The status quo says we should only celebrate certain birthdays, but pop culture tells us differently. Take a lead from these songs and stories to create your own milestones and mark the in-between years with a big birthday trip.
You don’t have to wait for a society-set milestone birthday to celebrate your age. Turning 27, 44 or 51 can be just as special as turning 21, 30 or 40. Research suggests it’s possible to imbue almost any age with significance if you choose to give it meaning – and these pop-culture references confirm it’s so, with everyone from Taylor Swift to Paul McCartney shouting about odd and in-between birthdays. It’s a reminder to celebrate the moment you’re in and in the interest of making every birthday count, here are some associated adventures to help you mark your own milestones.
The birthday: 17 – Dance to your own tune in Greece
Long before the Mamma Mia movie sent a flurry of travellers to Greece’s confetti of islands, ABBA’s chart-topping single, Dancing Queen, paid homage to the feeling of being ‘young and sweet, only seventeen.’ Why? Because that fleeting time in between adolescence and adulthood, right before so much of life changes, needs celebrating.
On the Sail Greece adventure, you can explore the islands where the movie was shot by catamaran, as well as Alonissos, which features on Intrepid’s annual crowd-swerving call to arms, The Not Hot List this year – carving out time for a coming-of-age summer before a whole new adventure unfolds, whether that’s university, a career or longer-term travel.
The birthday: 22 – Unleash a new era in Europe
On the album Red, Taylor Swift sings about the highs and lows of being in your early twenties with the anthem: 22. Her lyrics capture those days (and nights) where nothing else matters because you’re with friends, having the best time together and living life on a whim.
A group trip with strangers who’ll end up being your friends feels like the perfect way to tap into the spirit of this song. Dress up like hipsters and eat breakfast at midnight on the 18 to 35s Essential Barcelona to Berlin trip; in the German capital you’ll find vintage shops galore, epic nightlife and even an eggs benny at 2 am, if you’re so inclined.
Read more: What it’s like to spend your birthday on a group trip
The birthday: 27 – Get lost in your train of thought in Japan
In Studio Ghibli’s Only Yesterday, 27-year-old Taeko hops on a train to the Japanese countryside and finds herself thinking about her childhood. She ponders whether she’s become the kind of person she wanted to be at the age of 10.
It’s common to think about where you are and where your life’s going in your late twenties. In Studio Ghibli’s homeland, the Japan: Land of the Rising Sun trip includes a lot of experiences where you can find stillness and make space for some of those thoughts – sipping from a cup after a tea ceremony, soaking in an onsen or even just sitting in a Shinto shrine, contemplating this moment and the next.
The birthday: 33 – Ring in your mid-thirties in New Zealand
The first instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, opens with Frodo turning 33. In Hobbit lore, this is the age someone is considered an adult. Frodo becomes the owner of Bag End and unknowingly steps into a defining chapter of his life. In the real world, you might not be inheriting property from an eccentric uncle (or maybe you are), but there’s definitely something special about your mid-30s. You’ve got more life experience, perhaps more money to enjoy what you love and so much to look forward to.
New Zealand took a starring role in The Lord of the Rings movies, and no wonder: the country’s iconic scenery sparks wanderlust, adventure and curiosity. To mark your monumental 33 year, consider your own epic quest in the form of the Premium New Zealand North Island trip, which includes a stop in Hobbiton, stints of wine-sipping at local vineyards and illuminating glowworm encounters at Waitomo Caves.
The birthday: 39 – Embrace the next chapter in South Korea
Korean television series, Thirty-Nine, is about three friends navigating the year before they all turn 40. Much of the story unfolds around Seoul as the trio deals with the realities of life at this age: love, loss and leaving youth behind. If you and your besties are looking to celebrate the last year of your thirties, slide the South Korea Highlights trip into the group chat. You can have late night conversations over sips of soju, sing your hearts out at a noraebang karaoke joint and take walks along the coast in Busan.
Read more: Where to go based on your colour analysis
The birthday: 44 – Pop bottles on an adventure in New York
Jay Z’s album 4:44 is a reflection on life, marriage, career and family in your forties, an experience most of us can or will eventually relate to, whether we’re middle-aged rappers or not. At this unapologetic age, the whole point of the album is to look at your life honestly.
At 44, most of us know our worth and have a good idea of what we want and what we’re no longer willing to tolerate. A trip to New York City is a spot-on way to celebrate that and not just because it’s where Jay Z’s from. Much like the album, the city has an defiant sorry-not-sorry energy; it’s the kind of place where people live their truth with confidence – whatever that may be. As a traveller, there’s nothing you can’t do when you’re in New York.
The birthday: 51 – Find a little grounding in Newfoundland
In hit Broadway musical Come From Away’s ‘Me and the Sky,’ the character Beverley Bass – based on a real-life woman who defied all the naysayers to become the first female captain at American Airlines – sings the lyric ‘somehow I’m 51’ moments before her flight is diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11.
Beverley was right: your 50s can creep up on you. And chances are it’s not just birthdays sneaking by – you might also have your hands full, with teenagers, aging parents and other responsibilities taking up most of the calendar.
Find a moment of coastal calm while also celebrating the life you’ve built on the Newfoundland Adventure, spending a morning watching whales or hiking Atlantic trails. Head to Witless Bay to see one of the largest Atlantic puffin colonies in North America nest along the cliffs and spend your evenings eating fresh seafood alongside the famously friendly locals in the fishing villages.
The birthday: 64 – Celebrate a life well lived in the UK
Paul McCartney wrote ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ as a teenager, decades before he turned 60-something. The song asks a prospective partner if she would still love him once he was old and grey. If you’re in your mid-sixties, maybe you’re thinking about retirement, planning trips with your own long-term love or heading solo to a country you’ve always wanted to visit – because you have the time now.
Whatever this era brings, it deserves more than just a number stamped on another cake. Celebrate on the Best of Britain trip, where the locals will happily cheers you with a pint or two. Eat your way through countryside pubs, hop through centuries-old villages and stroll Liverpool’s Penny Lane past the Cavern Club – a fitting Beatles backdrop for taking stock of your own long and winding road, and all the adventures still to come.
Make your next birthday one to remember with a small-group Intrepid adventure.
