Zee Michaelson Travel
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Zee Michaelson Travel
Celtic Tours and The Christmas Markets
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. Hey, this is Zee.
Speaker 2:Michelson again, and I am here with the lovely Diana from Celtic Tours and we are sitting here outside sweating because it's middle of summer. But what I do like is that we're going to start talking about Christmas. It's the middle of summer 2025, and we need to talk Christmas 2025. My favorite tense, the E. Christmas is very, very exciting. I love Christmas. Yes, christmas is wonderful, and a lot of people don't realize that Celtic tourists can actually take you to several different countries for their Christmas markets. No, and we're going to talk about them today. One of the markets which kind of drew me was Poland. You said we can do Christmas markets in Poland. We do.
Speaker 3:We do Christmas markets in Poland. Oh wow, I think this is one of our first Christmas markets in Poland. It's a six-night escort and tour. Six-night escort and tour and we have four different dates that we do. Oh wow, what are the dates? It's November the 29th and then we have two of those. It's actually two tours for November 29th and then we have two tours for December, the 6th.
Speaker 2:So right in the heart of the holidays, right in the heart of the holidays, I kind of like to do November 29th. That's kind of Thanksgiving time. You can do other fun things, make new memories for the holidays. And it's going to Warsaw and Krakow, warsaw and Krakow, warsaw and Krakow. Okay, now, in this time frame like I said, it's the middle of summer here, 2025. If you want to get in for these Christmas markets, you have to kind of look now. You have to buy into it now, get your reservations now.
Speaker 3:You do you do? Because these will sell out quickly. I can tell you that the deposits are already starting to book, they're already starting to sell out Wonderful, and so they will sell out very, very quickly. Because once these particular tours, these two tours, are sold out, they're going to be gone and the price point is amazing $1,499 per person.
Speaker 2:That's it. That's it. $1,499 per person. That's it. That's it. $1,499 per person for the sixth night to Poland and when you go there $1,499, you're getting a hotel stay First class, First class, First class hotels.
Speaker 3:I mean amazing accommodations. And let me just say that it does include private facilities, because and the reason why we say that?
Speaker 2:because not a lot of hotels in Poland include private facilities- Now you want to explain private facilities to some of our listeners.
Speaker 3:Bathroom. Private facilities means private bathrooms in your hotels, and I know that that doesn't mean a lot, you know, because everybody assumes, oh yeah, you're going to get a hotel with a bathroom in it. But in Poland sometimes you do have a shared bathroom, right. So you will get a private bathroom. So you're going to get a hotel with your private bathroom, and it is a first-class accommodation. So you're also going to get, of course, the market. You're going to get round-trip transfers, you're going to get an escorted tour, your breakfast day lead, you're going to have your whisper technology, you know where. You're going to have your tour guide who's going to explain everything. So it's actually a tour mixed and combined with the market, with the markets, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:Can you give us an example of what an excursion?
Speaker 3:would be yeah, of course, of course. So your local guide is actually going to go ahead and point out different Polish traditions as they're taking you through the Christmas markets. They're going to walk you through and they're going to tell you all of the different traditions. They're going to tell you about the residencies, the royal gardens and the lights, the castles there that they have, then about the 700-year-old capital of Poland. There's just so much history in Poland.
Speaker 2:They're combining the history with the holiday season, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 3:They're also going to tell you about the Saxon gardens and the tomb of the unknown soldier, the monuments to the heroes of the Warsaw ghettos. Again, there's just so much history that's going to go along with not just the Christmas markets themselves. So you're going to get these tours, you're going to get the markets, you're going to get, of course, the accommodations. It's an amazing six days that's going to be filled with just so much history and an amazing Christmas spirit, and it's something that people don't realize.
Speaker 2:You know, when you think Christmas morning, of course you think Germany, but you never think Poland. No, so Poland is there with all these beautiful things, and you said it's Warsaw and Krakow. Warsaw and Krakow, that's fabulous, warsaw and Krakow. And again you're saying November 29th. They have two tours going that day, and also December 6th. How many are going on to December 6th? Two, there's two, so you got a total of four tours. And again, this is the middle of summer, right now, 2025. If you want to get in and see the majesty of Poland during the holiday season, I strongly recommend people look at it now, correct, make your reservations now, because if you wait a month it may not be valid. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And that'll be sad. And this is a perfect because it's six nights. It's a perfect week, you know, because not a lot of people get more than a week off, you know, for a vacation. So you're looking at a perfect week vacation. You'll go ahead and travel there the night before, Right, and then you'll go ahead and start your tour.
