GRJ All Inclusive Austria: Alps, Salzburg & Lake Zell

Gathering at London St Pancras this morning, your holiday begins by meeting the Tour Manager and fellow travellers ahead of this GRJ All Inclusive tour to the beautiful Austrian Alps.

Boarding the Eurostar service, we travel to Brussels in Plus class, enjoying a light meal at our seats on the way. In the Belgian capital, we change trains, continuing in First Class to the German city of Frankfurt for an overnight stop.

This bustling city on the Main River is one of the most important in Germany. Perhaps surprisingly for a global financial and business hub, its medieval Old Town retains a quaint atmosphere. The centrepiece is the historic Römer, a triple-fronted building with distinctive crow-stepped gables. On arrival, we check in to our nearby hotel for the night and enjoy our first dinner together as a group this evening.

• Eurostar Light Meal
• Dinner

Setting off after breakfast this morning, we return to Frankfurt station to carry on our journey, starting by travelling to Munich in First Class. Passing through historic Swabian towns of Ulm and Augsburg, we arrive in the Bavarian capital in the afternoon. A local train takes us across the Austrian border to Wörgl and into the majestic Alps.

After a coach transfer to St Johann, we check in to our hotel, where we stay for six nights. Set in a broad amphitheatre-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 colourful flowerboxes.

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

• Breakfast, Dinner
• Drinks package included with Dinner

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.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Drinks package included with Dinner

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

Our first stop is the evocatively 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 up the extraordinary scenery and keeping an eye out for native ibex and marmots.

Our next destination is the 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.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Travelling 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 hills. Views of remote villages of half-timbered houses and traditional chalets guide our way to Mayrhofen.

This popular alpine town at the head of a valley is backdropped by increasingly tall peaks, and 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 savouring your picnic lunch. The Penken cable car carries passengers to a mountainside meadow offering breathtaking views of Mayrhofen and its surrounding snow-capped peaks. At the top of the Ahorn cable car is a rustic amphitheatre, crystal-clear lakes, pastoral huts and spectacular views.

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

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

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Drinks package included with Dinner

In mid-morning, we take a local train through valleys alongside the shore of Lake Zell. On arrival in the shoreline 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 the town, you have the afternoon to explore at leisure. Stroll along the lakefront promenade, stopping to admire the views while enjoying your picnic lunch, or discover Zell am See's historical centre. 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.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Drinks package included with Dinner

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 an enjoyable guided tour.

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 artefacts 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.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Drinks package included with Dinner

Leaving St Johann this morning, a coach transfers us to nearby Wörgl. Boarding a local train, we say goodbye to the wonderful Austrian Alps as we journey to Munich.

In the Bavarian capital, we board the service to Cologne in First Class. Passing through the charming city of Ulm, look out for its majestic minster, the spire of which is the tallest in the world.

Arriving in Cologne the early evening, our hotel is just a short distance from the main station. This German city sits beside the Rhine and was founded as a military camp by the Romans who named it Colonia, which is from where the modern term 'colony' is derived. After checking in, we have our final dinner together as a group.

• Breakfast, Dinner

Our time in St Johann allowed us to experience the stunning Austrian Alps, from its awe-inspiring landscapes to its charming towns. After exploring the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, riding the Zillertal railway to Mayrhofen, cruising Lake Zell and discovering the beauty of Salzburg, we returned each evening to our Tyrolean hotel for dinner with drinks on this GRJ All Inclusive holiday.

After breakfast this morning, we return to Cologne station to board the train to Brussels in First Class. In the Belgian capital, we switch to the Eurostar service in Plus class and enjoy a light meal at our seats as we travel to London St Pancras, where you exploration of the Austrian Alps concludes.

• Breakfast
• Eurostar light meal