CHRISTMAS MARKETS IN GERMANY & AUSTRIA in 8 days
Christmas Markets pop up all over Europe during the first weeks of December. Each year, we feature a winter wonderland tour to Germany and Austria during the Christmas season. These outdoor markets feature unique decorations, beautifully handcrafted arts, and endless opportunities to sample great food and countless varieties of glüwein, punch, and spiced drinks, served piping hot in souvenir mugs. But there is more to this tour than snow and markets! Enjoy visiting many destinations that, in the busy tourist season, are packed shoulder-to-shoulder with sweaty tourists. Traveling “off-season” means easy access to castles and sights in Salzburg, Schwangau, Rothenburg, Munich, Nürnberg, and more. There has never been a better time to visit Europe’s winter wonderland destinations.
Your Adventure Starts Here!
| PRICE FROM | DATES | |
|---|---|---|
| $3789 + air | Dec 8-15, 2024 |  |
| $3789 + air | Dec 7-14, 2025 | |
Salzburg – 2 nights
Reutte – 1 night
Rothenburg – 2 nights
Munich – 2 nights
——————————-
$3795 + air = Double Occupancy
$4469 + air = Single Room
ITINERARY
DAY 1, Sunday: Munich to Austria – Please arrange your flights to arrive no later than 10:30 a.m. local time at the Munich Airport (MUC). Meet your Exploring Europe guide and driver to begin your Christmas Market adventure at the Munich Airport. Enjoy a scenic journey through the beautiful Bavarian countryside en route to Austria. Our first stop is beautiful Mondsee, home of a small Christmas Market and the basilica made famous as the wedding church in the Sound of Music. Later, arrive at your Salzburg hotel, followed by dinner at one of David’s favorite Salzburg restaurants. Driving: 3.5 hours. Walking: moderate. Sleep for 2 nights in Salzburg. Dinner.
DAY 2, Monday: Salzburg – This morning, enjoy a drive through the Saltzgammergut countryside visiting several sights made famous by the movie, The Sound of Music. Later, we will return to Salzburg to explore the Christmas Markets, the castle, and the old town. Dinner and entertainment are left up to you tonight. You might consider taking a carriage ride, attending a concert, or simply poking around the old town. Driving: 2.5 hours. Walking: moderate.
DAY 3, Tuesday: Innsbruck and Tirol – Our journey today takes us to the western part of Austria, known as the Tirol. En route, enjoy a visit to Innsbruck for lunch and a look around their Christmas Markets. Continue on a scenic journey to Reutte, where you will have a relaxed evening and a grand gourmet dinner prepared by my friend Hermann at his Tyrolean restaurant. Driving: 5 hours. Walking: light. Sleep 1 night in Reutte. Dinner.
DAY 4, Wednesday: Castle Neuschwanstein and Rothenburg, Germany – After breakfast, we will take a short drive to the village of Schwangau. You will have an opportunity to enjoy the village atmosphere, hike in the spruce woodlands, and enjoy the pristine lakeside. Also, enjoy a guided tour of Schloss Neuschwanstein, famous as the home of “Mad King” Ludwig II of Bavaria. This castle is the model upon which Walt Disney conceived Cinderella’s Castle at the Disneyland resort. Then, please sit back and relax as we travel through Bavaria to the picture-perfect village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This village is charming any time of the year, but at Christmas, it is delightful. Enjoy the afternoon exploring the Christmas markets, visiting the shops, and wandering the cobbled lanes. Later, let’s meet at our hotel for a fine Rothenburger feast. Driving: 5 hours. Walking: moderate to strenuous. Sleep for 2 nights in Rothenburg. Dinner.
DAY 5, Thursday: Rothenburg – You will have the entire day to do more exploring on your own in Rothenburg. Enjoy a wander in the castle gardens, a walk on the medieval-era town walls, plenty of shopping, wine tasting, and of course, their little Christmas Market located on the town square. No driving. Walking: your choice.
DAY 6, Friday: Nurnberg and Munich- Today, we will travel to nearby Nurnberg, home of Germany’s most famous Christmas Market. The entire town square is filled with over 180 wooden stalls, loaded with homemade crafts, local food, mulled wine, and Christmas cheer. Each stall is decorated with red and white cloth and has become the model for all other Christmas markets in Europe. Later, hop on the bus and travel to Munich. Once in the city, enjoy a walking tour of the sights with the remainder of the afternoon and evening to explore the Christmas Markets, churches and pedestrian-friendly shopping areas. Driving: 4 hours. Walking: moderate. Sleep for 2 nights in Munich.
