Festive Tours & Cruises
Popular Tours & Cruises View all
5 Days Frankfurt to Basel
Operator: Avalon River Cruises
7 Days Nuremberg to Vienna
Operator: Avalon River Cruises
7 Days Vienna to Nuremberg
Operator: Avalon River Cruises
Festive Travel Styles View all
Uniquely tailored tours & river cruises showcasing Europe's renowned Christmas Markets.
Celebrate Christmas and New Year on the high seas this festive season.
Embark on a river cruise departing this festive season along the rivers of Europe.
Discover Experiences and highlights you can have on a Festive & Christmas tour
A White Christmas in Banff
Embrace Banff’s most breathtaking snow covered landscapes when you ride the gondola, take a dog sled ride and enjoy a magical white Christmas Day.
A Christmas Market River Cruise
River cruise along the mighty Danube or the Rhine, crossing up to five countries as you stop to enjoy Europe's festive Christmas markets, from Budapest to Paris.
Find Santa in Antarctica
Enjoy a pristine White Christmas in Antarctica. Spot leopard seals, gentoo penguins, and elephant seals and celebrate on your Expedition ship.
Christmas in Bethlehem
Celebrate the festive season of your lifetime in the Holy Land of Israel when you join pilgrims on their march to the Church of the Nativity and witness a moving midnight mass. This is where it all began!
Christmas in Petra
Spend Christmas Day exploring the wonders of Petra. Walk through the mysterious Siq to discover the Khazneh, Theater, Colonnaded Street and Museum, then climb to the magnificent façade of ad-Deir (the Monastery).
Recent Reviews What our clients are saying about their tours during the festive season
The tour guides were wonderful and the crew on board were excellent and all spoke fluent English. The 160 guests were wonderful and met English, Canadian, American, Australians on board. The shore excursions were excellent and a wealth of so much history and knowledge dating back to 1200 centuries. It was such a fantastic time. Thank you so much Georgie for booking this trip for me and going out of your way for making it a perfect Xmas holiday. I would definitely recommend the Xmas market cruise and I will definitely be booking future trips with Georgie again.
Having sailed on an Avalon river cruise before, it ...read more was difficult not to compare that experience with this European Christmas markets river cruise with Viking. Overall, I would prefer Avalon over Viking with the caveat that I sailed Avalon just before Covid and I don't know what their standard is like today. I will know soon as I'm already booked for another Avalon river cruise next Aug.
We found the Viking crew not as proactive in engaging with passengers, especially when there is an expectation that we be well informed of pertinent details to do with docking and departure times for each day of sailing. While most of what we needed to know was available somewhere, it took effort on our part to hunt down information. A number of passengers also mentioned the same observation.
Our cabin was also smaller than the Avalon equivalent making movement quite restrictive. Certainly the in-room TV channels were inferior in terms of variety with mainly news channels dominating. As far as meals go, again they were lacking in standard and variety with very few standout dishes compared to what we remember getting from Avalon. Another area of disappointment for us was the absence of two-seater dining tables for occasions when we wanted a quiet dinner by ourselves, in contrast with what Avalon offered, though not sure if this ship's dining room was configured differently to other Viking ships.
When it came to shore excursions, the crew was mostly disorganised and caused confusion among the travellers as to which group or bus they should be on. This happened a lot during our journey. That aside, the holiday was great outside the ship and I managed to tick this cruise off my bucket list. If you've never experienced an European Christmas markets tour, this itinerary could be the one.
Explore More Your guide to traveling
21 October, 2024
Make The Festive Season Extra SpecialCelebrate Christmas on a Scenic River Cruise Celebrate the lead up to Christmas amongst some of the world’s most renowned Christmas markets – it is the proverbial icing on your Christmas cake! The best way to experience Europe’s Christmas markets is on a Scenic Luxury River cruise. Drift...
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The Magic Of Christmas In The Rockies With ScenicCanada is a magical place to visit at any time of the year, but never more so than during the winter holiday season. Experience Scenic's 14 Day Christmas in the Rockies tour departing in mid-December from Victoria to Banff and featuring an array of experiences to get you into the festive...
18 June, 2018
7 Festive Foods to Enjoy at the European Christmas MarketsIndulging in rich and delicious food and drink is a quintessential part of the experience when you visit traditional European Christmas Markets. Truth be known, it is the coldest time of year in Europe and when you come from the Southern Hemisphere you will be feeling it. Layered clothing and...
15 June, 2018
Explore Six Festive European Christmas Markets with AlbatrossIf you are travelling to Europe over the festive season you need to visit to one of the beautiful Christmas Markets. The Christmas Market tradition dates back to the middle ages, and are an important event on the European festive season calendar for locals in current times too. Enjoy An...
