Experience Austria:
Member Event in the Alps

On arrival at Munich Airport, your overnight airport hotel is only a few minutes drive away from the terminals.

You may wish to make private transfer arrangements, taxis are readily available and pretty inexpensive from outside the terminal, or you can use the airport's hotel shuttle bus. The shuttle operates from both terminals and tickets are purchased XXX 

The rest of the day and evening is at leisure to relax at the hotel, perhaps grab a drink or a bite to eat in the hotel's restaurant and bar.

After breakfast at our hotel, we make our way to our coach and head for Austria and the city of Salzburg. 

No visit to this region of Austria would be complete unless you have visited the fairytale city of Salzburg. Not only the birthplace of Mozart, it is best known from the film, “Sound of Music”. Many scenes from the movies were filmed in Salzburg and the real Trapp family once lived here. On our guided tour we will visit several film locations in the city and discover its history.

There will be time for lunch at leisure before enjoying the rest of the afternoon to explore the shops or perhaps visit the hilltop Hohensalzburg Fortress. Overlooking the city, it is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe and contains many museums as well as affording lovely views back down over Salzburg. Alternatively, at Mozart's Birthplace Museum you can learn about his life, when he began to play music, his passion for opera, and much more.  

We will make our way to the resort, our base for the next week where the evening is at leisure.

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is one of Austria's most famous sights. The highest mountain pass road in Austria, it counts 36 turns over its 36 miles up and down the mountainside. Today we will have a guided panoramic drive along the Grossglockner pass. Driving higher and higher through mountain pastures and meadows, we'll also see waterfalls as we head into the centre of Austria’s largest national park, the High Tauern, where the ‘black mountain’ that is the Grossglockner towers above us.

There will be time for photo opportunities and a spot of lunch at leisure before we wind our way back down to the bottom of the valley. Here we will stop in the picturesque lakeside village of Zell-am-See and enjoy some free time to wander along the lakeside promenade or visit the souvenir shops.

Today we will visit one of the most picturesque villages in Austria - Hallstatt. With its 16th century Alpine houses, narrow alleyways and beautiful lakeside setting, it is home to many cafes and shops. With our guide, we will visit the quirky Beinhaus, an historic crypt which is home to skulls and bones from the last 8 centuries (a small donation may be requested to enter).

From here we will drive to the pretty spa town of Bad Ischl to visit and tour the Kaiser Villa - the Emperor's House.  Here we will see the rooms in which Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph, ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire spent his summers at the end of the 19th century,

There will be time to get some lunch during the day (own expense) before heading back to the resort. 

Today, we will cross the border into Germany and its southern region of Bavaria, so make sure you have your passports with you!  

Our first stop will be the scenic Königssee lake. Here we will cruise to see the unique pilgrimage church of St. Bartholomew, world-renowned for its wine-red onion domed roof. 

After some free time by the lakeside, we will board the coach again for Eagle's Nest. Once Hitler's mountain retreat, Eagle's Nest is located 6,017 ft feet high up on the Kehlstein mountain. Access is via specially-designed mountain buses, a short walk through a tunnel inside the mountain before taking a luxurious brass and mirrored elevator to the summit. From here, there are specatcular views over the nearby countryside. The retreat is now a restaurant and we have included tea/coffee and some cake before descending. Then it's back across the border to Austria and our resort for an evening at leisure.

Our guided excursion today is a scenic drive around the Salzkammergut, also known as the 'Austrian Lake District'. The German word 'see' means lake - we will pass by Ebensee and at Traunsee we will board a boat for a leisurely cruise on the picturestque lake.

In the pretty lakeside town of Gmunden we alight and enjoy time at leisure. Gmunden's tranquil lakeside location tells of its wealthy past as one of the largest centres for ceramic production in Europe! From here we will head for a traditional Austrian lunch together in a historic tavern, where the waiters wear traditional dress. 

On our return, we will stop at a historic gingerbread factory, where you can pick up a host of tasty treats. Austrian gingerbread, Lebkuchen, is softer and more mild in its spice than the UK style, and the renowned shop has been baking since the 1580s!

From here we will head back to Schladming by coach for an evening at leisure.

Today we head out to ascend the mighty Dachstein mountain, which bears over the valley and town of Schladming. The highest peak of the Dachstein Massif, the Hoher Dachstein ascends some 2,995 m above sea level (9826ft!)

We'll drive through the beautiful nearby countryside and the quaint town of Ramsau, before we start ascending the mountain in the coach before we board a panoramic cable car to ride to the top of the moutnains. From here, we get an unrivalled view of the Dachstein moutain range as well as many others nearby, the Dachsein glacier and the valley below. The adventurous can head out over the Suspension Bridge and Stairway to Nothingness, as well as visit the Ice Palace. 

We descend the mountain and return back to our resort with some final free time before we meet again in the evening for our farewell dinner. Travelling to a traditional Austrian Alpine tavern in the nearby village of Rohrmoos, we'll be treated to an Alpine feast to round off our week in Austria. 

Sadly, it's the end of our Austrian adventure. There will be three scheduled departures from the resort to Munich Airport. 

Alternatively, if you would like to explore more of Austria's history and scenery, why not join us on our Viennese Whirl Tour. Discover the mighty Danube as you travel to Austria's capital, Vienna. Here, see imperial palaces, grand architecture and the sights this historic city has to offer. Please take a look at our Viennese Whirl Tour for further details.