jbrooks54

I would be very interested in, and appreciative of, recommendation of reputable bike tour operators based in, or at least working in, Germany. I'm talking about the type of tour with a support vehicle, advanced booking of hotels, etc. Preferably also operator maintaining a quality bike fleet. The couple in our group would prefer not to go through the hassle of shipping our personal bikes, most of which are road bikes probably not suitable for touring purposes. I am familiar with Backroads.com, but that group may be a bit pricey for a couple of our group (consisting of at least four adults and possibly six, if two of the spouses who currently are undecided, decide to join us). My internet searches have located numerous operators (It is surprising how many groups called themselves tour operators) but I have had trouble finding credible reviews or comments to help sort through the groups. We would be particularly interested in self-guided tours in the South of Germany, possibly into Austria and Switzerland.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Philly Tandem

Self-guided tours are the way most Europeans seem to tour, based on my observations (over nearly 20 years of touring in Germany, Austria, Czechia, France, etc.). They book your rooms every night, have rental bikes available, shuttle your luggage each day, provide maps, and usually an on-call number for problems. The only thing you don't get is a defined group and a daily in-person tour guide. Some folks like the guided tours because meeting and riding with other like-minded people is part of the experience they seek. If you are basically bringing your own group (friends, family) then it's probably not as big of a deal. Having a support vehicle is nice, but many routes are so well served with train lines that not having one is not really a problem. If you break down, get tired, or whatever, just hop on a train to the night's lodging.

Anyways, in Austria and Germany, Austria Radreisen is one of the largest and most well-known operators (https://www.austria-radreisen.at/en/ - their EN site seems to be down at the moment, but it's usually available, and their phone reps speak English. I see their bikes and logos everywhere it seems when we are bike touring. Most of the Austrian routes they run themselves, but they do work with other vendors in other countries.

Biketours.com is a US-based reseller that deals with a lot of European self-guided tour operators (including Austria Radreisen). If you want a US contact, then maybe that's worth looking into.

Personally, we've always arranged our own tours in Europe. If you are willing to carry your own bags, and can deal with getting or taking a bike, you'll save a good deal of money. My wife and I just did a tandem tour along the Mosel and Rhine at the end of November for our anniversary. We pre-booked nice hotels, bought train tickets ourselves, and took our own tandem, and it was 1/3 the cost of the identical self-guided tour, plus we stayed in nicer hotels and tacked on several extra days.

If you want tips or suggestions on nice routes in Germany and Austria, let me know. We've done a lot of riding over there. The Danube route from Passau to Vienna remains our favorite, even though we've done it multiple times. The Mosel was really nice. The Tauern bike route in Austria also was a favorite. The Inn bike route is nice in parts, but has some "meh" parts, too. Biking in the Black Forest/Alsatian Plain area of southern Germany/eastern France is also very nice.

jbrooks54

thanks Philly for the good info. I would like to know more about the routes in Germany you mentioned and any recommendations regarding the hotels. Self-guided toursounds like the way to, but I do think some of our group likes the idea of a support van. A lot of options to explore c

Davet

My wife and I have used Van Gogh bicycle tours,who use Austria Radreisen,twice both self-guided tours, and were totally satisfied with what they had to offer.

Self-guided tours aren’t really the big deal as they are here in the US because the daily distances are pretty moderate and there’s towns and villages everywhere along most any route you choose. Bike touring in Europe is huge as there are so many places to go in a relatively small area. We would see more people on bikes there in a couple of weeks than we would see on bikes in the states in s couple of months. Routes are extremely well mapped and route guides are plentiful. Austria Radreisen has spiral bound route maps for most everything they offer.

The folks at Van Gogh Tours Van Gogh Tours | Discover European bicycle tours in Holland, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium and our home state of Vermont offer both guided and self guided tours. I heartily recommend Van Gogh, they treated us extremely well both times. We’re probably going to tour Germany and Austria again soon and will again book through Van Gogh.

jbrooks54

thanks for your help, Davet

Philly Tandem

The Danube bike route "classic" is from Passau, Germany, to Vienna, Austria. (Danube is "Donau" in German, and the German phrase is "donauradweg.") Tons of info out there on this. I'd start by looking at trip journals on crazyguyonabike.com. Google should turn up plenty of tour operators for this route, too, although I'd stick with Austria Radreisen as they pretty much "own" this route and have many different options. I don't recall offhand, but I think it's around 200 miles +/-. I often advise this route for people new to touring in Europe, as the infrastructure is great, it's easy to get to the start in Passau and back again (we fly in/out of Munich) by train, etc. The only caveat is that it is the most popular bike route in Europe, so you'll have plenty of company. Some view that as a positive, some as a negative. We thinks it's fun being around so many other bike tourists. One hint is to travel on the shoulder seasons (September is really nice), and also to start your trip mid-week, as most start on the weekends. That way you are in between "waves" of tourists and things are bit calmer.

The Inn bike path (Innradweg) follows the Inn River from Switzerland up into Germany (the Inn flows into the Danube at Passau, Germany). It's a pretty, Alpine river. Some sections of the route roughly parallel the Autobahn through the Inn Valley, but overall it's nice.

The Tauern bike route (Tauernradweg) is one of our favorites. It goes from Krimml, Austria, up to Passau, Germany, mostly following the Salzach River. The Salzach flows into the Inn River north of Salzburg, and then basically the Inn and Tauern bike routes converge and go to Passau, where you can then hook up with the Danube route. The Tauern starts in the foothills of the Alps and goes through the beautiful Tauern valley, surrounded by high, snow-capped peaks. Yet, it's mostly flat, albeit it with a few hills (ok to walk up them!). We did it on a loaded tandem without too many issues at all. Very pretty bike route.

hockey

We have used and recommend OKcyle tours from Ottawa. A small firm that has agreements with many of the companies in Europe at terrific prices. Even better yet, in Canadian dollars. Look them up.

Davet

To piggyback on Philly Tandems remarks, the Donauradweg is our favorite bike route. You are riding a path that’s been used for a thousand years, in the heart of a beautiful country. Austria even has their own web page about it https://www.donauregion.at/en/danube-cycle-path.html

An organized self guided tour, like the one we did twice through Van Gogh, is really quite easy. Everything is pre-arranged for you; hotels, meals, luggage transfers, etc. When you leave one hotel you leave your luggage in the lobby. When you arrive at your next hotel, your bags are there waiting for you. Everything is very highly organized. The distances in between the daily stops aren’t long; 25~60 miles per day which offers plenty of time to dally, sightsee and sample some really great food.

jbrooks54

Thanks to each of ;Philly Tandem Hockey and Davet for the helpful info. I've been in contact with AustriaRadreisen about its Bavaria tours and am leaning towards either of the the Taurenradweg or the Donauradweg (after thinking at first the Munich to Salzburg route). I will check out that OKCycle. That is a new one to me.
I am glad I found this site because helpful folks like you make this site a great resource. Thanks again

Stadjer

Probably a lot of the guided tours are bike&barge/boat tours these days, because of the scenic routes near rivers and the guide's control over the whole package I guess.