Speaker 2:Now, where do you fly in?
Speaker 3:You'll actually go ahead and fly into Warsaw.
Speaker 2:Warsaw Got it. Yep, now again, can Celtic tours arrange airfare? Yes, yes, okay. So airfare can be added on Yep. Yep, which is nice, Right, so airfare can be added on yeah, which is nice. And you said again you know, the hotels are going to have bathrooms, oh, yeah.
Speaker 3:That's very important and a lot of people don't realize how important that is, especially in Poland. Again, a lot of the hotels they just do have shared bathrooms, Shared bathrooms.
Speaker 2:A lot of people don't realize when they're going overseas. Sometimes they have to look at this. Correct. But now they're going to have their own bathroom, which is nice. People need to know that. But you know, people don't think Celtic tours for Christmas market no, they don't. But they actually can help you get to see some of these different Christmas markets. We have more and there's more coming. We have more, so what else do?
Speaker 3:we have Well, we also do a Christmas market in Prague, vienna and Budapest. This is a seven-day tour. We actually call the capitals a colored empire and this particular tour. We have several dates available for the market. Okay, and what are those dates available?
Speaker 2:for a day tour for the market, okay, and what are those dates?
Speaker 3:So this particular tour is an actual tour of all of the capital.
Speaker 2:Okay, so they're mixing the tourism with the Christmas markets. So that's kind of a nice thing, correct, lena's? So now again, we're talking you're in Prague, vienna, budapest, the Hamburg Empire. You're talking Christmas tours, you're talking touring the area.
Speaker 3:So tell me how many tours you said there's more tours, four dates, four dates for this one, yeah, so there's November 30th, okay, and December 7th Again two tours for both of those dates November 30th and December 7th. Again two tours for both of those dates November 30th and December 7th. So for this particular tour, again first class accommodations with private facilities.
Speaker 1:Private facilities.
Speaker 3:You have a welcome dinner, a farewell dinner. You have transfers to and from the airport. You're going to visit the Christmas markets. You'll also have a professional tour director driver. You'll have your motor coach. You'll start in Budapest and it will actually end in Prague. So you will fly into Budapest and then you will actually leave from Prague. So it's seven nights, eight days, Again, amazing, amazing tour.
Speaker 2:Now you say they have transfers from the airport, even if you don't do Celtic Tour's air.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, of course, if we do our air to get our transfers.
Speaker 2:That's very nice, because some companies say you have to do their air in order to get their transfers.
Speaker 3:No, not at all. You want to book your own air? Please feel free, absolutely Okay. The only thing that we ask with our transfers is that make sure that you do come in on the day the tour starts Right. So if the tour is starting on November 30th, make sure that your transfer is starting on the day of the 30th. Now I have a question.
Speaker 2:If they want to come in beforehand, will Celtic Tours be able to accommodate them by putting something together for a pre or post.
Speaker 3:We can go ahead and do a pre and post. Without a doubt. Will they be able to use our transfer for this particular tour Right and plug in the tour? No, we'll have to do a separate transfer for them.
Speaker 3:So a lot of people like to come in a day before because of the jet lag. Yeah, so they like to come in a day before. So we can go ahead and book the hotel room a day before, we can go ahead and get the transfer for them, or we can book a train for them. You know, we can book all of that for them, or you can book tours.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we can book an interest tour so if they want to see something in advance of it.
Speaker 3:Because I highly recommend don't go to sleep as soon as you get there. You want to stay awake all night. If you go to sleep, you're going to be doing better the next day as well.
Speaker 2:So you definitely want to do is you don't want to go to bed when you get in. No, not at all, not at all. So now we're talking Prague, budapest, vienna. You're flying into Budapest. I can imagine the Christmas markets in Vienna.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, that's where it started. That's where the Christmas markets started in Austria. Now, of course, you visit Stephen's Cathedral, right, you'll get all of the history of the Hofbrau Palace and, of course, the amusement park there. And then you get to visit not just one of the Christmas markets but many of the Christmas markets there in Vienna and the beauty, just the illumination, of the Christmas markets there in Vienna, because, again, that's where it all started.
Speaker 2:That's where it began.
Speaker 3:That's where all those Christmas markets started was in Vienna Now.
Speaker 2:I always tell people at these Christmas markets there's lots of nibbles and bits that you can eat. Yeah, and try Hot wine Cider ball.
