River Danube cycle way or Belgium cycle routes?

[Tangled Metal]

Two weeks holiday in late July / early August. Low mileage due to young lad. Which is best? German section of Danube or either the coast near Zeebrugge or possibly limburg area?

Love the 300m stretch of cycleway through the water. A 3 m wide, sunken cycle route that has the lake water just below the retaining structure. Makes it look like you're cycling through the lake because of your infinity pool effect.

Heard Belgium invented the cycle navigation system popular in Holland using numbered junctions. Limburg has a lot of traffic free routes. We can cycle from England via a ferry like we've done last two years and use our own bikes.

Danube is a nice flat route with a good network of accommodation and plenty of good guidebooks describing it being a defined long distance route. We could fly over there and hire bikes. Our son prefers flying to the ferry. Just don't sit near him on the plane if you're scared of flying. He's liable to come out with comments like "it's on fire!" while looking out the window past the wing at a factory smoke stack.

Personally we've been taking of the Danube for more than two years and son likes the flight idea to get there. Too much need to pre-book things though because it's a popular route. Accommodation, bikes, flight, etc. Possibly running out of time too.

Belgium I reckon might be easier and less rigid if we're tired the day could be short and we just stop where we want at a good campsite as we pass. No schedule to meet. If we find a very nice site with good pool and plenty to see in the area, we can stay extra night.

Anyone got a view on which option they'd recommend the most?

[yutkoxpo]

Hi,

Whats the 300m cycleway through the water?

I've done both, or at least the Passau-Vienna leg of the Danube.

Campsites in Belgium will be pretty busy at that time of the year, but there is a lot of choice. I'd imagine Belgium gives you more daily choice in terms of distance, direction and what to do, simply because you're not following a river.
Wandering off course from the Danube trail can get hilly pretty quick in parts!

You seem to have the advantages/disadvantages already figured out. Belgium is the simpler, more spontaneous option, Danube is more rigid and difficult, logistically. As you say it needs a bit of planning. No idea how old the young fella is, but my impression would be that the Danube is more appreciated the older you get. It really comes down to personal preferences. Other than cycling what do you want to do and see?

I'll say one thing for the Belgian knooppunt network - it is not as well integrated as the Dutch system. A van or truck may sometimes obscure a sign in NL, but I've missed signs in Belgium that were covered by council signs!
And Limburg has hills!

Either one is a great touring experience.

[Vorpal]

With kids, I think I'd take the Danube over Belgium, but it's not a strong preference. I just think it would be a little easier to keep kids from getting bored. Of course, you can always feed them ice cream

[Tangled Metal]

https://cyclingthroughwater.com/

Here is the link. Looks a nice distraction.

He's 6.5 years old. He's been touring for 3 trips now, last 2 he was on his own bike. Holland then Brittany. We messed up and forgot to get a followme-tandem qr fork bracket to tag him onto the back of my bike. Got to Plymouth ferry and realised we couldn't take the tandem bit. So we didn't go as far past year.

The year before he rarely used the followme-tandem and it was a battle getting him to accept he was tired and needed to be attached to me. Occasionally he asked to go on it. That was 4.5 years old. We still managed up to 30 miles with him mostly free cycling a day back then. Once he did that then we had to go to nearest town for food because the campsite shop closed. That probably meant 50 miles that day. I was tired let alone junior!

Last year he did a lot less. Partly because we had no attachment for his bike to mine but mostly because it is hilly on the stretch from Roscoff. Should have got bus and train further in towards the canal.

This year I think he'll manage more but not really sure. We've done less cycling this past year. He's still a good little cyclist but he's not getting out there any further. I reckon he can't cycle any further than when 2 years younger than he is now.

I've been through parts of Belgium decades ago. The big cities but also a detour to the monastery chimay is made in. Can't remember where that was but it was hilly.

[Vorpal]

I've been through parts of Belgium decades ago. The big cities but also a detour to the monastery chimay is made in. Can't remember where that was but it was hilly.

There is plenty of flat cycling in Belgium though the south certainly has a few hills. Between the cities in the north, though, it is relatively flat, and generally connected by good cycle paths. There are some nice canal-side routes.

