmieri said some grandparents traveled with a different grandchild every year or arranged to take each child on a trip once they reached age 12 or 13. “For the child, it was something they really looked forward to, and for grandma and grandpa, it was an opportunity to see something new while having a special experience with their grandchild,” she said.

Some grandparents liked the idea of grandtravel but were unable to do it because they had to care for an ailing spouse, the children were busy with school activities or the parents were divorced and one parent would not agree to the arrangement, Palmieri said.

Discipline was a common issue mentioned by the respondents. “Some grandparents said they didn’t want to be the person to say, ‘No, you can’t do that,’” Palmieri said. “They would rather just be able to invite their grandkids over and send them back home.”

Judy L. Randall, president and CEO of Randall Travel, a North Carolina company focused on travel research and strategic planning, said she has seen increasing numbers of grandparents and grandchildren traveling together without the parents along.

“What’s that line about the reason that grandparents and grandkids get along so well is that they have a common enemy?” she said half jokingly. “For me, it’s easy to see why the baby boomer grandparents and the Generation Y grandkids are having a blast together.”

Both generations tend to be more active and adventurous than the Generation Xers in the middle and so resemble each other more in their tastes and choice of activities, she said.

In the past, grandparents and grandchildren visiting Alaska were likely to take a guided cruise, said Randall, who spends about 40 percent of her time on the job traveling. Today many chart their own trips, going off by themselves to camp, observe wildlife or fish, she said.