COAP Southern Germany Aviation Experience

Germany has long stood at the heart of European aviation and engineering excellence.

This brand-new COAP tour brings together an exceptional collection of aviation experiences, combining world-famous museums, military flying operations, airport access and one of Bavaria's most famous traditions.

Departing from the Uk on October 9th, we will begin in Munich, we'll experience the unique atmosphere of the city's legendary beer halls for that Oktoberfest vibe before embarking on an eight-day journey through southern Germany's rich aviation landscape.

The tour starts with visits to some of Germany's finest aviation museums. We'll explore the fascinating collection at Memmingen before heading to the historic Flugwerft Schleissheim, home to an outstanding collection of German military and civil aircraft spanning more than a century of aviation history.

From there we turn our attention to today's aviation industry with a guided apron tour of Munich Airport, offering superb opportunities to photograph aircraft from locations normally inaccessible to the travelling public.

Military aviation then takes centre stage as we visit two of Germany's premier operational locations. At Manching we'll spend time photographing activity around Airbus Defence and Space's famous flight test centre, home to Eurofighter development, military test flying and prototype aircraft. We then continue to nearby Neuburg Air Base, one of the Luftwaffe's principal Eurofighter Typhoon bases, where we'll spend the afternoon photographing front-line fighter operations.

The centrepiece of the tour comes with full days at two of Europe's greatest transport and engineering museums. Few museums anywhere in the world can match the spectacle of Technik Museum Sinsheim. Towering above the museum roof stand two aviation legends, the Anglo-French Concorde and the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 mounted dramatically on elevated supports and both open for visitors to explore inside. Around them is an extraordinary collection of military aircraft, classic airliners, helicopters, historic vehicles and engineering exhibits that easily rewards a full day's exploration.

Just as impressive is Technik Museum Speyer, where aviation shares the stage with space exploration. Here you'll have the rare opportunity to walk through the Soviet Buran space shuttle orbiter before climbing aboard the museum's giant Boeing 747, perched high above the site. The collection also includes military aircraft, helicopters, classic civil aviation and countless engineering exhibits that make Speyer one of Europe's true museum highlights.

As we make our way north towards Frankfurt we'll pause at the perimeter of Ramstein Air Base, one of the busiest United States Air Force installations in Europe, before continuing to the remarkable Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum, home to one of Germany's largest collections of preserved military aircraft.

The tour concludes with something very special, visit to Lufthansa's newly opened , impressive Hangar One at Frankfurt Airport. This behind-the-scenes experience provides a fascinating insight into the maintenance of one of the world's leading airlines before we head directly into Frankfurt Airport for our flights home.

Combining aviation heritage, front-line military operations, commercial aviation and engineering history, this promises to be one of COAP's most varied European tours.

Twin Sharing prices are: £1490pp (land only, flights not included)

Single Room prices are: £1990pp (land only, flights not included)