EXPERIENCE THE HISTORIC CHRISTMAS MARKETS OF GERMANY AND THE FOOD AND DRINK TRADITIONS THAT MAKE THEM SO DELIGHTFUL!
Join us for a festive trip through a Bavarian winter wonderland! Magical Christmas markets, gondola rides, lunch in Alps, and all of the seasonal drinks you could hope for (and of course, delicious German beer). We’ll be popping down to the Alps for a lovely mountain-top lunch and beer tasting, as well as visiting the Christmas markets in four historic Bavarian cities, including Nuremberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Munich, and Salzburg. In these historic cities, we’ll don our gay apparel and immerse ourselves in the local Christmas season traditions: meandering through chalets strung with garlands and twinkle lights, browsing locally-made artisan gifts and Christmas decorations, sampling lebkuchen, enjoying warm mugs of glühwein, and mugs of feuerzangenbowle lit on fire. The jovial atmosphere and gemütlichkeit are sure to get you in the weihnachtsgeist (Christmas spirit)!
Bavarian Christkindl Markets tour
Mid-December, 2026
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TOUR HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
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The Itinerary
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Day 1:
Group meets in Munich, Germany. We’ll meet at the hotel before heading out to a welcome dinner for at the classic Augustiner Keller Bierhall with exclusive barrel tapping for our group. This will be a great opportunity for everyone to meet each other, your hosts (Justin and Robyn) and start building up anticipation for the week that lays ahead! |
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Day 3: The group will board a private coach for a day trip to the walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This charming and well preserved medieval city has all the Christmas spirit you could possibly ask for. The group will have lunch together then greet our local guide for a tour of the city and markets. The group will hear local history and stories like the legend of the town Mayor who saved the town from an invading army by downing nearly a gallon of wine, re-enacted every hour at the clocktower! Day 4: The group will break camp again and take the high speed train back to Munich. After arriving in Munich and checking into our hotel the group will be free until the evening to shop and explore. The group will reconvene late afternoon for the Tollwood Winter Festival held at the Oktoberfest grounds in central Munich. Food, drinks and a lot of fun will be had that evening! |
Day 2: We’ll break camp and catch the high speed train to our next home for several days; Nuremberg, Germany. After storing our luggage at the hotel, we'll head out for a guided city and Christmas market tour of Nuremberg. We'll tour the historic city caves and beer cellars just below the Hausbrauerei Altstadthof and then resurface in the brewery restaurant for a beer tasting of classic Nuremberg styles like Rot, Roter Bock, Keller Bier served with lunch. We'll continue a short city and market tour before freeing the group mid-afternoon so there is plenty of time to explore and shop on their own. 
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Day 6: And for the climax of the trip, we'll transfer by train through the Bavarian and Austrian Alps to our final destination, Salzburg, Austria. The Thirsty Historian will show us the highlights of the city with interesting stories about its roots going back to the salt trade. Free time will be given in the late afternoon for browsing and shopping before we reconvene for the Farewell Dinner near our hotel. Everyone will be sad to leave but at the same time, glad they were able to experience the Weinachtsgeist (Christmas spirit) in Germany and Austria! |
Day 5: Alpine adventure day! The group will board the train and travel to the Bavarian alps and the mountain towns of Mittenwald and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In Mittenwald, we'll ride a cable car to the top of the Alps for views of Germany on one side and Austria on the other. In true German fashion, there is a chalet called Karwendalbräu Mittenwald at the peak with a brewery, distillery and restaurant. We'll enjoy lunch and beer sampling before heading down to the towns for a guided afternoon through picturesque alpine communities. Boarding the train back to Munich, plenty of time will be left in the evening for more market shopping and browsing.
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Inclusions
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Rates
Please submit your information below if you are interested in 2026 and we will add you to our list. Registration will begin in December of 2025.
Price TBD For comprehensive information about the tour including reservation information, please download the Information Packet in pdf format below.
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WHAT MAKES OUR TOURS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER TOUR OUTFITS?
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Rates |
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1. Local Tour Guides - We don't live in Germany but we have lived in Europe and have traveled extensively. Even so, we feel that our tour guests are best served by using local tour guides that we have established relationships with for our tours. The experience is so much more rich when stories are heard from people who live in the areas we are visiting.
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2. Small Group Sizes - We believe that small group sizes make for better experiences. Small groups allow our guests to form closer relationships with us, our local guides and each other It also gives us more intimate access to places, restaurants and attractions.
Minimum: 8 Maximum: 12 |
3. It's not only about beer and breweries - We love beer and learning it's history and cultural implications. But we're not a one trick pony only visiting breweries all day, every day. (if you've seen one room of stainless steel tanks...)
We love all sorts of history, culture, food and attractions so we blend our thirst for great local beer and seasonal drinsk with local history, culture and attractions. And at the end of a day of touring, we'll find a great spot to sit back and enjoy our Drinkable Destination! |
WHAT have PEOPLE SAid ABOUT OUR TOURs?
We took a trip to Germany/Octoberfest with Justin and Robyn and let me tell you it was nothing short of amazing. We had access to places and people and beer we would have never had on our own. They made sure every single aspect of the trip was handled so all we had to do was show up and enjoy ourselves. The ability to meet and talk to the malters, hop farmers and brewers was nothing short of magical. We stayed in top notch hotels and there was never a shortage of great food and beverages. We feel blessed as we have become great friends with the folks we traveled with. We would not hesitate to book another trip with Justin and Robyn!
Cindi & Chris, Milwaukee WI
Just returned from the Oktoberfest & Bavaria tour with Drinkable Destinations and everything was incredible. The tour itself was a perfect mix of history, culture, sightseeing and beer-based experiences. Loved the addition of local guides for the city walking tours. Justin & Robyn are true professionals who were prepared for everything and handled hiccups so well. For example, as we were boarding the train to head back to Munich, my husband realized he left his passport at the hotel. Robyn stayed behind with him while he got his passport, and they took the next train to meet up with Justin and the rest of the group. I always felt like we were in good hands and well taken care of. There were so many special touches included in the tour, and they even gifted us a custom gingerbread heart to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. I'll definitely travel with Drinkable Destinations again. Hoping to make it to Tipsy Tulips 2027! Thank you for all the amazing memories, Justin & Robyn!
Google review from Vicki
Cindi & Chris, Milwaukee WI
Just returned from the Oktoberfest & Bavaria tour with Drinkable Destinations and everything was incredible. The tour itself was a perfect mix of history, culture, sightseeing and beer-based experiences. Loved the addition of local guides for the city walking tours. Justin & Robyn are true professionals who were prepared for everything and handled hiccups so well. For example, as we were boarding the train to head back to Munich, my husband realized he left his passport at the hotel. Robyn stayed behind with him while he got his passport, and they took the next train to meet up with Justin and the rest of the group. I always felt like we were in good hands and well taken care of. There were so many special touches included in the tour, and they even gifted us a custom gingerbread heart to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. I'll definitely travel with Drinkable Destinations again. Hoping to make it to Tipsy Tulips 2027! Thank you for all the amazing memories, Justin & Robyn!
Google review from Vicki