In April 2023, an 80-year-old American man set off on a four-day, three-night journey to Ireland, joined by his sister and son, to search for his ancestral roots. As he climbed the stone steps of the historic Carlingford Castle, he paused to gaze out at the steel-grey Irish Sea. “It feels so good—like I’ve finally come home,” he said. Around him, the air was filled with the sound of bagpipes playing, a celebration to welcome him “home.”
At the end of the trip, he stood outside St. Muredach’s Cathedral and gave a heartfelt farewell speech:
“Nearly 200 years later, the very stones my great-great-great-grandfather once touched are still holding up the high nave of this cathedral. Just like the story of Irish Americans, they carry our shared past, present, and future. Over the years, this place has become part of my soul—part of my family’s legend.”
That man, who so deeply embodies and celebrates both Irish heritage and American ideals, is U.S. President Joe Biden. In many of his public speeches, he proudly shares his Irish roots, often referencing his great-great-grandfather Patrick Blewitt, who left Ireland for America in 1849. In fact, back in 2016, the White House reached out to the Irish Family History Centre to trace Biden’s ancestry in preparation for his visit. After sifting through parish records and land registries, the researchers compiled a list of living relatives connected to him.
It’s kind of charming to realize—even the President of the United States is a fan of genealogy travel.
There’s actually a running joke in Europe: if someone talks nonstop about where their ancestors came from and is obsessed with family lineage, they’re probably American.
Genealogy travel has this magnetic pull—it draws you in. My own journey into this world began with a conversation about something seemingly simple: the Taiwanese language.
“A Journey Home” That Taiwanese People Can Relate To
I still remember that moment. I was chatting with a friend — he’s Asian American — and we were talking about languages. At one point, he asked me how to say a particular phrase in Taiwanese. I was just about to answer, but suddenly, I went blank…
The phrase he asked about was one I had definitely heard and spoken many times before—after all, I grew up speaking Taiwanese with my grandparents. But in that moment, I couldn’t recall it at all. The more I tried, the more frustrated I felt. I was shocked and a little heartbroken: I had been so focused on learning more natural, casual English to better blend into life in the U.S., that I had begun to lose my own language—my connection to my home.
And I didn’t want that. Not at all. Taiwanese is how I connected to my grandparents, both of whom have passed. I loved them deeply. The thought of losing that bridge to them was unbearable.
From then on, every time I return to Taiwan, I make a conscious effort to plan trips that help me reconnect with my family—sometimes just regular family getaways, other times journeys to learn more about my ancestors. I also began studying how genealogy travel works in the U.S., hoping to soak in the knowledge and shape a version of it that’s personal to me.
If you’re reading this and feeling curious about your own family history, maybe the tips below can give you a gentle push to begin. In my experience, a good genealogy journey begins with two things: first, gathering your family’s history and understanding the historical and social context they lived in. And second, using that information to design a meaningful trip.
Pictured: A U.S. citizen researching family ancestry.
Photo / Associated Press
Step 1: Gathering Your Family History
(1) Start with your family members.
The people around you are the best sources of information. Grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles—even if their stories aren’t always 100% accurate, hearing your family history from different angles helps you understand your shared past, family values, and cultural roots.
(2) Collect family artifacts.
Old photo albums, diaries, and other records are like time capsules. Pull them together and see what stories they tell.
(3) Look into your home address history.
Learning about the places your family has lived can reveal a lot. For example, why did they move? Maybe it was because a baby was born, or they were seeking better schools, job opportunities, or maybe even due to financial hardship. Every address change tells part of your family’s story.
(4) Use genealogy tools.
Websites like Ancestry.com and FamilySearch are widely used in the U.S. and are among the largest family history databases in the world. You can use them to trace back generations and safely store what you find.
(5) Explore national-level resources.
There are lots of country-specific websites where you can dig deeper into your ancestry. Search terms like “family history research” plus your country or culture of interest. Here are a few examples:
– Japan’s Koseki records
– Italy’s Ancestors Portal
– U.S. Library of Congress resources for African American genealogy
– French genealogy blogs
– Hungary’s National Archives
– IrishGenealogy.ie
Step 2: Turning Information into Travel
(1) Connect with locals and relatives.
Once you’ve gathered addresses and details, you can use them to meet locals, distant relatives, or local historians during your trip.
(2) Visit places your ancestors lived or studied.