Speaker 3:Fueled wine, that's one. And Vienna is known Fueled wine, yes, wine, and Vienna is known as the city of waltz. So the music, and there's so much.
Speaker 2:It's just such a beautiful, beautiful city and could you imagine just a light snowfall wandering around? It makes it feel holiday.
Speaker 3:Oh, the pastry. To get a hot chocolate with a pastry and do some shopping with the snow falling, if you're lucky enough, and all of the music playing. It's such a beautiful, beautiful picnic.
Speaker 2:And again, celtic Tours is putting all of this together for them. Yeah, so all they basically have to do is pack down on a plane and be there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, and we do it all, we will take care of all of it for them, yeah, and again.
Speaker 2:You supply breakfast every morning. We do, and people don't realize that could be a good thing. Have your breakfast, go out and start walking around and then, while you're nibbling on those wonderful holiday free.
Speaker 3:Right before the tour starts, because you know every day we do have a tour for you. You would go ahead and meet your tour guide. Then we do a tour. For example, in Prague, we'll take you to the Old Town Square, where we take you to the famous clock they have there, or the Jewish Quarter, st Nicholas' Church, the Charles Bridge. There's so much, there's so much, there's so much that we want to show you and that we want to take you St George's Basilica, oh, wow, yeah, the Golden Lane there in Prague. There's just so much that we want to take you to see.
Speaker 2:Now a question for you is in the Budapest, vienna, prague events. Is it all at one hotel?
Speaker 3:You stay at the one hotel, no, no, you actually go to different hotels Very different hotels You're going to go to different hotels and again they don't have to worry about their luggage.
Speaker 3:No, everything, everything. We will go ahead and take everything. Our guide will go ahead and take your luggage. They'll leave it for you, right, they'll make sure it gets into your room. You know, that's great, and then all you got to do is go ahead and put it outside the door and then when it goes back on the motorcoach, and then the next place you go, you know? So, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:It's motorcoach driven. We're going from place to place via motorcoach. Yep, yep.
Speaker 3:And they don't have to worry about a bathroom because seven's in the room. And so for this particular place, because it is 7-9, you're actually you're two nights in the first location. So you're two nights in Budapest. Okay, Then you're going to be two nights in Vienna and then three nights in Prague.
Speaker 2:Okay, so they would fly into Budapest and fly back out via Prague, correct, okay? Yep, that's wonderful. And that's a lot in seven days, or eight days, seven nights, so that's a lot.
Speaker 3:Now, how much is this starting out at? So this one believe it or not. Starting at the price it's not starty, but the price is $2,049 for November, wow, and then December is a little bit high and the December is $2,199, and that's just because of the season.
Speaker 2:Right, it's seasonal, yeah but still for everything that they're getting. They're hearing Budapest, vienna, prague. They're hearing all their meals. They're getting all their hotels. They're getting motorco service. They're getting transfers, their meals, they're getting all their hotels. They're getting motorco service. They're getting transfers from the airport.
Speaker 3:And tours. Yeah, Everything you've included. Yeah, everything, Every Fabulous, and you have again a couple dinners.
Speaker 2:And a few dinners, Because you come here dinner, I hope you had a great time dinner. Exactly A couple dinners, and then, of course, bring extra shopping.
Speaker 3:Oh, please, yes, Christmas markets. You definitely want to do some shopping Now. I do know there's a lot of locations there that will ship home for you. Wonderful, yeah, that I do know, because I have been to a couple of Christmas markets in Germany.
Speaker 2:And I always advise people ship it home. You don't want to be lugging all that stuff on the plane. For sure it makes it easier. Yes, you know, this is not 1910. It depends. So they do have places that you can go and ship, correct?
Speaker 3:Speaking of Germany, right, we have one more Christmas market to talk about.
Speaker 2:One more. Oh my gosh, so now? So wait, a second. Let's recap. We went to Poland yeah, that was one of your market. We're now. The second one was Budapest, vienna and Prague, correct, and now we?
Speaker 3:last Christmas market that we have. This is a six-night, again escorted tour, okay, and it will actually start in Slovenia and in Germany, in Munich, in Munich.
Speaker 2:Yeah, in Munich. No, munich, yeah, munich Munich. Yes, it's the Americans that call it Munich Munich. Now tell me a little bit about Slovenia. What are they going to see there?
Speaker 3:So it will actually start in Fom and go by Unsayin' Us right. And this one. There's only one date for this one.
