Celtic Tours Health and Wellness with Unique Experiences

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Z Michelson Travel Podcast, where
every journey is a story waitingto be told.
I'm your host, z Michelson, andI'm so excited to take you on a
ride through the world's mostincredible destinations, hidden
gems and unforgettableexperiences.
Whether you're a seasonedtraveler or just starting to

(00:21):
plan your next getaway, you'rein the right place.
And traveler or just startingto plan your next getaway,
you're in the right place.
Each episode, we'll be divinginto everything from must-see
landmarks to off-the-beaten-pathtreasures, speaking with locals
and travel experts and sharingstories that will inspire your
next adventure.
So sit back, relax and let'swander the world together, one

(00:45):
destination at a time.
Are you ready?
Let's get started.
Hey, this is Zee Michelson, andI'm here again with the lovely
Diana from Celtic Tour, and youknow, last week we were
chit-chatting and we talked alittle bit about health and
wellness, and you just broughtout a comment to me that said we
have so many different, uniqueexperiences and we're going to

(01:06):
have to talk about all of it.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
I know there are so many, as we were sitting here
right before we started, I waslike, oh my gosh, it's not just
health and wellness.
There's so much that's outthere that are just unique that
nobody even knows about, andthat's what we're going to find
out about today.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah yeah, people will know about it.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Let's start with health andwellness, because everybody
seems to be on top of theirhealth care and they want to
relax and they want to do yogaand nourish their body.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
you know, have organic foods, practice
mindfulness and yoga, and we cando this, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
So how can we do this with Celtic Tours?

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Well, there's all different locations that you can
actually go to all over Ireland.
So let's say, for example,you're looking for a wellness
retreat.
Wexford has an amazing retreatwhere you can rejuvenate in
tranquil lodges.
It's near a little village ofNew Ross and you kind of lay

(02:04):
back and relax.
You actually have experiencedtherapist guides for reflection
centers and sessions and youhave chilled cafes where you
enjoy nourishing meals andrefreshing juices and everything
there is organic.
That's in Wexford.
Now, is it homegrown?
It is, it's all grown, yeah.
Now is it homegrown?
It is, it's all grown, yeah,homegrown right there in the

(02:26):
town.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
So they use their own village to get these products
and to feed and nourish thesepeople's bodies.
Yeah, Now, this is which I mean, how many are they?

Speaker 2 (02:38):
There are so many.
There's one in Wicklow as well.
It's called the Wicklow Escape.
Glow as well, it's called theWicklow Escape, and that is you
know, every day, again, everydaylights, with a piece, a really,
really peaceful space,relaxation rooms, and the meals
can even be catered from theirchefs, their private chefs,
there, and they serve upauthentic, homegrown, organic

(03:00):
and, again, local food sourcesthere.
So I mean there are so manyretreat places all over the
island.
Let's say, for example,somebody was looking for yoga
retreat.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
A lot of people are into yoga.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah, there's several yoga retreats.
There's one in Burren, it'scalled the Burren Yoga Retreat
and you can kind of brush upyour skills if you, you know,
from a novice all the way to anexpert.
There's instructors and guidesthere to help you through it and
it's actually on the seashoresof Clare, so you get to

(03:34):
experience, you know, yoga in abeautiful, beautiful spaces.
They actually have privaterooms.
If you're looking for privaterooms as well, this would be
great for a group of people whowant to go.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yoga enthusiasts.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Exactly, exactly.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Now I have to ask these types of places how many
people do they have?
Is it a tremendous amount ofpeople or are they small?

Speaker 2 (03:52):
contained.
Most of these retreats are verysmall, you know 17 to 20, 25
beds, you know.
So I wouldn't say it's toolarge.
They're pretty small, you know,because they're retreat.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Okay.
So if a travel advisor or atravel agent wants to put
together a group of people thatwant to do yoga, they can put
together up to almost 25 peoplefor one of these places.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah, if you consider double occupancy, you know
that's 10 rooms right there.
Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
And that would be nice.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
They're in all different parts of Ireland, all
over the place.
For example, in Waterfordthere's seaweed baths.
In Waterford, waterford, inWaterford, the home of crystal,
not just crystal you candiscover the health and wellness
benefits of the algae that theydo, and you soak your entire
body in the seaweed and it justit recovers you from the stress
of the day, and you can combineit with a massage if you'd like.

