our GROUP TOURS
Contents
- Who can come?
- Heritage Tour or Vacation...or both?
- A typical day
- Accommodation
- Trip leaders and kids chaperones
- HOW TO BOOK
Who can come?
If your heritage or genealogy society is based on an ancestral region or culture, a custom tour to that region would be a fascinating excursion for them and their families. We create immersion and research vacations in Italy and all German ancestral regions for:
- Regional genealogical societies
- Cultural associations based on a regional culture
- Groups of unrelated families having the same heritage
Our other specialization is private family tours, so we know how to make your members' spouses and children welcome on our tours. We'll organize a fine vacation for them, while we help your society members with their research. (Read about our time-together, time-apart format.)
Two or more unrelated families with a common heritage can also form the basis for a tour to an ancestral region. These tours are similar to our private family tours but naturally more focused on the regional culture than on any single family’s heritage there. In any case, they are always an enriching personal experience for all family members, as well as a great vacation.
Heritage Tour or Vacation... or both?
Every group has different priorities - tell us yours and we'll create the right mix:
Heritage Tour...
Interested in discovering your heritage in person? With a little basic information, we can build an itinerary specific to your group's regional heritage. The more detailed your information, the more specifics we can include: visits to villages where ancestors where born, where they lived, and were laid to rest; research and archival visits with local genealogists; even meetings with distant relatives. Just tell us how much heritage is enough – and how much time to reserve for pure vacation.
Note: The possibility for individual research or events relating to anyone's personal family history depends on the uniformity of the group. If everyone has roots in a single village or restricted region, it is easier to work this out. Call us to talk about your group's options.
Vacation...
Simply want to relax, enjoy life and get to know the old country in person? We'll set up intimate experiences of your group's ancestral culture, people and lands. Charming family-friendly hotels, top authentic cuisine, and the most important sights included. And, if the rest of the family comes along, we'll include lots of time for family fun and sharing. (Our idea of vacation)
Both!
Most tours we create are some combination of heritage tour and vacation. It's a matter of emphasis, which you decide and we realize. Contact us to talk about your genealogy or heritage group's tour.
A Typical Day
Although each day is a brand new adventure, we've worked out a “typical day” plan that promotes positive dynamics and a happy experience for all, especially if your group is multigenerational or includes family members not interested in family history. We weave time together and time apart into each day. Time together is filled with "family history lite" events, usually mornings. Serious genealogical research or cultural events are then planned as time-apart for those interested. The rest of the group enjoys a "pure" vacation in their time-apart.
Lunchs are normally casual events for the whole group, often with our local friends or experts.
Sightseeing and free time. At convenient moments, we’ll include any must-see local attractions – do tell us about anything you absolutely can’t miss – as well as some unstructured time-off for extra research, for relaxing, reflecting and regenerating.
Dinners are mostly group events, moment to share the day’s experiences and reflections. Earlier seatings and kid-friendly menus are available, if children come on the tour.
Accommodation
We strike a balance between settling in for as long as possible and being close to the places we're exploring. Unpacking once is ideal, but we also don’t want you in a coach for hours each day. Two hotels over the week is typical.
We seek out intimate family-friendly hotels, often run by local families, which embody the character of the local culture (see Hotels). You’ll typically have middle category rooms in 4 or 5 Star and the best rooms in any simpler hotels. Where possible, we reserve adjoining rooms for your kids.
Children under 3 normally sleep in a cot in their parents’ room and we can often organize a third bed for under-12’s. Children over 12 typically share rooms with siblings or cousins.
Trip Guides and Chaperones
Unless your group is tiny or includes no children under 16, we like to put two of our guides on your trip – in addition to any local experts or friends of ours who step in once in a while. With two guides, we can offer “time-together, time-apart”; it also allows greater flexibility for different movements and interests.
One guide is the genealogy specialist, while the other is the children’s best friend and chaperone. The chaperone is specially trained and experienced with children and supervises and entertains them during their time-apart.
With toddlers on board, we often recruit a trained local nanny to make it more of a vacation for all.
How to book a Terrestra Family Heritage Tour