Are you an avid traveler looking for a unique getaway to celebrate Holy Week and Easter with their loved ones this year?
Are you looking for a trip that goes beyond your average run-of-the-mill traditional brunch and painted eggs?
We have four destination recommendations that offer guests the unique opportunity to experience local Easter traditions and cultural festivities that go back generations. From intimate luaus to spending Holy Week in a medieval European village, travelers can learn how to celebrate Easter in a whole new way with the trip ideas below:
Traditional Tuscan Easter at Grand Universe Lucca
Easter, Pasqua, is a deeply significant holiday in Italy, blending religious traditions, local customs, festive food, and social gatherings. Throughout the region, Holy Week is marked by solemn processions, reenactments, and special church services. No town in Tuscany is a better fit for those looking to immerse themselves in local culture than Lucca – one of Italy’s most beautiful Medieval villages. Here, Easter weekend brings perfect temperate weather, perfect for picnics and bike rides, blooming flowers, and a lively spirit. Travelers can join locals at Sunday Mass, or take part in the cherished Easter Monday tradition known as Pasquetta. Located in the heart of the city just steps from the main piazza, Grand Universe Lucca invites travelers to experience Easter Weekend in true Tuscan tradition. Available from April 19-21, 2025 for 436 euros per room per night, travelers will enjoy luxury accommodations for two, daily breakfast, and a delicious Easter Lunch and Easter Monday Brunch for two, featuring local dishes and delicacies like Garfagnana “culatta” and buffalo mozzarella, local “linchetto” with porcini mushrooms, artichoke risotto with Tuscan bacon, local sweet bread buccellato and colomba pasquale (Italian Easter cake), to name a few.
Luaus and Egg Hunts at Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach
In Kauai, the Easter holiday meets ‘Aloha spirit,’ making it one of the most special places to celebrate with your ‘Ohana. With festive luaus and hula dancing melded with church services and over-the-top egg hunts, celebrating on Hawaii’s unreal beaches is a magical way to spend a day that honors life and love. Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort offers the perfect home base, hosting Easter events along with two onsite authentic luaus in their traditional cultural pavilion (the most intimate in Kauai and a bucket-list experience in the destination). This combo offers guests a stunning way to experience Hawaiian tradition while also enjoying classic events like Easter Brunch, which is hosted on Sunday, along with a major egg hunt on their family-friendly lawn and beach. Pro-tip for the kiddos who just can’t get enough treasure and candy, after enjoying an exclusive hunt at the property, parents can also take a bike ride from the resort with their kiddos to an iconic local egg hunt at Kapa’a Beach Park hosted by the Kapa’a Assembly of God Church — which is free for everyone to enjoy!
Proverb-Filled Páskaeggs at Hotel Rangá | Iceland
Easter – or Páskar, as it’s known in Icelandic – is a time for rest and relaxation for Icelanders. Families gather to enjoy a delicious feast and have a few special traditions, but the most popular is certainly their chocolate Easter eggs! About three weeks before Easter, páskaeggs beloved by both kids and grown-ups alike and ranging in size from as small as a chicken egg to as big as a human head, begin to appear in the country’s supermarkets. These delicious treats are filled with various sweets, alongside strips of paper with traditional proverbs or sayings–similar to the ones you find in fortune cookies. On Easter weekend, Hotel Rangá invites its guests to take part in this Icelandic tradition, providing páskaeggs for guests of all ages. The hotel team is on hand to help translate, although even Icelanders don’t always understand the proverbs’ cryptic sayings!
A Colorful and Cultural Easter Holiday at Villa Bokéh in Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua, Guatemala, is one of the most spectacular places in the world to experience Easter (Semana Santa), offering an immersive and deeply moving cultural and religious experience. The city is famous for its elaborate Holy Week processions, where enormous, ornately decorated floats (andas) are carried through the cobblestone streets by devoted participants dressed in purple robes. These processions, accompanied by solemn music, incense, and candlelight, create a breathtaking atmosphere unlike any other. One of the most iconic elements of Semana Santa in Antigua is the stunning alfombras—intricately designed carpets made from colored sawdust, flowers, and pine needles, meticulously crafted on the streets before being walked over by the processions. This fleeting but profound art form reflects Guatemala’s deep spiritual and artistic traditions. Culturally curious travelers seeking a Semana Santa getaway should look no further than Villa Bokéh – an award-winning luxury boutique hotel set in the lush outskirts of Antigua. The Relais & Chateâux hotel is a 15-bed boutique haven that celebrates Guatemalan heritage and history, designed to seamlessly blend Colonial architecture with contemporary design elements. Travelers are immersed in nature as the property sits on a perfectly kept 6-acre garden with a private lagoon, plus each room comes with a balcony offering volcano vistas and no TV in sight to foster connection, community and creativity.
