A family heritage trip is a combination of genealogy and travel.
I think the easy way to describe the planning process is:
People, then Places.
- Find the people (ancestors).
- Pick the places.
- Find out more about the connection between them.
- Find out what else the places have to offer.
- Choose and design your adventure.
Here’s an expanded version of how to plan the trip. You can make each step as detailed as you like.
1. Find the People (Ancestors)
Start with the people. Create your family tree or ask someone to do it for you.
Focus on the parts of the tree that are in places you would like to visit. For example, your mother might be of German origin and your Dad’s side could be Scottish. Decide whether you want to visit Germany, Scotland, or both. Then do the family tree research that matches your desired travel plans.
2. Pick the Places
From the tree, pick the people and places you most feel drawn to connect with. Some ancestors may really catch your interest. Go with your intuition. Try and get all the relevant dates and places of significance in these individuals’ or families’ lives.
Make a long list of the places that look like good places from an ancestry travel point of view. You will still need more information about them, but this is a starting list of the many places you can select from.
3. Explore the Connections
This is where you explore how you feel about visiting certain places and not others. You get to decide whether you feel an emotional or inquisitive connection to a place. Your list of places can be as long as you like. Eventually you will pare it down, but first, explore to your heart’s content.
If you don’t have enough genealogy research at this point, go back to the family tree and fill in the gaps as best you can. At this point, you want to find specific addresses for the individuals at various points in their lives.
Add those addresses to the places on your draft itinerary. Now find out whether it’s even possible to visit them. This is when you may find out those places don’t exist. The ancestral home might have been replaced by a block of flats. You might still want to visit the town, but you don’t have to look for that specific house any more.
Keep in mind the date range that is relevant for you. If your ancestors left before a certain year, the things built after that point were not part of their daily lives. Those things might still be important but they don’t have the same physical connection.
Talk to your family members to see if there’s anything in your family history they would like to learn about. If they aren’t part of your genealogy trip, they may still be excited that you are doing some heritage travel.
4. Check Out Possible Destinations
Consider the other people you’ll be traveling with. Find out what everyone in your group wants to do on the trip. Don’t make it all about visiting ancestral homes unless that’s what everyone asks for.
Create a draft itinerary taking everyone’s wishes into account. This is where you add in, not just the genealogy, but anything from a food tour to the ballet or ice skating, whatever your companions are looking for.
Refine your itinerary and add in interesting places to visit and things to do whenever you find out about them. If you are working with a travel agent, ask them to help you. Because you are so focussed on going to see the church where your great-grandfather was baptized, you might not know there is a UNESCO World Heritage Site around the corner.
5. Choose Your Adventure
Review and share with your group as often as you need to, to come up with an itinerary that is realistic and has something for everyone.
Be 100% willing to make changes on the fly a few times because in travel, sometimes things don’t work out as planned. Some of the best experiences are the spontaneous ones.
Remember, this is your chance to connect with your ancestral roots in person. It’s bound to be good.
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