(04:46):
So I mean, there's so much outthere that it's actually can
pamper yourself.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
So I'm thinking, all right, I want to do some yoga,
but then I also want to do somesightseeing.
Can we combine this with Celtictours?
Can we say, okay, I want tospend a couple of days spa, yeah
, and then I want to do a coupleof days, you know, touring,
yeah, and then maybe back to thespa for a nice relaxation?

Speaker 2 (05:07):
before you head home.
Yeah, and remember, ireland isnot that large.
So let's say, for example, youwant to stay in Waterford, you
know, for a couple of days andenjoy those amenities, and then
go to the Waterford Crystal andgo to some of the amazing
restaurants that they have therein Waterford as well.
You can actually stay rightthere at the Marina there's the
Marina Hotel, which isabsolutely a beautiful,

(05:29):
beautiful hotel in Waterford,and then we can combine all that
and then you can go to, maybeanother location.
We can go ahead and get you atransfer to the next location.
You don't need a car, we don'tneed a guide.
We can get you to the nextlocation and then you can
experience that town as well.
So we can definitely put all ofthat together for you.
That makes it nice, yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
Now I don't know if you know this off the top of
your head, but how many retreatsor health or wellness locations
are there?

Speaker 2 (05:57):
Off the top of my head, I would say anywhere
between 13 to 16 that I haveactually explored myself.
Not been there and explored,but I looked at them for clients
and, you know, just checkedthem out myself Wow.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
So, yeah, that's a lot, quite a few, and in
different locations.
So, depending upon what kind ofambiance they want, if they
want organic, or if they wantthe seaweed wraps or whatever.
Or yoga, yeah, you know.
Yoga on the beach, yeah, soundsreally nice on the beach.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, it's really nice.
Doesn't this sound nice?
Yeah, it sounds beautiful.
I mean, and you know a lot ofpeople are thinking, oh, who's
going to do yoga in 40 degreeweather?
But remember, ireland is anisland.
It can be, you know, 70, 80degrees, right, so it depends on
what time of year you go.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yeah, yeah, so that's really really nice, yeah, so
we're talking health andwellness a little bit.
We're talking about uniqueexperiences in Ireland, and
that's one thing Celtic Toursprides themselves on is that
they can talk with your clientsand you and say, okay, what are
you looking to do, how much areyou looking to spend?

(06:58):
What is your budget?
How many people are coming?
Sometimes, these people thatare in these yoga classes, they
want to bring their buddiesalong.
Of course, four, five, sixpeople.
Why?
would you want to travel.
They want to come with theirfriends, so this is something
that they can put together forthem, oh yeah, and make it nice,
yeah.
So, that being said, is thereanything more that you need to

(07:21):
tell me about health andwellness?

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Well, I mean again, I could go on and on, but because
there's so many differentlocations, right, but there are
a lot of other uniqueexperiences I'd really really
like to talk about as well.
Okay, so more about unique.
Yeah, For example, saltwaterLake that you can actually swim
in, you can plunge in SaltwaterLake.
So where is the Saltwater Lake?
Where, where you could go on acable car across the Atlantic,

(07:47):
across the Atlantic, yeah,across the Atlantic, I mean the
Atlantic Way, the Atlantic.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
Way.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Sorry, the Atlantic Way.
Yes, I mean, there's just a lotof different experiences, but
we were talking about theplunging of the lake, so the
Saltwater.

