Experience Heritage Travel Differently.
Three decades ago, The Ties Program was founded by two women touched by the adoption constellation, and today, we are adoptee-owned. Led by Tanya Kaanta, a Korean adoptee with a Ph.D. in Sociology with a focus on intercountry adoption and identity formation, we bring over 100 years of combined experience and knowledge to our work.
As professionals in post-adoption and homeland journey services, we offer adoptees and their families a supportive way to connect with their country of birth. Comprised of adoptees, parents, siblings, partners, and spouses, we humbly serve adoptive families from the United States, Canada, the UK, Europe, and Australia, traveling with adoptive family groups to Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.
"I felt like I finally fit in with a group of people in a way that I have never felt before."
What to Expect
Expertise and Understanding
No One Knows Heritage Journeys Better Than Us
We’re the longest standing adoptee focused homeland journey organization in the world. We’ve helped more than 4,000 people experience their country of birth, in over 20 countries, for over thirty years.
We Get Adoptees and Their Families Because We Are Them
We’re adoptee owned and all of our core team members are adoptees and/or experts in the field with a connection to adoption, with over 100 years of combined experience. In addition to our core team, our travel staff are adoptees, therapists, social workers, counselors, and/or post-adoption specialists who provide emotional support and coaching to adoptees and their families while traveling.
Comprehensive Support and Personalization
We Take Care of The Details
Sit back, relax, and focus on the amazing experiences and emotions while we take care of the details. We take the inconsequential details and turn them into amazing experiences. We build in free time as well as flexibility so you can do the things YOU want to do without worry.
It's Not Just A Trip, It's A Journey
We design programs that visit the sites and provide opportunities for unique, authentic experiences. Adoptees can choose to connect with people and places important to them like orphanages, birth hospitals, places of finding, foster homes, caregivers, & birth family. We know how to create profound and fun experiences, every day, on every trip.
It's All About You...
We take your needs seriously and tailor each adoptee’s request into the program, so while you have the benefit of traveling among a community of adoptees and loved ones, you’ll feel like the trip was designed just for you. This starts months before we travel, when we work closely with you to ensure that your trip is tailored to your specific needs. This attention to detail continues throughout your journey, as our staff regularly checks in with you.
...In a Community
Because adoptees and their loved ones are traveling with other adoptees and their loved ones, our trips provide community, resources, friendships, and strong bonds through shared experiences. We create an environment of belonging for adoptees and their families, where shared experiences bring each other together.
Ongoing Support and Long-Term Impact
Support Before, During, & After
Ties offers the most supportive way to experience your birth country, whether it’s your first time or your 100th time. Before travel, you’ll have access to written materials, virtual classes, and one-on-one conversations to help adoptees and their loved ones prepare for the journey. In-country, our team of adoption specialists includes logistical geniuses and English-speaking local guides and translators. Our optional in-country Connect & Chats for adoptees and Talk Times for adult loved ones, led by our expert staff, provide time for everyone to sit in community, have fun, and process what they are experiencing. After the trip, our staff continues to stay connected with adoptees and their families. And many return to travel with us again - whether it’s another heritage journey, a bucket list trip, or our trips designed for return travelers.
The Impact Will Last A Lifetime
We've done heritage journeys for adoptees for over 30 years and every day we hear from Ties alumni adoptees and loved ones who speak about the profound impact of their Ties experience.