Passau to Budapest Athletic Cycling Tour

Day 1: Passau
Individual arrival in Passau, the "City of Three Rivers", where the Danube, Inn and Ilz meet. Use the remaining time for a city tour or a walk through the picturesque old town. Rental bikes can be picked up between 4 and 6 p.m., or the next morning between 9 and 10 a.m. for late arrivals.

Day 2: Passau – Eferdinger Valley, approx. 70 km
You cycle along the riverbank of the Danube towards the Schlögen Loop, where the hard granite of the Mühlviertel has forced the river into a 180-degree bend. A ferry (not included) takes you across to the southern bank, from where you continue through the scenic Danube market town of Aschach to your overnight stop in Brandstatt.

Day 3: Eferdinger Valley – Strudengau, approx. 86 km
Today's stage leads through Linz, the capital of Upper Austria, before continuing into the Strudengau. In Grein you can visit an impressive castle and Austria's oldest city theatre.

Day 4: Strudengau – Krems/surroundings, approx. 90 km
You cycle through the Nibelungengau to Pöchlarn, birthplace of the artist Oskar Kokoschka and home to the Nibelungen monument. After passing the Benedictine Abbey of Melk, you ride through the rolling hills and vineyards of the romantic Wachau — Spitz, Weissenkirchen and Dürnstein, where you can visit the ruins and the jail that once held King Richard the Lionheart. The day ends in the thousand-year-old wine city of Krems.

Day 5: Krems/surroundings – Vienna, approx. 80 km
The route crosses the wide, beautiful Tullner Feld. As the Vienna Woods come into view, you pass the castle of Greifenstein and the spires of Klosterneuburg Monastery before reaching Vienna, the "City of Waltz".

Day 6: Vienna – Bratislava, approx. 68 km
Just outside Vienna, the Donauauen National Park begins — an idyllic floodplain landscape rich in flora and fauna. You pass Orth Castle and Eckartsau Castle before reaching the spa town of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, once a Roman outpost, and continue on to Bratislava, whose dreamy old town and hilltop castle enchant visitors.

Day 7: Bratislava – Győr, approx. 82 km
The Schüttinsel is a paradise for birds and fish, its islands and Danube side-arms forming a labyrinth around quiet farming villages. The day's destination is Győr, at the meeting point of three rivers, with its charming baroque old town.

Day 8: Győr – Esztergom, approx. 95 km
Gently undulating farmland leads you back to the Danube in Komárom, the favourite town of King Matthias, then along the Slovakian bank on embankment paths and low-traffic side roads through small farming villages, past the Roman fort of Kelemantia, to the episcopal city of Esztergom, whose basilica — the largest church in Hungary — is a highlight of the tour. Recommendation: the comfortable train between Győr and Komárno (tickets from station machines) shortens this stage to approx. 52 km.

Day 9: Esztergom – Budapest, approx. 91 km
The hilly landscape of the Danube Bend accompanies you through small, idyllic villages, including the artists' town of Szentendre with its nearby farm museum, before you cycle into Budapest and take in some of its most famous sights.

Day 10: Budapest
The morning is free for leisure before your departure. Train connections from Budapest to Vienna run roughly every hour (about 3 hours), and buses also serve Vienna Airport.