Searching for Scottish Ancestors

By Robert Haru Fisher

January 12, 2004 -- There are more Scots living outside Scotland than in. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans with a wee bit of the heather running in your gene pool, these heritage tours are right up your alley.

The Great Canadian Travel Company, Ltd. has a deal priced from $1,070 per person for an all-inclusive package that gets you seven nights in the old country, with roundtrip airfare from Chicago to Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen, hearty Scottish breakfasts at the B&Bs where you stay, and a seven-day car rental with unlimited mileage and insurance. Also included is a welcome package of ancestral information and your personal family research, they say. And you can upgrade to three- or four-star hotels if you prefer them to B&Bs.

Packages are available from any US or Canadian city on request, with departures daily year-round. The trip itself takes you wherever your genealogical package may suggest, as you decide where you will drive -- to villages, cities or farms on the coast or in the highlands. While traveling you can enjoy local food specialties (such as mouth-watering scones) or drink (single-malt whiskey, for instance), or purchase a kilt or scarf in your family tartan. Even better, you may run into a previously-unknown great-great-great uncle or aunt.

To get the research package, you need to give the company the name, location and year of birth of your relative (must be after 1856), and they will do the rest. Two more levels of research are available at extra cost. Additionally, the company can arrange for a professional researcher to join you for a morning or afternoon delving into the central government archives, if you wish.

For more information or to book, contact the firm at 800/661-3830 or visit www.travel333.com.

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