Bavaria & Austria – Jewels of Romantic Europe

Eight days, one private driver-guide and a line that runs from Munich through the Bavarian Alps into Tyrol, on to Salzburg and back over Lake Chiemsee to the airport. This is the itinerary to reach for when a client says Germany and Austria in the same sentence and has a week to give it. Every transfer, ticket and guided walk is arranged in advance; your clients never queue for a counter and never wonder what happens next.

The route, day by day

• Day 1 – Munich: private airport transfer, then a three-hour guided walk of the historic centre with tastings at the Viktualienmarkt, taking in Marienplatz, the Glockenspiel, the Frauenkirche and the former royal residence
• Day 2 – Garmisch-Partenkirchen: cable car to the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest summit, descent to the Eibsee and a one-hour walk through the alpine old town
• Day 3 – Ettal and the royal castles: the Benedictine abbey with a brewery visit and tasting, then Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, with the driver-guide on disposal for the full day
• Day 4 – Innsbruck: a two-hour walk past the Golden Roof, City Tower, Court Church and Imperial Palace, followed by a Tyrolean folk evening of music and dance
• Day 5 – Wattens and Berchtesgaden: Swarovski Crystal Worlds, then the salt mine with its slides and mirror-lake crossing, and a short guided walk of the town
• Day 6 – Salzburg: three hours on foot around Mozart’s birthplace, the Getreidegasse, Mirabell Palace and the Sound of Music locations, closing with the Mozart dinner concert
• Day 7 – Lake Chiemsee: boat crossing to the Herreninsel for Herrenchiemsee Palace, the Bavarian Versailles, and on to the Fraueninsel for the abbey and lakeside paths
• Day 8 – transfer from Lake Chiemsee to Munich Airport

What is included

All ground transport in a private vehicle, seven nights in four- and five-star boutique hotels along the route, the guided walks named above, the Zugspitze cable car, entrance to Ettal Abbey with tasting, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, Swarovski Crystal Worlds, the salt mine, Herrenchiemsee Palace and the island boats, plus the folk evening and the Mozart dinner concert. Meals beyond breakfast stay open so your clients keep their evenings free. Arrival can be upgraded with VIP meet and greet at Munich Airport and the vehicle class adjusted through our private chauffeured transfer service.

Who this itinerary is built for

It suits first-time visitors to the Alps who want breadth without changing hotels every night, couples marking an anniversary, and families with older children who will happily trade one castle for a salt mine. The daily driving legs are short – rarely more than two hours – which is what makes eight days feel unhurried rather than compressed. Guests who want to walk more can swap a museum for a mountain morning; guests who want to slow down can add a night in Salzburg or Garmisch without breaking the sequence.

Season, pace and variations

Late May to early October is the reliable window: the Zugspitze cable car, the lake boats and the alpine roads are all dependable, and the folk and concert programmes run. December works as a shortened Christmas-market version. If your clients only have a day rather than a week, the same castles are covered by the Neuschwanstein and Linderhof full-day excursion, and Salzburg alone by the private Salzburg old town walking tour. Munich arrival and departure logistics are described on our Munich destination page.