The 7 Best Halloween Destinations for Your Bucket List
Halloween is my favorite holiday. Ok, well, my SECOND favorite holiday, after Christmas. Obviously.
But honestly, I think the main reason I love Halloween is because I love costumes and dressing up. I hate scary movies and I’m a big baby when it comes to haunted houses and things like that. But I absolutely love coming up with costume ideas and getting to be whatever I want for the night! Over the years I’ve dressed up as everything from the Queen of England, a Scarecrow, and an old lady, to a vampire, a cavewoman, a pirate, and Winnie Sanderson from the movie Hocus Pocus (always a crowd favorite).
So, since it’s Halloween time, and being that travel is literally ALWAYS on my mind, I started browsing the internet to find out where the places to visit and celebrate Halloween are. And turns out, there’s a bunch! But I’ve narrowed it down to the Halloween destinations that appealed to me the most. **she says as she adds all of these to her bucket list**
Whether it’s celebrating in some of Europe or the USA’s most haunted cities, to a traditional Dia de los Muertos celebration, or visiting Dracula’s castle, there’s so many places to visit on Halloween! Here are 7 of the best places to visit on Halloween to add to your bucket list!
1. Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Why: To experience Europe’s biggest Halloween celebration
Best Halloween activity: The Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival
Did you know that Halloween actually originated in Ireland from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain??
With that being said, I absolutely HAD to include Ireland in my list. And the biggest and best Halloween celebration is in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland.
There’s a haunted house, a gothic ball, a light procession, a huge parade where performers in costume dance along to Samba and marching bands, and much more at the Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival. The biggest Halloween celebration in Europe, this celebration gets bigger and better every year and attracts some 25,000 guests!
Ireland knows how to throw a good party and have a good time, and this carnival sounds like no exception! They work really hard to keep the title of biggest Halloween celebration in Europe. So, anyone who loves Halloween should definitely make it a plan to visit one day!
2. Brasov, Transylvania, Romania
Why: To spend halloween in spooky Transylvania and learn the history of Dracula
Best Halloween activity: Tour Dracula’s castle
Even just the name Transylvania is already associated with spookiness and general terror. You can easily forget that it’s actually a real place! In fact, it’s one of the most beautiful areas of Romania!
The main theme of Halloween in Romania is the world-famous legend of Dracula. You can even sleep in Dracula’s haunted castle in Transylvania. I’m too much of a chicken to actually do it though. BUT, maybe I could be persuaded to do something like this if it included roaming around a beautiful Medieval Romanian castle… MAYBE.
There’s also Halloween festivals that take place in the mountains in Transylvania, which follow Dracula’s trail and passes small villages, castles, and churches frozen in time.
So book yourself a spot in a cozy little Romanian town in Transylvania (like Brasov). Then tour OR sleep in Dracula’s castle….sounds like a great way to spend Halloween! Not only is it guaranteed to be spooky, but you’ll travel back in time and learn more about Romania’s history.
3. London, England
Why: It’s one of the world’s most haunted cities
Best Halloween activity: Jack the Ripper tour
London definitely has a spooky past, and is said to have one of the densest concentrations of paranormal phenomena of any major world city. London may be a massive capital city, but it has a creepy history which includes the world’s most famous serial killer, Jack the Ripper. It has dungeons, old buildings, creepy backstreets, all still preserved and chilling.
London is absolutely huge, so if course it has tons of different activities for Halloween. Whether you want to do some spooky tours, or see a family-friendly parade, or go clubbing all night long at a club Halloween event, London has something to thrill every kind of visitor.
You could do an after-dark ghost tour, where you learn some of the city’s sinister history and see things like old execution sites and haunted graveyards.
Or, you could do the well-known Jack the Ripper tour, where you’ll explore East London and find out more about the world’s most famous serial killer and the greatest mystery in the history of crime.
The London Dungeon has a well-known Halloween show, Séance!, which is guaranteed to be a fun activity for Halloween.
There’s a Day of the Dead Festival, a Fire Festival, eerie evening tours of Kensington Palace and the Tower of London. And of course, there’s also tons of Halloween-themed club nights!
