Memorial Day is often celebrated in the United States with backyard barbecues and lake trips. While there’s nothing wrong with fun family gatherings, sometimes they can start to feel more like an opportunity to have fun and less like a chance to pay respect to service men and women who have lost their lives in battle.
Traveling to places where American lives were actually lost, while it might not immediately sound like a great vacation, is actually an incredibly beautiful way to honor and remember American men and women, which is exactly what Memorial Day is all about.
We’ve selected the destinations below as great places to visit for historical purposes and because they have a great tourist industry. Whether you go over Memorial Day Weekend or just start planning your next trip, these spots will provide you with great memories and the perspective you need to remind yourself why the United States really is such an incredible place to call home.
Pearl Harbor. Seeing the U.S. Naval Base just outside Honolulu for yourself is a life-changing experience, one that you and your family will never forget. The site of the infamous Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, where over 2,400 Americans lost their lives, visiting Honolulu before or after you stop off on other Hawaiian islands is something every American should do in their lifetime.
Normandy. Like many important events in American history, the Battle of Normandy and D-Day are only discussed in the context of classrooms and textbooks. This is just one of the reasons why making a point to see this famous French beach is so important: It allows you to understand just how real a battle like this was for everyone who fought in it.
Washington D.C. From Arlington Cemetery to the National Mall, Washington D.C. is an incredible place to visit for every American, and even more so if you happen to time it on Memorial Day Weekend. Home of the largest Memorial Day parade in the nation, visiting D.C. also allows you to enjoy the National Memorial Day Concert and the numerous museums, including the Newseum, the International Spy Museum, and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum – all featuring exhibits the whole family can enjoy.
If you are ready to start planning your Memorial Day trip for next year, fill out our trip planning form, and we’ll schedule a free consultation.
In the meantime…
Happy Wanderlusting!
P.S. If you would like to take a group (10+ people) on this Memorial Day trip, you can often get extra benefits like discounted prices, extra group perks, and/or potentially a share of Kinship Vacation’s revenue to go back to your group’s charitable organization, school booster club, church group, and/or business enterprise. The possibilities are endless. If you are interested in a group travel opportunity, fill out our group trip leader form.
Mountain Water Travel 