Although Winter isn’t really coming, the final season of Game of Thrones is and so today we’re talking all about GoT filming locations around the world that anyone can visit. Northern Ireland, Iceland, Croatia and Spain have all been heavily featured in episodes of Game of Thrones and in this episode experts join us to share how to best visit these key filming locations.
There’s no doubt that HBO’s “Game of Thrones” series has had a remarkable effect on people around the world. One of the most interesting effects to me though is how it has changed tourism in some of the filming locations. The show mostly films on location, and many of those iconic shots from the show are easy to visit in person. Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia and Iceland, in addition to some other spots, have all played an important role in the show and in this episode we are chatting with several country experts to share how to best visit these filming sites as well as other activities aside from the Game of Thrones.
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Northern Ireland
Interviewed on-site in Northern Ireland, Jamie Mackerel from Winterfell Tours was my guide for the day as we explored the Game of Thrones influence in County Down, Northern Ireland. Just 40 minutes from Belfast, the real-life Castle Ward was the stand-in for Winterfell Castle and today Winterfell Tours welcomes thousands of people every year to share the filming locations as well as to provide a unique, immersive Game of Thrones experience.
Odin and Thor are Northern Inuit Breed dogs, brothers and are named after the Old Viking Gods. They starred in many Game of Thrones scenes including the ‘finding of the Direwolf puppies’ scene, and now anyone can meet them on a Game of Thrones tour at their home, Winterfell Castle, by prior arrangement.
Iceland
Sif Gustavsson is CEO of Iceland Cool, a social-impact communications agency, and past Director of Visit Iceland USA.
Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:
Croatia
Aimee White is a travel editor at Rough Guides, who has worked closely with expert travel writers across a range of destinations, from New Zealand and Ibiza to Hong Kong and Italy. Most recently, she edited the latest edition of the Rough Guide to Croatia, which was published earlier this year. Before she worked for Rough Guides, she taught English as a foreign language in China and the Czech Republic. She now lives in London.
Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:
Spain
Amber and Eric Hoffman have been traveling together for over 20 years, always traveling with a focus on local food and drink. Their travel blog, With Husband In Tow, explores why they travel for food and how others can do the same. The blog focuses on food, drink, and luxury travel, including everything from street food to fine dining, from food tours to exploring local markets, from wine and cocktails to craft beer and coffee. They travel on their stomachs for sure.
Before traveling, Amber was a corporate tax attorney and Eric sold advertising in the aviation industry. Their lives now seem a lot more interesting. Since leaving the US in 2012, they’ve called both Bali and Bangkok home, but currently live in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, a city just north of Barcelona, which not only is known for hosting the current number two restaurant in the world, El Celler de Can Roca, but also hosted filming of the 6th season of Game of Thrones.
Links to resources mentioned in the podcast:
