HIGHLIGHTS
- Visit Wurzburg Christmas market
- Visit Bamberg including a guided tour including beer tasting and a traditional lunch.
- Enjoy some free time in Nurnberg and explore this medieval town and take in the atmosphere of their Christmas market.
- Visit beautiful Rothenburg, enjoying its well preserved medieval town including a guided tour
- Visit the old city of Heidelberg with a local guide, including the Heidelberg Castle
- Christmas Day in Rothenburg including a horse and carriage ride
- A guided tour of Ulm
- A guided tour of the Neuschwanstein Castle
- Walk through Passion Plays Place, Oberammergau
- Visit Germany’s highest mountain Zugspitze via the cogwheel train with lunch ‘on the mountain
- Visit the “Silent Night” chapel
- Guided tour of Stift Melk
- A free morning in Salzburg
- Visit Salzkammergut, a spectacular alpine region
- New Year’s Eve in Vienna
- Experience a Mozart and Strauss concert in Vienna
- A sightseeing tour with a local guide of the Schonbrunn Castle, Vienna
- Enjoy the famous Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna
- Take part in The Strudel show, teaching you to prepare delicious hand-baked original Viennese apple strudel.
- From Vienna, with your guide take a day trip to visit Bratislava by train
- Relaxed pace with four nights of stay in Rothenburg & Vienna
- A beautiful boat ride and a guided city tour, Prague
PRE TOUR STAY OPTION
Consider arriving a day before the tour starting date, or enjoy a stopover. You can relax and refresh after your flight. The cost of the additional night/s of stay applies. Ask our travel team about this option, and the additional costs.
DAY 1
Frankfurt
Welcome to Germany! On arrival, you will be met and transferred to our group hotel*. There will free time for the rest of the day. Early evening, the group gathers for a welcome drink at the hotel, hosted by your tour director.
Meals: no included
* Arrival airport transfer provided for nominated tour flight, booked with us as part of your package.
DAY 2
Frankfurt - Rothenburg ob der Tauber
After breakfast we will make our way to Würzburg in Bavaria, visit our first local Christmas market. Enjoy lunch and wine tasting as part of the day’s festivities.
Würzburg is known for lavish baroque and rococo architecture, particularly the 18th-century Residenz palace. Home to numerous wine bars, cellars and wineries, with its distinctive bocksbeutel (bottles with flattened round shapes).
This afternoon we continue our drive along the romantic road to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is known for its well preserved medieval old town, a sort after destination for tourists around the world. The afternoon is free to enjoy this charming German town and the delightful Christmas market.
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 3
Bamberg And Nurnberg (Overnight Rothenburg ob der Tauber)
After breakfast we begin our day with a trip to Bamberg, a town in Northern Bavaria. A large part of town is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The town preserves structures from the 11th to 19th centuries including the Altes Rathaus (town hall). There will be some sightseeing with a local guide, along with a beer tasting session followed by a traditional lunch.
After lunch we continue our drive to . Nurnberg is famous for its medieval walls and ancient castle. Here spend some free time looking around the quaint little sohps and the Christmas market. Explore Nurnberg to make your own .
Towards the end of the day we make our way to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 4
Heidelberg (Overnight Rothenburg ob der Tauber)
After breakfast we drive to Heidelberg for a visit of Heidelberg castle including a cable car ride to reach the castle, and a tour of the old city with a local guide. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. Discover its rich and eventful history on this tour of the castle.
Enjoy an afternoon at leisure. The group comes together again for a traditional Christmas Eve dinner at the hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Special notes: as it’s Christmas Eve, regular services and shops will have reduced trading hours and likely to be closed from the afternoon.
Please bring a Kris Kringle gift - not more than $20 value - a nice memory for your Christmas with your fellow solo travellers.
DAY 5
Christmas Day
Merry Christmas!
This morning, we will take a brief guided tour of Rothenburg ob de Tauber, followed by a short horse and carriage ride to take in our beautiful surroundings on this Christmas day.
Today, enjoy a traditional Christmas Eve in Taubertal. The remainder of the day is free.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Special notes: as it’s Christmas day regular services and shops will mostly be closed.
DAY 6
Rothenburg ob der Tauber – Ulm - Landsberg am Lech
Today we travel to Landsberg am Lech. First up, we visit Ulm where we stop and take some time to enjoy our surroundings with a guided tour. We then continue the drive on the romantic road to Landsberg am Lech.
Your afternoon and evening are at your leisure.
Meals: Breakfast
Special notes: today is a holiday and many services will not operate as per regular hours, or will be closed.
