\t\t\t17<\/i><\/p>\n
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<\/strong> with a big birthday trip.<\/strong><\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to wait for a society-set milestone birthday to celebrate your age. Turning 27, 44 or 51 can be just<\/em> as special as turning 21, 30 or 40. Research suggests it\u2019s possible to imbue almost any age with significance<\/a> if you choose to give it meaning \u2013 and these pop-culture references confirm it\u2019s so, with everyone from Taylor Swift to Paul McCartney shouting about odd and in-between birthdays. It\u2019s a reminder to celebrate the moment you\u2019re in and in the interest of making every<\/em> birthday count, here are some associated adventures to help you mark your own milestones.<\/p>\n Long before the Mamma Mia movie sent a flurry of travellers to Greece\u2019s<\/a> confetti of islands, ABBA\u2019s chart-topping single, Dancing Queen, paid homage to the feeling of being \u2018young and sweet, only seventeen.\u2019 Why? Because that fleeting time in between adolescence and adulthood, right before so much of life changes, needs celebrating.<\/p>\n On the Sail Greece<\/a> adventure, you can explore the islands where the movie was shot by catamaran, as well as Alonissos, which features on Intrepid\u2019s annual crowd-swerving call to arms, The Not Hot List<\/a> this year \u2013 carving out time for a coming-of-age summer before a whole new adventure unfolds, whether that\u2019s university, a career or longer-term travel.<\/p>\n 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\u2019re with friends, having the best time together and living life on a whim.<\/p>\n A group trip with strangers who\u2019ll 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<\/a> trip; in the German capital you\u2019ll find vintage shops galore, epic nightlife and even an eggs benny at 2 am, if you\u2019re so inclined.<\/p>\n Read more: What it\u2019s like to spend your birthday on a group trip<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n In Studio Ghibli\u2019s 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\u2019s become the kind of person she wanted to be at the age of 10.<\/p>\n It\u2019s common to think about where you are and where your life\u2019s going in your late twenties. In Studio Ghibli\u2019s homeland, the Japan: Land of the Rising Sun<\/a> trip includes a lot of experiences where you can find stillness and make space for some of those thoughts \u2013 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s definitely something special about your mid-30s. You\u2019ve got more life experience, perhaps more money to enjoy what you love and so much to look forward to.<\/p>\n New Zealand<\/a> took a starring role in The Lord of the Rings movies, and no wonder: the country\u2019s 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<\/a> trip, which includes a stop in Hobbiton, stints of wine-sipping at local vineyards and illuminating glowworm encounters at Waitomo Caves.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Read more: Where to go based on your colour analysis<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Jay Z\u2019s 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\u2019re middle-aged rappers or not. At this unapologetic age, the whole point of the album is to look at your life honestly.<\/p>\n At 44, most of us know our worth and have a good idea of what we want and what we\u2019re no longer willing to tolerate. A trip to New York City<\/a> is a spot-on way to celebrate that and not just because it\u2019s where Jay Z\u2019s from. Much like the album, the city has an defiant sorry-not-sorry energy; it\u2019s the kind of place where people live their truth with confidence \u2013 whatever that may be. As a traveller, there\u2019s nothing you can\u2019t do when you\u2019re in New York.<\/p>\n In hit Broadway musical Come From Away\u2019s \u2018Me and the Sky,\u2019 the character Beverley Bass \u2013 based on a real-life woman who defied all the naysayers to become the first female captain at American Airlines \u2013 sings the lyric \u2018somehow I\u2019m 51\u2019 moments before her flight is diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on 9\/11.<\/p>\n Beverley was right: your 50s can creep up on you. And chances are it\u2019s not just birthdays sneaking by \u2013 you might also have your hands full, with teenagers, aging parents and other responsibilities taking up most of the calendar.<\/p>\n Find a moment of coastal calm while also celebrating the life you\u2019ve built on the Newfoundland Adventure<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Paul McCartney wrote \u2018When I\u2019m Sixty-Four\u2019 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\u2019re in your mid-sixties, maybe you\u2019re thinking about retirement, planning trips with your own long-term love or heading solo to a country you\u2019ve always wanted to visit \u2013 because you have the time now.<\/p>\n Whatever this era brings, it deserves more than just a number stamped on another cake. Celebrate on the Best of Britain<\/a> 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\u2019s Penny Lane past the Cavern Club \u2013 a fitting Beatles backdrop for taking stock of your own long and winding road, and all the adventures still to come.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Intrepid-Travel-Greece-Paros-traveller-sitting-beach-rock.jpg\")
The birthday: 17 \u2013 Dance to your own tune in Greece<\/h2>\n
The birthday: 22 \u2013 Unleash a new era in Europe<\/h2>\n
![\"Contemplating](\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Intrepid-Travel-Japan-Hiroshima-Ryokan-house-pax-view.jpg\")
The birthday: 27 \u2013 Get lost in your train of thought in Japan<\/h2>\n
The birthday: 33 \u2013 Ring in your mid-thirties in New Zealand<\/h2>\n
The birthday: 39 \u2013 Embrace the next chapter in South Korea<\/h2>\n
The birthday: 44 \u2013 Pop bottles on an adventure in New York<\/h2>\n
The birthday: 51 \u2013 Find a little grounding in Newfoundland<\/h2>\n
The birthday: 64 \u2013 Celebrate a life well lived in the UK<\/h2>\n