Zee Michaelson Travel
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Zee Michaelson Travel
Celtic Tours...Its all about Halloween with Diana
Welcome to the Z Michelson Travel Podcast, where every journey is a story waiting to be told. I'm your host, z Michelson, and I'm so excited to take you on a ride through the world's most incredible destinations, hidden gems and unforgettable experiences. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just starting to plan your next getaway, you're in the right place. Each episode, we'll be diving into everything from must-see landmarks to off-the-beaten-path treasures, speaking with locals and travel experts and sharing stories that will inspire your next adventure. So sit back, relax and let's wander the world together, one destination at a time. Are you ready? Let's get started.
Speaker 2:Hey, it's Z Michelson again and you're not going to believe this. I have Diana again from Celtic Tours and I know if you're listening to this right now. It's midsummer, it's very hot, but you know we have holidays approaching and something Ireland is very well known for is Halloween. So welcome to the show and tell me all about Ireland and Halloween.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm really excited to be talking about something other than my trips.
Speaker 2:Right, this is something different. Now, this is something I want to go on. I want to go during the Halloween season. How fun would that be?
Speaker 3:I know, I know, and Ireland is that's where it originally started. Halloween started in Ireland and, believe it or not, I mean it is a pagan festival called Selwyn Right and it was a Celtic holiday and it's been going for years and years and years and years. Yes, sad, I know. I know a little bit about this because I know you and I have talked about it a little bit. So they have four-day festivals all over Ireland. Four-day festivals.
Speaker 2:Four-day festivals?
Speaker 3:yeah, because you know, the whole purpose of the holiday is the marking of the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Right, that was the whole purpose of this amazing festival. Is the marking of the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Right, that was the whole purpose of this amazing festival.
Speaker 2:So, that's kind of where it came from. That's where it came from, and now Celtic tours can get you right into the heart of this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh yeah, and I'm going to tell you a little bit about it, but I do want to talk a little bit about Owen itself. Okay, yeah, so tell me, you know, because it's really really interesting. Not a lot of people realize that Halloween, you know, originally came from Ireland and what came over here in the States trick or treating where that came from and the jack-o'-lanterns where that came from- Right.
Speaker 2:So yeah, let's go into Samhain. Tell me about Samhain.
Speaker 3:So the full reason for it was because, you know, summer was ending, it was going into the darker months, so the Irish believed that the spirits could move easily and pass through to the mortal world during this particular time, right. So hence the whole spiriting, you know, spirits of it and all of that. So this was all Celtic. You know the.
Speaker 3:Celts this is the Celts, the Linden Right. So hence the whole spiriting. You know spirits of it and all of that. So this was all Celtic. You know the Celts. This is what the Celts lived in, right? So do you know about the costumes? Well, tell me about Ireland's costumes so well, ireland costumes are amazing, especially in some of the parades and things like that they have. Now you should see some of these costumes.
Speaker 3:They go up and over, above and beyond. So. But the reason why the Celts actually wore the costumes and the masks? They had to disguise themselves from the evil spirits they feared, you know. So they were disguising themselves, so the spirits would go past them. So hence the scariness of the costumes. So the scarier the better, yes, yes, because the spirits would just go right and they felt that they would just pass right by them. So yeah, I mean really really interesting stuff.
Speaker 2:Now, is it true I don't know if you know this or not isn't it true that we use pumpkins here in the United States? But over there they started with like a turnip or something they did.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, they started with turnips. They didn't have pumpkins there, right, yeah, so they would. Actually, the kids would make turnips, you know, faces out of the turnips, and they would actually put them in the windows, right, so that's where the jack-o'-lantern came from. That's where the jack-o'-lantern came from. Yeah, very cool, very cool. I mean, it's just such an amazing history. It is, it's history.
Speaker 2:You know, a lot of people say, well, where did it come from? Well, now we know where it came from yeah, yeah, and even the trick-or-treating.
Speaker 3:So kids would actually go up to the door because they were poor, right, you know, and they would ask for sandwiches. Right, they didn't say trick-or-treat, they would just go knock on the door and this was because of the festival, right, they would actually offer the poor these sandwiches.
Speaker 2:They would be able to eat something Were they in costume?
Speaker 3:Not necessarily.
Speaker 2:Not necessarily.
Speaker 3:Of course, they were always in costume during the festival itself.
Speaker 1:The festival itself.
Speaker 3:yeah, so if they were in costume then they would go to the store.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:So that's kind of where the trick-or-treating came from as well.