Speaker 2:Only one date for this in particular tour Correct, correct.
Speaker 3:This is the December 5th day, but there are two tours, okay. However, there's two different prices. If you get in on the first tour, it's $1,949. Okay, the second tour will be $2,099. So book early so that you can get the lower price.
Speaker 2:Right and getting on the first tour.
Speaker 3:Now they're both on the same day, Both on the same day, correct, but it is a popular tour and since we only have one Danes Right you want to make sure that you get in on the early tour. Are there going to be two motor coaches? Yes, yes, that's the reason why we do it this way. Yeah, there's two motor coaches.
Speaker 2:Okay, Now again, are they going to be offered breakfast every day?
Speaker 3:Yes, there's breakfast. Daily Transfers from the hotel Transfer Transfer.
Speaker 2:Correct, correct. So they're getting that Escorted, correct, first class hotel, first class hotel With bathrooms. And now we're talking they're landing in Sweden, correct, in Skarabag, okay, and then again the handy mode of coaching to these other countries, correct.
Speaker 3:That's correct. So they will have a welcome dinner, okay, on the very, very first day, and then the next day, of course, they meet their tour guide and then they're going to do a St Mark's church and St Catherine's church and again just a complete tour, and they're going to go all over the place. Do they have Christmas markets there too? Of course they do. That's why they're going. Of course they do. That's why they're going, of course.
Speaker 2:So in each country, I'm assuming it's going to have different handmade goods? Oh yeah, different styles, correct? Different cultures of the countries will show through on these handmade items. Yes, absolutely. What a great gift that would be to bring back for the holiday would be one of these handmade items from any of these markets. Now, from Slovenia, we're going over to Croatia, correct? So now in Croatia, what are we going?
Speaker 3:to be doing. So we're going to go ahead and again go to breakfast. So we're going to be staying. Let me just tell you how many nights we're going to be staying. So first we're going to stay two nights at the Sheraton, and then we're going to be staying three nights, and then in Germany, we're going to be staying two nights.
Speaker 2:Cool, okay. So two, three and two, so you're going to be three nights in Croatia Right now. I know there's a lot of people over in Croatia. It's a very popular area, right now. It is. It is Very, very popular area.
Speaker 3:So what are they here to see in Croatia? So, in Croatia, taking a look. One moment I'm going to take a look at the tour here.
Speaker 2:So, while you're pulling up all this information to tell me about it, you know what a great way to create new holiday traditions with your family Going over to see some of these. I mean, if you can't do Poland, maybe you can do the other one. You can go to Vienna and Prague and Budapest. If you can't do there, maybe you can go over to this one that we're talking about.
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, you know, I've never been to Croatia, so this would be something I would absolutely love to do is go to Poland. And it's very popular right now, and one of the things that I've heard about is the famous Dragon Bridge.
Speaker 1:Yes, which?
Speaker 2:is have you heard of it? I've heard of it, I've heard of it.
Speaker 3:I've never been, and this is something that they're actually going to do. They're going to see the Dragon Bridge and of course do the Christmas markets there as well, and they'll going to go to the famous I'm going to butcher this name of the town that they're going to, but it's a famous castle there in the city, Okay, and of course there's going to be all kinds of lively music and food and street, you know, food and shopping, because it's all part of the Christmas market and everything.
Speaker 3:So they're going to be spending the entire day there with the history and again viewing the records.
Speaker 2:It's kind of nice because you have two days in one area, three days in another, two days in another, so you're not running from country to country in one day, so you kind of get time to take a breath, of course.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's very relaxing. It's very, very relaxing. It's not one of those fast-paced tours. It's not where, okay, we've got to go here, we've got to go here, we've got to go here.
Speaker 2:It's very relaxing and you want to be able to do that, particularly during the holiday season, and again, we're talking holiday season, where me and Diana are chit-chatting here sitting in the summer heat. It's mid-summer, but it's time to make these reservations because we don't have that many tours going. We only have a few, and these are specialized tours focusing on the Christmas markets of these countries, and some of them you may not have even heard of Das Eid. You know now this way Slovenia, croatia and Germany. So now we're going to move into Germany, where you said it's Munich.
Speaker 3:Munich. It's Munich or München.
Speaker 2:München. I have to spell it in my head first München sounds like M-U-N-C-H-I-N. Yeah, so we have München. For us Americans, munich, which is a very big city yeah, it's a is a very big city.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It's a large city, it's a very, very large city and Germany is also known for a lot of Christmas. It is the city of Mozart as well. Mozart.