Speaker 1 (08:01):
Lake, the Saltwater Lake, yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
So the Saltwater Lake is actually in the west of Cork
West of Cork, yes, it's in LagHynne, h-y-n-e, and they're
really, really calm.
It's kind of in the west ofCork.
It's called West Cork Lake andyou can actually swim in the
saltwater.
It's actually, you know,filtered in from the sea and

(08:23):
it's the only saltwater lake inEurope.
Wow.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yeah, wow, so it's the only saltwater lake in
Europe.
It's west of Cork in Irelandand, for people who don't know,
if you're swimming in saltwaterlake, you're buoyancy, you're up
there.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, you're floating , absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
I mean it's.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
And again this kind of goes into the health and
wellness because it's unique,it's tranquil, you know you have
the environment, it goes withthe ecosystem, you know where
you can just kind of feel niceand good.
You walk out of there feelingjust almost safe, a zen, very
zen, seal, very zen Now do youstay nearby that lake?

Speaker 1 (09:01):
Is there a place to stay near that?

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Oh of course, of course.
All over County Cork there'splaces that we can definitely
put you up in.
I mean, there is no place righton the lake that we can put you
in, but yeah, absolutely sonearby.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
Of course, oh wow.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
You know, ireland has their traditional hotels, right
?
You know, it's called theOriginal Irish Hotels and it's a
group of hotels that have beenthere for a long period of time,
right?
So those are the ones wetypically like to use.

Speaker 1 (09:34):
Right, because it gives you the full experience,
exactly, you know, and they'renot, you know, little
hole-in-the-wall type of hotels.
These are very comfortable,very nice unique experiences for
you.
Yeah, now you're talking aboutthe Salt Lake, but you said
there's like 25 different uniqueexperiences that we can
experience in Ireland.

Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, before, when we were talking, I couldn't, like
I said, I couldn't believe someof the some of the things that I
was looking at and, again, Ihaven't experienced all of of
these, but there are definitelya lot of them that are on my
bucket list right.
For example, the epic woodenroller coaster.
In emerald park they have a 32meter tall roller coaster.
It is the ireland's greatest,largest roller coaster and it's

(10:18):
old.
It's a wooden roller coaster soif anybody really really enjoys
those wooden roller coasterswhere you kind of get plummeted
around and they're so fast, thewooden roller coasters are just
so fast.
Well, I'm from.

Speaker 1 (10:31):
Brooklyn.
So Cyclone is a wooden rollercoaster.
So I understand.
Yeah, that gives you a thrill.
You said it's one of theiroldest roller coasters?

Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yes, yeah, it's one of the oldest roller coasters.
Yes, yeah, it's one of theoldest roller coasters in
Ireland.
Yeah, and where is that located?
That is actually in EmeraldPark.
That's in Emerald Park.
It's in Meath.
Yeah, oh, okay, meath area.
Now if it's largest theme parkactually.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
Oh, okay, yeah.

Speaker 2 (11:04):
So they have other things that you can enjoy.
Of course, they have a Vikingvoyage water ride.
Oh, wow, yeah, so that lookskind of interesting.
When you think Ireland, youdon't think theme park yeah,
especially when we live hereRight In the theme part of the
capital of the world, you know.
So, Okay, so that's one uniqueexperience.

(11:24):
And we have food.
You can get a tasty crispsandwich which is a carnival
food.
Yeah, carnival food.

Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yeah, so that's unique.
So what else would you betaking us to in a unique way?
Well, what?

Speaker 2 (11:37):
about if I told you there were actually pyramids in
Ireland.

Speaker 1 (11:42):
Now, you know I love Egypt.
Now, where do the pyramids comein?

Speaker 2 (11:46):
They're in Wicklow.
They're in Wicklow and they'recalled the Great Pyramids.
Do they look like pyramids?
You know they're not.
They're not, but they do callthem pyramids and they're
extraordinary.
They're actually a burial tomb.
A burial tomb, yeah, exactly,and it's inspired, of course, by
the Great Pyramids themselves.
But, again, something uniqueit's the largest pyramid tomb

(12:10):
beyond the banks of the Nile.
Wow.
So, again, very, very uniqueexperience, something you
wouldn't think about.
Going and visiting a pyramid inIreland.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
No, you know, but they are burial mounds and you
know the Druids were over thereand they did a lot of that.
So a lot of historicalinformation that is available in
a unique way that people cansee.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
What about if I told you the oldest operational
lighthouse in the world was inIreland?