Speaker 2:Very, that's very full, that's very full. And now what's going on over there is even more amazing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. They have festivals again all over the place. The most popular is in Derry, in Derry, in Derry, the walled city of Derry, that is actually the largest Halloween festival in all of Europe.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah Right, in this small walled city of Derry Now you say it's four days long, so I'm assuming right before and right after it just keeps going, yeah, and of course they have a lot of food, they have parades, fireworks, oh wow, just amazing, amazing Again.
Speaker 3:Festival.
Speaker 2:Now, if somebody wanted to go on a Celtic tour over there at that time, can that be?
Speaker 3:arranged. Oh yeah, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. And I'm going to tell you in just a minute we actually just dropped a brand new tour just for Halloween. Oh, a tour for Halloween. Yeah, and it actually does go to the city of Derry, the wall city of Derry, and you have a ghost tour.
Speaker 2:I love ghost tours. How exciting is that.
Speaker 3:We just dropped it. We did this last year and it was pretty popular, right? So we dropped it again for this year.
Speaker 2:And I know space is limited.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, we're only doing one group, that's it. Yeah, one group, yeah. So I'll tell you a little bit about it. And is that for this year? This is this year. This is October of 2025. Yep, and so the dates are October the 28th, and it is a six-night, seven-day festival and it will go to Dublin, of course, you start in. Dublin. Right, you start in Dublin, then you'll go to Derry, and then you'll go to Donegal as well, and so you get six nights first class superior hotel Cool.
Speaker 3:A breakfast daily, of course, is included, and if you've never had a breakfast in Ireland, it's not your. The bowl breakfast is very, very, you know. Quest for all heaven, right, of course they do have other options, but you know, then you get also two hotel dinners. Oh, nice as well, yeah, yeah. So transfers to and from, of course, the airport. Right From Dublin you'll go in and out of Dublin. You'll get sightseeing tours on the motor coach and off the motor coach in some of the cities For drivers in Ireland. Oh, my goodness, they're amazing.
Speaker 2:They love what they do. They do.
Speaker 3:They love what they do and they are just so, so amazing. And you get one of our professional drivers, so you know it's included as well. You'll get a scenic tour of Donegal. Oh nice, yeah, and I just saw a movie two days ago with Liam Neeson and it was filmed in Donegal, really, yeah, well, liam means William, but it was all filmed in Donegal and I'm trying to remember the name.
Speaker 2:It'll come to me At 3 o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 3:But then you'll also get the Epic Museum in Dublin, a two-hour ghost tour in Dublin, nice. Then you'll get a Dairy Girls tour as well. Oh, for those who don't know about the. Dairy Girls. It's actually a show all about the Dairy Girls, and you also get a guided tour of the Guildhall and Navin Fort, so you get actually quite a bit Quite a bit in that short time span that's the celebration in Derry.
Speaker 3:So you get to see the parade. So you'll see the parade, yep, and you'll get all the festival, the parade, the fireworks. You'll be able to actually experience the Inundary during the festival.
Speaker 2:Now I know people are going to say this and say can we dress in costume? Of course, why not? I know.
Speaker 3:It's the holiday, of course. Please bring your scariest and best costume Right.
Speaker 2:And they call it Samhain. They call it Samhain, yes, so that's amazing. So this has just been released. So people have to act now. Act now, snooze or lose type of situation.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes, which is good. But also if they want to just go, they can rearrange the schedule to create something for their group, correct?
Speaker 3:Correct. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And again, this is only one tour that we put together and it's just for these particular dates. Did you know Bram Stoker was also from Ireland? No, from Dracula. He wrote Dracula. Yes, he did. Yeah, he did. So he actually comes from Ireland, in a city, a little suburb of Dublin, really, and you're going to go to Bram Stoker's house as well. Oh, how cool is that. On the tour on the first day of your arrival, have you seen Bram Stoker's house? I have not.
Speaker 2:It's something that I want to do.
Speaker 3:Yes, we did it last year yes, you did and I unfortunately wasn't able to do it. Oh no, because I didn't know we were going to do it this year. And I can't go again because I boops myself during the sleep. I'm so a pimp boy.
Speaker 2:Right when you're in the travel business.
Speaker 3:Sometimes you can't go to the ones you want to go to. I'm an October baby. I love, love Halloween. It's one of my favorite favorite. Mine too, I used to go to Halloween parties and dress up and answer the door and we'll completely cause death with the trick-or-treaters. So I absolutely love Halloween.
