Hi.
I'm looking for a Northern European tour:
The spec: (in priority order)
1 - Flat
2 - Lots of things to see and do
Could either be Credit card touring
or car based camping, (so we go out on day rides from a central point)
We have done the Danube (Passau/Vienna) as a credit card tour and thought it was great.
We have also toured from a couple of central points on the Loire, which was also good in a different way.
Whilst I enjoyed a full camping tour in the south of France, my wife did not, so we are looking for one of the above.
Any ideas ? Holland ? Germany ? France ? Italy ?
Where to tour in N. Europe ?
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DavyTee
Has to be Netherlands if you want flat. Lots of things to see museam's, windmills, Dykes, lakes, Canals, Historic Buildings, Cheese, etc etc etc.
I am touring The Netherlands for the first time in May. I am going from Newcastle upon Tyne Ferry Terminal (well North Shields actually) To Ijmuiden then cycling straight up North to Den Helder following LF1 route, ferry across to Texel Island, Tour the island , staying at Stayok Hostels for 2 nights in Den Burg , then down to De Rijp via the World Heritage site of the Beemster area, then back to Ijmuiden which ever way i fancy. Total 6 days of blissful cycling i hope. And the best thing of all i reckon i can do it for under 300 pounds.
Cant wait.
I am touring The Netherlands for the first time in May. I am going from Newcastle upon Tyne Ferry Terminal (well North Shields actually) To Ijmuiden then cycling straight up North to Den Helder following LF1 route, ferry across to Texel Island, Tour the island , staying at Stayok Hostels for 2 nights in Den Burg , then down to De Rijp via the World Heritage site of the Beemster area, then back to Ijmuiden which ever way i fancy. Total 6 days of blissful cycling i hope. And the best thing of all i reckon i can do it for under 300 pounds.
Cant wait.
The Netherlands is not the only option, just the easiest to access (and a nice place!). Stayok hostels that I've been in were pretty good, though there are few of them.
It's pretty flat right across N Germany all the way to Berlin, with many interesting places (depending on what interests you of course), well signed cycle routes and many hostels. LF12 (NL) and Radweg1 (DE) is an interesting route (Hook - Berlin), also the cycleways following the German rivers. Down the Rhine is great, with plenty of hostels and interesting places.
Also N Belgium/France - Bruges, Ghent, Ostende, etc is an interesting flat area.
Pete
It's pretty flat right across N Germany all the way to Berlin, with many interesting places (depending on what interests you of course), well signed cycle routes and many hostels. LF12 (NL) and Radweg1 (DE) is an interesting route (Hook - Berlin), also the cycleways following the German rivers. Down the Rhine is great, with plenty of hostels and interesting places.
Also N Belgium/France - Bruges, Ghent, Ostende, etc is an interesting flat area.
Pete
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youngjimmy
- Posts: 5
- Joined: 13 Feb 2008, 8:36pm
I recommend northeast Germany, Mecklenburg.
It's mostly flat with just a few small lumps to make it interesting, it has lots of lakes and rivers, forests and nature.
Plenty of accomodation and cycleways. Small interesting old towns with lots of history. In general the area is sparsely populated.
Because the area is such an unemployment blackspot money has been spent on promoting tourism and on such things as cycleroutes and cycle facilities.
The Baltic coast is worth visiting while you are there but it can get busy in July and August. The Germans however generally leave their car at the accomodation and get the bikes down off the roof rack so you have pleny of company.
It's easy to get to by train from Holland, there is I believe three per day between Amsterdam and Berlin plus a night train all of which take bikes but they must be booked in advance. The local trains from Berlin do not need advance booking just wheel your bike on board.
Youngjimmy
It's mostly flat with just a few small lumps to make it interesting, it has lots of lakes and rivers, forests and nature.
Plenty of accomodation and cycleways. Small interesting old towns with lots of history. In general the area is sparsely populated.
Because the area is such an unemployment blackspot money has been spent on promoting tourism and on such things as cycleroutes and cycle facilities.
The Baltic coast is worth visiting while you are there but it can get busy in July and August. The Germans however generally leave their car at the accomodation and get the bikes down off the roof rack so you have pleny of company.
It's easy to get to by train from Holland, there is I believe three per day between Amsterdam and Berlin plus a night train all of which take bikes but they must be booked in advance. The local trains from Berlin do not need advance booking just wheel your bike on board.
Youngjimmy
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TeamRamsden
- Posts: 19
- Joined: 25 May 2007, 6:30pm
You might want to try the Tauern Cycle path from Krimml to Salzburg and onwards. Although it goes through some pretty spectacular mountains, it's relatively flat (some hills but nothing horrific at all...and I'm not good at hills). I did it a few years ago with a non-cycling friend and we had a wonderful time. All the benefits of mountains (views, beauty, alpine gorgeousness) without the climbing.
Yes, north Germany can be interesting, if unspectacular. Two years ago, I set off from my base near Bremen and headed north-east to follow the Baltic Sea cycle path. It's flat but quite scenic and the island of Rügen is very pretty with good beaches. I continued into Poland then down the Oder-Neisse river route and on to Prague, returning to Hamburg by following the Elbe river route. Most of this was flat and traffic-free. I took three weeks to get round but you could shorten the route in a number of ways. A starting point could be near Hamburg (Harwich - Cuxhaven ferry) which is on the river Elbe. I camped the whole way around.