Sound of Music Tour - 05 September 2010

7 Nights - 4* Hotel (Half board) £739 (Waitlist) - £834 (Superior Hotel)

Please note the details of this cruise have changed due to flight operations to Munich

PROVISIONAL ITINERARY

• DAY 1, Sunday Late morning coach transfer from Belfast to Dublin for afternoon flight to Memmingen, Bavaria. Our coach departs for the Hotel sLuitpold and Reinhart in Prien, where we should arrive around 8.00pm. Dinner at the Hotel.
• Day 2, Monday This is a free day, allowing you time to relax and enjoy the facilities of the hotel and the surroundings. At optional tour to Berchtesgaden will be available. Minimum 20 persons. See below. Dinner in the Hotel. Viewing of film “Sound of Music”
• Day 3, Tuesday Full day excursion on “Sound of Music” tour. Full details below. Dinner at the Hotel.
• Day 4. Wednesday      This is a free day. Optional excursions will be available to Munich, for anyone interested. See below for details. Dinner at Hotel.
• Day 5, Thursday Full day excursion on Lake Chiemsee and the islands. Picnic lunch is included.
• Day 6, Friday    Free day. Optional excursion to the State Garden Show at Rosenheim. (£20pp - Minimum numbers 12) Dinner at hotel or local restaurant (TBA)
• Day 7, Saturday  Day free. An optional excursion into the mountains by train and cable car,  will be available. See below for details. Dinner at the Hotel.
• Day 8, Sunday  Transfer to airport. Coach departs around 12.30pm after breakfast. Flight back to Dublin, arriving at 9.30pm. Coach transfer back to Belfast.

 Please note that the order and content of this itinerary may change slightly.

  Price: £739 Luitpold Hotel  -  Currently fully booked. Waitlist possible..

Upgrade to 3* Superior Reinhart Hotel (next door) £834.

The airfare may rise without notice and any increases will be added to future prices. All existing reservations will be honoured.

Included in the fare:

• Connection coach from Belfast to Dublin Airport
• Direct non-stop flights from Dublin to Bavaria
• 7 nights accommodation in the Luitpold Hotel or the Hotel Reinhart on the shores of Lake Chiemsee
• Full Bavarian breakfast each morning
• 6 dinners at the hotel (We may go to a restaurant one evening, though)
• Full day excursion to Salzburg and "Sound of Music" with sightseeing tour and dinner in or near Salzburg
• Full day excursion on Lake Chiemsee with entrance to the Herrenchiemsee Palace and Frauenchiemsee
• Grand picnic lunch on Herrenchiemsee
• FREE optional excursion to Munich
• Coach transfers between airport and hotel
• Escorted throughout by our own Alan Couser

• Some aspects of this itinerary may change slightly but we will update you on these accordingly

Hotels

Luitpold Hotel, Prien am Chiemsee

The Luitpold is a lovely, family run 3* hotel on the shores of lake Chiemsee. A perfect location for our holiday, it is the starting point for a number of our excursions. The accommdaition is of a simple Bavarian style and you are assured of a good healthy breakfast each morning and a hearty dinner each evening. The shores of the lake are just a few steps away, with beaches and promenades, shops and cafes. Thee Prienavera Leisure Centre is just 2 minutes walk away, offering saunas, massage, indoor pool and outdoor pool and garden. The steam railway leaves from just outside the hotel, with connections up to the main part of the town. We are sure you will enjoy your stay here.

Hotel Reinhart, Prien am Chiemsee

The Reinhart Hotel is directly next door to the Luitpold. Depending on which building you are in, part of the hotel is 3* Superior and part is 4*. Rooms are slightly higher standard than the rooms at the Luitpold and the hotel features its own indorr pool and solarium. Currently, this is the hotel we are featuring, as all our allocation at the Luitpold is sold out.

