Elbe Radweg

[bohrsatom]

Reading this thread with great interest as I'd love to do this route too - so many good suggestions here! I'd be departing from the UK though, and don't know how easy it would be to get the bike to Prague...

The aforementioned sleeper is definitely an option and I think you might also be able to connect with the Hook Van Holland ferry at Den Haag or Rotterdam Centraal (but I might be wrong so double check).

The sleeper timetable doesn’t always line up though (or couchettes sell out) so an alternative, also involving the Harwich-Hook ferry, is to take the IC train from Amsterdam to Berlin, then the EC from Berlin to Prague. It’s a long journey and you won’t make it in a day (the last direct train from Berlin is at 5pm), but with the overnight ferry you can be in Prague at lunchtime the day after next

[MrsHJ]

Reading this thread with great interest as I'd love to do this route too - so many good suggestions here! I'd be departing from the UK though, and don't know how easy it would be to get the bike to Prague...

It’s depressingly easy to fly. Not that I’m advocating this as a first choice but it is a doable option with your bike.

[Will]

Reading this thread with great interest as I'd love to do this route too - so many good suggestions here! I'd be departing from the UK though, and don't know how easy it would be to get the bike to Prague...

The aforementioned sleeper is definitely an option and I think you might also be able to connect with the Hook Van Holland ferry at Den Haag or Rotterdam Centraal (but I might be wrong so double check).

The timetable for next year is:

Rotterdam Centraal 21:22
Den Haag HS 21:42
.
.
.
Praha Holešovice 10:45
Praha hl.n 10:56

Will

[LucyEliz]

The aforementioned sleeper is definitely an option and I think you might also be able to connect with the Hook Van Holland ferry at Den Haag or Rotterdam Centraal (but I might be wrong so double check).

The sleeper timetable doesn’t always line up though (or couchettes sell out) so an alternative, also involving the Harwich-Hook ferry, is to take the IC train from Amsterdam to Berlin, then the EC from Berlin to Prague. It’s a long journey and you won’t make it in a day (the last direct train from Berlin is at 5pm), but with the overnight ferry you can be in Prague at lunchtime the day after next

Thanks for that. Very helpful. Another option would be to ferry to Dunkirk and go to Brussels from there. Long journey doesn't bother me. Worrying about the bike being definitely booked on, and being definitely safe while on the train, does! A UK-based friend recently travelled from Munich to NL with his bike. He'd had it booked onto a train but then arrived and was told he COULDN'T take his bike on the train. Ended up getting a bus.

[LucyEliz]

The timetable for next year is:

Rotterdam Centraal 21:22
Den Haag HS 21:42

Praha Holešovice 10:45
Praha hl.n 10:56

Will

Thank you, Will. An itinerary to conjure with!

[LucyEliz]

It’s depressingly easy to fly. Not that I’m advocating this as a first choice but it is a doable option with your bike.

Ain't that the truth. And so much cheaper, too. I try not to fly, though.

[st599_uk]

Have looked in to it a bit more, and with care it's do-able in the time I have. Will probably plan a route and start booking once tickets are available.

Trains in Europe are usually OK for bikes - I think there's another sleeper from Mannheim or similar if you can get a train to there. Hotels were my only problem last time, one fella wouldn't let me take bike in to the hotel, so I ended up cancelling (for free) and walking in to the 4* next door and getting a last minute deal for 10 Euros more.

@LucyEliz if you haven't seen it yet, this book is great as a planning tool https://www.cicerone.co.uk/the-elbe-cycle-route

[LucyEliz]

Oh, thank you! That looks like a great guide.

[plancashire]

If you understand German (necessary to work in Leipzig?) I can recommend the Bikeline guides. This is the one you need: https://www.esterbauer.com/bikeline/elbe-radweg/.

The Elbe-Radweg has its own website in English https://www.elbe-cycle-route.com and German, Czech and Dutch.

You can find places to stay through Bett und Bike, also in English: https://www.bettundbike.de/en/.

[LucyEliz]

If you understand German (necessary to work in Leipzig?) I can recommend the Bikeline guides. This is the one you need: https://www.esterbauer.com/bikeline/elbe-radweg/.

The Elbe-Radweg has its own website in English https://www.elbe-cycle-route.com and German, Czech and Dutch.

You can find places to stay through Bett und Bike, also in English: https://www.bettundbike.de/en/.

Excellent links - thank you!

[st599_uk]

If you understand German (necessary to work in Leipzig?) I can recommend the Bikeline guides. This is the one you need: https://www.esterbauer.com/bikeline/elbe-radweg/.

I do, however Bikeline now do English versions

It's a shame that there isn't a magazine like Radtouren available in the UK - they do great write-ups of the European routes.

[Jdsk]

...
this book is great as a planning tool https://www.cicerone.co.uk/the-elbe-cycle-route

If you understand German (necessary to work in Leipzig?) I can recommend the Bikeline guides. This is the one you need: https://www.esterbauer.com/bikeline/elbe-radweg/.

The Elbe-Radweg has its own website in English https://www.elbe-cycle-route.com and German, Czech and Dutch.

You can find places to stay through Bett und Bike, also in English: https://www.bettundbike.de/en/.

Thanks for these, very helpful.

This might be our summer tour this year, starting with the sleeper to Prague.

School holidays:
Czechia 29 June to 1 September
Saxony 20 June to 2 August
Brandenburg 18 July to 30 August

Any other dates of relevance?

Thanks

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

The timetable for next year is:

Rotterdam Centraal 21:22
Den Haag HS 21:42

Praha Holešovice 10:45
Praha hl.n 10:56

Thank you, Will. An itinerary to conjure with!

And the ferry from Harwich arrives at Hook of Holland at 0800 (or 1715).

The sleeper can be boarded at Rotterdam or Den Haag as above.

So what's the smart way to do this? Overnight crossing, cycle to Den Haag, visit some galleries, read a book until the evening?

Jonathan

https://www.stenaline.co.uk/routes/harw ... of-holland
https://www.europeansleeper.eu/travel-info

[Galactic]

This might be our summer tour this year, starting with the sleeper to Prague.

School holidays:
Czechia 29 June to 1 September
Saxony 20 June to 2 August
Brandenburg 18 July to 30 August

Any other dates of relevance?

There's football going on in Germany this summer (European Cup or something?) Probably only relevant to know which cities to avoid when the crowds are there.

[st599_uk]

This might be our summer tour this year, starting with the sleeper to Prague.

School holidays:
Czechia 29 June to 1 September
Saxony 20 June to 2 August
Brandenburg 18 July to 30 August

Any other dates of relevance?

There's football going on in Germany this summer (European Cup or something?) Probably only relevant to know which cities to avoid when the crowds are there.

Matches are 15/6-15/7 in the main Bundesliga stadia, but you may also want to avoid Leipzig as that's where all the broadcasters are based.

Then the Olympics start 11 days later.