Speaker 2:What's included?
Speaker 3:in Munich. Well, of course, because it is the city of Mozart and the birthplace of Mozart, you're going to visit the Silent Night Chapel, wow.
Speaker 2:I don't actually know how to sing Silent Night in German. I had to do that in school. I did too.
Speaker 3:But that would be really cool. Yeah, and in the afternoon of course you're going to take time to actually stroll the Christmas markets there. And of course you know Munich is known for Oktoberfest. Even though Oktoberfest isn't going on at the Hofbrauhaus, you want to go visit the Hofbrauhaus and it becomes a very, very popular place to visit. So if you get a chance you want to go there and visit the Alp Braha. So you really have time to kind of visit Munich and explore.
Speaker 2:So that's another thing, that Celtic tours yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:That's another thing that Celtic tours allows for. It allows you some free time. Oh, yeah, yeah. So that makes it nice. So they mix the tourism with some free time, right, and these particular tours.
Speaker 3:There is a lot of exploring, because you were exploring the markets, so there is a lot of exploring. And then you have actually dinner at a local restaurant that evening, oh yum. So, yeah, a chance to German food. Yeah, german nice party, german food, that'll be good. But then the very, very next day you're going to visit the state capital of Bavaria and you're going to actually visit a castle, actually get to view one of the castles there, which is very, very nice because it was a part of the monarchy of Bavaria, right, and there's a little bit of a history of that Maximilian and Leopold and to kind of learn a little bit about the history of that.
Speaker 2:That's why the tour guide is there, because they know the area, they know what's happening. They can give you the history, which makes it fun. A lot of times when you're on these tours it helps to know that because it's like, oh, wow, you know, you see something and you think, oh, that looks pretty. But then when you find out the history behind it, it makes it exciting. And now you're mixing it with the holiday season and Christmas shopping. It just brings it all full circle. Yeah, now a lot of people are going to say, okay, we're going over to Poland and to Slovenia or Germany or Budapest during November, december. What do I wear? So I'm going to say, I'm going to say hat for layers.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, absolutely. So I'm going to say, and I tell everybody this, and especially, obviously, travel advisor. You know I ask for travel advisor but as an ex-travel advisor myself, I always tell everybody check the weather a week before. I'll always check the weather a week before. But you know this is winter, it's winter in Europe. So you're definitely going to want a layer, definitely want a layer. Yes, Definitely want to layer.
Speaker 2:Yes, you have to realize, and there are coats that you can buy that can fold down, smash down into very tiny, tiny little things. Yeah, I mean, my daughter has a coat that looks like it's for an Eskimo. Yeah, but she can fold that down into like a three by three.
Speaker 3:It's very, very mushable, yeah, and you can get something that's waterproof as well, you know, because if it does snow it's not going to rain so much, but if it does snow, you want to make sure that it's waterproof it is the holiday.
Speaker 2:This whole season, man, it's a little chilly, you know, so you want to be able, but sometimes, just like here in the United States, you know, new York could be very warm in November, so could it be overseas, but can you imagine?
Speaker 3:I mean, I'm a Florida, right. You know I grew up here in Florida, but can you imagine being over in Europe when it's snowing and just visiting those Christmas markets?
Speaker 2:It just makes it come full circle.
Speaker 3:It's beautiful Mule wine and you know, just walking the markets when it's nice and cold, Just a beautiful, beautiful experience and I always recommend what a great way to get Christmas gifts and start new Christmas traditions.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Even with the little ones. Yeah, because little ones love the holiday, and it's all. You know. You're in Germany, it's all about Santa Claus. You know it's all about St Ludwig. Yeah, you're seeing, it's all about St Ludwig. You're seeing a lot of castles. We're seeing a lot of churches all celebrating the holidays, so they're probably all decorated gorgeously. So this is something we need to want to do Again. Diana and I are sitting here in the middle of summer talking about Christmas. We see it all on television Christmas in July. It is time now to make these plans, and Celtic Clures is not only Ireland and Scotland and England. It can bring you to Poland, it can bring you to Germany, it can bring you to Budapest for these Christmas holiday traditions. Yes, well, again, thank you, diana, for joining us today. Love, thank you Now.
Speaker 3:I got a little Christmas shopping today. I know it was Christmas in July. Thanks so much, Z.
Speaker 1:Well, that's it for today's episode of the Z 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.