EXCURSIONS

CHIEMSEE CRUISE, FAIRYTALE PALACE & MONASTERY

This is a really relaxing and interesting excursion, which is included in the cost of your holiday. Shortly after breakfast, we will catch the ferry, from the jetty in front of the hotel to the islands of the Chiemsee. Our tour today includes a visit to the magnificent summer palace of King Ludwig II, Herrenchiemsee, modeled on the grand Palace of Versailles outside Paris. After our tour of the palace, we will stop for a wonderful picnic. (Ask our previous guests what to expect. You won’t be disappointed.) After lunch, our ferry will transport us to Frauenchiemsee and its beautiful monastery, where we will have time to wander, explore and relax before our ferry back to Prien. We should arrive back mid-late afternoon. The tour times are dependent on the ferry schedule.

 Sound of Music Tour

 Todays tour departs shortly after breakfast and it will take about one hour to reach Salzburg. We intend to visit many of the sights and sets from the epic film, such as the “Do-Re-Mi” fountain, the cathedral, the abbey, the house, Mirabell Palace & Gardens. We will have a short break for a snack lunch (not included) during the tour. It is planned at this stage (Dec 2009) that we will finish with dinner somewhere in or near Salzburg before returning to our hotel. Some entrance fees are included in this tour.

 Optional Excursions

 Alpine trains and cable cars. (Extra cost - £15pp)

 A half day excursion is planned to take us into the mountains, which rise above Prien. Our journey will start from the front door of the hotel by vintage steam train, which brings us up to the station, from where we catch the mountain train up through the forests and meadows to Aschau. From here, we have approximately one kilometer of a walk to the base station for the cable car, which takes us high up into the mountains, where the air is fresh as the morning dew and the views are simply spectacular. There is a restaurant / café up here, where you may wish to stop and relax for 90 minutes or so. Alternatively, you may join Alan & Ann on a walk along the high altitude paths on a circle route, finishing back at the restaurant. For those on the walk, we will bring a light picnic. Please note: This tour involves some physical exertion and is not suitable for people using walking aids. This tour can be done with as little as 4 persons. The cost for the cable-car alone is £18, so this is exceptional value.

 Berchtesgaden and the Eagles Nest   (Extra cost – £37.50pp - Minimum 20 participants)

Surely one of the most famous places on earth, relating to the dark days of the Nazi dictatorship. The Nazi Party built this striking residence as a present for their “Führer”, with magnificent views over his lands. Little did anyone realize that Hitler actually hated heights and rarely visited the Eagles Nest. You will get to ride on the special bus, through the tunnels and around the mountain, then in the original brass elevator before having a guided tour, in English, of the moauntain retret. Our tour will also include a drive through some of the spectacular scenery of the Bavarian and Austrian Alps. No meals are included. This tour should be suitable for most people who can walk a moderate distance unaided. Minimum participant numbers will be 20 to do this tour by coach. We can arrange a tailored version for smaller numbers, where we will travel by train but this will involve some walking.

 Day trip in Munich (No extra cost. No meals or entrances included)

 An opportunity to visit the capital of Bavaria and its wonderful sights. From the world-famous breweries for which Munich is known, to the Olympic Park, the English Gardens, the city hall and the markets. Germany’s most famous museum is also here and well worth a visit….if you’ve got a few hours! We will depart the hotel around 10.00am and the journey time is just over one hour each way. There is as much or as little walking as you wish. If there are enough people interested, we will visit the concentration camp of Dachau. Other than the transport up to Munich, there is nothing else included in the cost. No minimum numbers on this one!

 Bavarian State Garden Show - Rosenheim (Extra cost £22.50pp - Minimum numbers 8)

 From April 23 to October 3, 2010, Rosenheim will be holding a very special garden party: the 2010 State Garden Show. Entitled the show is an open invitation to all visitors to give free rein to their imagination here on the banks of the rivers Inn and Mangfall. A circular path links Rosenheim’s historic town centre with the nearby river landscape. Elaborate fountains and magnificent gardens make an ideal place to stop and daydream, while the fascinating educational trails along the river banks provide fascinating facts and greater understanding of the plant and animal world; blooming oases offer rest and tranquillity. Added to all this is an attractive programme of leisure and cultural events, with fun and entertainment guaranteed.

Innspiration. This package includes return train and shuttle bus fares and entrance to the show.

Rosenheim 2010 – a colourful garden party – and everyone’s invited.