Focus: World War II in Germany
Trace Germany's most challenging chapter on this eleven-day journey through Berlin, Dresden, and Munich. With expert historians as your guides, explore sites from the rise of the Nazi regime through liberation, including concentration camp memorials and Cold War landmarks. Thoughtfully paced for families seeking meaningful historical understanding, this journey balances profound learning with time for reflection, all arranged with the care and sensitivity this subject demands.
Journey highlights
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Expert historical guidance: Specialist historians provide context and nuance throughout, making complex history accessible for all ages
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Thoughtful pacing: Time built in for reflection and personal exploration after visiting memorial sites
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Comprehensive narrative: From Nazi rise to Cold War division, understand the full arc of this period through carefully chosen locations
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Family-appropriate approach: Sensitive, age conscious presentation that honours the gravity of these sites while supporting younger travelers
Our tailor made journeys include:
- Your dedicated Travel Consultant who will take care of arrangements
- Private international airport transfers in destination
- Your own private, English-speaking local guides
- Unique experiences, hand-picked by our Journeys team
- Entrance to must-see local sites
- Dedicated 24/7 team providing in-country support and guidance
- Complimentary access to My Scott Dunn – industry-leading travel app providing pre-departure information and in-journey support
When to visit
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Germany is a year-round destination. The Christmas markets are particularly fun and great for getting into the festive spirit. The country looks particularly beautiful in spring and summer, and some of the best weather for sight-seeing can be had in autumn, when days are generally mild and clear.
Itinerary
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At a Glance
Day 1: Arrival in Berlin
Your driver meets you at Berlin airport for a seamless transfer to your hotel. Once settled, an introductory walk with your guide offers initial bearings, the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, and Gendarmenmarkt provide context for the days ahead. This gentle opening allows you to arrive at your own rhythm while beginning to understand the layered history of Germany's capital.
Day 2: From Third Reich to Cold War
Your expert guide leads a full-day exploration. Choose walking pace or private driver, tracing Berlin's darkest and most transformative era. Stand at the Reichstag where democracy fell, the Holocaust Memorial where millions are remembered, and Hitler's bunker site where the regime ended. Continue to Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall Memorial, connecting wartime devastation to Cold War division. It's an intensive day, made comprehensible through your historian's careful narrative.
Day 3: Sachsenhausen Memorial
Journey an hour north to Sachsenhausen, the SS model concentration camp where 200,000 were imprisoned. Your two-hour guided tour reveals the camp's role as a training ground for Nazi brutality, the mass shooting facility where 18,000 Soviet prisoners died, and the death march evacuation as liberation neared. The experience is profoundly affecting; afterwards, time for quiet reflection acknowledges the weight of what you've witnessed.
Day 4: Potsdam's Dual Legacy
Explore Potsdam's UNESCO-listed palaces, Frederick the Great's Sanssouci and the vast New Palace represent Prussian grandeur. Yet today's focus extends beyond Baroque splendour to Cecilienhof, where the "Big Three" redrew Europe's map in 1945. Visit the House of the Wannsee Conference, where the Final Solution's logistics were coordinated. Your guide contextualises both settings, showing how historic beauty and historical horror coexist in German memory.
Day 5: Jewish Berlin Past & Present
Walk the Scheunenviertel's streets where Yiddish theater once thrived, visit Moses Mendelssohn's grave, and see the New Synagogue's restored dome. Your guide reveals layers: pre-war Jewish life, Holocaust devastation, the Women's Protest that freed imprisoned husbands, and today's vibrant community rebuilt by Russian immigrants and young Israelis. Conclude at Daniel Libeskind's deliberately disorienting Jewish Museum, where architecture itself conveys loss and absence.
Where to stay
Hotel Adlon Kempinski (5 nights)
Alternative Places to Stay Nearby
More Experiences in This Area
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At a Glance
Day 6: Berlin to Dresden
Travel to Dresden with your private driver, the journey itself a pause between intensive historical sites. Upon arrival, explore the Frauenkirche, bombed to rubble in 1945 and painstakingly reconstructed after reunification, a powerful symbol of reconciliation. The Zwinger and Semperoper reveal the Baroque city that once was, while rebuilt streets quietly testify to wartime destruction and determined renewal.
Where to stay
Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden (1 night)
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At a Glance
Day 7: Flossenbürg Memorial En Route to Munich
Break your journey south at Flossenbürg, a remote concentration camp initially built for granite quarrying, later producing Messerschmitt fighters. Around 30,000 of 100,000 prisoners died here from overwork, starvation, or execution. The 2007 memorial honours their memory in quiet dignity. Your guide provides context before you continue to Munich, allowing the experience to settle during the remaining drive.