DAY 7, Saturday: Munich – Enjoy an event-free day in town. You may want to visit the markets, Residenz Palace, a museum or take in the holiday atmosphere. Tonight, we’ll meet for a festive grand farewell dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. No driving. Walking: your choice. Dinner.
DAY 8, Sunday: So Long, Farewell – Your tour ends this morning after breakfast. Munich’s airport and train station are nearby and are easily connected by subway, train, or taxi. Your Exploring Europe tour leader will be available to assist with your transportation needs. Merry Christmas!
Itinerary specifics are subject to change.
INCLUSIONS
Transportation by coach and/or minibus from the airport in Munich to your final hotel in Munich.
Seven night’s accommodation in traditional hotels, guesthouses, and B&B’s. All rooms have private en-suite baths.
A guaranteed Small group with 6-18 travelers.
All tips and gratuities to guides, drivers, restaurant, and hotel staff.
Breakfast each morning.
Water is included with all group meals. Sodas, wine, beer, and other drinks are your responsibility.
Four Traditional dinner dining experiences at some of David’s personal favorite restaurants. Eating well is a priority, and you’ll enjoy fine regional fare featuring the best the locale has to offer.
All tours and admissions at no extra cost: Innsbruck orientation – Rothenburg walking tour and orientation – Castle Neuschwanstein entrance and guided tour – Salzburg orientation and walking tour – Salzgammergut driving tour and notable Sound of Music sights – Munich orientation walking tour – Christmas Markets in Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich, Rothenburg and Nurnberg – traditional and fine dining experience in David’s top choice restaurants – and much more.
A full-time Exploring Europe guide and local experts dedicated to bringing to life the historical and cultural experience of the tour destinations.
David’s tour handouts are delivered electronically and detail each day’s historical and cultural experiences.
Free luggage tags and David’s custom-designed drawstring backpacks.
Our Unconditional Tour Price Guarantee, once locked in, will never change.
$50 Tour Alumni discount for each David McGuffin tour you’ve taken prior to this travel year
EXCLUSIONS
Comprehensive Trip insurance. We strongly recommend comprehensive insurance for tour.
Fee for passports.
Beer, wine, spirits, and soda during the tour.
Laundry, phone, internet, and personal items
Extras and optional activities.
Anything not mentioned in the itinerary.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
CANCELLATION POLICY
CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS:
Deposits- Deposits for tours are fully refundable for 30 days from your initial application and deposit date, unless otherwise noted. If you book a tour less than 90 days before its departure date, full payment is due immediately, and the entire tour cost becomes non-refundable after seven days. After these dates, deposits are not refundable and will be forfeited if you cancel your tour reservation.
Payments- Tour payments are due in full 90 days before your tour departure date. If you find you must cancel between 90-0 days before your tour departure, please contact us immediately. We will work with you to transfer your payments to another tour departing within 18 months. We strongly recommend that everyone purchase comprehensive travel insurance that covers tour cancellations, emergency medical, and other unexpected events.
Cancellations will be effective when the written notification is received at David McGuffin›s Exploring Europe by mail, e-mail, or fax.
SIGN UP BY EMAIL OR POST
If you do not want to sign up online:
You may download a tour application and send it to us with payment.
-OR-
You may return it by:
- FAX 1-800-570-1351
- Email – info@davidmcguffin.com
- email – take a photo of the form with your smartphone and attach it to an email
- TXT – take a photo with your smartphone and TXT to 904-612-8149
KEY TO WALKING & ACTIVITY
Walking and Physical Activity: We have planned this trip to provide maximum tour experiences. The basic nature of Europe does require some degree of physical activity to get out and see the sights, especially in the big cities. To help you plan, we’ve included a daily projection of physical activity. Here is the key for our walking activity ratings:
Light – Walking done on level surfaces with some hills and elevation gains. Two miles or less of required walking during the day.
Moderate – Walking done on paved and gravel paths and cobbled city sidewalks. To enjoy the full tour experience, some uphill and downhill walking is expected, as is standing while viewing sights or museums. Four to six miles of walking per day.
