Small cog

This is a trip I have considered for sometime and the only thing I really need to know is the best way to get from one to the other as I have seen two alternative routes, the first is the Rhine-Maine-Danube canal which sounds like the most direct route and I have seen the Romantic Road recommended which I am not sure actually joins the two but is apparently very nice, any advice from those with more experience appreciated.

imi

Both of those ways between the rivers make sense. I haven't ridden it, but the Romantic Road looks cool.
If you kept to the Rhine on Eurovelo 15, it meets up with the EV6 between Mullheim and Basel, but this would be a longer way round.

https://en.eurovelo.com/germany

Another way would be from Breisach am Rhein to Breg (the source of the Danube) through the Black Forest. About 75km

Doug64

It would help to know where are you starting from? What is your ultimate destination?

Small cog

Start point The Hook of Holland end point Vienna or the Black Sea.

saddlesores

it all depends on what you want to see along the way, and how much river you can stand.

just east of Konstanz, the distance between the two rivers is about 35km. (Geisingen-Schaffhausen)

Yan 

I did the Romania / Bulgaria part. Bulgaria was fantastic. Romanians were cold and unfriendly, maybe because my girlfriend was Hungarian. Someone also threw a glass bottle at us from a car which could have killed us if it hadn't missed. Can't blame that one on the Hungarian. I've never received a lethal projectile like that in any other country, including the hickest of hick US states where drivers were screaming at us and trying to run us off the road every single day (Montana and South Dakota).

Small cog

I am thinking of finishing in Vienna as I may well have had enough by then and it is an easy place to get home from. I did experience quite a lot of hostility in a short distance from car drivers while cycling in Maryland earlier this year, luckily most of my ride was along the C&O canal which is a great ride and yes I like cycling along waterways.

imi

OP: Just checking, you have found the Eurovelo routes 15 and 6, neh?

Unless there are other specific places you want to visit (like the Romantic Road you mentioned), I’d just follow the EV routes all the way.

Small cog

Yes it was just when the Romantic Road came up on a search I thought I would ask.

Doug64

I'm assuming the "Hook" is the southern tip of the Netherlands near Masstricht, My wife and I have ridden some of your intended route from the other direction. We were riding south from Poland into the Czech Republic We then headed west from Prague and intersected the Main River near the border with Germany and followed it to to Mainz, connecting with the Rhine River. This part of the route is pretty straightforward. We rode into the Netherlands or Belgium from Cologne three different times. The real question is how do you connect to the Danube.

Best wishes on your ride. Please keep us posted on what you decide. My wife and I (and maybe our daughters) would like to include the Danube into one of our rides, and I am interested about your choices.

Small cog

Hook of Holland is a town at the mouth of the Rhine with a ferry connection to the UK so a good place to start, I am planning a ride in May and June but am still researching the route which could be one way or circular, I will post up something about it at the time, thanks to everyone for your replies.

mev

FYI, Holland is a region in western part of the Netherlands, roughly corresponding to the provinces of North Holland and South Holland highlighted in the map below. 6 million of the 17 million total population live in those two provinces as well as several of the largest cities. The word "hoek" is dutch for corner and is towards the southwest corner (slightly above the lower region) and is at the mouth of the Rhine.

If you pronounced the Dutch "hoek" it would be closest to an English "hook".
If you translated the English "hook" it would be "haak" in Dutch.

corner == hoek
hook == haak

In any case, that corner is also a transportation connecting point with both ferry connections to the UK and international trains to the Netherlands and rest of Europe. The town itself is a small seaside village.

Doug64

Thanks! I've ridden up the coast of the Netherlands, and I'm not sure how I missed it.

StarBiker

Mostly around DC........lot of whackies in western Maryland.......

I cycle almost every day in the cooler months (Dislike summer weather) but I ride mostly on sidewalks. Very, very little street riding. Not safe. Not enough space. Baltimore County North.......

BRUCE NORTHCUTT

Suggestion. Follow the rivers. Get to Trier, follow the Mosel to Koblenz. Turn right on Rhine and go to Mainz. Stay on west side of Rhine (left bank). Cross Rhine and stay on North side of the Main. Follow the Main and Canal to Kehlheim. Intersect with Danube (Donau). Follow Danube til tour is over.

It is very scenic. Plenty of places to stay. Very few places where you compete with motor traffic. Easy access to food and bike shops. Mostly Radweg (bike paths). Vorfreude.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/DONAU

thumpism 

I rode much of this in '74 with a buddy. We got to Trier and followed the Mosel to Koblenz, then the Rhine to Mainz and Heidelberg, then across to Rothenburg and down the Romantic Road to Garmisch, then beyond. I recall it being very pleasant but the riding environment might have changed significantly since then.

HappyAussies

Interested in watching this thread for more advice. My wife and I are just starting to plan out a route starting in Amserdam and finishing in Budapest, linking various Euro Velo routes. We were looking at the whole Danube but have been put off by the chatter about Romania .......