Organised Danube cycling holidays between Passau and Vienna

Since the Danube cycle path in Austria is one of the most travelled cycle ways in Europe, there are plenty of tour operators offering holiday packages today. Most of them offer self-guided cycling holidays. Included in such a holiday package is accommodation, a set of cycling maps and daily luggage transfer.

If you prefer to travel in a group of like-minded cyclists or simply feel more comfortable with having a guide around, go for a guided cycling holiday. There are holiday packages at all price levels. In general, continental tour operators provide the tours at lower costs.

We have listed cycle tour operators and their cycling holidays here. We don't recommend a specific tour operator or cycling holiday in particular. Instead we recommend comparing the holidays offered:

• Mercurio Bike Travel, Zwickau/Germany: On their guided cycling holidays you follow the Danube from Passau to Vienna. English speaking cyclists only, an airport shuttle is included, small group cycling holidays with eight to 15 cyclists (7 days from €1,700)
• ExperiencePlus, Forlì/Italy: If you like road bikes and don't mind cycling 34 to 58 miles a day, have a look at ExperiencePlus' ride from Passau to Vienna. (7 days from €3,900)
• Peak Tours, Glossop/UK: They offer to cycle along the Danube as part of a 14 days ride across Germany and Austria. A cycling guide and van support is part of the package. 50 to 70 miles each day, one rest day. This is possibly for the die-hards.

• Oberösterreich Touristik, Linz/Austria: Several cycle tour packages are available.
• Eurobike (Eurofun Touristik), Obertrum/Austria: They also run cycle tours along the Danube. The itineraries often differ in length of their daily legs. Cycling the distance from Passau to Vienna varies from five to ten days.
• Austria Radreisen, Schärding/Austria: Designed its Danube cycle tour packages along different themes and levels of difficulty.

Booking through a travel agent near you

If you prefer booking through a UK based intermediary, have a look at Exodus, SaddleSkedaddle and Headwater. Those are resellers, meaning that a local tour operator does everything, from booking the hotels to moving the luggage to providing the bicycle.

North America based cyclists might prefer to book through a US based intermediary. BikeTours.com (formerly BikeToursDirect) and Tripsite are the two big players.

Australian cyclists may want to have a look at what UTracks offers.

As many people start the cycling in Passau on a weekend, hotels along the cycle path have peak days where many guests crash in. This often makes it a bit uncomfortable for those who have not pre-booked accommodation as well as it forces tour operators to accommodate late booking guests into less convenient places. You also share the cycle path with more people on those peak days.

Some tour operators offer to start their self-guided cycle tours in Schärding, instead of Passau. Schärding is a picturesque, small town, situated from Passau ten miles up the Inn River. Schärding is slightly more difficult to reach by public transportation than Passau.