Many people have found that researching a family history has uncovered the hidden treasures associated with the people, their stories, and the connection to history. If you have started down this route, the pinnacle of the family history search is to schedule a trip to your family's country of origin.
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On one of these trips you can actually bring your research to life. Imagine walking through the halls of a castle in Ireland where your ancestors held court, or sitting in a church in a small town in England where your ancestor sat every Sunday morning. There are many organized tours to meet your specific needs, so let's take a look at a few of the best.
10 Ellis Island Tours
The first tour that should be on your list is to Ellis Island and the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. Through this section of the New York Harbor, over 21 million immigrants entered the United States of America to find the freedom and economic security that would make their lives better.
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Statue Cruises is the only company authorized by the National Parks Service to offer ferry tickets and tours to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Street vendors do not sell legitimate tickets.
9 Ireland Family Heritage
The Ireland Family Heritage Tours is a family-run business. They are a government certified touring and genealogy agency that specializes in working with you to uncover your Irish roots, records, and see the places where your family lived. Many other companies are either touring or genealogy, but not both.
They pride themselves on showing you the actual homesteads where your ancestors settled, and a personal connection to the Irish lifestyle. They allow you to walk in the footsteps of the people who you have identified in your research.
8 Ancestral Attic Tours to Eastern Europe
If you want to be treated like you are one-on-one with the tour guide and a fellow genealogist, then this is the tour to Poland and Eastern Europe that you should consider.
Like many others, this tour offers the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of your ancestors, but they also offer an opportunity to work with you to research your living relatives in the city where your ancestors lived. What a great experience to be able to share family stories with living relatives in the town where it all started.
7 Ancestral Journey of Scotland
Rather than visiting just the grand castles of Scotland, this tour will expand upon your personal research to include the small towns, country churches, textile mills, or former coal mines to uncover your family's footprint.
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Even if the house where your ancestors lived is no longer there, they can show you examples of how they lived and how they spent their time. In advance of the scheduled tour, this agency will research around your family information and make sure that the places you visit are the same ones that your family settled.
6 Prague Genealogy Guide and Czech Ancestry Tours
This agency specializes in Genealogy tours to the Czech Republic. Like many specialized family history tours, the agency will interview you for specific information on where you want to go in the country and the family members who came from that area.
They will translate for you, take you to find local records, and even arrange a meeting with living relatives before you arrive. In addition to a family history focus, there is always an opportunity to see and experience the rest of the country with guided assistance.
5 Ancestral Footsteps
Ancestral Footsteps is a comprehensive travel agency that specializes in genealogy travel packages in many parts of the world. When you book a trip with this company, they want you to experience a deeper understanding of your family's story and an emotional connection to the past.
You choose the country package that you want, the branch of the family name that you want to research, and they build the documentation around your family and the stories that go with them. This agency meets you at the airport or hotel, shuttles you around, and returns you home having had a wonderful experience.
4 Ann-Mar Genealogy Trips
This tour involves a week-long visit to either the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, or to the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
What sets this trip apart from the others is the extensive Research Planning Assistance which happens through 6 different virtual meetings and online chats, to help you gather information and answer any particular questions you may have. The leaders of the group help you create research plans for future discoveries.
3 Nikkei Japanese Ancestry Tours Series
Travel from Tokyo to Hiroshima with all of the amenities included. This tour will include a visit to the Japanese Overseas Migration Museum in Yokohama, and will end in Suo Island and the Museum of Japanese Emigration to Hawaii and Jam's Garden.
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You will be able to enjoy the highlights of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nara, Osaka, and Kyoto while learning about the history of Japan and Japanese Americans. The participant will be able to retrace the roots to their past, and they can even customize a travel package to the village of your choice.
2 Spector Travel Boston
For more than 25 years, Spector Travel of Boston has been conducting tours to explore African culture and ancestry with a focus on Ghana, Cote d'lviore, and Senegal. If there is not a current travel itinerary that meets your needs, the staff of Spector Travel can customize a tour that addresses your research.
This company specializes in trips to West Africa, which are carefully planned to offer accurate details on your ancestors.
1 My China Roots
This is the leading company in Chinese genealogy today. They are experts at finding ancestral roots. The team at My China Roots is young and aggressive. They pride themselves on researching information from Chinese family history books, clan temples, and family oral histories.
They also take photos and audio reports on family history and stories. This company will design a tailored tour for the towns and villages that your family has lived in, and you will visit historic places and museums associated with your family. They promise that you will discover your place in Chinese history.