Travel Grants for Adults: Real Help for Medical, Study, and Senior Travel

Why there are no vacation grants

Many websites promise “free government money” for travel. It does not exist. USA.gov’s grants page says the government does not offer free money for individuals and that federal grants typically go to states and organizations. The official federal listing, Grants.gov, is free to search, and you will find it is full of awards for universities, cities, and nonprofits, not for personal trips.

That does not mean you are out of options. Money for travel does reach individuals, but almost always through a program with a specific purpose: getting a patient to treatment, helping a veteran reach a VA clinic, sending a student or scholar abroad, or helping an older adult join an educational program. If your trip fits one of those purposes, keep reading. If it is a family vacation or a visit to friends, the honest answer is that you will need to save for it, and this guide closes with tips for doing that without taking on costly debt.

Travel grants for adults by purpose

This table matches common reasons for travel with the programs that actually help. Each program sets its own rules, and most have limited funds.

Free flights for medical care

When the right specialist is hundreds of miles away, the cost of getting there can be harder to manage than the medical bill. Several long-running charities fill that gap.

Mercy Medical Angels

Mercy Medical Angels arranges free travel to medical care. Depending on the trip, it may use a volunteer pilot flight (mainly in the Mid-Atlantic), a commercial airline ticket, ground transportation, or gas cards, and it has a program for veterans called Angel Wings for Veterans. You submit a travel request with your appointment details, starting point, and provider’s contact information, and the group picks the best option. The charity says it has provided more than 500,000 trips to care over 54 years.

Air Charity Network and Angel Flight groups

Air Charity Network links regional volunteer pilot groups, many of them called Angel Flight. Pilots fly patients in their own planes, at no cost to the passenger, for things like transplant evaluations, clinical trials, and repeated treatment. It serves people who are financially distressed or cannot travel by public transportation. You request a flight through the member group that covers your area. Small planes have weight and medical limits, so passengers generally need to be stable enough to fly without medical care on board.

Corporate Angel Network

Corporate Angel Network places cancer patients, and bone marrow and stem cell donors and recipients, in empty seats on business aircraft that are already flying. There is no cost and no financial test. Patients must be able to walk and must not need medical help in flight. Flights depend on where company planes happen to be going, so flexible dates help.

Lodging near a hospital or treatment center

Hotel bills during weeks of treatment can be crushing. The American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge program offers free rooms to people with cancer and their caregivers who travel far from home for treatment. There are 31 locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. You must be treated in a city that has one, and you can call 1-800-227-2345 to apply or to ask about other lodging options. The same number reaches Road To Recovery, which gives free rides to cancer-related appointments with volunteer drivers. Call several business days ahead.

For other illnesses, look for a hospitality house. The Healthcare Hospitality Network’s house finder lists member houses near medical centers. Most offer lodging at little or no cost, regardless of income, but each sets its own rules. Hospital social workers often know of local funds that cover a few nights of hotel or a bus ticket home, so ask your care team early. Our guide to grants for cancer patients lists more help with the costs around treatment.

Medicaid rides to appointments

If you have Medicaid, you may already have travel help. Medicaid covers non-emergency medical transportation for most members who have no other way to get to covered care. The Medicaid.gov transportation page explains the benefit. Depending on your state and your needs, it can mean a van, a taxi or rideshare, a bus pass, gas mileage, or, for long trips to a specialist, help with travel and lodging.

Most states run rides through a broker or your health plan. Call the member number on your Medicaid card several days before the appointment. For rides that are not medical, such as to a job or the grocery store, see our guide to transportation services for disabled adults, which covers paratransit and local senior rides.

VA travel pay for veterans

The VA repays travel to VA care, and to approved community care, for many veterans. According to VA.gov, you can qualify if at least one of these applies:

• You have a VA disability rating of 30% or higher.
• You are traveling for care of a service-connected condition.
• You receive a VA pension, or your income is below the maximum VA pension rate.
• You cannot afford the trip under VA guidelines.
• You are going to a scheduled compensation and pension exam, to get a service dog, or for approved transplant care.

