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This cycling holiday follows the still relatively young Danube across an incredibly scenic part of Bavaria. Expect leisurely cycling with plenty of charming towns and cities to explore along the way. Highlights include the old town of Donauwörth, Weltenburg Monastery, a boat trip through the Danube Gap and the beautifully preserved city of Regensburg.
The route starts in Swabia and takes you broadly eastwards from Donauwörth to Passau, covering the Danube’s entire Bavarian course and reaching its most northerly point at Regensburg. This means you’ll be treated to some of the finest scenery to be found along this great river, from wide floodplains to the foothills of the Franconian Jura, the Danube Gap and the Bavarian Forest.
Passau
Your overnight stops provide the best of Bavarian culture, featuring pretty old towns and fascinating glimpses of the region’s medieval and ancient Roman heritage.
The route is largely flat, although there are a few small hills in parts, but nothing that’s unduly challenging. Most of the way you’ll be following tarmac paths with a few unpaved – but not too bumpy – tracks to follow as well.
On arrival make your way to your hotel in Donauwörth. After check-in you are free to relax or explore this beautiful Bavarian city on the Danube. The town’s strategic location at the confluence of the Danube and Wörlitz rivers helped it to become a powerful trading city and the large old houses in the town centre are a testament to its rich heritage. The town also has an excellent doll museum that has enthralled children of all ages for decades.
Head out from Donauwörth for your first day on the bikes. Follow an easy route to the foothills of the Franconian Jura where the terrain gets a little more undulating. You’ll then pass Marxheim and the lovely old town of Neuburg before continuing to the fortified town of Ingolstadt, your destination for the night.
Leaving Ingolstadt you continue along the idyllic cycle path beside the Danube. Today you are cycling through one of the river's flood plains so, needless to say, the going is level and easy. After a while you reach the small town of Bad Gögging and a few kilometres beyond, the charming little town of Abensberg (you could be overnighting in either of these towns). Take a stroll around the renovated old town and maybe visit the amazing Kuchlbauer Tower dedicated to the art of Bavarian beer brewing. If you are staying in Kelheim then you will cycle on to Weltenburg Abbey and enjoy a boat trip through the gorge to your accommodation in Kelheim. This is described in more detail in day 4 below.
If you spent the night in Abensburg or Bad Gögging, the small Abens river leads you back to the Danube and after a few kilometres you arrive at the magnificent Weltenburg Abbey located on a majestic bend of the river. The abbey's famous and award winning dark beer is sold in the pleasant beer garden and you may wish to sample this before enjoying a boat trip (with you bike) through the narrow gorge to the town of Kelheim. From here you mount up and follow the cycle path along the river's meanders to the beautiful city of Regensburg, Germany’s best-preserved medieval city. After settling into your hotel, take a stroll through the ancient winding streets.
Enjoy more riverside cycling today, taking a break at the Walhalla Temple near Donaustauf to enjoy the view. The Danube meanders gently in this section as you pass Wörth Castle and the ‘Gäuboden’ landscape en route to Straubing, with its distinctive towers and rich Celtic and Roman heritage. Easy cycling along dedicated cycle paths.
Today you’ll continue making your way through this enchanting part of Bavaria, first reaching the medieval town of Bogen before continuing through Pfelling and Mariaposching. It’s worth stopping at Metten Abbey before arriving at Deggendorf, gateway to the Bavarian Forest.
Your last day of cycling takes you through more lovely Bavarian riverside scenery to your final destination – Passau. Here the Danube meets the rivers Inn and Ilz and it’s the perfect spot for a boat trip to see the town from the water. Also take time to simply wander the streets of the old town and perhaps visit the impressive local castle.
After breakfast it’s time to check out and head for home or your next adventure.
On this tour you can choose between a regular bike, a regular plus bike or an E-bike.
Regular bike: Is an alloy framed unisex model with 27 speeds and a comfortable, relaxed riding position, perfect for a leisure cycling holiday. Minimum height is 145cm. Male specific frames with a crossbar are available from a height of 175cm. Bikes come equipped with a pannier, lock and handlebar bag plus a repair kit per booking.
Regular plus bikes: Offers a sportier riding position and a step up in terms of components (hydraulic disk brakes, 30 speed Shimano XT gears). They also come with a suspension seat post. Male specific frames with a crossbar are available from a height of 180cm. Bikes come equipped with a pannier, lock and handlebar bag plus a repair kit per booking.
Electric bikes: These unisex/step through electric bikes are a popular option on this route and ensure riders can enjoy the scenery along the way, whilst not working too hard at the climbs. Bikes come equipped with a pannier, lock and handlebar bag plus a repair kit per booking.
Helmets are not supplied, so you will need to bring your own.
Below you will find examples of the types of accommodation typically used on this tour. Please note that the hotels we book for you may differ slightly from those described but they will certainly be of a similar standard.
Comfort: Comfortable 3 star hotels and guesthouses.
Wörnitzstein/Donauwörth: Schmidbaur Wornitzstein
Ingolstadt: Bauer Ingolstadt
Kelheim/Abensberg: Weisses Lamm Kelheim
Regensburg: Hotel Münchner Hof
Straubing: Hotel Theresientor
Deggendorf: Hotel-Gasthof Höttl
Passau: Hotel Residenz
Local taxes
Some hotels have started to charge a local/tourist tax. These taxes are not included in the sale price of the tour and must be paid directly by you at check-in or checkout at the hotels. This fee varies and is ever changing but as a guide, you may be asked to pay between €1-€4 per person per night.
Fly to Munich and take a train to Donauwörth. At the end of the trip take a train from Passau back to Munich
Research flights from the UK here
Research trains here
Easy
Leisurely
Moderate
Challenging
