This paper explores the use of biographical research methods in the study of tourism behaviour among older adults in Freising, Germany. A qualitative biographical participatory research approach is argued to provide an emic perspective on seniors' tourism behaviour over their life course. A variety of techniques for the collection and analysis of biographical data are developed and applied including approaches to the graphical presentation of summaries of biographical data, life history guides, ecomaps and the use of vacation photos and travel records. This study suggests that researching individual biographies in depth can provide a contextualized understanding of tourism behaviour changes in old age. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.