Recently updated on July 24th, 2023 at 10:33 am
From birthdays to anniversaries, family reunions to travelling abroad for the first time – life’s biggest milestones deserve the trip of a lifetime. We’re calling them celebration vacations, and over the years we’ve seen some special moments celebrated by guests on our tours.
To throw a little celebration ourselves, we’ve pulled together some of our favourite guest stories about their special memories, and why they chose Trafalgar to bring their celebration vacations to life.
We think you’ll like: Trafalgar guests’ Bernie & Laura’s anniversary trip of a lifetime
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Milestones celebrated over the years – Melodie’s story
For our honeymoon back in 2003, we joined the European Traveler Tour (closest itinerary to what we had, our trip does not seem to be offered anymore–Rome, Venice, Italian Lakes, Switzerland, Paris, London). It was our first trip to Europe and we had the most amazing time exploring the world together as a newly-married couple. Trafalgar made it even more special by reserving a gondola just for the two of us when we were in Venice. We had such a great time that when we celebrated our 10th year anniversary in 2013, we booked another vacation with Trafalgar—Spanish Wonder. This trip was even better with such an immersive experience in Spain. In the Be My Guest dinner, our tour guide, Miguel, announced to everyone that this was our second Trafalgar trip and gave us a special gift. Trafalgar makes our special milestones even more special and truly memorable. This year, we will celebrate our 20th anniversary. I hope we get to share this special moment with Trafalgar again.
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Birthday celebration vacations with your mom – Stephanie’s story
My mom and I were celebrating rather large birthdays in 2014. Aside from visiting relatives and a few trips to western Canada, she had never been anywhere. And I hadn’t been to Europe in 20 years. Everything about the trip was memorable – from our guide Frances’ stories and insights and the visit to a working farm to seeing the Book of Kells and staying on the Isle of Skye. But I think the best was our final night when we saw the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo – even with the rain that never seemed to stop that evening! That was most probably one of the best trips I’ve ever taken, and I know my mother will always treasure those memories as well.
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We think you’ll like: ‘My ancestral journey was a spiritual delight’ – Trafalgar Unlocked Award winner Lawrence’s story
A honeymoon and birthday treat in Italy – Rose’s story
When my husband and I began dating, we talked about planning a dream trip to Italy. With a delayed honeymoon, we were able to make that dream a reality. We were in Venice on my husband’s birthday where our tour guide, Alfonso, led the group in a happy birthday song in Italian. Such an amazing, pinch me moment! Every part of this trip was memorable but this is now a core memory!
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Birthday celebration vacations in Hawaii – Anne’s story
It has always been a dream for me to go to Hawaii, so when I was turning 50 I decided it was going to be Hawaii 50 for me. Trafalgar made it an amazing experience and it is so hard to decide which was the best, seeing and climbing volcanoes, swimming with sting rays. Having fresh roasted Kona coffee at the coffee farm, walking with the turtles or dancing with the local. I could go on and on but the one thing that I did that I loved was walking up to the top of the Volcano at the Natalie Coast State Wildlife park, and seeing the majestic views, the scenery is so amazing and Trafalgar had all the information and plans to make out trip one of the best!
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We think you’ll like: “I am so proud of myself” – Sandra’s story of solo travelling in Italy
Two birthdays milestones, one celebration vacation – Marcia’s story
Every minute of our trip was special and perfect. We sailed through our air travel with no delays or lost luggage. Our accommodations were awesome. The tour director, Rosella Wad amazing. We were celebrating two 70th birthdays and it made us feel young and adventurous
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A European anniversary adventure – Larry’s story
Our trip, Bohemian Highlights, in 2022, was our tenth Trafalgar tour. We celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary on this trip. Our tour director, Roderick, acknowledged our wedding anniversary at a restaurant where our tour group dined, and he asked the musician to play a song that we could dance to. In addition to the fabulous, unique locations we toured, the highlight of this tour was becoming friends with other Trafalgar guests from all over the world. We were intrigued by Berlin’s memorial granite stones commemorating Jews in WWII; Warsaw’s Castle Square; the Parliament and morning and night river tours on the Danube River in Budapest; Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock and the Infant Jesus at the Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories and morning and night river tours on the Vltava River in Prague. In Vienna we visited the castle and learned about the Empress Sissi and the history of her life. We also attended a concert where Chopin performed in Vienna. On the long ride to Vienna, our entertaining tour director sang MARIA. In Poznan, we watched the mechanical goats locking horns at the front of a church in Poznan. Old Town Bratislava was unique. Beer and pizza were amazing. We also had delicious ice cream cones from Andersen Ice Cream shop. Those locations were just a sample of the many amazing ventures on this trip.
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Forever friends made in Italy – Nicole’s story
We made some long life friendships in this trip. My husband and I were travelling to celebrate my birthday on May 7th and another lovely couple (Daniel and Garusha) were celebrating their wedding anniversary for the same day, which coincidentally was the start date of the tour. We hit it off and did all activities together, shared priceless memories and still keep in contact. We have aspirations of meeting in the future so our kids can meet for the first time.
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European memories to cherish forever – Jeff’s story
The European Traveller tour was a celebration of our 15th Anniversary and our first trip to Europe. The tour was an absolutely perfect way to be introduced to Western Europe; we saw practically every major famous site in Europe (Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge, the waterways and landmarks of Venice and Florence, The Vatican and the Coliseum, etc.) that we had seen on TV and grown up fantasizing about in just 10 days. We saved so much time, effort and even expense compared to traveling on our own, with tours bypassing all of the waiting lines and taking us straight to the most desired locations. We have memories and pictures that we will cherish forever, and the delight of saying “we’ve been there,” every time we see the famous locations on TV! The trip was a romantic delight!
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We think you’ll like: ‘My son won. My dad won’: Amy relives her life-affirming trip to Italy
A mother-daughter Italian adventure – Pat’s story
My daughter and I celebrated her 18th birthday and graduation from high school by taking a Trafalgar trip to Italy. We enjoyed touring with other families and helped a couple celebrate their 50th anniversary! Two of the group members held impromptu music and singing sessions which delighted all 40 travellers. Mikaila ( my daughter) gained confidence in herself as someone who could enjoy solo travel and the next summer she went to Malta on her own for anthropology field school. One of the best parts of our trip was being featured in the AMA Westworld magazine the summer after our trip. We were interviewed and photos we had taken were published in the magazine! Many friends and family members enjoyed our story and we have a lovely keepsake of our trip
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