Festive Tours & Cruises

Celebrate Christmas, discover exciting destinations and diverse cultures on a tour departing this festive season. Choose from 169 Christmas and New Year holidays and experience Europe's festive Christmas Markets, the snow coated Canadian Rockies or a moving midnight mass in Bethlehem. Enjoy the whitest Christmas in Antarctica or explore ancient landscapes in Jordon in the cooler season.

Popular Tours & Cruises View all

15 Days Amsterdam to Budapest

Operator: Scenic

From 8,410
Save 2,585

9 Days Munich to Zurich

Operator: Insight Vacations

From 4,532
Save 101

13 Days Nuremberg to Budapest

Operator: Uniworld River Cruises

From 10,608
Save 1,291

8 Days Munich to Budapest

Operator: Intrepid Travel

From 3,170
Save 79

Festive Travel Styles View all

Christmas Markets Holidays Tours
Christmas Markets Holidays

Uniquely tailored tours & river cruises showcasing Europe's renowned Christmas Markets.

Christmas & New Year Cruises Cruises
Christmas & New Year Cruises

Celebrate Christmas and New Year on the high seas this festive season.

Christmas River Cruises Trips
Christmas River Cruises

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

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

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

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

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

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

Advent on the Rhine   , VIC, Australia, Dec 2023
We would have to say that we could NOT fault the ship Amados Riva. The standard of the food in the restaurant and the buffet was of high standard and quality like a 5 star venue. The rooms were beautiful and the ship was new and made you feel special. The Staff was very friendly and extremely helpful, in all we would not hesitate to recommend this ...read more company to travel with, and we would be happy to book our next cruise again with them, and booking with Global Journeys also made it smooth. They always replied to emails promptly and they were easy to keep in contact with. A Happy Traveler!
The Ultimate White Xmas   , NSW, Australia, Dec 2023
When I booked this I was hoping to get a true white Xmas and this trip met all of my expectations. Xmas Day in Lake Louise was perfect, enough snow to enjoy and play and blue skies to make it picturesque. Scenic Tours are always well structured, excellent in all aspects from accommodation to inclusions and options, pace of travel and most importantly ...read more staff- tour guide and driver.
Great cruising vessel, new and clean and modern and spacious   , WA, Australia, Dec 2023
A lovely cruise with TravelMarvel. Unfortunately the water levels were too high in parts but the Tour Director and Ship's Captain were amazing in rearrangement the itinerary at short notice to accommodate as many Christmas markets as possible. Our docking was always walking distance to the attractions. Just too much food!
Relaxing and interesting cruise through heart of Europe   , TAS, Australia, Nov 2023
We booked this cruise mid year, our first ever river cruise, to see parts of Europe we hadn't previously been to. Also for the xmas markets. The first part of our expectations was absolutely met, but for the first few days, Xmas markets were few and far between. It was a little too early it seems. I'm not sure how much information the cruise company ...read more gets about the markets, but I know there were a lot of disappointed people.

The crew were fantastic, I couldn't fault them, they gave 110% but there was still a feeling that we should have had more information before leaving and maybe a couple of the locations for tours might have been better, particularly the Cathedral at Krems. This tour was a bit of a non event as much of the building was closed. The Vienna concert evening was expensive for what it was and not particularly well organised, there was a lot of standing around before people were shown to their seats, not good for over passengers. The concert was also very short. We did another one in Vienna a week later, half the cost and lasted another 40 minutes.

All the tour guides were great though. Very informative and often funny. Great history lessons to be had. The food was excellent, varied and plentiful for a first time cruiser, there were some old hands who had done multiple cruises that didn't agree, so maybe that needs looking at. The entertainment was fun and well done, Dressen was always on the go making sure everyone was happy.

Janina worked really hard to ensure everyone was informed and catered for. Her port talks were excellent. I would have liked to have seen more scenery as we sailed along , most of our movements were done at night, possibly partly because of the shorter days too. All in all it was great , we both enjoyed it very much.

Explore More Your guide to travelling

The Magic Of Christmas In The Rockies With Scenic

10 July, 2023

The Magic Of Christmas In The Rockies With Scenic

Canada 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...

Our Team’s Favourite Festive Trips

11 December, 2019

Our Team’s Favourite Festive Trips

With Christmas just around the corner, we’re getting into the spirit by rounding up our team’s favourite festive season itineraries. From waking up to a white Christmas in Whistler or by the Austrian lakes, to the twinkling lights of market stalls and the smell of cinnamon, this is what we’re...

7 Festive Foods to Enjoy at the European Christmas Markets

18 June, 2018

7 Festive Foods to Enjoy at the European Christmas Markets

Indulging 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...

Explore Six Festive European Christmas Markets with Albatross

15 June, 2018

Explore Six Festive European Christmas Markets with Albatross

If 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...

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