Oberammergau Passion Play and Beautiful Lake Garda

Local departure by coach or Home Connect service, then to Belgium for an overnight stay.

We leave Belgium and head to the city of Cologne, with its splendid Gothic cathedral whose twin spires dominate the skyline view from the River Rhine.

After some free time, we continue along the Rhine Valley with the opportunity to join an optional relaxing cruise along the river to enjoy the sedate scenery of the vineyards and castles that adorn the valley.

We continue to the Frankfurt area for our overnight stay.

Enjoy an included morning visit to the picturesque town of Heidelberg on the River Neckar, famed for its university dating back to 1386, its castle and its Old Town – the 'Altstadt'.

After time for lunch, we head south to our accommodation in the Oberammergau area for a two-night stay, with time to relax ahead of tomorrow's spectacle.

This morning, relax and soak up your surroundings. We will have lunch at noon, ahead of the Passion Play.

The play has a running time of approximately five hours in total, with a meal served during the interval. The performance begins at 2:30pm* concluding around 10:30pm, with a three-hour break at 5:00pm when dinner is provided. After the performance, you will be transferred back to your accommodation.

The play is traditionally performed in German and a textbook with the complete play text is included on all tours.

*Subject to change.

We leave after breakfast and head for the splendours of Lake Garda. En route we call into Austria's Tyrolean capital of Innsbruck. Surrounded by steep mountains, the city's location is most impressive. Perhaps the most notable landmark is the Golden Roof, from where the Emperor Maximilian I used to watch the events in the square below.

Leaving Innsbruck, we travel over the spectacular Brenner Pass into Italy to our hotel in Lake Garda for a six-night stay.

Today is free for you to relax and explore your new surroundings. Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and is a popular holiday destination.

After a relaxing morning, why not join our optional afternoon 'A Taste of Italy' excursion? We make our way to a cantina where the wine experts will explain the different grapes from the area, used in the production of the wine. You will then have the chance to taste both red and white wines as well as sample some of the local produce of the area.

After breakfast, we have an included excursion to the second-largest city in the Veneto region, Verona. This beautiful place is situated alongside the River Adige and is the setting for William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Verona was a Roman city, and many Roman ruins have been preserved, notably the Arena. Most of the historical sights to see today date from the past 800 years. Verona's military importance has also left city fortifications and an excellent castle.

To introduce you to the city's array of spectacular sights, why not join our optional guided walking tour? The many charms of the city will be brought to life as you walk through its streets accompanied by a local guide. Admire the 1st-century Arena (entrance included on the walking tour), home to the prestigious Verona Opera Festival, which dominates the main square. Verona boasts an abundance of fine palaces, churches and monuments, which adorn its alleyways and squares.

You will have time at leisure to browse amongst the shops or take a coffee break in one of the many cafés in Piazza Bra overlooking the Arena.

No time in this part of Italy is complete without a visit to Venice. Join our optional excursion to this city of canals, gondolas and palaces. Enjoy the famous sights including the Bridge of Sighs and the Doge's Palace. A visit to St Mark's Square, the principal public square of Venice, is also a must. It is dominated at its eastern end by the magnificent St Mark's Basilica, a superb example of the Romanesque-Byzantine style.

Perhaps take a ride on a gondola, with your expert gondolier steering you through the busy waterways of Venice (at own cost), or maybe sit back and relax at Harry's Bar with one of their famous Bellini cocktails – the choice is yours.

For a different view over St Mark's Square, enjoy our optional lagoon cruise as we sail past Giudecca Island and Venice's Lido resort, made famous by the International Film Festival.

It’s our final day in Lake Garda and there’s so much to see and do around the lake. Our included lake tour will stop at some of the most picturesque villages. We also see the ancient fortified town of Sirmione, the gem of the peninsula, located on the south of the lake.

Free day today to relax in your holiday resort on Lake Garda. Alternatively, why not join our optional boat cruise excursion across the lake? We sail first to the charming town of Limone and then onwards to Malcesine for free time.

We board our boat and sail first to the charming town of Limone on the western shore of the lake. There will be free time in Limone where you can meander down the cobbled streets, or maybe sample the delicious Italian ice cream.

We continue our journey across Lake Garda to Malcesine, a beautiful town with narrow cobbled streets clustering beneath the thirteenth-century turreted Scaligero Castle.

Travel to Belgium or northern France for an overnight stay.

Return home.