Ever considered what it might be like to visit the birthplaces of your ancestors? Explore their cultures? Not sure if that is possible for you? Don’t know where to start researching your roots and devising an itinerary based on your cultural heritage? DNA travel might be the answer! Let’s take a look at how it works and the ancestry trip planning process.
Table of contents
What is DNA travel?
DNA travel or DNA tourism are a type of travel that has risen with the prevalence of affordable genetic testing. It is travel based on your personal ancestors’ homelands and cultures, as indicated by a DNA test.
DNA tourism is a subset of ancestral travel which has been around a lot longer than at-home DNA tests. There are various types of ancestral travel that aim to explore our roots. There are also countless terms (this study found 41) used to describe them, some used interchangeably. So let’s define a few of these, at least for the purposes of this article:
Ancestral travel or ancestral tourism
Umbrella terms for any travel with the purposes of exploring family history and culture. The goal is simply to get out and explore the geographical locations and cultures of your ancestors—broadly or specifically.
Heritage travel or heritage tourism
A subset of ancestral travel with the broad goal of connecting with the place, history and culture of one’s ancestors. This is for travellers who are either not concerned with being too specific or who might have very little information to work with.
DNA travel or DNA tourism
Travellers who have taken and planned their trip based on a DNA sample alone. DNA tourism generally falls under heritage travel because the information you are working with ais the broad ethnicity estimates determined by a DNA test.
Genalogical travel
Is usually more specific. It is based on traditional family history research with or without a DNA test. These travellers have probably built or are in possession of some form of family tree. They are more likely to be planning a genealogy research trip than other groups, although I won’t be addressing research trips here, as they deserve their own post.
In this article, we’ll focus on DNA travel and broader heritage tourism. Let me know in the comments if you’d like to learn more about genealogical travel.
Do you need a DNA test?
It all depends on the information you have about your family, and what kind of experience you want to create for your ancestry trip. A DNA test provides a quick and easy route for those who:
- Don’t have the time or inclination for more traditional genealogical research.
- May be adopted or have other barriers to finding out about their family.
- Want to a broad heritage travel experience, rather than a nitty-gritty genealogical one.
But if you know something about your cultural heritage and can verify that information (families tell wild stories-let me tell you), then you don’t necessarily need to take a DNA test to explore your ancestors home and heritage.
What are the benfits of DNA and heritage travel?
Throughout history families have spread across borders and continents. Violent conflict, famines, politics, religious persecution, slavery and the promise of prosperity, have forced or lured people beyond their ancestral homes. The generations down the line may feel a disconnect with and/or a curiosity about their distant cultural heritage.
Many people now have an unprecedented chance to reconnect with their ancestral homelands, cultures and heritage. This adds a meaningful dimension to the places we go and peoples we interact with. DNA travel helps improve our understanding of cultures and traditions that may have been diluted or lost through years of immigration and integration.
What is DNA testing?
Let’s hark back to high school science class for a moment. You probably remember something about DNA being the footprint of life and a double helix. DNA is the hereditary material in humans (and most living organisms) that contains the genetic information required for us to develop and function. We inherit these molecules from our parents and therefore they are a kind of rolling generational record of our ancestors.
A DNA test is usually performed via a painless cheek swab or a sample of saliva. The method depends on the company you are testing with. There are countless tests and analyses that can be performed on a sample, depending on the goal. When it comes to genealogical DNA testing, a sample is analysed against a database of reference DNA.
Different population groups can have unique genetic variations that provide clues to a person’s background. By comparing your sample to the database of DNA, scientists can estimate the ancestoral group or groups to which you belong.
Note, over time the more people that are tested, the more that database of genetic information grows. Therefore your results will get revised to provide more accurate information. If you’ve already had a test, it is worth going back and looking at the results intermittently, to see if your ethnicity estimate has changed or been refined.
Which company to test with?
There are various biotech companies offering genealogical DNA testing including: Ancestry, 23andMe, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA. Who you choose should depend on a number of different factors. A big one is the size and diversity of their database.
For example, until more recently people of Asian and African descent struggled to get nuanced ethnicity results because the databases of these testing companies were skewed to those of European ancestry. Fortunately, this is changing over time as more diverse populations are tested and adding to the pool of date. Plus, newer testing firms are entering the market to fill particular cultural gaps that exist with the older providers.
