I need some touring route ideas in Europe!

[Moonlight]

Hi folks,

I wish to pick your brains for a route in Europe.

Parameters
Cyclists: 2
Distance: 2000-3000 km
Accommodation: Wild camping
Budget: Cheap!

We were considering Danube (Bratislava - Mouth), but are worried it will be hard to wild camp around the route. We have toured before and are not afraid of a challenge, but we are poor students so cannot afford countries where food is expensive.

Do you have any ideas?

Many thanks,
Tom

 

[vernon]

Look up the Eurovelo six route. It follows the Loire, Doubs, Rhine and Danube lots of opportunities to wild camp.

Food's not that expensive from the likes of Aldi and Netto.

 

[Moonlight]

Good shout vernon, thank you. The route looks really good, I genuinely had no idea such a project existed.

 

[Brains]

Hi folks,

I wish to pick your brains for a route in Europe.

Parameters
Cyclists: 2
Distance: 2000-3000 km
Accommodation: Wild camping
Budget: Cheap!

We were considering Danube (Bratislava - Mouth), but are worried it will be hard to wild camp around the route. We have toured before and are not afraid of a challenge, but we are poor students so cannot afford countries where food is expensive.

Do you have any ideas?

Many thanks,
Tom

Bratislavia to the mouth is boring, embankments and trees for hundreds of miles

Source to Bratislava is interesting, wild stealth camping is possible most of the way down as long as you can read a map

 

[Bodhbh]

Bratislavia to the mouth is boring, embankments and trees for hundreds of miles

Source to Bratislava is interesting, wild stealth camping is possible most of the way down as long as you can read a map

I followed the route and I wasn't bored at all, at least not till the Romanian section. The whole Danube route is pretty flat (apart from the Iron Gates). But in Romania going along the bottom the countryside doesn't vary for 500miles or so, and there's no towns of note or much worth seeing till you hit the coast. It does become a bit of a slog after 2-3 days, but then I'm not sure I regret doing it either.

 

[rich p]

I find cycle paths pretty numbing personally. Pick a start and a finish and plot a route which you can tweak as you go. Live a little!

 

[stephenjubb]

coast of iceland, campsites are cheap and you can pretty much wild camp anywhere as long as you use common sense, don'tcamp where signs say not to etc. similar distance.

or if you want cheap, coast of scotland and all islands.

cheap train up there or cycle up and wild camp in scotland (as long as you follow the outdoor access code)

 

[oldleggs]

I followed the route and I wasn't bored at all, at least not till the Romanian section. The whole Danube route is pretty flat (apart from the Iron Gates). But in Romania going along the bottom the countryside doesn't vary for 500miles or so, and there's no towns of note or much worth seeing till you hit the coast. It does become a bit of a slog after 2-3 days, but then I'm not sure I regret doing it either.

Bodhbh
I am going to ride the Rhine/ Danube route this summer, so interested in your comments on the Romanian part being boring and flat. What's the availability of accommodation camping is my preference but have been lead to believe bb/hotel are pretty cheap. Also are there ferries that could be used should the boredom of cycling become a bit much?
Did you cycle the whole of the Danube from its source in the Black Forest as l hope to do?
What time of the year did you ride in Romania? l intend to do the trip starting late May and expect to be in that area July time.Weather /temperatures would also be of interest.....been told by a friend of mine that it can be very hot July August.

Thanks.
oldleggs

 

[Bodhbh]

I find cycle paths pretty numbing personally. Pick a start and a finish and plot a route which you can tweak as you go. Live a little!

Well, alongside cycle route 6, there's this stretch of water that maybe out of interest you'd plot a route along anyhow. Cycle south, hit it, and follow to the end.

 

[rich p]

Well, alongside cycle route 6, there's this stretch of water that maybe out of interest you'd plot a route along anyhow. Cycle south, hit it, and follow to the end.

??? Eh?

I'm suggesting picking a route elsewhere, over some interesting country that doesn't involve the rigidity of a riverside cycle path. The world is his/your oyster. As I said, cycle paths can be boring, miss interesting towns and villages and hills. Each to his own but that's what I find, and the OP isn't obligated to do cycle route 6

 

[Bodhbh]

Bodhbh
I am going to ride the Rhine/ Danube route this summer, so interested in your comments on the Romanian part being boring and flat. What's the availability of accommodation camping is my preference but have been lead to believe bb/hotel are pretty cheap. Also are there ferries that could be used should the boredom of cycling become a bit much?
Did you cycle the whole of the Danube from its source in the Black Forest as l hope to do?
What time of the year did you ride in Romania? l intend to do the trip starting late May and expect to be in that area July time.Weather /temperatures would also be of interest.....been told by a friend of mine that it can be very hot July August.

Thanks.
oldleggs

Having a liquid sunday so will try not to talk nonsense. In Romania the towns with B&Bs in are sparse along the route. There's not many campsites, but wild camping is legal. I took the ferry to Zeebrugge, met the Elbe at Hamburg and followed it south till Prague then joined the Danube at Vienna. I started in August and got out in November. It can be hot, I think most I had was 35C or somesuch (jump in the river!) but it also turns quickly to winter, pretty much inh a couple of weeks went from upper 20s to under 10C daytime temps.

It's an experience riding thru Romania, but you recieve alot of a attentions (which you might hate or thrive on) and the litter is terrible. I met a couple of people touring who went in the mountains and were completely enthusiastic, I think you miss the best of the country along the Danube...but if that's your mission...

 

[vernon]

There's plenty of places of interest on/along the Danube and no doubt there are alternative places of interest that are not on/alongside the Danube. I've been pretty pleased with what I cycled through last year and I'm happy enough to return to Passau to pick up the trail to Budapest this year.

It can be argued that by not cycling along the EV6 route, a lot of interesting places are missed/bypassed. It's totally subjective and a matter of personal taste.

Of all of the EV6 that I've pedalled so far from Nantes to Passau only the stretch alongside the Doubs bored me.

I also didn't slavishly follow the designated cycle paths especially if something interesting was found on the route maps.

 

[rollinstok]

Wild camping is easy anywhere if you use a little bit of common sense
Food is as cheap as the local populace can afford, just shop away from any tourist hotspots and you will be ok
The good old UK is one of the most expensive countries to live in, escape its boundaries and you will be surprised at how cheap it is to stay alive
As far as route is concerned, wake up every morning and follow your instinct.. you'll see things your own way

 

[Bodhbh]

??? Eh?

I'm suggesting picking a route elsewhere, over some interesting country that doesn't involve the rigidity of a riverside cycle path. The world is his/your oyster. As I said, cycle paths can be boring, miss interesting towns and villages and hills. Each to his own but that's what I find, and the OP isn't obligated to do cycle route 6

Sorry, fair enough. tbh I more or less agree with you. I think with the danube it does naturally make a good route to follow, well not better or worse than alot of other things (last bit is a bit boring as said above). But yeah no end of other stuff to do. Me personally I think if I wanted cheap I'd go Czech republic for the beer and Hungary for the food !

 

[Moonlight]

Thanks for all your comments, folkies.

My current thinking is to start and finish in Krakow and do a large loop to the south, touching the Croat coast and swooping back up along the Bulgarian border.

This could mean leaving bicycle boxes in Krakow, and should also mean we can easily change the distance en route. What do you think, could a loop be boring?