What was the inspiration for a Dracula tour to Transylvania?

We do theme travel, and the horror movies-books-media genre is one of our all-time passions. We always try to mix what we love with our tours, and so far we've succeeded! For year we dreamed of visiting Transylvania to see all the Vlad and Dracula-related sites, and we figured we weren't the only ones "batty" enough to want to take a "Vampire Vacation." We did some research, and found that there were already some historical sight-seeing tours to Transylvania, but none put on by horror/vampire fans, who planned night activities along with the day sight-seeing. Thus we created the first (and foremost) terror theme tour for monster mavens.

How long have you been doing it?

1998 was our first year, but we've been doing other "theme" travel for much longer.

How many people usually go?

It's been growing every year. We started with about a dozen die-hards, and every Halloween we seem to add 5 or 10 more per year. We average about 40 travelers now, but as more people hear about the tour, more and more want to go.

How many this year?

We're still accepting reservations, and we are expecting 40-50.

What if someone can't go during Halloween?

Because "you axed for it," we have added a summer "Vampire Voyage" in July. This is great for students, teachers and people who can't take off during October. But it's best for the people in the haunt business whose busiest time is Halloween, and people who have annual plans every Halloween and can't otherwise go. We expect the July "Dracula Tour" to be as successful, if not more so, than the Halloween one.

What is the best experience of the trip?

Meeting such great people. Everyone has similar interests and tastes (and we don't mean blood), so it's easy to make new friends. We are in touch (figuratively, not literally) with most of the people who've gone on our past tours, and many of us exchange holiday cards (Halloween, of course!) every year. So as great as all the sites and activities are, it's the travelers who make the "Dracula Tour" such a wonderful experience.

How about worst experience?

The worst experience happens at the end of every tour: it is always having to say goodbye at the end of the vacation, especially to fellow travelers who've gotten so close. It sounds corny, but it's true. There haven't been any "bad experiences" but that's because we're careful not to go and wander into any secret after-dark nightclubs where the drinks are all red and the patrons all have fangs. Wait, maybe some of our travelers want that!?!

Tell us about the "ghost tour" coming up?

It's going to be an emphasis on the haunted and the paranormal, with visits to as many castles and "haunted" locations in England as possible. We bring along an exorcist or ghost-hunter or paranormal investigator as our guest host, but with our combination of fun and fear, it is a great companion trip to our annual "DraculaTour." Unlike the "DraculaTour," however, which goes to Transylvania every year, the "GHOSTour" may vary from year to year as to where we go. We may go to Scotland, Ireland, or other countries with haunted locations in the future, but for now we're exploring the scariest parts of Great Britain. Visit www.GHOSTour.com for more details.

Who would you recommend these trips to -- what kind of person takes this vacation?

We always said that the tour would be as suitable for a Vampire as it would be for a Vampire-hunter, but we're not really sure we've really had either. Certainly many Vampire wanna-be's! What we do get is a true mix of travelers from all walks of life. Of course we get Goths along with regular everyday people who just love the idea of a trip to Transylvania. We get people who want to experience the ultimate Halloween adventure. The tour is open to all ages, so we've gotten families with kids, we've gotten older travelers who've seen the world and just wanted something a little offbeat, but mostly we get younger couples and single people. We think the singles who travel alone may have the best time of all. . . they always seem to wind up finding someone to "neck" with (sorry - couldn't resist). There's no doubt that even though we get occasional families, and the tour is definitely open to all ages, the tour is very sexy and cool.

What is the most memorable thing to happen on one of the tours?

One couple got married Halloween night in Dracula's Castle (see "A Bride's Tail" on the website). All the travelers on the tour became the guests at the wedding, and the night was covered by local news media, as well as in a national magazine. We have since made it an annual ritual to accept one couple every year as our Halloween bride & groom to be. Speaking of media coverage, the Discovery Channel/Travel Channel covered our "Dracula Tour" for one of their specials!

What else would you like an interested traveler to know about the trip?

That it's a howl! It is scary, but first and foremost, it's fun. We try to make sure everyone enjoys themselves, and we seem to be succeeding. Also, that if you go on the tour without a friend or companion, you really won't be alone long. Tour participants become life-long friends, and some even have reunions at horror conventions throughout the year. As we said earlier, many of us stay in touch year-round, and that's very special. Fangs for reading this, now let's go to Transylvania!