Bicycle Tours & Vacations in Central Europe

Top Bicycle Tours in Central Europe Alongside the traditionally popular countries for bike touring, mainly Austria and Germany, these days you can now take a bicycle tour in countries that for decades were concealed behind the Iron Curtain: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary or Poland. Since the fall of Communism, these countries, too, have been discovering the magic of cycling. Recently a large number of bicycle trails and paths have sprung up, and are becoming worthy competition for popular bike routes such as the Danube Trail. Topbicycle offers both these traditional bicycle tours, as well as bike tours in Central European countries whose cyclotourism boom is just coming.

Tours by difficulty:

Easy Tours

- follow a course of a river, usually downstream
- the terrain profile is almost level
- the route can be easily traveled by beginner bikers

Prague - Dresden Elbe River Trail (daily avg. 43 km / 27 miles)

Passau - Vienna Danube Trail 1 (daily avg. 54 km / 34 miles)

Vienna - Budapest Danube Trail 2 (daily avg. 59 km / 37 miles)

Easy to Moderate Tours

- follow lakes or rivers mostly, usually downstream, occasionally upstream
- the terrain profile is generally level except for one hilly day crossing highlands range
- the route can be managed by less experienced bikers

Czech Elbe River Giant Mountains - Prague (daily avg. 42 km / 27 miles)

Stately Old Europe 4 countries in 8 days (daily avg. 54 km / 34 miles)

Salzburg - Vienna Austrian Lakes & Rivers (daily avg. 59 km / 37 miles)

Moderate Tours

- are evenly distributed over hilly terrain and less demanding flat parts
- there are 1 or 2 more challenging days of ascents and descents (crossing highlands)
- the route can be managed by recreational cyclists who ride regularly at home

Vienna - Prague Czech Greenways (daily avg. 44-66 km / 27-41 miles)

Salzburg - Prague Heart of Europe Trail (daily avg. 53 km / 33 miles)

Vienna - Krakow Amber Trail II (daily avg. 51 km / 32 km)

Czech Gothic Trail Brno - Prague (daily avg. 42 km / 26 km)

Romantic Slovakia Spa and Mining Towns (daily avg. 43 km / 27 km)

Challenging Tours

- include only 1 or 2 easy days
- much of the route is challenging in terms of terrain
- several highland or mountain ranges to be crossed during the tour with long steep climbs
- the route is suitable for well-trained recreational cyclists or accomplished sports enthusiasts, who will enjoy the very difficulty of the terrain

Budapest - Krakow Amber Trail I (daily avg. 51 km / 32 miles)

Surfaces you will encounter

All our bicycle tours follow mostly a solid surface (tarmac), and are well suited for hybrid bikes, some of them also for road bikes. However, at most of our tours there are a few short sections with fine gravel or compacted dirt surface, so we encourage you to ride a lightweight TREK FX 3 hybrid there.
In Central Europe there is a dense network of backroads ideal for cycling. Their surface is of good quality and there is little traffic. All our routes follow the 2nd or 3rd class roads or dedicated bike paths (mainly in Austria and Germany).
Should you cross a busy road, the route instructions will always warn you in advance.

Daily sections

The average daily riding distance at our tours is about 50 km / 31 miles. Each daily segment's length depends on its difficulty and also the distance between accommodation facilities. Our desire is to offer a balanced, but not a boring tour, so some riding days might be quite short with ample time to relax and go sightseeing, other a bit longer to enjoy the ride itself. At some tours this distance can be changed to suit either more demanding cyclists, or those wishing for shorter daily trips. Some of the cycling days allow for shorter options taking car or train transfers (stated in tour itineraries).

Why are bike tours in Europe a good choice?

1. Europe is rich in history, yet it offers modern facilities and sophisticated services.
2. Its compact dimensions are well suited for cycling tours: the distances between
    interesting historical towns can be easily covered by bicycle.
3. It offers a well-balanced mix of both cultural and natural features for every traveler:
    architecture, arts, scenery, medieval castles, fairytale-like palaces, traditional cuisine,
    quaint little cafes, and much more.
4. European drivers are accustomed to cyclists and respect them, which in combination
    with a dense network of well-surfaced backroads creates ideal conditions for biking.
5. Moreover, visitors to Central Europe benefit from an excellent price/value ratio.