Speaker 2:Halloween is such a fun time it is, and when you're going to Ireland it makes you even more fun. And now to know you go into Bram Stroker's house. Oh my gosh. That in itself in my mind. I'm thinking does he have a castle? Does he have?
Speaker 3:a house that works? I didn't at all, but you know, you think, you know. Yeah, I mean, I had no idea until I started researching this. Actually last year, right, because I was talking, I did a whole webinar on Halloween, right, talked about Halloween and where it came from and all those traditions and everything so and I found out that Bran Struckle was originally from Ireland. I did not know that.
Speaker 2:Yes, you know, I know where he kind of got the storyline from to create it, but it's like really Ireland Interesting. I wonder if Samhain was part of what he thought while he was creating his storyline. I guess they'll have to go on the tour to find out, maybe.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm sure they're going to offer a lot more information on it.
Speaker 2:So now is the house open to the public. It's a tour? Yeah, it is a tour, so you can go in the house.
Speaker 3:So let's say, you didn't want to do this particular tour, right? You can do something on your own, right? You know, get Celtic tours of Paul, yeah, if you want to go there on your own without doing an escorted tour, we can put that together for you as well and we can tell you all of the best locations to go. If you want to go to Derry, you can go to Derry and do the Halloween there. There's also a few other locations that you can actually go to, such as you can go to County Me, where they have a huge celebration as well Again, a four-day celebration, for when as well?
Speaker 2:It sounds like anywhere you land in Ireland there's going to be a party.
Speaker 3:It's called the Pooka Festival the.
Speaker 2:Pooka Festival Pooka.
Speaker 3:Festival. Okay, the Pooka Festival is actually a festival and a Pooka is an animal Right.
Speaker 2:A Pooka is a spirit, right, yeah, spirit animal, yeah, and it can be a little violent. Yeah, the pootis can be bad. Yeah, bad pooter, bad pooter. So I mean, there's a lot If you wanted to say. Somebody said, well, I want to go during this time frame and I want to go on. Only haunted tours Can Celtic tours provide this, yes, yes, we could.
Speaker 3:We could actually go ahead and just put together a complete tour with ghost tours, right, and anything that they want, right, you know they want to do. They want to go to different pubs where there might be ghosts, right, things like that. So absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:Wow. So you want to go to Ireland, you want to do Halloween? You can contact CelticTourscom or your travel advisor and say I want to go to Ireland for Halloween. Yes, there's a lot happening. Now. You have the one special tour and if you don't get in on that one special tour, you can go to Ireland. Still, ireland does not shut down, correct, correct.
Speaker 3:And let me tell you, even for those who might have small children, right, so in Dublin, at the Epic Museum, right, they do a festival kind of thing also for children, for the little ones, for the little ones. So it's not so scary, exactly.
Speaker 3:So you can want to go ahead and still do Halloween and bring the kids to Dublin, where they can actually experience Halloween where it originated. There's all kinds of things for the children to do as well, and you can just stay there in Dublin. You can go for five, six, seven days and stay in one location and then just go from there. Right yeah, now does Celtic.
Speaker 2:Tours help with airfare? Yes, so they can help with the airfare. If you want to package everything together, you can do that. Yeah, you can create the tours, you can create the airfare, you can everything the hotel stay, the transfers.
Speaker 3:Let's say, for example, you wanted to again do this kind of on your own, but you wanted to experience it by rail, Right, you know maybe different places by rail, which is one of our independent journeys where we can do transfers. And then let's say you're in Dublin, you can do a hop-on, hop-off bus. We can book that board, but you can do it on your own and we can put all of that together for you and all you have to do is just follow the itinerary.
Speaker 2:And now you call this independent journey. Independent journeys and independent journeys allows you to move at your own pace. Go where journeys and independent journeys allows you to move at your own pace. Yeah, go where you want to go. Basically, yeah, the guidance of Celtic tours, correct, helping you through. Correct, which is good, because sometimes people don't want to be with a large group and they want to be able to go here and go there. Well, you know, I want to see this, but they don't want to see that, right? So this is something that would be good for like anybody, right? Yeah, it can still happen for Halloween.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, exactly. And for those who might want a little bit extra, you know, maybe a little higher end, they can do one of our private chauffeurs. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa want to take the entire family over for Halloween, right, so they can go ahead and do a customized chauffeur.
Speaker 2:So would they be able to like I'm going to call it a van Would it be like a van type of situation?
Speaker 3:Yeah, bring her. I just made a Mercedes Sprinter, mercedes Sprinter Okay, wow, I wouldn't recommend this for more than 12 people. You know more than 12. You want to keep it small?
