After 3 month tours in 2016 and 2017, due to time constraints we have not been able to have a big tour this year, so to make up for it we are starting to plan our 2019 tour.
General idea is ferry to St Malo, cycle across Brittany to the Atlantic coast near Nantes, then follow the EV6, up the Loire, across France to the Rhine on the German border, then up through Germany to the Danube, which we will follow through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, finishing at Constanta on the Black Sea. We will have full long haul camping kit including stoves and cooking kit, and everything we need (except food!) for about 4 months.
The only real question we have is how to get home - I feel that flying could be impractical with a full 4 pannier plus rackbag load on each bike. Has anyone tried taking the train this far across Europe?
It looks like you could go Constanta - Bucharest - Vienna - Frankfurt - Utrecht - Rotterdam, then cycle to Hook of Holland with only 4 train changes, in less than 2 days. Do these trains take fully assembled bikes? How practical is this idea?
(We have previously done circular tours, or used the Bike Bus so have no experience at all of European trains)
General idea is ferry to St Malo, cycle across Brittany to the Atlantic coast near Nantes, then follow the EV6, up the Loire, across France to the Rhine on the German border, then up through Germany to the Danube, which we will follow through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, finishing at Constanta on the Black Sea. We will have full long haul camping kit including stoves and cooking kit, and everything we need (except food!) for about 4 months.
The only real question we have is how to get home - I feel that flying could be impractical with a full 4 pannier plus rackbag load on each bike. Has anyone tried taking the train this far across Europe?
It looks like you could go Constanta - Bucharest - Vienna - Frankfurt - Utrecht - Rotterdam, then cycle to Hook of Holland with only 4 train changes, in less than 2 days. Do these trains take fully assembled bikes? How practical is this idea?
(We have previously done circular tours, or used the Bike Bus so have no experience at all of European trains)