10 amazing holidays to celebrate the moon landings
It’s 50 years since Apollo 11 touched down, so Chris Leadbeater suggests some out-of-this-world trips to mark the occasion
Giant leaps
Wow, doesn’t a half-century go in a flash? Saturday – you may have heard it mentioned once or 6,458 times – marks a precise 50 years since the Apollo 11 mission touched down on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, and all that. Now, if this makes you look up and think, “hey, I’d love to go there”, well, you can’t – Dickie Branson’s promises of space tourism for rich folk are still as delayed as one of his trains. But you can trace the story of July 20 1969 in many places. Such as the National Space Centre (spacecentre.co.uk; ￡15) in Leicester, which is staging a “One Giant Leap” (featuring actual lunar rocks) exhibition until Sept 1.
Cape crusaders
Armstrong and Aldrin lifted off from Kennedy Space Center – at Cape Canaveral on Florida’s Atlantic coast (kennedyspacecenter.com; from $57/￡45) – on July 16 1969. Still a working launch pad, the facility has overhauled its Apollo 11 exhibits for the anniversary. Visitors can “land” a lunar module via interactive technology and watch the footage from a re-created Sixties living room. America As You Like It (americaasyoulikeit.com) offers a 21-night “Florida Discovery” self-drive that stops by. From ￡1,259pp including flights.
Goes up to 11
You can’t invade Armstrong’s personal space (he’s no longer with us). Or Aldrin’s (that would be rude; he’s 89). But you can stand next to items they (and colleague Michael Collins) took with them at the National Air and Space Museum (airandspace.si.edu; free) in Washington DC. Trafalgar’s eight-day “Historic Highlights” group trip (￡1,975pp; flights extra) will get you there.
Rocket men
The space-tourism conversation rarely talks of Alabama. And yet, go to Huntsville and you find the huge US Space & Rocket Center (rocketcenter.com; $25). Bon Voyage (bon-voyage.co.uk) sells a 12-night family break that visits the city for a two-day “space camp”. From ￡1,785pp, with flights.
Houston, no problem
Apollo 11 maintained contact with (what is now) Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas (spacecenter.org; $30). Indeed, little of the US’s long dance with orbit has not involved a chat with a hub whose museum boasts the command module from Apollo 17 (the last crewed moon mission). You can see it for yourself on the 13-day “Great Texas Escape” sold by Hayes & Jarvis (hayesandjarvis.co.uk). From ￡2,289pp, with flights.
Take flight
The Apollo 11 command module, normally found at the National Air and Space Museum in DC, is at Seattle’s Museum of Flight (museumofflight.org; $25) until Sept 2. Seven nights at the four-star Moxy Seattle Downtown, flying from Heathrow on Aug 10, cost from ￡2,475pp (ba.com/holidays).
Spa-flung
At no point did Armstrong rock up in Sardinia for a massage. But then, he could have done. Sort of. The Acquaforte Spa at the Forte Village resort (fortevillageresort.com) has saline pools of various densities that simulate the feeling of weightlessness – and have been used by ex-Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Aleksandr Viktorenko. A seven-night stay costs from ￡1,349pp, including flights – with Sardatur Holidays (sardatur-holidays.co.uk).
Train travel
In 1965 and 1967, future Apollo astronauts – Armstrong among them – trained for lunar terrain at Husavik in northern Iceland. This story is retold at the Exploration Museum (explorationmuseum.com). The seven-night “Northern Highlights” self-drive sold by Discover the World (discover-the-world.com) calls at the town. From ￡1,102pp, with flights.
Lunar tunes
How to provide a British take on all this extraterrestrial anniversary adventuring? Why, perhaps via the Moon Festival (moonfestival.co.uk) – a grand hurrah of panel discussions, poetry readings, pub quizzes, cabaret evenings and club nights currently being held (until July 26) at venues across London. Astronaut suits not required.
Cake walk
The moon is a long way away. Easier to head to the Milestone Hotel, central London (milestonehotel.com), which is hosting a space-themed afternoon tea on Aug 14 (￡60pp), including a chat with Eleanor Watson, curator of “Moving to Mars” at the Design Museum (designmuseum.org).