Classic Christmas Markets From $1,999 $1,699*pp Featuring markets in Innsbruck, Munich, Strasbourg, Nuremberg and Würzburg

Enjoyed the classic Christmas market tour very much.

Flew Chicago to Zurich, arrived on Sun. Dec. 3. My suitcase DID NOT arrive until Wed. Neglected to read travel ins. Info so didn’t know airline and ins. Would have paid for me to buy some items. Luckily I was able to borrow from travel companions. Tour director didn’t mention about buying until a couple of days later. We had no idea where to go to buy anything. Being we were in Germany, I had no idea where to go to make purchases. Would have been most helpful if Steve had helped more. Do you have any comment on this matter.

Bus service was excellent and stays and accommodations were very good and could be accessed without a hitch.

I felt there could have been more time to explore the towns we ended up in for the night, before everything was closed. Shortening the time allowed in Christmas markets could have provided this, as a sameness seemed evident after awhile, and a certain boredom. I considered whether one less Christmas market would have been appreciated.

Tours and accommodations were good.

Favorite memorable experience was staying in Oberammagau, but frustrations were arriving there and other towns like Titisee too late in the evening to explore them.

LOVED the Christmas Market Tour! The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because, while this tour is a Christmas Market Tour, we spent a lot of time on city tours in the various cities we visited. The City Tours should be an option. I would rather have spent more time at the Christmas Markets themselves. The last day we had to leave Rothenburg rather early to get back in time for a farewell dinner. Didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have wanted. Maybe push dinner back a little later...All in all I truly enjoyed the tour!

I thought the price of the tour was very reasonable! I spent a little more on airfare than most people might but I prefer a specific airline to travel overseas as opposed to the cheapest route.

I mailed this letter to them December 16. We traveled on your Complete South Pacific tour with the Figi extension in October of 2016 (through AAA) and had a wonderful experience. Based on this, we booked the Classic Christmas Markets trip with you in early January 2017 for November 25-December 3, 2017 and were extremely disappointed for multiple reasons. First, the Tour Leader did not arrive at Lake Titisee until at least 5 hours after we did. There was no information for us at the check-in desk to tell us what time to meet in the evening for the initial greeting and dinner and no recommendations for lunch in the local area. Our rooms were not ready so we wandered around until they were, then napped and almost completely missed the meeting. The next day we got back to Lake Titisee at 5 p.m. and on our own for dinner. Luigi, our tour leader, did not tell us that the local restaurants close for dinner at 6 so we ended up in the bar of the hotel having a drink and peanuts for dinner because the bar did not serve food! Second, the tour should never have been booked for these dates. It appears your staff did not check to see when the markets actually opened. •Your booklet says “visit Rothenburg, one of the most well-preserved medieval towns in all of Germany” under MUST-SEE Inclusions. You sent an email October 19, titled “Tour Update” which stated, “The itinerary on your tour date has been altered in order to visit all Christmas Markets. All activities are still included but have changed in order.” It turned out that we NEVER even went to Rothenburg, to see the city or the Christmas market. •We had no time at the Wurzburg market – it was pointed out to us and we were told we had to go see it on our own after 8 p.m. the NEXT DAY (the day the market actually opened!) after we got back from driving from Nuremburg. Wurzburg market closed at 9 p.m. and by the time we walked there from our hotel, everything was closed so we did not get to see it either. •We were fortunate to have arrived at the Nuremburg market in time for the season opening, but to actually see it, we had to stand in one spot for 45 minutes to maintain our place and then we had to leave. This was advertised as one of the biggest and most famous markets in Germany and we did not have any time to “stroll” and shop as your literature said. •After doing our own research while on the trip, it turns out that the markets in Wurzburg, Nuremburg and Munich all opened on the same day, December 1st! •It would have been extremely nice to be able to visit more than one market in each city too. •If Regensburg was supposed to be a substitute for the schedule mess, we should have been told up front - but it still was not adequate - only an hour to see the market and “explore on our own” a town we knew nothing about. Third, because of this poor planning, we spent more time riding on the bus than we did actually seeing or experiencing anything. We spent hours driving between towns trying to find something to see, yet hit as much of the falsely advertised itinerary as possible. I believe that because of this, you “gave” the entire tour the only “enhancement” offered, the train ride to and “tour” of Seefeld Alpine Village. The cost of this had been $65, hardly worth the train ride and buggy ride around the forest. There was no tour. This certainly did not compensate for the other issues of the trip. There was way too much bus time. Fourth, the tour of Strasburg and Wurzburg were pretty good but in Nuremburg and Munich, we only rode on the bus (again) and listened to the drone of the local guide. I fell asleep both times. There was no opportunity to get off and actually see the sites or even take pictures. If the problem is the distance between sites, extend the tour another day to have a day seeing the sites and a half day to shop the markets. It would have been nice if we had had the option to leave Wurzburg a half-hour earlier to get to Munich it time to see the Glockenspiel perform. The best part of the trip was the local tour and time at the Christmas market in Strasburg. Giselle walked us all over and explained things very well. We enjoyed going inside to see Notre Dame Cathedral. We then had time in the main market and were even able to visit the market in Petite France. This was our first stop and set our expectations for the rest of the trip. All-in-all, this appears to be a case of bait-and-switch or false advertising. With the fact that you sent a generic email five weeks before departure, you could have been open and informed us of the details why there needed to be a “Tour Update”, what the details were of the changes and given us the option to cancel with a refund, reschedule or continue. The bottom line is we did not get what we paid for and we deserve and request a substantial cash refund (at least $750 each), not a credit towards a future trip. We are fortunate that we are able to take multiple vacations every year. We have booked a trip with you for 2020 to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau along with the Classic Danube River Cruise. Other than that, Collette will not be our first choice in searching for tour providers due to the Christmas Market debacle.