Strenuous – Walking done on rugged and rocky paths and city-cobbled sidewalks. There will be steps and stairs. Up to three hours standing in museums or experience sites. Up to eight miles of walking per day.
Your Choice – No matter what your walking ability, we will help you find alternative ways to enjoy and experience all Europe has to offer. To get the most out of our tours, you should be able to operate at the light level every day with spurts of moderate and strenuous.
PRE-TOUR RESOURCES
Now that you’ve decided to join this tour, we are sure you’ll have some questions. Don’t worry. We are here to help you through each aspect of your tour from start to finish.
DAVID’S 60 SECONDS DESTINATION VIDEOS
Join David as he shares impromptu moments from his travels in the United Kingdom. Watching these short 60-second segments are a great way to experience David’s travel style and adventures. Watch David Explores Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
David’s TRAVEL TALK TUESDAY almost-weekly broadcast and Video Series Blog.
Every week, when David is not traveling in Europe, he presents a LIVE broadcast on Zoom and Facebook. Check it out on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM Eastern Time.
Each Travel Talk Tuesday session is recorded. Watch them here.
DAVID’S BLOG ARTICLES
David and his team have answered many travel-related questions, and they are all tucked away on his blog. But, no need to go there. Just type in a keyword in the search box at the top or bottom of this page (it’s the gray rectangle with a small magnifying glass icon), and you will get results for your query.
PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL OR GIVE US A CALL.
We are happy to answer your travel questions and give advice and suggestions. tours@davidmcguffin.com or 800-570-1351.
Testimonials & Reviews of our Tours
This was our first trip to Europe and it was everything we hoped for! John and Audra were the tour guides. They went above and beyond to answer all questions and tailor the experience to our requests. The group dinners were very good and let us see things we could have never found on our own. John and Audra both took the time to make sure we understood the public transportation in both countries so we could fully enjoy our free days. They even researched places for us to go based on our wish list. I could not recommend David McGuffin’s Exploring Europe and more highly. Thanks to everyone for a great experience!
We traveled to Scottland & Ireland on a McGuffin tour. The tour group was small making it easy to navigate the two countries as compared to larger tour groups. He included tours to many “off the beaten path” towns which differentiated this tour from others we have done. Having a half-day to explore stops on your own every day also made this tour a wonderful experience.
The Best of Ireland - September 2023
My wife and I just completed the Best of Ireland Tour and it changed our whole attitude about doing a tour. We loved being in a small tour group where everyone gets to know one another. We had a fantastic group and it was by far, one of the best and most informative trips we've ever been on.
From day one, each trip was carefully planned with an abundance of daily tours as well as needed downtime and though I have a hearing loss, David spoke louder to accommodate. We NEVER waited in lines for ANYTHING. Anytime we showed up for a reserved tour, we were immediately escorted thru.
Our dinner locations were chosen by David because of the charm, the history and the personality and DID NOT disappoint. The food was always outstanding with great selections available because of varying tastes, and we never expected wine and spirits to be included as part of the dining experience.
David also picked some out of-the-way locations to stop where the town was not overrun with tourists and where the larger buses were too big to travel. We had to endure some rainy days that required walking in the rain but that's just part of it. Unless we stopped to check into a hotel, the bags always stayed on the bus and if we couldn't check into the rooms early, the hotel had no problem storing our bags for us...at no charge.
We can't say enough about the quality of our tour guide and the entire tour itself. It has totally changed our opinion about tour groups and well never visit another city in Europe unless it's a small group tour!!!!!!!
The Best of Ireland - September 2023
My husband and I just traveled to Ireland with David for 12 days along with our friends and we had the best time. Every detail is streamlined in advance so you have no surprises. You receive an email or WhatsApp update every evening with your detailed schedule for the next day, so easy. Breakfast is included every morning, lunch on your own with plenty of options and fun group dinners half the time. David always listened to our opinions about what we wanted and didn't. We loved how he didn't bog us down with nonstop activity and gave us free time to explore on our own. We were so impressed with his company we immediately booked another tour with him. This is a no brainer for us because all you have to do is pack your bags, book a flight and he does everything else simple as that. If you can't have fun with EE,Inc you're not trying.
David provided a private tour for my family and myself. Our tour included Athens, Santorini and Mykonos. My favorite location was Mykonos. The Villa we stayed in Mykonos was gorgeous.
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