The Danube from Passua to Vienna

[Kathleen Robinson]

Hello, i took up cycling again 2 year ago and would now like to cycle the Danube from Passua to Vienna, any tips and advice would be more than welcome. I'm planning on going independently not through a company.

 

[Brains]

It was my first tour as well, although we started at Regensburg

Its easy, just tyurn up and go, and we booked the first and last nights accomodation and did the rest as we found it.

When are you going
Are you on your own
How are you getting there and back
Hotels, B&B's, Hostels or Camping ?

 

[vernon]

Passau has a decent campsite and there's plenty of camp sites along the route. The Bikeline book for that stretch is useful for indicating places of interest and towns with accommodation if you don't want to camp. The route is easy and very popular but is not as interesting as the stretch from Donauschingen to Passau or Vienna to Budapest. I got to Passau by catching a ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland with a connecting train to Amsterdam and a sleeper train from Amsterdam to Munich. The Dutch Flyer ticket fare (about £40) covers a trip from Liverpool street Station to anywhere in The Netherlands including the ferry crossing. A cabin booking on the ferry is mandatory and adds about £30-40 to the ticket price.

Have a look at www.seat61.com to explore rail travel options to the start and back from the end. Rail travel is not the cheapest or fast way of travelling but it adds to the adventure.

 

[mmmmartin]

You can carry as much kit on the bike as you want because the route is almost entirely flat as a pancake on perfect traffic free tarmac. We flew back from Vienna with easyjet, all very simple. A great trip. No wonder 25,000 cyclists do it every year, it's very popular.

 

[Brains]

We did flight to Munich,
Train to Regensburg
Cycle to Vienna (7 days from memory, but at least two of those were off)
Train back to Regensburg (the train line is all along the river),
Train to Munich

The Bikeline book is the one to get (Buy in the UK, not one the road)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Danube-Bike...=1423996548&sr=8-1&keywords=esterbauer+danube
(Just make sure you get the English version, and the most recent version as they update the books every couple of years )

 

[andym]

Don't shoot me if you've already spent hours and hours reading this site, but just in case you haven't, it looks pretty useful:

http://www.donauradweg.at/en/danube-cycling-path.html

This map/guide looks handy (also available as a paper copy):

http://www.donauregion.at/uploads/tx_ooeneucat/donauradwegfolder2015_EN_web.pdf

And even if you go independently you can still get someone to carry your luggage:

http://www.donau-radweg.info/en/luggage-transport-donau-cycle-path

 

[vt2]

My brother and I did Passau to Bratislava in 2013 just after the floods.

Flew Easyjet to Munich, stayed overnight in a hotel in Freising close to the airport then train to Passau using a Bayern ticket [very cheap the more of you there are]. We picked the hire bikes in Passau, plenty hire options. The bikes are generally sturdy and well equipped bikes with hub gears and Ortlieb panniers, although heavy which you notice if you venture off the path up the valley sides [as we were wont to do]. We prebooked hotels on the route and found them all good value. We encountered several riders at the same hotels that were on the organised rides where their luggage was moved on each day.

You can't get lost on the path that is generally wide and well surfaced throughout. When in the towns or villages, the car drivers gave way to cyclists at all times. The route is flat and very samey most of the route up to Vienna, but lots of interesting places to visit along the way. The organised trips tend to end just outside Vienna taking the train in from Klosterneuburg. We cycled in to the centre of Vienna on the traffic free Donauisel and the cycle paths in the centre are easy to navigate.

We took the bikes on the train back from Bratislava to Passau - this involved three changes in Vienna, but no problem. For trips after that we have taken our own bikes, but it is probabaly cheaper to hire bikes in Austria than it is to take your own. We did buy the Bikeline book [in English] in Passau. It is excellent but generally used our smartphones for navigation.

Overall it was a very enjoyable trip.

 

[Noelinspain]

I've read the earlier chat with interest, since I'm planning to cycle from Passau to Budapest in July, to continue the fantastic trip I did from Donaueschingen to Passau two years ago (again, just after the floods). I'll be travelling by car from my home near Malaga to Passau, then leaving the car at the B&B I've booked for the start and finish of my trip. But I'm getting frustrated trying to book my return journey from Budapest by train. DB say they can´t issue tickets to include my bike. Bearing in mind that I'd have to change trains four times, dare I take a chance on space for bikes being available at each stage? Any help or advice appreciated!

 

[vernon]

I've read the earlier chat with interest, since I'm planning to cycle from Passau to Budapest in July, to continue the fantastic trip I did from Donaueschingen to Passau two years ago (again, just after the floods). I'll be travelling by car from my home near Malaga to Passau, then leaving the car at the B&B I've booked for the start and finish of my trip. But I'm getting frustrated trying to book my return journey from Budapest by train. DB say they can´t issue tickets to include my bike. Bearing in mind that I'd have to change trains four times, dare I take a chance on space for bikes being available at each stage? Any help or advice appreciated!

I found that it was impossible to do online or by telephone but I called in at on of the main stations in Vienna, the one nearest to Praterpark, and booked the tickets at the ticket office. It is long winded but the ticket clerk came up with the goods. I think that I got back from Budapest to Passau using three trains. The beauty of the DB ticketing system is that you are given a summary of the train services which includes the platform numbers where the trains depart from.

 

[Noelinspain]

Many thanks, Vernon, that's quite re-assuring. I feel more relaxed now about leaving my booking until I'm actually in Vienna (or maybe even in Budapest?). I also have time to spare in Passau, so may well make enquiries there before I start my trip. David

 

[oldleggs]

Yeah did Vienna Passau last summer on my two and half month European peddle. Took a detour enroute up to the Czech Republic hardest hills/ mountains I ever peddled. No problems with trains or availability of bike spaces,can be a bit confusing finding designated carriage. But its soon fathomable!
I used trains in Slovenia and Croatia too, without problems.
This year hoping to get to Spain in time for the Pamplona bull run, then south eventually heading for Morocco. So if anyone has info on cycling in Morocco, it would be much appreciated, I have done zero research to date.
Enjoy The Danube because I certainly did.

 

[Noelinspain]

You're clearly much more ambitious than me. The flatter the terrain the better so far as I'm concerned. The stretch of the Danube from its source to Passau that I did two years ago had quite a few challenging sections, though. I expect an easier time of it this year. I just hope the weather is as kind. Having arrived in Donaueschingen only two weeks after the floods, I enjoyed warm sunshine every day of my trip. Good luck with your adventure this summer I'll already have started mine by the time you arrive in Pamplona for San Fermín. Can't help you about Morocco - never been there.