Here is the letter I sent to them December 16. We traveled on your Complete South Pacific tour with the Figi extension in October of 2016 (through AAA) and had a wonderful experience. Based on this, we booked the Classic Christmas Markets trip with you in early January 2017 for November 25-December 3, 2017 and were extremely disappointed for multiple reasons. First, the Tour Leader did not arrive at Lake Titisee until at least 5 hours after we did. There was no information for us at the check-in desk to tell us what time to meet in the evening for the initial greeting and dinner and no recommendations for lunch in the local area. Our rooms were not ready so we wandered around until they were, then napped and almost completely missed the meeting. The next day we got back to Lake Titisee at 5 p.m. and on our own for dinner. Luigi, our tour leader, did not tell us that the local restaurants close for dinner at 6 so we ended up in the bar of the hotel having a drink and peanuts for dinner because the bar did not serve food! Second, the tour should never have been booked for these dates. It appears your staff did not check to see when the markets actually opened. •Your booklet says “visit Rothenburg, one of the most well-preserved medieval towns in all of Germany” under MUST-SEE Inclusions. You sent an email October 19, titled “Tour Update” which stated, “The itinerary on your tour date has been altered in order to visit all Christmas Markets. All activities are still included but have changed in order.” It turned out that we NEVER even went to Rothenburg, to see the city or the Christmas market. •We had no time at the Wurzburg market – it was pointed out to us and we were told we had to go see it on our own after 8 p.m. the NEXT DAY (the day the market actually opened!) after we got back from driving from Nuremburg. Wurzburg market closed at 9 p.m. and by the time we walked there from our hotel, everything was closed so we did not get to see it either. •We were fortunate to have arrived at the Nuremburg market in time for the season opening, but to actually see it, we had to stand in one spot for 45 minutes to maintain our place and then we had to leave. This was advertised as one of the biggest and most famous markets in Germany and we did not have any time to “stroll” and shop as your literature said. •After doing our own research while on the trip, it turns out that the markets in Wurzburg, Nuremburg and Munich all opened on the same day, December 1st! •It would have been extremely nice to be able to visit more than one market in each city too. •If Regensburg was supposed to be a substitute for the schedule mess, we should have been told up front - but it still was not adequate - only an hour to see the market and “explore on our own” a town we knew nothing about. Third, because of this poor planning, we spent more time riding on the bus than we did actually seeing or experiencing anything. We spent hours driving between towns trying to find something to see, yet hit as much of the falsely advertised itinerary as possible. I believe that because of this, you “gave” the entire tour the only “enhancement” offered, the train ride to and “tour” of Seefeld Alpine Village. The cost of this had been $65, hardly worth the train ride and buggy ride around the forest. There was no tour. This certainly did not compensate for the other issues of the trip. There was way too much bus time. Fourth, the tour of Strasburg and Wurzburg were pretty good but in Nuremburg and Munich, we only rode on the bus (again) and listened to the drone of the local guide. I fell asleep both times. There was no opportunity to get off and actually see the sites or even take pictures. If the problem is the distance between sites, extend the tour another day to have a day seeing the sites and a half day to shop the markets. It would have been nice if we had had the option to leave Wurzburg a half-hour earlier to get to Munich it time to see the Glockenspiel perform. The best part of the trip was the local tour and time at the Christmas market in Strasburg. Giselle walked us all over and explained things very well. We enjoyed going inside to see Notre Dame Cathedral. We then had time in the main market and were even able to visit the market in Petite France. This was our first stop and set our expectations for the rest of the trip. All-in-all, this appears to be a case of bait-and-switch or false advertising. With the fact that you sent a generic email five weeks before departure, you could have been open and informed us of the details why there needed to be a “Tour Update”, what the details were of the changes and given us the option to cancel with a refund, reschedule or continue. The bottom line is we did not get what we paid for and we deserve and request a substantial cash refund (at least $750 each), not a credit towards a future trip. We are fortunate that we are able to take multiple vacations every year. We have booked a trip with you for 2020 to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau along with the Classic Danube River Cruise. Other than that, Collette will not be our first choice in searching for tour providers due to the Christmas Market debacle.

