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Austrian Alps All-Inclusive

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7 days From $1,995 per person
4.2 stars(13 reviews)
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Enjoy breathtaking views of mountains, glaciers, lakes and charming Tyrolean towns on this discovery of the incredible Austrian Alps

Travel among a group of like-minded travelers led by a professional tour manager

Mobility Rating 2

2025 Tour code: AIS25

About the tour

Explore the beautiful towns and landscapes of the Austrian Alps based in St Johann, where dinner and drinks are included each evening at our hotel

Marvel at views of Austria's tallest mountain on a journey across the Grossglockner High Alpine Road and discover Mozart's hometown of Salzburg with a singing tour guide.

Travel through the stunning Ziller Valley on a steam-hauled train and absorb fantastic views during a relaxing cruise across Lake Zell.

Unforgettable Experiences

Riding the steam-hauled Zillertalbahn to Mayrhofen
Riding the steam-hauled Zillertalbahn to Mayrhofen
Enjoy beautiful views of the picturesque Ziller Valley on a steam train journey to Mayrhofen, an attractive town at the end of a valley surrounded by impressive peaks.
Savoring spectacular views on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Savoring spectacular views on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Explore astonishing alpine panoramas on the Hochtor Pass during visits to Edelweissspitze, Austria’s tallest mountain and its ethereal glacier, and the former gold-mining town of Heiligenblut.
Seeing beautiful Zell am See from a lake cruise
Seeing beautiful Zell am See from a lake cruise
Relax on a delightful cruise on the brilliant-blue waters of Lake Zell, admiring vistas of undulating hills and towering mountains, before exploring the charming town of Zell am See.
Discovering cultural Salzburg on a musical tour
Discovering cultural Salzburg on a musical tour
Visit the hometown of world-famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the setting for The Sound of Music and get to know the elegant city in the joyful company of ‘the singing tour guide’.

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - From Munich to the Austrian Alps

Arriving in the historic German city of Munich independently, you meet your traveling group and Tour Manager.

From the Bavarian capital, a local train takes us across the Austrian border to Wörgl and into the majestic Alps.

After a motorcoach transfer to St Johann, we check in to our hotel, where we stay for six nights. Set in a broad amphitheater-like valley, this charming town is nestled at the heart of the Tyrolean Alps. It's a beautiful and peaceful base for our alpine adventure - brimming with traditional buildings adorned by colorful flowerboxes.

Our family-run hotel has an idyllic chalet-style façade, and we settle down to enjoy dinner with drinks included between 7-9pm, as they are each and every night of our stay.

Includes
  • Dinner
  • Eurostar Meal (First Class only)
Day 2 - Getting to know St Johann

After our first breakfast in Austria, there is free time to explore St Johann at leisure, with a picnic lunch for you to enjoy as you wish.

The quaint Mariä Himmelfahrt church with a yellow façade and twin Baroque towers has an ornately decorated interior and sits in the main square, while the town's museum details the region's social and natural history - and is housed in an 18th-century penitentiary for dissolute priests. Leaving from near our hotel, the Harschbichl cable car delivers incredible views of peaks and valleys on its way to the mountain more than 5,000ft above sea level, where the taller Kitzbühel Horn dominates the skyline and breathtaking vistas stretch as far as the eye can see.

Returning to the hotel at leisure, you can enjoy coffee and cake this afternoon, before dinner.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - Taking the Grossglockner High Alpine Road

A visit to the Hohe Tauern National Park after breakfast is a highlight of our trip as we ride over the highest surfaced mountain pass in Austria.

Our first stop is the beautifully named Edelweissspitze, an 8,400ft peak accessible by road that offers jaw-dropping panoramic views of snow-capped mountains. Afterwards, we travel through the wilderness to the summit of the Hochtor Pass. As the route winds gently down the mountains, we take a short diversion to Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe. Named after the Habsburg emperor who stopped here in 1856, this viewpoint commands mind-blowing views of the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain, and the snaking Pasterze Glacier, the largest in the eastern Alps. There is free time here to enjoy your picnic lunch while soaking in the extraordinary scenery and keeping an eye out for native ibex and marmots.

Our next destination is the charming alpine village of Heiligenblut. There is time at leisure to learn about Heiligenblut's history as the site of the only gold-digging settlement in the Alps, before returning to St Johann in the evening, ready for dinner and drinks.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 - Riding the steam-hauled Zillertal Railway

Traveling by coach to Jenbach after breakfast, we join the narrow-gauge Zillertal Railway* for a 19-mile journey through the picturesque Ziller Valley. First opened in 1902, the route is operated by a steam engine hauling beautifully restored carriages through lush green pastures stretching between rolling alpine hills. Views of remote villages of half-timbered houses and traditional chalets guide our way to charming Mayrhofen.

A charming town at the head of a valley backdropped by increasingly tall peaks, you're free to explore the pretty streets lined with cafés and shops. Alternatively, take a cable car higher into the mountains to enjoy panoramic views while savoring your picnic lunch. The Penken cable car carries passengers to an alpine meadow offering breathtaking views of Mayrhofen and its surrounding snow-capped peaks. At the top of the Ahorn cable car is a rustic amphitheater, crystal-clear lakes, pastoral huts and spectacular views.

Returning to Jenbach by rail in the early afternoon, we arrive back at our St Johann hotel with free time to relax or explore before gathering for tonight's dinner and drinks.