[mjr]

Whats the 300m cycleway through the water?

https://cyclingthroughwater.com/
https://www.visitlimburg.be/en/cycling-through-water

In a few weeks, it should be joined by cycling through the trees https://www.molenheide.be/en/activities ... -the-trees

I think they're also within cycling distance of the border-hopping Barle cycleway (50 miles to the NW) and the glow-in-the-dark colourful Van Gogh path at Eindhoven (40 miles to the north) http://www.vangoghvillagenuenen.nl/open ... path-.aspx

[yutkoxpo]

Thanks for the links! They're pretty cool!

[Tangled Metal]

Limburg and Belgium invented the system of numbering junctions that's often thought to be a Dutch thing. It certainly worked well for us in Holland two years ago. Personally Belgium looks good idea.

Hull to zeebrugge I guess or what's another route? Dover to oostend is no longer running I believe.

[mattheus]

Dover-Dunquerque gets you into Belgium quickly enough (I think there is a train service that can whisk you up the coast if you really can't bear riding in France!)

In case you didn't know, almost all Belgium's hills are in the South (which is basically south-east) e.g. your monastery is in a VERY hilly area! You can ride from the coast through all the famous/touristy towns on the flat. (the hilly bit is very nice, mind, and there are a few very easy ex-railway lines to get you upto 600m in places.)

I can't strongly recommend the knooppunt system (which I think is only in flat Flanders) - the bike-paths aren't upto Dutch standards, and a local admitted that the system isn't anywhere near as mature as in Holland. But if you have a good map, it's not a bad basis for some pleasant routes.

Can't comment on the Danube - that's one for a future trip

[Galloper]

Cycling around Chimay last year I discovered an extensive network of greenways and other cycle routes. If you contact the nice people on the attached link, they will send you a comprehensive set of route maps for the region. Well worthwhile.

https://ravel.wallonie.be/home.html

[mjr]

Dover-Dunquerque gets you into Belgium quickly enough (I think there is a train service that can whisk you up the coast if you really can't bear riding in France!)

There's no trains along the coast between Dunkerque and De Panne any more - but they have built a fairly good cycle route between Loon-Plage (linked to the port by a choice between fiddly back roads and a nasty motorway feeder road) and Bray-Dunes (the town adjoining the border), while the Belgian network now runs along the border from Bray-Dunes.

I can't strongly recommend the knooppunt system (which I think is only in flat Flanders) - the bike-paths aren't upto Dutch standards, and a local admitted that the system isn't anywhere near as mature as in Holland. But if you have a good map, it's not a bad basis for some pleasant routes.

The knooppunt system is now spreading through Wallonia, where they're known as Points-Nœuds or Knotenpunkte. As others have mentioned, it's actually a Belgian system originally! The problem may be that standards have raised over time and Belgium still has some stuff on its network which would never have been allowed on the more recent Dutch one and hasn't yet been replaced. In general, you're probably right that bike paths are on average better in Holland. Belgium is still better than France.

As well as the junction system, Wallonia also has the RaVELs (mostly converted railways or towpaths) and the RV routes (http://www.RandoVelo.org) with their yellow/blue cryptic walking-style stripe signs.

[SilverTurfer]

I had a great holiday last year taking e-bikes from Passau to Vienna.

The cycle path is so smooth nearly all the way.
We loved it so much we wanted to repeat a similar experience this year, but its hard to top it.

But my missus broke her leg skiing this year and its taking a long time to heal so we will have to find something else to do this year

[Tangled Metal]

From comments Danube route seems one for older people not our 6 year old son. Belgium probably offers more because we're not fixed to any single route.

If we did the Danube it would be the German section to passau iirc. Anyone done that stretch? Seems everyone does the Austrian section.

[nirakaro]

I did the top end of the Danube from Donaueschingen to Sigmaringen.
IIRC it's a pleasant ride, but mostly on roads close to, but not on, the river, so nice scenery, but you don't see much of the Danube itself.

[yutkoxpo]

Agree with Nikaro.
I've criscrossed that area, not following the Danube and there is no doubt the Passau-Vienna section is superior in terms of separate cycling facilities.
If you want to stay in Germany, there's always the Rhine!