Do not schedule a tour unless you know the traveler will get to see everything advertised. We missed two location because the markets were not open. Riding in a bus is not experiencing the culture. The guide just pointing out a building as you whiz by does not work. My wife and I had to walked back to some sites to take pictures we could not get from the bus.

We were not satisfied with the guide or the tour. There was one site I enjoyed because the local guide was great and we walked and she explained the culture and customs in Strasbourg. We had time to walk around and see the sites on our own. The hotel at Titisee was nice but the wait staff was too small - 2 people to handle 39 people plus other guests does not work. We returned from a tour and were going out to eat and the restaurants in the town were closed.

Schedule changes were not an upgrade as stated. Deleted the best know Christmas Market and put two tours and markets in one day. The accommodations were local on the small town and they were delightful. The dinners provided were tasty. For the cost my expectations were high. They were not met. It was an average tour.

The train trip was a commuter train. No interaction during 45 minute guide during ride.

Everyone involved with the tour (tour director, bus driver, limo driver to and from airport) worked in a very professional manner.

The excursion to Seefeld, Austria was absolutely the best part of the tour.

Wonderful trip! Your tour guide was a real sweetheart! I would travel with her again!

Rothenberg, Strasbourg, Munich, Innsbruck, Seefeld, Oberammergau. All would really nice! The Christmas Markets were wonderful as always! Got a lot of unique treasures and lovely memories! My daughter thoroughly enjoyed herself, also. The horse drawn sleigh ride was a real hoot!

The tour leader, *************, did an excellent job of managing the tour, and was quite helpful and patient, even when we wandered astray, causing a bit of delay.

I knew going into this that it was going to be a Christmas shopping tour, and that's not my primary interest, but I knew my wife would like it. I'd rather spend more time in Oberammergau and Rothenburg.

What an amazing trip! The tour guide felt like a family friend and the entire trip was wonderful! The only thing that would have made it better is if it had snowed!!!

It was an amazing tour! The weather was wonderful and of course Germany is so beautiful!!! Our tour guide felt like a family member and was just a delight and so very helpful!!

SARAH WAS A GREAT TOUR MANAGER.THERE WERE NO NEGATIVES. THE TRIP WAS GREAT.

MY FAVORITE THING WAS STAYING AT THE ALTE POST HOTEL IN OBERAMMERGAU.

Great tour, tour guides great, Air Canada was awful! Sarah made the trip even better.

Loved all the Christmas markets, especially Strasberg and Nurnberg.

enjoyed the trip, just an awful lot of time on the bus.

Going into Rotenberg, it has kept the old world flavor to the city.

Too much time was spent on the bus;. We often didn't seem to have enough time in the markets. The hotels we stayed at were great . Some of the evening meals that were provided were not up to par. My husband and I went without a main course the first evening due to the restaurant not planning enough food. Wish we could have had more time in the markets in the evenings when the lights are on..

Overall it was a fantastic trip! Our tour guide was very knowledgable and helpful. Unfortunately the trip felt very rushed and we did not have enough free time in the towns we visited.