Explore Your Ancestral Homeland


Explore your genealogy and uncover your family history on a one-of-a-kind heritage tour. Whether you prefer to explore your ancestral homeland with your family, on board a ship, or individually on a curated trip with a professional genealogist, we have the right trip for you. Using historical records, maps, and local knowledge, an ancestral home visit with AncestryProGenealogists may include the following based on your ancestors’ circumstances:

  • The exact plot of land where the family once lived. You may find an existing house, the ruins of a dwelling, a new structure, or even an empty field.
  • Meet the people who live on that land now or any relatives living nearby.
  • Talk to any local resident who may be an expert in the history of families in the area.
  • Visit the church, synagogue, or other religious buildings the ancestors attended.
  • Visit the cemetery where the ancestors were buried and see their burial plots.
  • Visit the school the ancestors attended (or the site where it once stood).
  • Visit the town hall where your ancestors would have congregated with neighbors.
  • See unique attractions in the immediate area. For instance, visitors to Ireland might visit a holy well, ringfort, famine house, bog or peat gathering place, or mass rock. Visitors to Italy may take part in festivals for the local patron saint or visit a shrine in a village church. Battle sites, historical markers, geographical attractions like lakes or rivers, or markets may be tour stops in any country.
  • See where the local landlord lived.
  • Have a meal in a restaurant to enjoy the local cuisine.
  • Visit a local museum to learn more about your ancestors’ daily lives, housing, and trades in which they may have worked.

Personal Heritage Journeys

In partnership with award-winning travel company Kensington Tours, you can now travel with a professional genealogist to destinations all over the world on a tailor-made and privately guided exploration of your ancestral homeland.

Ancestral Home Visits

Discover your family history and explore the sights, cuisine, and culture of your ancestral homeland on a one-of-a-kind ancestral home visit.

Genealogy Cruises

Participate in discussions and workshops with professional genealogists from Ancestry® and learn how we help people discover more about who they are and where they come from.


Travel Interest Form

Professional and Personal. No Obligation.

Heritage tour pricing starts at $3,000 USD.


By clicking Submit, you agree we may share your contact information with our third-party travel partners, and we or our travel partners may contact you via email or telephone about travel-related services.

For more information or questions, please contact us:
[email protected] or 1-800-596-3230





Testimonials

  • Ancestral Home Visit

    Jesse Liere

    For decades, Jesse Liere’s family puzzled over a lifelong mystery: why did his great-great-grandparents leave Germany for America? “My life goal was to get the money together and do the ‘deep dive,’” Liere said. So he hired AncestryProGenealogists® researchers to find answers—and they did. Then, he dreamed of visiting Germany himself.
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  • Ancestral Home Visit

    Jean Swanson

    Growing up, Jean Swanson always wondered why her father never talked about his home country. He had immigrated to the United States from Sicily when he was 9 years old. He said the conditions there had been terrible, but he didn’t want to talk about Sicily, and he never did, at least not to her.
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  • Ancestral Home Visit

    Joyce Gabriele

    When my partner and I saw the opportunity to take an ancestry tour of Southern Italy we jumped at the chance. I’d already created an Ancestry.com tree, taken the AncestryDNA® test, and performed some preliminary research on my own based on family stories and I had a rough idea about where I wanted to visit.
    Read more