4. New Orleans, Louisiana
Why: It’s “the most haunted city in America”
Best Halloween activity: Attend Voodoo Music Festival then Halloween bar-hopping on Frenchman Street
With it’s spooky history, voodoo practitioners, psychics, vampire groupies, eerie graveyards, New Orleans is sometimes known as “The Most Haunted City in America.” It’s an obvious must-visit Halloween destination and probably one of the best places to visit for Halloween in the US!
There’s haunted tours, cemetery tours, haunted houses, the very popular Voodoo Music Festival with top musical acts (read more about that here), and much more! Wander around the French Quarter or Garden District and you won’t be disappointed!
Or you can visit the eerie Manchac Swamp, of “Haunted Swamp,” just outside of the city. With it’s ancient trees and wispy Spanish moss trees, it certainly looks like it deserves the title.
And of course, since it’s New Orleans there HAS to be a parade. The Krewe of Boo throw the biggest one in town!
Head to Frenchman Street for a huge block party where you can bar-hop in true New Orleans fashion. With it’s relaxed open container laws, the party in Halloween won’t disappoint. It’s the one night of the year where the living and the dead party together!
5. Pátzcuar, Michoacán, Mexico
Why: To experience traditional Day of the Dead celebrations
Best Halloween activity: The Night of the Dead festivities, unique to this region of Mexico
The Day of the Dead is known worldwide. It’s a celebration that originated in Mexico that is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd that can be traced back to the Aztecs and Mayans. Deceased children and infants are honored first, followed adults on November 2nd. It is believed that on the Day of the Dead, it’s easier for the souls of the dead to come back and visit the living. People visit cemeteries to talk to the dead or build private altars in their home decorated with photos or favorite items of the deceased, all to welcome and encourage the souls to visit, as well as to help them find their way back.
It is believed that death is not the end of life, but the continuation of life in a parallel world. So, once a year during this holiday, the dead are carried by the winds and returned to their former homes.
The Night of the Dead, it’s lesser known counterpart, is only celebrated in the Lake Pátzcuaro area. It includes a large feast where people share lots of food with everyone, including the dead. This makes the Dia de los Muertos celebration in Pátzcuaro unique. The cemeteries are decorated at night to an elaborate degree, and there are parades, markets, ceremonies, and traditional dances. Everything must be beautiful for the visiting souls, so expect to see flowers and candles EVERYWHERE.
This would be a fantastic place to experience a true Dia de los Muertos experience, in all of it’s beauty and glory. I would absolutely love to see a traditional Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebration, where the spirits of loved ones are venerated so lovingly.
6. Edinburgh, Scotland
Why: To tour creepy cemeteries and dungeons in one of the UKs spookiest cities
Best Halloween activity: The Samhuinn festival
Halloween is a holiday of all things spooky and scary, and Edinburgh definitely delivers on those two things. Like Ireland, Scotland also celebrated the Celtic festival Samhuinn. It’s one of the spookiest cities in the UK. So of course, it really goes all out as far as Halloween is concerned, and is one of the best places in the UK to visit for Halloween!
There’s City of the Dead tours, vault and cemetery tours, dungeon walks, a fire festival…the opportunities are endless!
I’ve been to Edinburgh before, in the summer. We got so lucky with the weather and it was absolutely beautiful outside…blue skies and sunny. But even still, at night it was a bit foggy and creepy. I remember doing a night tour and being led through the cemeteries while learning about Edinburgh’s history of bodysnatching. And I remember being so creeped out! I can only imagine what it’s like on a crisp late October night, as residents dressed in creepy costumes descend upon the city for the festivities!
7. Salam, Massachusetts
Why: To celebrate the history of witchcraft in this infamous city.
Best Halloween activity: Festival of the Dead, which explores the spiritual realm throughout the month of October.
Anyone who’s every touched an American history book knows about Salem, Massachusetts. Or anyone who’s seen Hocus Pocus. Which is like…everyone.
Salem is the of the infamous witch hunts, where 26 people were once tried and hanged for witchcraft. Well, each Halloween “Witch City” uses it’s creepy history to provide some great Halloween celebrations.
Salem holds events throughout the entire month of October including tours, trial and hanging re-enactments, parades, etc all leading up to the grand finale, Halloween. You can even visit the Witch House Museum, the only building left in Salem with direct links to the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600s.
