For past Tauck guests only, one extra night at Tauck's selected hotel. Valid for new bookings made December 22, 2023 – July 31, 2024. Subject to availability. Deposit must be paid at time of booking, please ask for details at time of booking (certain other restrictions apply, not combinable with other offers).
Offer is only applicable for new guests to Tauck. Deposit and hotel request must be made at time of booking. Complimentary night is applicable on any new 2024/2025 Tauck journey booked and deposited between the aforementioned booking window. Booking Window: May 1 - June 3, 2024. This offer is only applicable for New Tauck Guests who have never traveled on Tauck previously. Past guests of Tauck are not eligible. Subject to availability. Certain hotel contracts may not be confirmed so offer will apply once hotel is confirmed. If either pre or post night at Tauck hotel is not available, offer does not apply. Deposit & hotel request must be made at time of booking. Reservations made prior to the show are not eligible. Reservations can be made on priced and un-priced Tauck itineraries. For un-priced Tauck itineraries, the name of the pre or post stay location may not be available until the tour is officially launched online. The offer will be applied when the tour is officially priced & launched with full details shared at that time. Valid for travel from January 1, 2024– December 31, 2025. Offer is not combinable with Take Off With Tauck, Gift of Time or other Tauck offers. Certain other restrictions may apply.
Contact one of our Tour Specialists for more information. Offer valid on new bookings only. Savings vary per cabin category on select river cruises. Cannot be combined with any other offer, promotion or discount. Capacity controlled and may be removed at any time without notice. Certain restrictions may apply; ask at time of booking.
This Danube river cruise from Nürnberg to Vienna aboard ms Savor or ms Joy offers a new approach to discovering the magic of the Christmas Markets in Germany and Austria… a 700-year holiday tradition!Enjoy Tauck's signature sightseeing and exclusive events... gain insights from the personal experiences of your local guides as they recall the Christmas Markets of their childhoods... and celebrate the holidays with special yuletide events on the ship and off! Aboard your riverboat, decorated in holiday style, you can sample glühwein and other seasonal goodies. Attend a holiday baking demonstration... a festive European Christmas dinner with all the fixings… and a performance by alumni of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir! Explore the Baroque architecture of 900-year-old Melk Abbey... have lunch at the Palais Pallavicini in Vienna, and take a tour of the Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram in Regensburg, with a visit to its private Christmas Market – and more!
Vienna - Images of St. Nicholas – with his devilish nemesis, Krampus – Advent wreaths, twinkling lights, roasting chestnuts, sausages and kartoffelpuffer (potato cakes), hot glühwein and fruity punsch... all signs of Christmastime in Vienna! Many Christkindlmarkts big and small grace Austria's capital at yuletide; magic's in the air at the Wiener Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz in front of the city hall, Vienna's oldest and largest Christmas Market... live music, tastefully lit trees, holiday arts and crafts, tempting treats and smiling faces are everywhere. And at opulent Schönbrunn Palace, you'll tour rooms that the Habsburgs once lived in, and browse through lovely hand-blown glass ornaments, red Viennese hearts, Victorian-style sweets and other treasures in the palace's own, equally impressive Christmas Market... guaranteed to warm your heart.
Tour begins: 5:30 PM, Vienna, Austria. A transfer is included from Vienna International Airport to ms Savor or ms Joy. Guests enjoying a pre-stay in Vienna will receive a transfer from Tauck's hotel to the riverboat. Welcome to old Vienna… bright with decorations and buzzing with holiday spirit; exploring on your own at the city's largest yuletide market, you may feel like you've stepped into a snow globe as you're surrounded by thousands of twinkling lights! Return to the riverboat for the captain's welcome reception followed by dinner early this evening… then followed by a visit to Vienna's Christmas Markets, illuminated at night.
Melk - Perched high on a rocky bluff overlooking the Danube and the town of Melk, Stift Melk (Melk Abbey) has shone as a beacon of culture and learning since its founding nearly a millennium ago. Its 18th-century Baroque complex is home to a magnificent church adorned with gold statues and frescoes, a stunning library containing medieval manuscripts, and its own Christmas legend – about a miraculous visit from the Virgin Mary and the Christ child, and a young novice whose juggling so entertained the infant that he clapped for joy.
This morning, visit Melk Abbey high atop its bluff overlooking the Danube, where this bastion of culture has stood for nearly a millennium – and its 18th-century Baroque church, monastery and library take on a special quality during the holiday season. Learn about traditional holiday treats like stollen or glühwein as the riverboat continues cruising the Danube from Melk this afternoon, arriving this evening in Linz.
Salzburg / Linz - The angelic voices of choirs singing carols in Salzburg's Cathedral Square... the pealing bells of old Salzburger Dom, overlooking neat rows of lit-up booths fragrant with the aroma of roasted almonds and hot mulled wine... ornate Baroque domes, towers and rooftops tipped with snow in the heart of Old Town... the clatter of horse-drawn carriages over cobblestoned streets... sweet candy apples and marzipan... the warm laughter of families having the time of their lives... and music everywhere, in the city that gave us Mozart. The Christmas Markets of Salzburg, a true feast for the senses... and Linz's Christkindlmarkt, the curving roofs of its stalls symbolizing the waves of the Danube.
Wake up in Linz, Austria, for a full-day excursion to Mozart's magical hometown of Salzburg, with its Baroque town center dressed in its holiday best. After exploring the Christkindlmarkt in this charming city, take some free time for yourself before returning to Linz for a different Christmas Market experience… and, as you've learned, each town's market has something all its own to offer. Or, if you prefer, spend the entire day in Linz, enjoying its Christmas Market, exploring as you please, or alternatively just relaxing aboard the riverboat in anticipation of a busy day tomorrow at the first German Christmas Markets you'll visit.