Speaker 1 (12:39):
The oldest in the world.

Speaker 2 (12:41):
Oldest operational lighthouse in the world is also
in.

Speaker 1 (12:45):
Ireland.

Speaker 2 (12:45):
That is called Hook Lighthouse in Wexford.
Wow, wexford County.
Yeah, and how old is it?

Speaker 1 (12:51):
again it's old, it just says old, it's really
really old.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
I don't know exactly how old it is.
You'd have to go there to getthe history of the lighthouse,
but it's called Hook Lighthouseand it's actually the oldest
lighthouse in the world and it'sstill operational.
And it's operational, yeah, andit must be by the water.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
It is of course.

Speaker 2 (13:09):
Of course.

Speaker 1 (13:10):
Yeah, so beautiful views that would be really cool.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
Wow, beautiful views.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
And I know a lot of people who just love lighthouses
.
They could you imagine they cango over to Ireland and see one
of the oldest ones in the world.
I know, I know.

Speaker 2 (13:22):
That would be really cool, yeah.
And, of course, what is Irelandwithout some kind of distillery
?
Oh yeah, they actually have afew.
Yeah, but they also have theworld's oldest licensed
distillery in Kilbeggan, theworld's oldest licensed
distillery in Kilbeggan, world'soldest licensed distillery in
Kilbeggan.
So not only do they have Sean'sBar, which is the oldest bar in

(13:44):
the world, the oldestlighthouse in the world and I
know we talked about Sean's Bar,we did talk about Sean's Bar in
Athalon, yeah but they alsohave the world's oldest licensed
we have to say licensed,licensed, licensed distillery in
Ireland.

Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yeah, and that's in Kilbeggan, I'm assuming they're
making malt liquors, what arethey making there?

Speaker 2 (14:06):
That is actually.
They started with mead,obviously because you know mead
was back in the day you know,I'm still trying to perfect my
mead recipe.
Yeah, so that's actually whatthey started with was mead back
in the day, but since then, ofcourse, they've changed things.
So they go to whiskey.
They do whiskey.
Yeah, they do whiskey Fabulous,yeah.

(14:26):
And what's the name of this?

Speaker 1 (14:28):
It's called.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
Kilbeggin Distillery, kilbeggin, kilbeggin, yes.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
People are looking for the world's oldest licensed
distillery.
Distillery in the world, in theworld, in the world.
No begging, yeah, and they cantour the distillery Yep, and can
they get?

Speaker 2 (14:45):
a taste.
They can, of course.
Yeah, they can even go ahead, Ibelieve.
Request to get it directly fromthe cast.
It might be an additional fee,but they would take you into a
room where you can get itdirectly from the cast.

Speaker 1 (14:59):
Yeah, with so many days, weeks, years, right, right
.
A lot of people.
They pride themselves onwhiskey.
You know the whiskeyconnoisseurs.
Celtic tourists can actuallyput together one of these types
of tasting tours and they can doall of these to taste all of
the distilleries around.

Speaker 2 (15:21):
Ireland.
Not just Ireland, but Scotland.
I actually, for a client, puttogether a scotch tasting tour
for a client and they did scotchtasting all over Scotland, the
thing that Celtic tours can do.

Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, so that's something that people need to
know.
A lot of people say, well, I'minto my wines and they do the
wineries and they do thevineyards, but with Ireland and
Scotland the home of these typesof distilleries, right, and
this is something that thesepeople can experience.
Yeah, if they considerthemselves a connoisseur.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, so you wouldn't think gin from Ireland, would
you no?

