3 Ways to Explore Your Heritage Through Travel and DNA Testing
As technology improves, we have more options for learning more about our bodies and where we come from. A big trend right now is combining genetic testing with heritage travel – basically a trip to countries where your ancestors likely descended from to learn more about the country and the people. This is especially fascinating for people who were adopted and know little about their birth parents, but also for those of us without a strong knowledge of our family’s history. Here are three ways to explore your heritage through travel:
1. Do Genetic Testing
If you’re curious about your health and history, there’s no better gift for yourself than genetic testing. CRI Genetics offer DNA testing that can provide information on your ancestry, as well as markers for health conditions that could impact you throughout your life. If you don’t have a clear idea about where your family’s from, or maybe are missing one side of your family’s information, then this can be a reliable way to learn more. When you do genetic testing, you’ll be provided information 50+ generations back – imagine all the info and insight you’ll receive with this priceless information. Testing is easy, just order a kit online, do a swab and send it back. Within a few weeks, you’ll be sent a copy of all the information they’ve analysed about your DNA. You can rest assured that your data is never sold or shared with other companies, offering you plenty of peace of mind.
2. Plan a Trip Around Your DNA Results
Use your DNA results as a basis for planning a trip. Where are your ancestors likely to be from? You’ll get a full breakdown on things like Jewish heritage, as well as comprehensive information about European, Asian and African ancestries. You can use this information to decide what countries and regions you’d like to visit around the world. Perhaps you find out you have really strong Scandinavian ties, for example, then you might like to explore this region and to learn more about where your relatives came from. You can visit the main sites, imaging how things were back when your ancestors lived here.
3. Take a Trip With Your Parents or Grandparents
Not all of us have the resources to travel across the world in a bid of exploring our deep roots – no matter how exciting that would be. You can always choose to do a more local exploration, talking to your parents or grandparents about where they grew up and taking a trip to explore their roots. You’ll learn so much about their parents and how life was back then, plus it’s a great way to spend some quality time. For many of us, knowing where we came from is an important part of our self identity, and there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t tie it in with a special holiday.
Hopefully these three tips help inspire you to learn more about where your family history comes from and as a way to tie it into traveling. Happy travels!