Passau – Navigating the narrow lanes and archways of this Bavarian town on the Danube and Inn rivers is a pleasure any time of year – but never more so than now, when one of the finest Germany Christmas Markets transforms Passau's historic Baroque center into a wonderland brimming with bratwurst, lebkuchen, glühwein and good cheer. At the center of it all is St. Stephan's Cathedral, whose massive pipe organ – the largest in Europe – stars in concerts throughout the season.
The holiday celebrations of Passau, Germany are spotlighted today on a walking tour of this riverside Bavarian town known for its plentiful churches, exquisite stained glass, famous cathedral organ and well-preserved Baroque architecture... plus time exploring its Christmas Markets, of course! After touring Passau's Weihnachtsmarkt, the afternoon is yours to explore as you please. Join us for a discovery briefing before dinner aboard ship this evening and enjoy a special Chef's Signature Dinner.
Regensburg - Sausages and song are big in Regensburg, as your visit to its centuries-old Christkindlmarkt on the Neupfarrplatz will attest. Market goers feast on the city's famed sausages, along with steamed dampfnudel dumplings, gingerbread, roast chestnuts and, naturally, glühwein from Bavarian claret, as they admire the work of glassblowers, chandlers and potters. The Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram is the setting for your tour and visit to its private Christmas Market. During the season, Germany's Christmas Markets glow with holiday cheer as each town celebrates the season – this Christmas Market in Regensburg is one of the most unique.
You'll understand why Regensburg calls itself "Europe's best-preserved medieval city" on a walking tour of its Christmas Market, set among centuries-old buildings, and time to explore as you please. A visit to the Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram invites you to tour the palace, browse its fine private Christmas Market, and interact with artisans displaying their wares; rumor has it that Her Highness Princess Gloria and family often wander through!
Nürnberg - On Nürnberg's main market square opposite the Church of Our Lady sits the most famous Christmas Market in Germany, with its iconic, golden-haired Christmas Angel and charming Zwetchgenmannle ("Plum People") – unique to Bavaria and made from dried plums and other fruits. By the time Christmas Eve rolls around, this "Little Town from Wood and Cloth" will have welcomed two million folks from around the globe – including you – delighting them with its authentic ornaments, Bavarian crafts, Christmas candles, lebkuchen and other kinds of cookies, tasty fruit loaves, tangy gingerbread, handmade toys and glühwein!
After your riverboat docks, sightseeing in historic Nürnberg includes a visit to old Nürnberg with a walking tour along its centuries-old ramparts and defensive walls, past the opera house and St. John's Cemetery to the old city and marketplace, as well as past the Dürer House. Spend time enjoying Nürnberg's famous Weihnachtsmarkt as you please, then join us back aboard the riverboat in Nürnberg to cap your extraordinary Christmas Market cruise with the Captain's farewell reception followed by dinner tonight.
Tour ends: Nürnberg. Fly home anytime. Transfers are provided from ms Savor or ms Joy to Nürnberg Airport; those guests enjoying a post-stay in Nürnberg will receive a transfer from Tauck's hotel to the airport. Please allow at least three hours for airport check-in formalities. Your river cruise to the Austria and Germany Christmas Markets will be an indelible memory you'll cherish throughout the remainder of the holiday season!
This Danube river cruise from Nürnberg to Vienna aboard ms Savor or ms Joy offers a new approach to discovering the magic of the Christmas Markets in Germany and Austria… a 700-year holiday tradition!Enjoy Tauck's signature sightseeing and exclusive events... gain insights from the personal experiences of your local guides as they recall the Christmas Markets of their childhoods... and celebrate the holidays with special yuletide events on the ship and off! Aboard your riverboat, decorated in holiday style, you can sample glühwein and other seasonal goodies. Attend a holiday baking demonstration... a festive European Christmas dinner with all the fixings… and a performance by alumni of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir! Explore the Baroque architecture of 900-year-old Melk Abbey... have lunch at the Palais Pallavicini in Vienna, and take a tour of the Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram in Regensburg, with a visit to its private Christmas Market – and more!
While this trip was nice, it was a little bit boring. We had day trips in the morning. One of the excursions took us to a small town in Austria. It took 1 hour 45 minutes to get there and return. We had a 45 minute tour. Then there was lunch but there wasn\'t much else to do. We left at 9 a.m. and returned at 5 p.m. When we went to Vienna there were great tours in the morning but not enough time to do an on our own tour in the afternoon because of the bus schedule. If you like to do nothing in the afternoon or eat or drink or read then you will like this tour. If you are an adventure traveler, River cruising isn\'t great. The food was mediocre. The service was great.
Tauck was very professional and offered a high quality of a travel experience albeit for a premium price.
Tauck was fabulous -- ship was beautiful and the staff was above and beyond in every area!! Food and drinks were great!! Loved the Itinerary -- we went 2 days early and stayed 2 after and Tauck made sure all was taken care of -- picked up upon arrival and car to airport upon departure. Local guides were great with a fun sense of humor.
I loved the fact that everything was included(drinks, tips, etc.) It is always an undue burden to have the right amount of tip money for all at each guided tour and end of trip. Tauck also gave many extras that although may not have been a great expense(ice cream and or a drink), it was appreciated. Great company. will definitely travel with them again.
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Tauck is incredible. I would recommend them to anyone. They think of details I would never have imagined... down to the coins it takes to use a restroom at one of the Christmas markets in Salzburg.