Speaker 1 (16:00):
not gin, not gin.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
They have a island distillery.
It is actually on an island.
It's called Tape Clear IslandDistillery Wow, and it is right
off the coast of County Cork.
Okay, and it is.
You can actually go there,visit it.
Bring home a bottle of gin,because that's what they make
there.

(16:22):
So it's unbelievable becausethe island is so small.
Right, all that's on.
There is really the distillery.
There's not much more Peoplemust live there, though.
Unless there is really thedistillery, there's not much
more people must live there,though, unless how?

Speaker 1 (16:32):
far is it away from the homeland?
It's not far.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
You just take a little ferry, a ferry baltimore
ireland, not baltimore ireland.
You take a little ferry and yousoak up the views as you're,
you know, traveling there.
So it's really not that far,but the island is really really
actually very small wow, yeah,wow so, wow, so, and they,
that's their claim to fame isgin.
Yeah, claimed it.
Yeah, that's what they do.

(16:54):
Very interesting.

Speaker 1 (16:55):
Yeah, and again, this is a unique experience that
Celtic tours can put togetherfor you.
Yep, you know you don't have tothink.
When you think tours, everybodythinks you have to be
pigeonholed into one thing.
Celtic tours can actuallycreate an exciting adventure for
you.

Speaker 2 (17:11):
Yeah, we can do it individually.
If you wanted to go with justtwo of you, we can do it for a
family.
You know, if you want to do aprivate tour of 12 or, let's say
, a group of people, maybe afriends and family, grab a whole
bunch of people, 16 people ormore.
You know, we can put an entiregroup together for you.
We are all traveling together.

Speaker 1 (17:31):
So tell me, what other unique experiences can we
expect?

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Well, what if I told you that you can actually see
original dinosaur footprints?
Oh, jurassic Park, yeah,exactly Exactly.
And on Valentina Island, again,remember there are islands
outside of Ireland itself,exactly, and on Valentina Island
, again, remember, valentinaIsland is outside of Ireland
itself, right, and so everybodyknows about Jurassic Park, you

(17:58):
know, and the footprints, butthese are actually fossil tracks
and they're thought to be about350 million years old and
they've been preserved.
So you know a lot of littlekids, a lot of little boys.
I know I have a grandson wholoves dinosaurs, you know, so

(18:18):
they can actually go seedinosaur, real dinosaur tracks.

Speaker 1 (18:23):
Wow, that's something exciting.
I mean my daughter.
She's a Jurassic Park lover.
She's seen every last movie ofit and it's like I love those
movies.
She loves those movies and Ibet you she doesn't even know
about this and she travels quitefrequently.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
Yeah, you'll have to tell her.
Yes, you got to go see thefootprint.
You got to go see thefootprints.

Speaker 1 (18:43):
Okay.
So that's something to know,because sometimes when you go
with your children and they'resmaller, you want to be able to
bring them into what you'redoing.
Yeah, they're not going to liketo go to a distillery, but
they're going to like to go seethe footprint.
So this is something that youcan talk with your travel
advisor.
Your travel advisor can bringit to Celtic tourist attention
and Celtic tourism this fabulousfamily adventure together.

Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yeah, yeah I.
There's just so many uniqueexperiences.
You can actually spend time ina butterfly house.
You know where you'resurrounded by a bunch of birds,
and so they come up to you,they'll come up on your finger,
they'll come up on your shoulder.
So all different types ofunique experiences, not just for
adults, but for children aswell.
Right, so the kids like that aswell.

Speaker 1 (19:27):
So a couple of kids.
Things are here.
Butterfly Right, so the kidslike that as well.
So a couple of kids.
Things are here.
Butterfly, the dinosaurfootprint yeah, what else does
Ireland have to share with uswith their unique experience?
Well, again, there's so many.

(19:51):
I saw so many different thingsthat Ireland has.
I mean, we even talked not toolong ago about Halloween and
what Ireland can do forHalloween.
We have a tendency as Americans, to think Halloween is our
holiday, but you know, this issomething that kids might like
too, because they can go to theparades.
Celtic tourists can actually doa VIP type of tour for them to
watch Halloween parade.

