Bicycle Tours & Vacations 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)