Danube Bike Path - Passau to Budapest

Overview

The Danube Bike Path, Europe's most famous cycling path, follows the beautiful Blue Danube River. Beginning in Passau and ending in the Hungarian metropolis of Budapest, you'll discover the beautiful landscape of the region as you cycle over rolling hills, through forests, meadows, picturesque villages, and the impressive Wachau Valley. Wineries and cozy inns invite you to enjoy the culinary specialties of the region. Experience the art and culture of some of Europe's most beautiful cities. Cycle through four beautiful & culturally rich countries Self Guided Mostly flat terrain but also some rolling hills throughout each cycling day. The tour is mostly flat with some slight hills along the way. The Austrian section of the trip follows well-maintained cycle paths, while the Hungarian section follows country roads. The average distance is 30 miles per day (48 km). As always, when entering and exiting towns and cities, traffic will be encountered so good control and balance of your bicycle is necessary. You have a choice between two hotel categories for the 14-day itinerary: Category A: Accommodation in well-selected 4-star hotels (some 3-star but best available) Category B: Accommodation in chosen guest houses, hotels, and inns that are typically 3-star. The 10-day itinerary uses carefully selected 3 and 4-star hotels and guest houses. Please note that air conditioning is not standard in many accommodations in Austria. While we will always try to accommodate this preference where possible, it cannot be guaranteed. We appreciate your understanding and recommend preparing accordingly, especially during warmer travel periods. Daily luggage transport from hotel to hotel (no limit, each piece no heavier than 20kg). 21-gear hybrid bicycle with waterproof pannier bag, handlebar bag, tool kit with extra tube and pump, and combination lock included. Digital route information, GPS navigation, and travel documents (printed copies can be provided for an additional cost). 7-day emergency hotline. Additional for the 14 day regular itinerary: Train ticket from Györ to Komárom, including bike & Boat or train ticket from Szentendre to Budapest, including bike (as described in itinerary). There are a couple of options as far as arrival and departure airports. You can arrive to Munich Airport (MUC) which is well connected to the city center and beyond by public transportation, taxis, and transfer services and depart from Budapest (BUD). If you prefer to arrive and depart from the same airport, you can arrive and depart from Vienna International Airport (VIE). In Slovakia, wearing a helmet is required by law outside the city limits. In Hungary, wearing a safety vest is required by law at night and during times of low visibility outside limits of cities/villages. In Austria, wearing a helmet is mandatory for children under 12 years of age. Electric bikes, children's bikes, and special equipment for children on request. The transfer from Budapest to Vienna by bus is bookable every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in seasons 1 and 2, & daily in season 3. Departure takes place at approx. 3pm with pick-up directly at the hotel. The duration is approx. 3.5 hours. The price is €75 per person when renting bikes, or €104 per person with own bikes. Special transfers for 4 or more people available upon request. The transfer from Vienna to Passau is possible daily with a departure at approx. 2pm. The duration is 3.5-4 hours. The price is €75 per person when renting bikes, or €104 per person with own bikes. Alternatively, we can arrange a train ticket (not including bikes) for €29 per person. It is each traveler's responsibility to ensure that you are in compliance with the country or countries you plan to visit. This includes and is not limited to passport validity, visa requirements and acquisition, blank passport pages required for your destination (s), etc. US citizens: A good website to research the requirements of the Schengen Agreement and entry into other countries is travel.state.gov. Non-EU and EU residents: Please research the requirements of your country of residence for international travel and your destination country or countries. Important note: Please check on the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) status as once implemented, this will be required to visit any of the 26 Schengen-member countries for tourism, business, medical, or transit. This is an additional security check rather than a visa. Consider booking extra nights in Passau, Bratislava, Vienna, or Budapest, to explore more of these great cities! The entire trip was well organised with a great route. The path was exceptional albeit a bit flat at times which allowed the daily distances to be covered very easily. The route was punctuated by historic towns and natural beauty around every corner. I would recommend this trip to anyone, even people with limited fitness. This was our 2nd self-guided bike tour in Europe. It was a little different than our first where everyone leaving from our hotel was on the same schedule. With this company, you are basically customizing your tour by chosing to stay extra nights in some cities. The route chosen by the local company was qood. We had a variety of small villages and towns, crop fields and forrests. Lodging in the Category B hotels was good to excellent. The cycle paths were very good most of the time with little mixing with cars. We did this in Sept and it seemed alot of restaurants/cafes along the route were closed, so you might bring a lunch with you. The bikes were good, but do not have mirrors, which I had inquired ahead about. We did bring our own. It was a great trip overall. We loved that part of the route also went inland a little through villages etc. It would be great to have more lunch/food options marked on the maps and how to make sure they are open. We also noticed that on the last bike day parting the route was over a blocked off and hard to ride dike so we were forced to find our way around via a main road. It was well organized as nd we would do something similar again. We really enjoyed this self guided tour. You are basically following the Danube or Donau, as the Germans refer to it, essentially downhill, making it fairly easy riding. The best part was riding with a group of curious