DAY 7
Visit Neuschwanstein (Overnight Oberammergau)
It’s a full day of experiences and sightseeing. After breakfast we travel to Neuschwanstein for a guided tour of the castle. The setting of Neuschwanstein could not be more idyllic. Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe. Every year 1.4 million people visit "the castle of the fairy-tale ".
This evening, enjoy a walk with your guide through ‘Passion Plays Place’. Once every ten years, the Passion Play is performed in the city of Oberammergau, Germany (not this year). The play depicts the tragic and moving chronicle of Christ’s final passion. Your guide will take you there and explain the story as you walk through this unique place. After the walk, dinner with your group.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 8
Visit Zugspitze (Overnight Oberammergau)
Today we visit Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain.
Drive to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From there we take the cogwheel train to get to the peak of the highest mountain of Germany and enjoy lunch in a restaurant on the mountain. On the way back to Oberammergau we make a short stop visiting Garmisch-Partenkirchen which is a ski town bordering Austria.
On the way back, we take a short stop in Kloster Ettal to tour the schnapps distillery, and some tastings. We return to Oberammergau for the evening.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 9
Oberammergau - Salzburg
After breakfast drive to Salzburg. Salzburg is an Austrian city on the border of Germany, and the birthplace of the famous composer, Mozart. The city is divided by the Salzach River, with medieval and baroque buildings of the pedestrian Altstadt (Old City) on its left bank, facing the 19th-century Neustadt (New City) on its right.
On the way to Salzburg, visit the “Silent Night” chapel in Oberndorf. It is here that the song “Silent Night” originated. Enjoy this Christmas Carol as it played for us.
This afternoon enjoy a sightseeing tour of Salzburg. Dinner tonight will be in a typical Austrian restaurant.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 10
Visit Salzkammergut (Overnight Salzburg)
This morning there’s some free time to make your own discoveries of Salzburg, before we drive to Salzkammergut.
The Salzkammergut is a spectacular region of alpine. We will take the boat for an amazing experience of visiting St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang and .
Tonight enjoy dinner in Salzkammergut.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 11
Salzburg – Vienna
Today we travel from Salzburg to Vienna. On the way we visit the famous Stift Melk (Melk Abbey) which is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk in Lower Austria, set on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau.
This afternoon is at leisure before enjoying a New Year’s Eve dinner at a local restaurant. See in the New Year with your new travel buddies. Make your own way back to the hotel if you’d like to stay on and party in Vienna.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Special notes: for New Year’s Eve many services will not operate as per regular hours, will close by the afternoon or be closed all day.
DAY 12
Vienna
Vienna, Austria’s capital and on the Danube River has a history shaped by residents including Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Freud.
Enjoy a guided city tour of Vienna, including a visit of the Schönbrunn Palace, a former imperial summer residence. The Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historical monuments in the country.
This evening, indulge in traditional Wiener Schnitzel for dinner – a must do for any visitor to Vienna.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Special notes: for New Year’s Day many services will not operate as per regular hours, or will be closed all day.
DAY 13
Vienna
Make your most of the morning at leisure in Vienna.
Later today, take part in The Strudel show, teaching you to prepare delicious hand-baked original Viennese apple strudel. Learn the art of preparing this delectable Viennese dessert and sample a piece of piping hot strudel fresh from the oven.
This evening experience dinner and a Mozart & Strauss concert. This is the true Vienna.
Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner
DAY 14
Bratislava (overnight Vienna)
Today we make our way to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Enjoy a guided tour of this metropolitan city. Visit Bratislava castle, a monumental building that is visible from a great distance. Lunch is at a famous brewery and afterward we continue the afternoon with wine tasting in a local wine cellar, before making our way back to Vienna.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 15
Vienna - Prague
After breakfast, we begin our drive to Prague. Prague, nicknamed “the City of a Hundred Spires,” is known for its Old Town Square, with colourful baroque buildings and gothic churches.
Arriving to Prague, this afternoon is yours to enjoy at leisure. This evening, board a boat to cruise the river "Vltava" (Moldau in ) to enjoy the city lights.
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 16
Prague
Today, we will take a guided tour of Prague with famous Charles Bridge.
A historic bridge the crosses the Vltava River in Prague. Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city’s Old Town.
This afternoon is at leisure before we enjoy our farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 17
Depart
Today check out time from the hotel is by 11am. A group transfer to the airport to meet the nominated group flight is provided. *
Meals: Breakfast
* Departure airport transfer provided for nominated tour flight, booked with us as part of your package.
Itineraries may be subject to change, due to circumstances outside of our control. If there is any itinerary change prior to departure of significance we aim to inform you prior to travel. Itinerary changes while on tour will be informed by your tour leader/guide while on tour.