The results
Different testing companies offer various types of reports on your DNA. The one DNA travellers are most concerned with is the ethnicity estimate—a percentage breakdown of where your ancestors came from in the world. On average these results span back 5-8 generations, or about the last 200-years.
For genealogical travellers wanting to get in touch with potential relatives, the matches report will also be valuable. This report shows you other people that share part of your DNA and how much they share. You will need to give permission for this information to be shared, as will they.
Choose your destination
Maybe you’re DNA test or genealogical research will lead you to one specific destination. Or maybe, like me, your ancestors hail from various cultures and continents. This leaves you with decisions as to your destination.
Some of the circumstances that drove our ancestors from their homelands generations ago, still exist to some degree today and it may not be easy or even safe for you to return there. Conversely, places and cultures may have overcome wars, famines and other inhospitable situations, allowing us the opportunity to travel places our ancestors would not have dared return to in their lifetime.
It’s time to do some light research into your potential destination/s and work out if, when and how to visit. You might find my trip planning guide useful for this step. Once you’ve chosen your destination, let’s keep going…
Custom DNA travel itineraries and group heritage tours
Depending on your chosen destination and desired style of travel there are a few ways you can plan and execute your trip. The three main options are:
Custom itinerary
If you have plenty of financial resources or you are planning the trip yourself, you might opt for a completely bespoke trip that will take you to specific locations. That’s a private tour, customized to your specific ancestry and interests. This is obviously going to be the most expensive option and likely will take the longest to research and plan. You could always take on the planning yourself, if you feel confident to do so. But…
It’s important to consider that a custom ancestry trip is more likely to take you off-the-beaten path and visit locations with less tourist infrastructure. I know for my family, it means small, out-of-the-way villages in far off corners. In these instances, there may be health and safety considerations, lack of amenities, as well as potential language barriers. If this is true for you, all the more reason to work a specialist local travel agency, travelling with a guide, and always, always take out travel insurance.
Specialist group tour
In destinations popular with heritage tourism, there are companies that offer specific ancestral tours. These attract other people who share your ancestry and have a similar interest in visiting sights that the average tourist might not. Sights such as history and migration museums, places frequented by certain sub-cultures or religious communities and landmarks such as war memorials.
For example, there are millions of Americans with Irish ancestry and various tour companies offer itineraries that target that interest. A group tour is going to be less expensive than a fully customized itinerary but will be more tailored towards your interests than the next option.
General group tour
This is your regular tour of a destination that does not focus on ancestral heritage and will take in the popular tourist sights and experiences. This is probably going to be the cheapest option and can be good for dipping your toes in the water to see if you want to make subsequent trips. On the flip side, you might feel underwhelmed with the opportunities to connect more deeply with the culture, and it is less likely your co-travellers will share your more vested interests.
Last tips for planning DNA travel
Time
Allow yourself plenty of lead time. Even a DNA test takes 8-12 weeks on average to return results. Genealogical research can take much longer. If you were planning to travel in the next few months, you should reconsider your timeline.
Domestic adventures and exploring home
Don’t ignore domestic travel. If your family has been in your current home country for several generations, there’s likely opportunities to explore your heritage on familiar shores. You can also start exploring your heritage right now, through food, music, festivals, documentaries, books and museums – large groups of diaspora often have places that document their immigration and community.
Don’t put off documenting your family
If you have the opportunity, interview your relatives NOW! Start with the oldest – they won’t be around forever. Even if you do nothing with it at this stage but to ask questions and document the answers. Write or record EVERYTHING, you won’t believe what tiny detail can be useful and how much you’ll forget down the track. Collect copies of records and photos wherever possible. This might not mean much to you now, but some time or someone down the line—maybe your grandkids—are going to ask questions about where you come from and you want have an answer, right?!
History sucks sometimes
I don’t have to tell you that history is not all rosy. There are going to be difficult things to learn and places to visit, for example war memorials, concentration camps, slave dungeons… It’s not always going to feel like a fun vacation. However, the most difficult places to visit can be the most transformational.
Don’t hold back on visiting these sights, but do give yourself time in your itinerary to recoup emotionally from the experience. I suggest planning to follow up these emotionally heavier sights with a few hours of quiet relaxation or something distractingly fun—whichever suits your personality best.
Are you planning some DNA travel or a heritage trip? Let me know in the comments below, I would love to geek out on your family history with you.
Peace, love & inspiring travels,
Madam ZoZo