Day 8: Munich at Your Pace
A day without scheduled touring gives space for personal reflection or lighter exploration. Perhaps stroll the English Garden, visit art museums, or simply rest. After days of confronting difficult history, this pause acknowledges that meaningful travel requires breathing room, especially when traveling as a family with varying needs and processing speeds.
Day 9: Munich's Nazi Past
Your historian reveals Munich's troubling role as the "Capital of the Movement." See Königsplatz, transformed into a Nazi parade ground, the Führerbau where Hitler kept his office, and remnants of the "temples of honor" for Beer Hall Putsch casualties. The tour examines how Hitler rose to power here, how a cultured city embraced extremism, and how post-war denazification attempted to reckon with complicity.
Day 10: Dachau Memorial
Visit Germany's first concentration camp, opened mere weeks after Hitler took power in 1933. Initially for political prisoners, Dachau later held Jews, Roma, and others deemed enemies of the state. Of 200,000 imprisoned, 41,500 died before American liberation in 1945. Walk reconstructed barracks, see the camp prison, and absorb the permanent exhibition's testimonies. Afterwards, time alone allows each family member to process this closing chapter privately.
Day 11: Departure from Munich
Your final morning is yours, perhaps a quiet breakfast, last thoughts recorded in journals, or simply readying for home. When it's time, your driver ensures a smooth airport transfer. You leave having confronted history honestly, supported throughout by guides who understand that learning from the past requires both knowledge and care.
Where to stay
Rosewood Munich (4 nights)
Alternative Places to Stay Nearby
Price Guide: ( based on double occupancy and excludes international flights)
| Departing |
Price from*
|
Deposit from * | Enquire |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 | $15,000 | $3,800 | plan your trip |
| December 2025 | $15,300 | $3,800 | plan your trip |
| January 2026 | $14,400 | $3,600 | plan your trip |
| February 2026 | $14,400 | $3,600 | plan your trip |
| March 2026 | $14,400 | $3,600 | plan your trip |
| April 2026 | $14,800 | $3,700 | plan your trip |
| May 2026 | $14,800 | $3,700 | plan your trip |
| June 2026 | $15,300 | $3,800 | plan your trip |
| July 2026 | $15,300 | $3,800 | plan your trip |
| August 2026 | $15,300 | $3,800 | plan your trip |
| September 2026 | $15,300 | $3,800 | plan your trip |
| October 2026 | $15,000 | $3,800 | plan your trip |
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November 2025
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$15,000
Deposit from*$3,800
-
December 2025
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$15,300
Deposit from*$3,800
-
January 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$14,400
Deposit from*$3,600
-
February 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$14,400
Deposit from*$3,600
-
March 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$14,400
Deposit from*$3,600
-
April 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$14,800
Deposit from*$3,700
-
May 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$14,800
Deposit from*$3,700
-
June 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$15,300
Deposit from*$3,800
-
July 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$15,300
Deposit from*$3,800
-
August 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$15,300
Deposit from*$3,800
-
September 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$15,300
Deposit from*$3,800
-
October 2026
Price from *
- Pricing is a guideline only, is based on two people sharing and excludes special offers.
- Travel over peak periods (e.g. Christmas, New Year, festivals and other public vacations) can affect prices considerably, as can exchange rates, flight class and room type.
- Solo traveler pricing is available upon request.
$15,000
Deposit from*$3,800
- plan your trip
We design each itinerary around you, so this suggested itineraryis a starting point that we can tweak or transform into something completely personalized to you. Call us on 858 345 1764 to start planning your vacation.
Why Scott Dunn for Luxury Tours?
Unique to You
- We listen to your travel goals and craft unique trips that are personalized to you.
- We’re with you every step of your life’s travel journey, from honeymoons to family trips and beyond.
Seamless Service
- Global offices in the UK, US, Singapore, and Hong Kong for 24/7 seamless service.
- We offer flexibility if your plans change so you can book with confidence and peace of mind.
Carefully Curated Collection
- We’ve curated an elevated collection of accommodation, experiences, and guides.
- Committed to fostering close global relationships to continue bringing you unique experiences.
Luxury in Every Sense
- We deliver a sense of luxury that matters most to you.
- Awarded Condé Nast Traveler’s Top Travel Specialists in the World 13 years in a row.