The VA’s mileage rate page lists 41.5 cents per mile, with a deductible of $3 each way ($6 round trip) that stops once you have paid $18 in a month. Some veterans have the deductible waived. File within 30 days of each appointment, online, by mail with VA Form 10-3542, or in person. Separate charities, including Mercy Medical Angels’ veteran program, may help when a trip is not covered.

Deducting medical travel on your taxes

This is not a grant, but it can return some of what you spend. IRS Publication 502 lets you count travel that is mainly for medical care as a medical expense. For 2025 returns, the IRS set the medical mileage rate at 21 cents a mile, plus parking and tolls. Lodging away from home for care at a hospital or similar facility counts up to $50 a night per person, or $100 if a parent travels with a sick child. Meals do not count.

The catch: you only benefit if you itemize deductions and your total medical costs are higher than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Keep receipts and a mileage log either way. Check the newest edition of Publication 502 for the current year’s rate.

Study and research abroad

Here, real travel grants for adults do exist, and they are competitive. All of them are free to apply for.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program funds U.S. citizens to study, do research, or teach English abroad, in all academic fields including the arts. You need a bachelor’s degree by the start of the grant (or be enrolled in a degree program) and no Ph.D. The program does not list an age limit, but applicants who are not enrolled in school should typically have about seven years or less of professional experience. The 2027–2028 application closed October 6, 2026; the 2028–2029 application opens in spring 2027.

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

For faculty, researchers, and professionals further along in their careers, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers more than 400 awards a year in over 135 countries for teaching, research, and professional projects.

Gilman Scholarship for adult students

Adults who go back to college can qualify for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. You must be a U.S. citizen or national, an undergraduate at a two- or four-year school, and receiving a Federal Pell Grant, and you must be going on a credit-bearing study abroad or internship program. Check the Gilman website for current award amounts and deadlines. Your school’s study abroad office can help with the application.

Professional groups also offer small travel grants so members can attend conferences. If you work in a field with a national association, check its website or ask your employer about training funds.

Learning trips for adults 50 and older

Road Scholar, a nonprofit that runs educational trips for older adults, has one of the few need-based travel aid programs for people who are not students or patients. Its scholarships provide up to $2,000 toward a program in the U.S. or Canada that costs $2,500 or less. You must be at least 50, and awards generally go to households earning less than 80% of the median income in their state. Its caregiver grants use similar terms for people 50+ who are the main unpaid caregiver for an ill or disabled family member, or who lost that loved one recently.

Points to know before you apply:

• Travel to and from the program is not covered. The aid applies to the program cost, which includes lodging, meals, and outings.
• Apply early. Road Scholar asks for at least three months’ notice; the program must start at least eight weeks after you apply, and review takes four to six weeks.
• Wait times apply. You generally cannot get aid again until two years after your last grant or program.

Spotting a fake travel grant

Scammers love the words “grant” and “free.” The Federal Trade Commission’s page on government grant scams warns that the government will not contact you out of the blue about a grant. Watch for these signs:

• A call, text, or social media message saying you “qualify” for a travel grant you never applied for.
• A processing fee, tax, or deposit before you can get the money.
• A request for your bank account, Social Security number, or card number.
• Payment by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.
• A paid list of grants. The official federal list on Grants.gov is free.
• “Free vacation” prizes that require you to pay taxes or fees up front.

Report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you already paid, contact your bank or payment company right away. Our scam warnings guide covers more tricks to watch for.

Planning a trip you have to pay for

For trips no program covers, such as visiting family or a long-delayed vacation, a plan beats a loan. Set a target, divide it by the months until you travel, and move that amount into a separate savings account each payday. Travel off-season and midweek, compare bus and train fares with flights, and stay with family or in places with a kitchen to cut food costs.

Be careful with buy now, pay later plans and travel credit cards. Splitting a trip into payments can feel affordable, but missed payments bring fees, and a card balance at a high rate can cost more than the trip. If you need to get to a family emergency and cannot afford it, call 211 or your local Salvation Army; some offices help with bus tickets in limited cases. See our guide to Salvation Army transportation assistance.

Related guides

• Hardship grants for individuals
• Grant money for bills and personal use
• Rental assistance for cancer patients
• Gas assistance for disabled people

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information. Each program sets its own rules, funding, and deadlines, and they can change. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with any program listed here or with any government agency.