This might include the schools they attended, their old neighborhoods, favorite gathering spots, local libraries, government offices, or places of worship. For example, I once found a record in the Taoyuan City Chronicle mentioning my great-grandfather’s flour mill. I made a special trip to the original address to see what it had become—it was moving to stand where he once worked.
(3) Explore unique local landmarks.
American-style genealogy trips to Ireland often include visits to holy wells, ring forts, or famine cottages. In Italy, people might attend the local Patron Saint Day or visit a rural chapel. In New York, tourists often explore historic immigrant neighborhoods like Brooklyn or the Lower East Side. War sites, historical markers, lakes, and rivers all hold clues worth uncovering.
(4) Try traditional foods.
Even if you can’t find the exact same recipes your ancestors used, you can still enjoy local dishes made with similar ingredients, especially from century-old restaurants or traditional markets.
(5) Stop by local museums and libraries.
They often provide valuable insight into the daily lives, professions, and hobbies of people from past generations.
The beauty of genealogy travel lies in the chance to stand where your ancestors once stood—touching the same stones, walking the same streets, tasting familiar flavors, and hearing echoes of their lives. These moments create a bridge across time that makes us feel not only closer to them, but truly with them.
A One-of-a-Kind DNA Journey Is Becoming a Trend
A decade ago, diving deep into family history required hiring a professional genealogist to painstakingly trace and piece together fragments of information. Today, thanks to the rise of home DNA testing kits like AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and MyHeritage, “understanding where we come from” has become easier than ever.
Those interested can now order a DNA test kit online for a fraction of the cost (usually between $100 and $200, depending on the depth of results desired). After receiving the kit, all the user needs to do is spit into a tube, drop it in the mail, and within a month, they receive a detailed, scientifically backed report. Many people are surprised by their results and start planning heritage trips tailored to their ancestral origins.
Recognizing this trend, 23andMe partnered with Airbnb in 2019 to integrate ancestry-related travel experiences into its offerings. Ancestry also joined forces with Kensington Tours to launch personalized heritage trips. Once customers receive their ancestry reports, these platforms help identify their ancestral groups and suggest related travel experiences to guide them on their journeys.
According to Airbnb statistics, the most popular departure points for DNA travel are countries known for their history of immigration and diaspora, including the United States, Canada, Australia, China, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Brazil—making up the global top ten.
This global industry continues to grow, driven by increasing public interest in genealogy, the rising popularity of heritage travel, the expanding demand for personalized healthcare, and advancements in DNA technology. The global genealogy products and services market has grown from $2.3 billion in 2014 to $4.3 billion in 2018, reaching $5.4 billion by 2023. Market research firm Fact.MR projects that this industry will continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% over the next decade.
Stories of Home Are the Path That Leads Us Back
After the “Taiwanese language incident” I mentioned earlier, I often think of what Polish writer Czesław Miłosz once said during his exile in the U.S.: “Language is the only homeland.” I also recall a story about Balriwakes Raera, a Puyuma musician from Taiwan, who once expressed his hope that his compositions would forever carry the blessings and memories of his ancestors. In his piece Yearning for the Annual Rite, he wrote: “I have never forgotten my traditions—they will always be the way back home.”
Rewatching Hayao Miyazaki’s Laputa: Castle in the Sky, I resonate deeply with its theme of “roots.” In the final scenes, Princess Sheeta explains to the villain Muska why their ancestors who once lived in Laputa perished. The answer, she says, is hidden in the lyrics of a song from the Valley of Gondoa:
“The roots must remain in the earth,
to live with the wind,
to survive the winter with the bamboo,
to sing with the birds in spring…
Leave the land, and you cannot survive.”
Sometimes I wonder—if these ancient stories hold truth—perhaps language, tradition, and family stories offer a stronger sense of “home” than geographical location ever could, especially for those far from their birthplace.
When I began planning my own “heritage journey,” I knew it would be a treasure that could reconnect me with my origins. It offered me the chance to explore who I am, how I came to be here, and what I can learn from those who came before me. The deeper I dug, the more I felt the human need for attachment, connection, and belonging. That’s the essence of travel: whether it’s retracing family history or simply seeking a deeper connection with our loved ones, these journeys offer us new perspectives—on life, on our families, and on how we shape ourselves.
Most importantly, we may come to realize that the people capable of forming deep emotional bonds with us are far more numerous than we imagined. Sometimes, these unseen connections become a hidden force—a mysterious kind of energy that replenishes us when we feel drained or adrift. At certain moments, that force might be what urges us forward—and pushes us farther than we ever thought we could go.