Speaker 2:But that's kind of nice. I mean because if you do have like mom and dad and they have two or three children, so there's five right there, and then say grandma and grandpa want to come along, yeah, there's seven, yeah, and that's a nice little pack there Exactly, and you can customize it.
Speaker 3:So we can customize it. So let's say they want to go to the festival, because they do have a festival at Bram Stropa. It's actually the Bram Stropa.
Speaker 2:Festival.
Speaker 3:So, let's say they want to go there for one day, then they want to go to Derry for another day for the festival, then they want to go to New Dublin for a day, so they can actually Now how would they be able to sort this out, like if they're on your website, does your website show? These things. Our website typically has our escorted tours, but our specialists are amazing and putting anything they want together.
Speaker 2:Okay, so if a travel agent gets contacted by one of their clients and their clients are saying, well, I want to see this. You know, I want to go to dublin, but I don't want to go here, but I want to go over there, you know, the travel advisor can contact celtic tours, one of your specialists, and say I have a client that wants to do this, this, this, this and this, and the specialist gets to work Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh very cool. All of our reservations. Our specialists are just amazing. They're so well-versed, especially in Ireland, because Celtic Tours, that's where we started Right. So they're very, very well-versed, they're educated, they always go over there Right, experience it for themselves, which?
Speaker 2:is nice. They see it, they know it. So when you contact them, or when the travel advisor contacts them, they can say well, I've been there, I've been here, this is what you're going to experience, this is what you're going to see. That makes it even better. Because, they're educated in the product.
Speaker 3:Oh, they're educated in the product. Oh yeah, without a doubt. I mean, they do this day in and day out, and they put these specialized tours together day in and day out.
Speaker 2:So it's really really just amazing. Well, actually the owner wasn't he from Arrow, he's from Dowland.
Speaker 3:Mr Murth is from Dowland and his daughter is from Dowland.
Speaker 2:And it is a family-owned business. It is Family-owned business.
Speaker 3:It is Family-owned and operated.
Speaker 2:So a lot of people like to know that it's family-owned and operated yeah, no-transcript. And when they know the products, it makes it easier for them to buy into what's filling on.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they can say okay, well, that sounds great, or I don't like that so much, but I like the other thing that you said and they can really sort through and people enjoy that, yeah, and they listen, right, you know, they listen to what the client wants, right?
Speaker 3:So if the client is looking for something specific let's say they want to go to Limerick because their family was from Limerick our specialists know exactly where to put them so that they would be located where they can walk, city center or they can, you know. So they really really know their stuff.
Speaker 2:Now I have to ask, and I'm probably going to sound crazy and out of my life, isn't there an island off of Ireland, where supposedly the fairies are Well.
Speaker 3:Okay, so the Irish believe in fairies, but they don't Right, it's the little people they don't believe in it. Again, it's part of our experience Right To educate as well. So when, when our driver, our driver, tour guide, who's the same person, he's actually talking to you and he explains all about those folktales and everything, and I know the fairy, the island of fairies, right, because I know people leave little donations for the fairies they do, and I know the Irish believe that some fairies can be all mean.
Speaker 2:You know where it's that tinkerbell yeah.
Speaker 3:Right, right, yeah, right Right. And there's also a lot of for those who are really religious Right. We actually stopped and I think I talked about this in one of my last podcasts at St Bridget's Well Right, so they can actually get a little bottle from the spruce Right.
Speaker 2:There's so much to offer for so many people, so they can go very religious, they can go very Celtic, they can go very pagan. There's all sorts of history that Ireland brings to the forefront. Oh yeah, and you can create your own tour if you want. If you have a family that wants to go overseas and go to Ireland, this would be the way to do it, because, yeah, it's nice to go during Halloween. If you can go during Halloween, great. If you can get on this little tour that you're promoting right now, that would even be better. But if they can't and want to go and they have other things they want to see, they can do that too.
Speaker 3:Right, yeah, and that's what's great about Keltu Tours. I think that kind of sets us apart from our competitors. It is that we do so much customization. Right, you know, we can actually customize. Let, for example, you want to go to Scotland and you want to do just scotch tasting all over Scotland. That would be nice, we can do that for you?
Speaker 2:That would be nice. I've been to Scotland and I did some scotch tasting. Now, I don't particularly care for scotch, but if I'm going to be at these what do they call it distilleries? Yep, If I'm going to be at one of these distilleries, I'm going to taste it. I want to see what it's all about and then to hear about the angel's share. That was even better, but that is very not Okay. So the angel's share is amazing. When they're doing all of this brewing, there's some steam that escapes. That's considered the angel's share, so the angel even gets a piece of the yacht.
