GONE ARE the days when a significant birthday or wedding anniversary was marked with a gold watch or a diamond ring. Today the entire family can look forward to celebrating together on their dream holiday.

With a special occasion to celebrate, there is no better way than taking a once-in-a-lifetime holiday with family and friends. Following a surge in demand for celebration holidays, luxury travel experts The Turquoise Holiday Company has announced its new dedicated Special Occasions & Anniversaries Division and an expansion of its London store and product portfolio specifically catering to significant personal and family milestones.

Turquoise Holidays

Since 2015, Turquoise Holidays has seen a 400 per cent increase in holidays booked with the sole purpose of celebrating an anniversary or special occasion. It is no coincidence that their luxury family holiday sales have also gone through the roof, as children, grandparents, extended family members and even close friends are now invariably included in the multi-generational trip to mark a silver or gold wedding anniversary, a 40th or 50th birthday, the last family holiday or retirement.

Catherine Blanks, long established senior travel specialist with Turquoise, is heading up the new Special Occasions & Anniversaries Division which features on the tour operator’s website, along with a suggestion of handpicked hotels and tours that will roll out the red carpet and lay on the wow factor to suit any modern-day family celebration.

“I love creating bespoke and original itineraries to inspire and wow our clients,’ Catherine told Essential Journeys. “It’s the little details and the attention we put into every holiday which makes us so unique, and my little black book is full of the world’s very best hotel managers, concierge desks, wildlife guides and yacht captains. The unusual and different are my forte.  After all, who doesn’t love a wonderful surprise – especially when it involves a holiday surrounded by their nearest and dearest!”

Turquoise Holidays

While there are almost endless possibilities for a Special Occasion holiday, here are Turquoise’s top recommendations, further details of which can be seen on the website. All prices are based on two sharing and include accommodation, private transfers and return international flights from London:

Sailing in the British Virgin Islands – 7  nights from £1975 per person

South Africa – Cape Town and Winelands – 8 nights from £1995 per person

Best of Bali -10 nights from £2165 per person

Vietnam City & Island Escape – 10 nights from £2995 per person

Thailand – Historic Rivers and Ancient Temples – 10 nights from £2995 per person

Captivating Sri Lanka – 14 nights from £3650 per person

Africa – Tanzania and Zanzibar –  11 nights from £4395

Hidden gems of the Caribbean – 14 nights from £4649 per person

Luxury Paradise Seychelles – 7 nights from £12,990 per person

Like the five-star honeymoons with which Turquoise has become synonymous, many of their top Special Occasion holidays are crafted using an innovative mix of old and new destinations and holiday styles to create a one-off experience or even a variety of experiences rolled into one epic journey. Destinations featured by Turquoise include the Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand, the South Pacific, Asia, the Philippines (new for 2017), Africa and the Middle East, California (new for 2017), the Caribbean and Mexico.

Turquoise Holidays