Cycling UK Forum

Me and my brother are hoping to plan a week's cycle trip sometime next year and I'm looking for recommendations of where to go. The Danube has been suggested (Passau to Vienna) as well as the Canal du Midi but I can't help but feel like it's not exciting enough and a bit samey (all along a river), though appreciate I may be very wrong! So criteria are below:

* 1 week (plus/minus a day or two)
* Nothing too mountainous (my brother is 20 years older than me and his knees aren't great from years of mountain biking) - but don't mind some hills.
* Beautiful scenery - lakes, mountains, rivers (prefer this to visiting towns/cities/cultural sights)
* Cheaper countries would be beneficial but not essential
* A route with places to stay (we won't be camping), food stops along the way
* Would love to find a route with very minimal traffic
* Somewhere around 30-40 miles a day unless strenuous, it's more about the enjoyment than distance we travel.
* Bonus for somewhere with a beach, hot springs, natural spa etc.

So not asking for much... We would be hoping to fly from Bristol if possible (or even ferry from Plymouth as I'm based in Exeter).

I've been to most of Western Europe but never Eastern Europe or Baltics so would be nice to consider somewhere new. Equally haven't been to any islands (Italy, Greece, France etc).

Any suggestions greatly appreciated. We're hoping to go either June, Sept or Oct.

How about the Drau cycle path? https://www.drauradweg.com/en/ Not totally flat, but the climbs are short/sharp rather than alpine style (and if you go in the recommended direction then it's downhill all the way, overall...); some amazing views (you go past but not over the Dolomites...), mostly traffic free; lots of accommodation along the way. There's even a spa! https://www.drauradweg.com/en/highlight ... ermal-spa/

(Disclaimer: I've only cycled the Italian and some of the Austrian bits, which were lovely; I can't vouch for the Slovenian part, though I've only heard nice things about cycling in Slovenia...)

If it were me looking for a short break with hills, (volcanic) lakes, rivers and beautiful countryside and like castles more than large towns/cities, I'd go to the Eifel/Hohes Venn (Belgian-German border region).

It's close (hop on a Eurostar with the 'Any Belgian Station' add on for £10)* and take the IC train from Brussels-Midi to Eupen (get a bike ticket from the ticket office or machine in Brussels, I think it's 6€?). From there you have a range of routes into Germany and down to Luxemburg, ranging from pretty steep hills to a huge range of old railway lines (ie very easy). It's a beautiful area and a week at 30-40 miles per day can take you zig-zagging down to the Rhine at Koblenz and across to Luxembourg then back up the Venn railway route to near Eupen for the train back to Brussels.

The Eifel region is very well set up for cycle touring, MTB-ing and road cycling. Have a look at https://www.eifel.info/en/cycling/all-c ... -the-eifel which shows signposted routes and links to cycle-friendly accommodation.

The Venn railway route which threads between Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg has a fascinating history if you're interested in shifting borders. Parts of it now forms a long Belgian enclave in Germany: https://www.vennbahn.eu/en/the-route/

The Belgian side of the Eifel is called Hohes Venn / Hautes Fennes and also has excellent cycling routes: https://www.ostbelgien.eu/en/cycling

If you end up faster than that then you have plenty of options to extend your range (along the Lahn river on the other side of the Rhine from Koblenz, down to the Saarland and into France, or up to Maastricht in the Netherlands - you could do five countries in a week).

* Yeah, I know, "hop on a Eurostar" isn't as straightforward as it used to be, but it's still possible. You could also get a ferry to the Netherlands from Harwich, Hull or Newcastle then get an IC train to Maastricht.

I agree about the Danube down from Passau not being very interesting, and our trip is described in the archives.

Recent discussion of Belgium and the Netherlands:
viewtopic.php?p=1813102

I'd add Denmark.

And if you're considering not flying we have some real experts on other ways of travelling with your bikes, as above.

Jonathan

Alsace/Franche Comté. Vineyards, hills, mountains, plain, forest, lots of cycle paths and less-travelled roads. And good food, though I don't recommend cycling further than bed after a choucroute garnie.

https://www.cyclinginalsace.com/en

Terrible coffee, though.

Jdsk wrote: ↑20 Dec 2023, 10:24am I'd add Denmark.

Hadn't thought of Denmark in the context of the OP's request. Any particular bit you were thinking of? I know it can get quite hilly in parts (nothing dramatic, but enough to make you work), but is a bit samey in my experience. Away from the coast the country is dominated by factory farming (pigs, cattle and poultry in big sheds, fields dominated by feed crops such as maize) and therefore not pretty. The coast is usually superb and I really like the endless beaches, the sea and pine trees, but some would say it gets boring after a few days. I like it there (although not cheap unless free camping in the shelters).

Galactic wrote: ↑20 Dec 2023, 11:10am

Jdsk wrote: ↑20 Dec 2023, 10:24am I'd add Denmark.

Hadn't thought of Denmark in the context of the OP's request. Any particular bit you were thinking of? I know it can get quite hilly in parts (nothing dramatic, but enough to make you work), but is a bit samey in my experience. Away from the coast the country is dominated by factory farming (pigs, cattle and poultry in big sheds, fields dominated by feed crops such as maize) and therefore not pretty. The coast is usually superb and I really like the endless beaches, the sea and pine trees, but some would say it gets boring after a few days. I like it there (although not cheap unless free camping in the shelters).

Our most recent tour was from Esbjerg southeast across Jutland, little ferry to Funen, and up to Odense. then train back to Esbjerg.

We always make sure that we have bikes in Copenhagen, and usually take day rides north.

