Welcome to The Holiday in a Box Co.
We create destination-themed, activity-filled hampers for lovers of travel, history and culture, and I’m so thrilled you’ve found us.
Read on to find out about what we do, why we do it, and how we got here.
What we do
We deliver destination-themed, activity-filled travel hampers directly to your front door.
Having spent the past few years living, working and travelling all across the world (alongside building a career in the travel industry), Holiday in a Box Co. founder Laura personally curates every box.
Each adventure comes with artisanal products, immersive games and activities, a digital library containing virtual tours, music playlists, digital experiences, and much more.
They are detailed yet lighthearted introductions to a destination, serving to inspire future adventures and delve into what makes a place so very special.
"In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”
- Baba Dioum, 1968
Why we do it
I believe that we each have a responsibility to leave the world a better place than we found it. It is my view that travel empowers us to do so.
In the words of Baba Dioum, a Senegalese forestry engineer: "In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”
Travel, to me, is about deepening our connection with one another, as well as the planet. In opening up conversations, fostering an appreciation for difference and developing a sense of stewardship for our collective heritage - whether natural or human-built - travel paves the way for exchange and understanding.
This, in turn, helps us navigate the global challenges we face: socially, economically, and environmentally.
The Holiday in a Box Co. supports this by offering an immersive, engaging introduction to a new place, offering cultural insight, fun activities, travel tips and showcasing artisanal products.
Our travel boxes inspire future adventures, bring joy to home-bound, would-be travellers, and even support social enterprises, local economies and NGOs along the way too.
How to use a Holiday in a Box
We could never have imagined the boxes taking off the way they have. We now have guests enjoying their ‘holidays from home’ in six countries and counting!
They're extremely popular as gifts, inventive date nights, fun nights in, self-care treats, and as a stimulus for reliving and sharing past travel memories with loved ones.
Here’s what some of our earliest guests have said…
“When I opened the first box, I fell in love”
“My husband and I had planned a month long cultural heritage vacation to Europe April 2020 and then the Pandemic happened.
I have ordered other subscription boxes and when I saw The Holiday in a Box Co. I knew I had to have it. Especially since the first box was Portugal and my husband is Portuguese.
We were planning on staying in Lisbon. This is the next best thing to being there.
When the box arrived, my daughter and I opened it and fell in love. We plan to bake the orange cake this week and enjoy it with the port and the music.
You have done a phenomenal job with The Holiday in a Box Co. Looking forward to next months box.
Thank you very much for a wonderful experience”
Barbara A., USA
“Felt like home to my Portuguese boyfriend”
“Absolutely amazing experience. Everything was so thoroughly thought through - there were two recipes (both deliciously tasty!), a virtual walking tour of both Porto and Lisboa, themed music, a pub quiz, some Portuguese phrases and even a soap and a miniature bottle of Port. My partner is from Portugal and he kept saying how fantastic and authentic everything was. It was great to be able to share all the details of his country with him whilst we can't leave the UK. The playlist in particular was a really inspired idea - it's something we hadn't thought to share before, and brought up a lot of fond memories for him.
The attention to detail is incredible. When I first opened the box and showed him the printed recipe cards and so on that were decorated with the Portuguese blue and white tile patterns, he took one look and said it felt like home.
Really enjoyable and a unique experience. Thoroughly recommended!”
Verity C, UK
“What an exciting gift!”
“We had a very exciting Thai Evening!
What an exciting gift from my sister this Bangkok edition of holiday in a box! I loved the lime mango candle and lime infused oil. Our evening started with the delicious gin drinks and large screen version of the digital tour where we relived parts of our trip!
I added a couple of videos of the floating market and the most dangerous train market! Those were really memorable as well, not far from Bangkok! We enjoyed the music and I enjoyed the cooking lesson And everyone enjoyed eating it!”
Julie, USA
How we got here
I’m Laura, and I founded The Holiday in a Box Co. in May 2020.
I’d spent the last couple of years on the road: travelling solo by rail through Russia, Mongolia, China then finally down to Hong Kong, after which I hopped over to Bangkok, expecting a fortnight’s “holiday” after several months’ worth of life-changing, though somewhat exhausting, travels through mountains and metropolises.
Instead, I found a job in the original City of Angels (Krung Thiep/Bangkok) and picked up my career in travel PR for sustainable, luxury travel brands, almost exactly where I’d left off in London.
Along the way, I started a part-time masters in Sustainable Development and returned to Europe - my heart’s true home - in December 2019, with a vision to launch a travel company of my own, creating bespoke, luxury adventures for sustainable travellers who wanted to fly less (if at all), but retain a sense of luxury, style and finesse.
About 8 weeks into that adventure, the world turned upside down for us all. Like so many in the industry, I was lost and confused to begin with, but slowly, my idea for The Holiday in a Box Co. began to take shape.
A few years ago in Vienna, where I lived & worked as part of my studies (BA in German).
By mid-May, I'd started to make little 'travel hampers' for family members who'd had to cancel their trips away putting together a series of activities, treats and experiences they could enjoy from home, to bring a slice of that destination to them. It evolved rapidly and The Holiday in a Box Co. was born.
This journey is still very much at the beginning, but we already have guests travelling with us from 6 countries worldwide, partner with two NGOs, have a range encompassing multiple cities, a family adventure designed for children, and a sustainable spa retreat on offer, with a great many plans for the future.
I hope you’ll enjoy the journey with us.
Laura x