Trip takes people to the region known for its Dracula association
IAN STALKER
Laura Dewar is inviting you to send clients on these tours freely and of your own will…
With Halloween looming, Dewar, spokeswoman for Explore Worldwide, is suggesting tours that will seem suitable for All Saints Eve, including the 15-day Grand Tour of Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria, which showcases Transylvania, the setting for much of Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel Dracula.
But the itineraries — which also include a two-week Benin and Togo itinerary revolving around voodoo; 14-day Simply Peru, which includes a visit to a Lima home that belonged to a woman executed for witchcraft during the Spanish colonial era; and Simply Japan, two weeks of touring Japan and featuring time at the Kozukappara Execution Grounds, which saw over 200,000 people put to death, with the killings ending in the 19th century — won’t keep guests up all night shivering in fear, Dewar reassures.
Photo courtesy Explore Worldwide
“The tours themselves aren’t all that macabre. While they’ll certainly appeal to those that enjoy creepy tales, eerie connections and historic legends, they’ll equally appeal to those that have no such appetites,” Dewar says. “As with all our tours, you’ll always take in the destination highlights and some lesser-known hidden gems, but these few tours also have some fascinating stories to be told – whether you have a penchant for these or not, you can’t deny they are super interesting!”
Dewar says the trips are designed for those eager to experience new things – places, people and food – while on vacation and come away having learned much. “The only people that probably aren’t suited to these tours are people that prefer a beach holiday with regular American food each day. These are trips for the curious and open-minded, and not just because of the eerie stories associated with them.”
Most of the tours run most of the year.
Dewar acknowledges that Romania’s Transylvania region tends to be associated with what Van Helsing — a Stoker character who fearlessly pursued a Transylvanian count who was alternately gracious, hospitable, urbane and ultimately horrifying — called “the undead” but adds that’s only one side to Romania.
“There’s no getting away from the Dracula associations here but there’s so much to see and do in Romania that Dracula will actually be a very small part of your tour,” she continues, citing the likes of medieval towns and painted monasteries. “Maybe you’ll be cycling along quiet country roads or looking for wildlife in beautiful Piatra Craiului National Park, or walking in the stunning Carpathian Mountains. Most visitors are very surprised by Romania, how beautiful it is, yet how little visited. It’s not unusual to find that you are the only tourists somewhere.”
But she adds Halloween is a particularly intriguing time of year to be in Transylvania.
“Exploring the Gothic castles of this area, and especially the imposing Bran Castle, is particularly eerie around Halloween and during the fall. It’s also a spectacular time to see the landscapes, when the valleys are filled with burnt orange and crimson leaves making it even more photogenic than usual.”
Bran Castle reportedly was the inspiration for the castle in the book penned by Stoker, the name of which the author took from an actual nobleman known for his ruthlessness and whose name is now synonymous with a story of a “king vampire.”
“There’s definitely a penchant for darker history at this time of the year and perhaps the fall departures will attract the more ‘woo.’ But any of our departures will be intriguing,” Dewar states.