(20:11):
Ireland is a bountiful ofdifferent things.
It has the history, it has theculture.
The people there are sofriendly and outgoing.
There's no reason for them notto consider Celtic tours.
You know, you say Celtic tours,you think only Ireland, but
Celtic tours is more than that.
And we're probably going to betalking more of what Celtic

(20:32):
Coors does in the future, butwith unique experiences and with
health and wellness.
A lot of people, like I said,they love their yoga classes.
They want to do that.
They want to eat organic andagain, everybody thinks Ireland
is only meat and potatoes.
Ireland has so much fresh foodavailable and they're right
there with all the fish Greatfish meal.

(20:54):
So is there anything else thatyou would like to say about this
?
What?

Speaker 2 (20:59):
about.
There's actually a blackcurrant, and I think I mentioned
how much I like my blackcurrant.
Oh, the black and black, myblack and black.
Yeah, and I love the blackcurrant in my Guinness, you know
, because it just gives it sucha different taste.
So they actually have ablackcurrant farm there in
Wexford as well.
So it's a commercial farm whereyou can actually go and if the

(21:21):
berries are in season theblackcurrant berries are in
season you can actually pullthat.
So it takes you all the waythrough how they actually take
the berries and the growing, andso it's a very, very
educational piece as well.

Speaker 1 (21:34):
So that would be really nice for children as well
, and I'm assuming that theyalso have like jam and jelly.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
So of course you know they're going to sell you
something.
They're definitely going tosell you something.

Speaker 1 (21:44):
Oh, we're talking gin , we're talking whiskey, we're
talking beer, and now we'retalking gin, we're talking
whiskey, we're talking beer andnow we're talking fruit.
There's so much there and Ijust can't wait to go again.
I've been to Ireland a longtime ago.
I need to go again becausethings are constantly changing.
It's a beautiful, beautifulcountry.
People need to know, from northto south.

(22:05):
They can see almost everythingand Celtic tourists can get them
there.
Yeah, we would love to get themthere.
Well, diana, thank you verymuch for coming and joining me
today.
Is there anything else you wantto say about a unique
experience?

Speaker 2 (22:18):
How much more time do we have?
We only have a couple moreminutes.
I don't think I have that muchtime.

Speaker 1 (22:22):
Well, thank you for joining me.
Remember Ireland for health andwellness and your yoga retreat,
yes, oh, and the Salt Lake, andthe Salt Lake, that's really
fun.
And then, of course, all ofthese fabulous, unique
experiences.
And one thing we didn't talkabout was horseback riding, and
I know horseback riding is inIreland.

Speaker 2 (22:39):
It is, and it is in certain locations, in certain
areas, but you can actually ridea horse right there on the
beach.

Speaker 1 (22:45):
That's something big Ride a horse right on the beach.
So if you're thinking any ofthese things and you want to see
Ireland, contact your traveladvisor.
Tell them you want to do Celtictours.
Have them put somethingtogether for you.
Make it a unique experience foryou and your family.

Speaker 2 (23:01):
Yeah, and if you're looking for a unique experience
in another location in the UK oranother location, you can do
that too, you can always reachout to us.
We'll never say never.
That's what I like Never saynever.
Never say never.

Speaker 1 (23:16):
CelticTourscom.
Celtictourscom Can't be anyeasier.
You got it.
Thank you, Diana.
Thank you so much.
Well, that's it for today'sepisode of the Zine Michelson
Travel Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed our journeyand found some new inspiration
for your next adventure.
Remember, the world is full ofstories and sometimes all it

(23:37):
takes is a plane ticket to startyour own adventure.
If you loved today's episode,be sure to tune in every week
and don't forget to share yourfavorite travel moments with me
on social media.
I'd really love to hear aboutwhere you're headed to next.
So, until next time, keepexploring, keep discovering and,

(23:58):
as always, keep traveling withyour heart wide open.
I'm Zee Michelson and I'll seeyou on the next adventure.