Hi all,
Long-time lurker, first-time poster...
I'm setting off in a week or so from the UK to Athens. I'm getting the Eurotunnel over to Calais, then heading to see friends in Antwerp, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and then down into Cologne.
After that I have literally no plans and many many options of which route to take down and across to Athens.
Does anyone have any tips, advice, must-sees, things to avoid etc? I understand it's quite a broad question but all suggestions welcome!
I've done one smaller cycle tour last year where I went from St. Malo down to Santander over a month or so last September. This time I've got 3 months to play with so happy to take a longer, more direct/scenic route.
Thanks in advance!
UK to Athens/Istanbul
Re: UK to Athens/Istanbul
I rode (mostly – I hopped on a train a couple of times) from Salzburg to Athens a couple of months ago. Took a fairly direct route Ljubljana-Zagreb-Belgrade, then followed the Danube to Vidin, then to Sofia and into Greece.
The plusses – it's extremely flat, at least until you reach Bulgaria, where you'll face a 1500m climb. It's cheap. People are friendly. The Danube's nice. On the downside, there are practically no camping facilities, and I found it all a little dull. I wouldn't rush back. If I was heading to Athens again, I'd head down through Italy, take a ferry overnight from Brindisi or Bari to Patras, then across the Peloponnese to Athens.
From Koln, the obvious route is to follow the Rhine – generally pretty bike-friendly. You could cut off the big loop it does to Basel, and take in the top end of the Danube, then either follow that into Austria, or rejoin the Rhine, which will take you almost to Italy. (If you're going that way, choose the Spluga pass – relatively easy climb, spectacular descent!)
The plusses – it's extremely flat, at least until you reach Bulgaria, where you'll face a 1500m climb. It's cheap. People are friendly. The Danube's nice. On the downside, there are practically no camping facilities, and I found it all a little dull. I wouldn't rush back. If I was heading to Athens again, I'd head down through Italy, take a ferry overnight from Brindisi or Bari to Patras, then across the Peloponnese to Athens.
From Koln, the obvious route is to follow the Rhine – generally pretty bike-friendly. You could cut off the big loop it does to Basel, and take in the top end of the Danube, then either follow that into Austria, or rejoin the Rhine, which will take you almost to Italy. (If you're going that way, choose the Spluga pass – relatively easy climb, spectacular descent!)
Re: UK to Athens/Istanbul
Hels on wheels (see Facebook and Instagram) is doing similar route -she stayed with us a few weeks ago and is now in northern Italy en route. She's going on down to caPe town after she does the eastern med. heading down the east coast of Africa I think.