Review of Gate 1 9 Day Alpine Christmas Markets

We just got back from a European Christmas markets tour with Gate 1 Travel, and I wanted to be sure to write a review of Gate 1 9 Day Alpine Christmas Markets!

This was our second Christmas market tour with Gate 1, and it was not sponsored in any way…I paid for the trip with points for airfare and out of pocket for the trip itself, so this review is unbiased.

Review of Gate 1 9 Day Alpine Christmas Markets — Getting the Best Price and Booking

I signed up for the weekly Gate 1 deal emails to be sure that I got the best price for the trip I wanted as soon as I saw it. In this case, there was a Christmas market flash sale in January. Sign up for their emails here: gate1travel.com

Since I knew I was going to be booking air on my own (we did a few solo days in France and England and I booked airfare on points), I was able to book the two of us for the 9 day land-only portion of the tour for $1400 per person. That price included hotels, daily tours with the group, daily breakfast and three dinners, the services of a tour guide and driver, and transportation from city to city along the route. The flash sale offered about $400 off per person, so I thought it was a pretty good deal!

Since we booked air on our own, the price did not include airport transfers, but luckily it was pretty easy to get to and from the airports in both the arrival city (Munich) and departure city (Mainz/Frankfurt).

Gate 1 9 Day Alpine Christmas Markets Itinerary 

Gate 1 bills this trip as a 9 day tour, however, they consider day 1 as the day you depart the USA. I personally find that a little disingenuous since most flights depart in the evening of “day 1” and don’t include any of the services. The trip doesn’t really start until late in day 2. Why not just call it a “7 night trip” instead? That seems more straightforward, but I guess they (and other places) try to stretch out the timeline for marketing or pricing reasons.

But the main itinerary was:

2 nights Munich

• you land on day 2, transfer to the hotel, check in, probably crash for a bit, and meet your tour guide and fellow travelers at dinner
• day 3 includes a tour of Munich, time at the Christmas markets together and solo. There is also an option to add an afternoon trip to Salzburg if you so chose. We stayed in Munich because by the time you travel in and rest up a little, you really only have one day there!
• My top sightseeing tips are to visit Marienplatz Square, the food market right next to it called Viktualienmarkt for a fantastic local food extravaganza, and to visit one of the beer halls such as the Hofbräuhaus. Make a reservation as it gets busy!
• We stayed at the Holiday Inn Munich, which was a pretty straightforward and simple hotel. The breakfast was good, and it was about 15-20 minutes to walk to the old town center.

1 night Innsbruck

• On the bus ride from Munich to Innsbruck, we stopped at one of the palaces of Bavarian King Ludwig, Linderhof Palace. It was a beautiful palace, and once you were up in the Alps, it was snowy and glittering. Highly recommend this palace! It looks like a mini-Versailles.
• Once you get into Innsbruck, you check in to the hotel and a local guide takes you on a one hour tour of Innsbruck and leaves you at the Christmas markets. I loved the Innsbruck markets! They weren’t as crowded as Munich and the town lights were so beautiful.
• We stayed at a fantastic hotel called Hotel Grauer Bär. I wish we had more than one night here since this one was my favorite hotel of the trip. The breakfast was really tasty, and the hotel is just a few minutes walk from the old town. There’s also a complimentary spa on the top floor, so bring your bathing suit for the rooftop hot tub, pool, and steam/sauna area!

2 nights Strasbourg

• The next day, we travelled by bus from Innsbruck to Strasbourg. This day was very, very long. I think we spent 6 hours on the bus. In general, the bus was in excellent shape and very clean. But 6 hours as a tall person, or an elderly person, was a lot. One lady in our group had recent knee surgery, and I imagine she was uncomfortable on this day.
• We stopped several times on the route to get snacks and lunch, so they tried to give us time to stretch out in Vaduz, but I would have rather gotten to Strasbourg earlier and had time to walk around, even if our hotel rooms weren’t ready.
• In Strasbourg, we did another morning tour that ended in the markets. This city was so walkable, beautiful, and filled with stunning architecture. However, it was so very crowded. I think Strasbourg is ranked as one of Europe’s most popular Christmas markets, and it showed! Pack your cameras and your patience. And give the traditional tarte flambée a try at one of the many charming restaurants.
• Here, we stayed at the Hilton Strasbourg, which was a clean and serviceable hotel. The staff was really friendly. However, it’s slightly outside of the city center, so the walk is about 20 minutes or more. Or, you can take a short tram ride to the center.

2 nights Mainz

• From Strasbourg to Mainz, we spent a few hours in the charming German town of Heidelberg to explore the castle and their delightful Christmas markets. I am so glad we stopped here; it was a perfect little morning/afternoon getaway.
• Upon our arrival in Mainz, our guide took us on a walk through the Christmas market, which was another charming place to grab some food and roam around, taking in the holiday spirit.
• On our last day of the trip, we took a Rhine River cruise and got to see several hilltop castles from the ship.
• We ended the cruise in Rüdesheim am Rhein and had a few hours to explore and for a wine tasting at Weingut Georg Breuer. This was probably our favorite market town, even though we were there for a very short time. It just felt so authentic and unlike some of the bigger city markets. Highly recommend a stop here!
• Finally, our tour guide hosted us all for a final dinner before we all said goodbye for the evening and parted ways.
• We stayed the two nights at the Hyatt Mainz. There’s another spa area on the lower floor with a hot tub, pool, and sauna next to the fitness center. The breakfast here was also really fantastic and included mimosas! The staff was not as friendly as the other hotels. In fact they were cranky when we asked for more pillows and towels, as well as eating outside food in the lobby. It wasn’t a super welcoming place, to be frank.
• We departed the next day to the Frankfurt airport with a Bolt (kind of like an Uber or Lyft). It was about $30 USD for the one way trip, but we chose the convenience of a car over the train for comfort with our bags.

Overall, we have had really wonderful experiences with Gate 1 and would absolutely book more trips with them in the future. They are responsive and friendly, and if you catch the sales at the right time it’s possible to get great deals on some trips!

I hope this review of Gate 1 9 Day Alpine Christmas Markets helped you, and please comment below if you have any more questions about it!

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