Jonathan

Audax67 wrote: ↑20 Dec 2023, 11:06am Alsace/Franche Comté. Vineyards, hills, mountains, plain, forest, lots of cycle paths and less-travelled roads. And good food, though I don't recommend cycling further than bed after a choucroute garnie.

https://www.cyclinginalsace.com/en

Terrible coffee, though.

Alsace was a surprising highlight of our Rhine trip. Highly Recommended.

Jonathan

I did a tour from Prague to Linz, vaguely following the Vltava river. It was just under 300km/ 3000m climbing so around the distance you want; not flat but undulating rather than long alpine slogs. Lovely countryside, not too much traffic outside of the cities, sightseeing in the cities of Prague, Budejovice and Linz and the well preserved medieval town of Krumlov.
Loved drinking the beer, from Pilsner in the North to Budvar in the South (my wife as wine drinker wasn't so happy ) Prices were reasonable for food and drink and wasn't too much of a problem to find accommodation.

Oh thanks all for the great suggestions, I'll have a look into them all. I have also been googling various routes and came across the Adige Valley cycle path (Reschen to Verona), it looks nice. Has anyone been or does anyone know anyone that has?

The Drau cycle path also does sound nice, I've been to Slovenia 4 times (not biking) and always seen a lot of cyclists there, it's a beautiful country.

Also excuse the ignorance but when you say described in the archives, how do I find this? I'm new here

emzyflea22 wrote: ↑20 Dec 2023, 12:21pm ...
Also excuse the ignorance but when you say described in the archives, how do I find this?
...

Search function. It's pretty good. You can use the simple version by typing and clicking the magnifying glass. Or open it up with the cog wheel to give a lot of useful options.


Jonathan

emzyflea22 wrote: ↑20 Dec 2023, 12:21pm Oh thanks all for the great suggestions, I'll have a look into them all. I have also been googling various routes and came across the Adige Valley cycle path (Reschen to Verona), it looks nice. Has anyone been or does anyone know anyone that has?

The Drau cycle path also does sound nice, I've been to Slovenia 4 times (not biking) and always seen a lot of cyclists there, it's a beautiful country.

Also excuse the ignorance but when you say described in the archives, how do I find this? I'm new here

That sounds really nice- worth investigating. I was going to suggest italy- I did Turin to Udine on EV8 last year which was dead flat and not particularly interesting scenery wise but from a cultural and ice cream point of view spectacular. The best part might be something like Piacenza to Venice. Italian regional trains take bikes so you can fly in and out of Venice I should think.

Also maybe check out the via Claudia Augusta. There is a bus if you don’t want to do the steep bits. There’s another route I think Salzburg to Grado called the Alpe Adria.

I’d also consider a hop to Brittany - lots of Green routes there with little traffic and easy to get to from our part of the world- did some of Brittany as part of a longer trip this year. Or maybe part of the wild Atlantic way in Ireland (I did that in 2010 before it was the Atlantic way) and it was great.

Also you can be inspired by the cycle travel route map/list. https://cycle.travel/browse

Czechia ( former Czech republic) has already been mentioned upthread, I toured there bu bike shortly after the wall came down, a mixture of camping and Rooms, it is very pastoral, and when o was thete amazingly cheap, tbe people were friendly, perhaps a combination of new found freedoms and commercial opportunities, we did come across a Spa town in the hills, with baths and open air hot water spring pools, which i csn't remember when, Language was a slight problem, German and Russian, but i am guessing English is more widely spoken now.
It was a very interesting tour, with faded Bohemian architecture, and a different commie culture, in so much of the former Iron Curtain. But certainly worth the trip.
Also went to Hungary the next year, again much the same as Czechia , this was over 30 years ago now, things in Hungary might not be so good , bearing in mind the States relatio ship with Russia & President Orbains views to the EU,
There are several sleeper services to the Eastern states, and I do hope to return to Czechia just to see how things are progressing,
I enjoyed my trip so much that I bought a Skoda & a Czech built Recumbent, the builders are set to hold a Recumbent festival in 2025, I'll take my trike back home !

Oh great thank you.

Also is there any clever solution for a one-way trip that doesn't include a return train? So we would fly to one airport, cycle, then fly home from the destination. I'm thinking this likely isn't an option as we'd have to leave all our bike bag/packaging wherever we arrive. I've never taken a bike on a plane before, my brother has many times but it was a very long time ago and I think he flew with it in a giant cardboard box packed out with clothes (which I'm sure I saw on an airline you're not allowed to do now?)

emzyflea22 wrote: ↑20 Dec 2023, 1:12pm Also is there any clever solution for a one-way trip that doesn't include a return train? So we would fly to one airport, cycle, then fly home from the destination. I'm thinking this likely isn't an option as we'd have to leave all our bike bag/packaging wherever we arrive. I've never taken a bike on a plane before, my brother has many times but it was a very long time ago and I think he flew with it in a giant cardboard box packed out with clothes (which I'm sure I saw on an airline you're not allowed to do now?)

There are various ways round this. You could use a cardboard box: ditch the outbound one when you get to the arrival airport, and then find a friendly bike shop at or near your departure airport who will provide you with a new one. (Once you know where you're heading, this board is often a very good source of suggestions for such bike shops). My method, when I've done this sort of trip, is to use a 'Ground Effect' bike bag, which packs up small enough to fit into a large jiffy bag; I then post it to my destination (either poste restante, or sending it to the last hotel on the trip). Or you could use an airline which doesn't require bags (not many left -- Lufthansa used to be in this group, but I don't know if they still are), or which provides boxes (KLM? Again: not sure if they still do...).

Extra stuff in bike bags/boxes: this varies hugely between carriers, though in general my sense is that all airlines are more relaxed in practice than their rules actually say. (Though you're always a bit at the mercy of whoever's running the check-in desk.) Lots of carriers don't mind, though, as long as you don't exceed the maximum weight for the bag.