*On early/late season departures, today will feature a journey on the Achensee Railway from Jenbach to Seespitz instead of the Zillertal Railway

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 - Charming Zell am See and a lake cruise

In mid-morning, we take a local train through valleys alongside the shore of Lake Zell. On arrival in the beautiful lakeside town of Zell am See, we enjoy a relaxing cruise across the sapphire-blue lake, a great way to admire the lush forests, undulating hills and towering mountains beyond.

Returning to shore, you have the afternoon to explore at leisure. Stroll along the lakefront promenade, stopping to admire delightful views while enjoying your picnic lunch, or discover Zell am See's historical center. The quaint triangular Stadtplatz is overlooked by the Romanesque tower of the 13th-century Church of St Hippolytus. Inside, there are Gothic carved figurines and frescoes decorating the walls. On a different corner of the Stadtplatz is another historic tower containing the Vogtturm museum, relaying the town's history. For astounding views of Zell am See and the surrounding scenery, a series of cable cars also connects the town with alpine pastures and peaks.

Boarding a local train back to St Johann in the late afternoon, there's time to relax before dinner and drinks this evening.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6 - The musical city of Salzburg

The birthplace of Mozart and the setting for The Sound of Music, Salzburg is our destination after breakfast today. This musical city's impressive sights are explored during a guided tour with our singing tour guide, Trudy.

Overlooked by the huge 11th-century Hohensalzburg Fortress, set high on a hill, we stroll through the well-preserved and UNESCO-listed Old Town, admiring churches, squares, alleyways and Baroque spires. With an afternoon at leisure, there are many appealing options. You can visit the former residence of the Mozart family, who lived at Getreidegasse 9 from 1747 to 1773. It is where Wolfgang was born in 1756 and is now a house museum detailing his young life. His old Makartplatz home is also a museum displaying artifacts from the composer's life. You could take a walk along the river, visit Mirabell Garden or take a cable-car ride up Untersberg Mountain for spectacular views across the Berchtesgaden Alps.

This evening, we enjoy dinner and drinks at our St Johann hotel.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7 - Homeward bound

The picturesque village of St Johann allowed us to explore the stunning Alps as we crossed the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, admiring views of the country's highest mountain. A steam-hauled train trip on the Zillertal railway took us to the charming town of Mayrhofen, while a cruise on Lake Zell provided a relaxing way to marvel at a panorama of peaks. A day in Salzburg was spent uncovering the sights of this musical city, including an enjoyable exploration with the singing tour guide.

Leaving St Johann this morning, a coach transfers us to nearby Wörgl. Traveling by local train, we say goodbye to the wonderful Austrian Alps as we journey to Munich, where you can make your way home from Munich airport.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Additional information

Departure times

Departure times vary based on selected rail vacation. This information will be provided in your final documents. For more information please speak with your rail specialist.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular vacation with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

Hotel Park

Hotel Park, St. Johann

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SportHotel, St Johann

SportHotel, St Johann

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Trains

Eurostar
ICE Train
InterCity
Thalys
Zillertalbahn

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Reviews

4.2 stars4.2 / 5 · 13 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (7)
  2. 4 stars
    (4)
  3. 3 stars
    (0)
  4. 2 stars
    (1)
  5. 1 star
    (1)

Ray Sackett

4 stars

Submitted 10/Sep

Good value for the money. Great tour leader. Beautiful scenery.

Collected by Trustpilot

robert a

2 stars

Submitted 10/Sep

Too much handling of bags on the train with no priority seating due to rail company changes. This is just not my cup of tea for traveling. Now I know. No Air conditioning in lodging rooms made sleeping difficult.

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Randall Greene

5 stars

Submitted 11/Aug

The trip was absolutely beautiful, and our tour manager was excellent.

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Chunchun Chen

4 stars

Submitted 7/Aug

The guide was very pleasant, but lack of en-route information was dissapointing. The hotel in Johann was very clean and the staff very friendly and helpful, but the rooms are in drastic need of renovation. There were no bathroom amenities, apart from a hand soap container on the hand basin and in the shower. The room had no drawers just cupboards, no A/C (the hotel became extremely hot inside), no fridge, no tea / coffee making, could not reach reception on the phone and no plugs to use for charging unless you broght an adapter. The breakfat buffet was acceptable, but the same every day and the dinners were acceptable. Also, it is the first time ever on a tour that we had to pack our own lunch bags for the daily excursions. We have used your tours two time previously but this one has put us off for the future. Another point is that we spent the majority of the first day getting to cologne and the majority of the second day getting to Johann, so basically we and others on the tour thought two days wasted.

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Dana Stephens

1 stars

Submitted 6/Aug

Not enough informative information

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Kim

4 stars

Submitted 22/Jul

We had several communication issues with Vacations by Rail (VBR). They mixed us 6 Americans in with a group from England and kept referencing changes to our trip that really were for the English folks and not us, such as hotel changes as well as the final city of embarkment, which would have messed with our air flight home. We had to call VBR several times to get clarifications. VBR also kept mixing up us 3 married couples such that room assignments put siblings together rather than spouses - but we worked that out! Overall, the trip itself was great and the Austrian scenery was absolutely beautiful. We got our full taste of the European rail system, including the reason why everyone says to pack light and carry small suitcases. We missed our one train stop because there were so many people with luggage trying to get off and as we stood in the aisle with our luggage waiting for the line to move (just like on an airplane), the train doors closed and the train sped on to the next stop. The ride to Grossglockner was well worth the trip. The town of St. Johann was quaint and very nice for walking around when we had some downtime. The Hotel Park staff were fabulous, but the breakfast choices left some room for improvement. We also had to pack our lunch each day and the only choices were lunch meat sandwiches. Overall, I'd give the trip a 4.5 rating, as opposed to just a 4.0.

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