friends. Poking our noses into things along the way and asking lots of questions made for a good travel experience. The bicycles we received were brand new and half of the group chose electric versions. All of the equipment worked well and the support team was responsive answering questions via cell along the way. We even got a first class detour around a road closure. Two vans transported us and our bicycles around a closed area along the river, thank you! There are a number of bicycle ferry crossings. This was really fun to load up the bikes and cross the river by boat. We also finished the trip on a short boat ride into Budapest. I would recommend this finish as you get to see all the bridges from the river coming into the city. Our accommodations were a good mix of private guest houses and hotels. Perhaps one suggestion, would be to have 2 nights in Vienna, since there is so much to see there. There is a lot to see in Budapest so we extended our visit there 3 more nights. Overall a very nice bike trip. Bike paths were very good and enjoyable. This was the first bike trip for me and I felt safe. The company was very responsive to our inquiries along the paths. The scenery was beautiful and the villages and hotels along the way were very good. Breakfast included in every stop was very helpful. Passau to vienna was amazing. Great bike trails and incredible scenery. Cycling along the Danube and entering small villages as we cycled. It felt very "intimate" like we were part of the life of the village. The premium bikes were very good for the trip and a nice selection of hotels to stay at along the way. Bike pathways through Austria were in fantastic condition, well marked and easy to follow making for a relaxing ride. Some of the paths in Hungary were not suitable for a road bike (no pavement and loose rocky terrain). Some warning about this before selecting a bike or alternative route would have been helpful. Our bags were always at the hotel when we arrived which was very nice after a long ride. The hotels were nice. Most offered a nice relaxing outdoor space. The breakfast options were all comparable to each other and provided a good start to the day. The bike "fitting" was a bit disappointing, the bikes were dropped off and only after a lot of hunting around was the staff able to provide a tool to adjust the seat height. There was no tool kit provided and when we asked the kit was not suitable for the bike we had. I would have preferred a stop in Linz rather than the small city before it. There would be more things to do in Linz in the evening. Overall I was pleased with the trip and I would recommend it, especially the Germany to Vienna section. The whole experience was memorable. My suggestion to others would be that they do not rent a Touring bike for the 10 day - sportiv - version of the trip. We did the entire Great Danube bike trail from Passau to Budapest. It was actually 2 trips Passau to Vienna and Vienna to Budapest. The first one Passau to Vienna was on a very well defined bike path that followed the Danube River. There were many bikes on this route. The second trip Vienna to Budapest, was on a combination of paved and gravel bike trails and roads. Certainly for the more adventurous rider. Personally we would dont think we would do 2 weeks of straight biking, one week would have been plenty. Highlights were Vienna and Budapest each would have been better with longer stays as there was so much to do. Your representative for the initial orientation meeting was a No Show. This became problematic when we received train tickets in the packet- with no clear guidance. Your travel app and book were well coordinated but the app didn't always work on the trail. If you're providing train tickets it would be helpful to have directions to the train station. Hotel locations, near the bike route and points of interest, were excellent. Quality and experiences varied. Overall pleased. The challenge of finding our way and doing it successfully despite the guide books being almost useless. The guide book for the Passau to Vienna book was slightly better but that was mostly because the paths were self evident. The book for the Vienna to Budapest leg was quite useless. 1 Reply Carla Tripsite Staff August 30, 2022 Hi Terry, I'm sorry to hear the route descriptions were useless. We are working to present new and improved route books for the 2023 season. In the meantime, I recommend considering using GPS tracks for future tours which should lead to seamless guiding. My trip from Passau to Budapest was what I hoped it would be. The original information and directions were excellent. However there was almost no communication with Rad+Riesen once the trip started. This was not really a problem except for one day when my hotel was changed without notifying me until I arrived at the wrong hotel. Luggage transfer was smooth and breakfasts were good. Generally a very positive experience with a bit of adventure. The trip from Passau to Vienna was smoother than from Vienna to Budapest in all aspects, but both were memorable and enjoyable. This was a great trip. The bike trail, signage and printed guide was very good on the section from Passau to Vienna. If we were lost it was due to our own failure to read carefully. The section from Vienna to Budapest was not as clear. There was more road riding, confusing or absent signage, and detours due to construction projects. There were also several stretches where the 'path' was gravel/sand or old Roman road. We do not regret doing both legs, but learned that most people do only the first segment and we can understand why they make this choice. Luggage transfer was seamless and all of our hotels provided secure, inside bike parking. We also had great weather, which made the ride much easier. The city maps could be better! We met 2 couples from Australia and teamed up and rode as a group! Great experience. However, on the last day on the boat trip to Budapest, the boat loaded a group of 19 bikes in addition to all the ones on the scheduled trip. When we got to Budapest only 1 in our group were able to unload, before the boat headed to the other shore. That left 5 of us on the wrong side. The last day did not end as planned. There were way too many bikes on the ship!

Daily Ride Schedule

Accommodation & Services

Accommodation

Hotel

What's Included