Nicolette van Dam is a fan of this travel trend
I am an absolute vacation recidivist. I love going back to places I have been before and where I cherish beautiful memories. Not very adventurous, but thank goodness I traveled quite a bit when I was young, so there are plenty of places I can label as pilgrimage sites and where I keep returning. This summer we went to Languedoc, where my father-in-law used to have a house, and we continued on to Sitges, where my partner and I had both been before, but not together.
It turns out I'm not the only one with a nostalgic nature. In fact: returning to a familiar place is a demonstrable vacation trend this year, and the travel industry is actively responding to it. Booking.com therefore launches together with Summio Parcs a whole weekend around that feeling: the Trip Down Memory Lane Experience.
What is retro-travel and why are we doing it more often?
Retro-travel, or nostalgic travel, is about consciously seeking out places and moments from your past instead of always discovering something new. Think of the beach from your childhood vacation, the campsite where you fell in love for the first time as a teenager, or the city from your student trip. The latest travel predictions from Booking.com show that this is far from a niche feeling. 41 percent of Dutch travelers feel the need to relive memories with family or friends. 39 percent even go so far as to recreate an old vacation photo exactly, in precisely the same place and pose, just a few years and maybe a few kilos later. And 35 percent consciously choose destinations that remind them of their youth or simply evoke a feeling of coming home.
Even well-known Dutch people engage in retro-travel
That the urge for nostalgic vacations is not only alive among ordinary mortals was proven by Bas Smit and Nicolette van Dam this summer. On Instagram, they showed how they returned to Turtle Beach on Necker Island, Richard Branson's island, fifteen years after their engagement. Exactly at that spot, Bas proposed to his Nicolette back then, while she was a few months pregnant with their eldest daughter Lola. This year, the couple posed again on the same beach, only this time it was Lola herself, now fourteen, who took the photo. From the expectant mother of then to the teenager who now captures the moment: you can't depict a trip back in time more precisely.
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Booking.com launches nostalgic weekend: the Trip Down Memory Lane Experience
Booking.com consciously taps into this feeling with Summio Parcs. From Friday, September 25 to Sunday, September 27, 2026, a vacation villa at Summio Parc Aquadelta in the Zeeland Bruinisse will be transformed into a time capsule full of nods to the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 00s. One booker can take five guests back for a whole weekend to the vacations many Dutch people grew up with.
What can you expect during the Trip Down Memory Lane Experience?
The program reads like a greatest hits of youth vacations. After arrival on Friday, a snack and drink will be ready in the villa, followed by dinner by the water at restaurant Bru17 and an evening of bowling. Saturday starts with a hearty breakfast, followed by mini-golf and lunch at Wavez Eten & Drinken. The afternoon is free for a swim in the pool or a book in the villa, and in the evening, the ultimate vacation home classic will be served: the gourmet set, complemented by the games that used to be a must. On Sunday, breakfast will be served in the villa, the group will go canoeing thanks to a late check-out, and a Dutch pancake lunch at Marina Pancake Club will conclude the weekend.
How and when do you book the Trip Down Memory Lane Experience?
The experience is intended for one booker and five guests and costs only 26 euros for the entire weekend. Booking can be done on Thursday, September 17 at 10:00 AM, exclusively via Booking.com and on a first-come, first-served basis.
Want to plan a retro trip yourself?
You don't have to wait for a promotion to engage in retro-travel yourself. Think of the place of your first big vacation love, the house your parents used to rent, or the city where you studied. Find the original photo, go back to exactly that same spot, and recreate it, preferably with those who were there at the time. It is precisely the contrast between then and now, and the people who have since joined, that makes such a photo truly special.
So I happily continue to seek out my own pilgrimage sites. Although next year I will make an exception for the first time in years: we are going to Belize. Not a memory trip, but a journey that has been on the agenda for seventeen years, simply because our middle daughter is named that. No idea what it's like there, but one thing I know for sure: this will also be a place we will one day return to. Who knows with little Belize'jes added.
Frequently asked questions about retro-travel and the Trip Down Memory Lane Experience
What is the Trip Down Memory Lane Experience?
A nostalgic vacation weekend from Booking.com and Summio Parcs at Summio Parc Aquadelta in Bruinisse, with a villa and program in the atmosphere of the 70s to the early 00s.
When can you book the Trip Down Memory Lane Experience?
On Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 10:00 AM, exclusively via Booking.com, while supplies last.
What does the Trip Down Memory Lane Experience cost?
The entire weekend for one booker and five guests costs a total of 26 euros.
What is retro-travel?
A vacation trend where travelers consciously return to places from their past to relive memories, often including recreating an old vacation photo at the same location.
