All Things Travel Podcast · Ryan Hedstrom and Julie Shaffer

Discover Your Roots with Heritage Journey Programs

·16 min·1 clip

Kensington Tours creates trips around your ancestry, blending genealogical research with deeply emotional travel experiences.

This episode explores heritage travel programs that create personalized trips based on family ancestry. Hosts Ryan and Julie, travel advisors specializing in educational and family vacations, discuss a partnership between Kensington Tours and Ancestry.com. They detail how these journeys transform standard vacations into deeply personal explorations of one's roots. The program begins with genealogical research using Ancestry.com's resources to trace a client's lineage and pinpoint ancestral locations. Kensington's destination experts then craft a fully customized, privately guided itinerary around those specific findings. Ryan shares an anecdote about a client whose trip included a surprise reunion with a childhood friend from his ancestral village. The itinerary can adapt on the go, allowing for spontaneous visits to newly discovered relatives or sites. One highlighted example is a seven-day New York City Immigration Heritage trip focusing on ancestors who entered through Ellis Island. This journey includes neighborhood tours of Little Italy and Chinatown, visits to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and a session with an Ancestry genealogist. Another detailed itinerary is an 11-day Northern Italy Heritage Journey blending classic tourism with personalized heritage stops. This trip covers Rome, Florence, and Lake Maggiore, while dedicating a full day to exploring a client's specific family region. A key insight is that travel can facilitate profound emotional connections, as illustrated by the unexpected friend reunion. The hosts note these trips are particularly suited for multi-generational travel, creating shared storytelling and intimate family memories. They suggest such in-depth journeys may be better for adults or retirement celebrations rather than young children. Julie confirms her personal travel wish list is influenced by her Italian and Scandinavian family origins. Ryan recounts a past client who planned a Sicily trip to surprise his wife with visits to their family villages, but the plan was canceled when she showed no interest. The episode also briefly mentions a client's upcoming river cruise in Holland and Belgium, which was initially inspired by a desire to visit relatives in Brussels. The tone is conversational, enthusiastic, and advisory, blending personal anecdotes with specific travel product information. Listeners interested in culturally immersive travel or exploring their genealogy through experiential tourism would enjoy this episode. Those seeking general vacation planning tips or action-packed adventure travel content might find it too niche.

As heard by us

A heritage-led travel conversation that stays practical about pacing, ancestry, and who the trip suits best.

The conversation treats travel as a form of personal discovery, with heritage guiding choices such as Italy and the Scandinavian region. It also keeps the planning grounded, moving through Brussels, Amsterdam, trains, and a river cruise without losing sight of the family-history…

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Why you'd press play

Plan around a heritage journey, not just a sightseeing reel.

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