Speaker 3:Exactly. Look at the room Boy, it's happy you got me on that, because I've not been to Scotland Now. I have been to Ireland and I was at the Jameson and they talked about the angel's share, Right you know. So they talked a little bit about that as well, Right, Because you know it's kind of all in the same family, yeah it's all the same kind of you know they have the Celtics Right. All Celtic.
Speaker 2:Just a little bit of a twist on their founding, but it's amazing to see the history over there. When I went to Scotland I was standing in front of someone's door that they showed me that was like over a thousand years old and it was still in one piece. It's like we don't even have buildings in the United States over a thousand years old.
Speaker 3:I know, you know, we are such a young country. Yes, you know, people think, oh, we're over 200 years old. Yeah, we're over 200. But do you know how old everything is in Europe, right?
Speaker 2:My goodness, now do you also go to Dublin. That's a major. Do you go to Belfast, as?
Speaker 3:well, we can go to Belfast, yes, we can go to. Belfast, we do. We actually only have one tour, like if you wanted an esport tour, we tour it's called On. Treasures. That does the north of Ireland. So it does Ireland itself, and then Northern Ireland which is still the United Kingdom, which is where. Belfast is located.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:So, and then we go into Belfast and we do the Titanic. Yeah, that's where the Titanic was actually built, yeah.
Speaker 2:Right, and I remember we did a show where it actually sailed from. Yeah, remember I remember talking with you about that. Yes, so there's so much to see over in Ireland. Celtic tours can help you see all of it.
Speaker 3:Yes, I mean anything that you want to do, anything that you want to see, no matter what your budgeting is Right, you know some of our tours start from like $16.99, depending on the tour and nights and you know, and can go up from there, right, $1,699 per person, you know, and that includes all of your accommodations. Right, includes your breakfast daily, not to say every dinner and everything, but you know, your breakfast daily. It includes your tours. Right, it includes your motor car. It includes so much so the value can be there. Right, and if you wanted a little something more high end, we can definitely customize that for you. You can add that in as well.
Speaker 2:So people have to realize when they go over to Ireland they're going to be not only amazed by the people, the people themselves over there are so friendly and they're always willing to spin a yarn. So friendly and they love to tell stories and they love to talk with you. They speak English yes, they do. Some do have heavy, heavy bros, but you still can communicate very nicely and you have a great time.
Speaker 3:And during the Halloween season I'm sure they're really putting out all the pushes on these and again, you know they have things to do all over the island. Yeah, so even if you don't want to go to the largest Halloween festival in Europe in Derry in the northern part of Ireland, then you can kind of just stay. Centrally located, you stay in. Dublin.
Speaker 1:You can go further.
Speaker 2:you know, down south Some people like to see the parade and some people like just want to say I can see enough, Right exactly. So they want to get involved. So it depends on how much you want to get involved and how do you want to create your tour. So, yay, CelticTourscom, Yep, CelticTourscom. Right now, this recording is being done in midsummer, yeah, and they have one specialized tour for Halloween this year, October of 2025. Who wins Snooze or lose?
Speaker 3:because you kind of cap it at how many people we're going to keep it a small group, so between 25 and 30 people. Okay, so no more than 30. We don't like to do really really large groups. Right, it makes groups.
Speaker 2:Right, it makes it more intimate and people get to know each other when they're on these group tours Right and people don't get lost, you know, lost in the shuffle.
Speaker 3:And you're right, Everybody gets to really really know each other and that makes it nice.
Speaker 2:So again, think about Halloween. Celtictourscom. Contact about Halloween. Celtictourscom. Contact your travel advisor. They can even contact me, z Mifelson. So please, please, please, think Halloween, because that's my and Diana's favorite holiday.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my favorite time of the year, october. Baby, it is Well. Thank you again for coming and talking with me. Z. Thanks again so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1:Well, that's it for today's episode of the Zine Michelson Travel Podcast. I hope you enjoyed our journey and found some new inspiration for your next adventure. Remember, the world is full of stories and sometimes all it takes is a plane ticket to start your own adventure. If you loved today's episode, be sure to tune in every week and don't forget to share your favorite travel moments with me on social media. I'd really love to hear about where you're headed to next. So until next time, keep exploring, keep discovering and, as always, keep traveling with your heart wide open. I'm Zee Michelson and I'll see you on the next adventure.