dossier

Cycling from Salzburg: Austria & Germany

Season

July to September (Any Saturday to 22nd Sept)

Level of Difficulty

This is a hilly region but the cycling route sticks mainly to the valleys. This trip is graded easy to moderate with an average of approx.45km/28mi per day, so you do need to have some fitness and be used to riding a bike. The shortish distances qualify the easy part of the grade whereas the occasional undulating terrain and the odd longer uphill sections account for the moderate description. There are just a couple of climbs to test your legs and if these prove too hard there is ample time to walk your bike to the top of these inclines. The one short walk where your bike is transported to the top of the hill is on lanes tracks and forest paths. It is steep in a few places but again there is no rush, take your time and admire the views back over St Gilgen.
The weather can be hot and it may be necessary to making an early start. Or take a long lunch to escape the hottest part of the day.

Travel Information

The starting point of the tour is at the hotel in Salzburg. If arriving by plane it is best to take a 15 Euro(approx US$23) taxi ride direct to the hotel. There is a taxi rank right outside the airport terminal. If you arrive in Salzburg by train and your bags are easy to carry then you could walk to the hotel in about 15 mins, alternatively take a short taxi ride. The route ends at the same hotel so leaving is as easy as arrival 

The Bikes

Hire bikes are 21 speed lightweight touring bikes with a comfort gel saddle, a rear rack, waterproof panniers and a handlebar bag. A pump, spare inner tube, repair kit and essential tools are also provided. Helmets and water bottles are not included, please bring your own. Bike hire costs 55 Euros (approx US$83) for 6 days.

Luggage Transfers

Bags must be deposited in your hotel reception by 09.00 each morning. They will be delivered by 18.00, (normally earlier), to the reception of your next hotel. You may have to carry your own bags up to your room. Bags are restricted to one bag per client and there is a maximum weight of 20kg/44lbs.

Maps & Route Notes

We provide specially written route notes & descriptions that are accompanied by all the maps required to follow the route.

General Information

Ensuite Facilities: it is not normal for your room to have a bath, usually because of limited space in the bathroom, facilities are normally limited to shower, basin and toilet. Some hotels may have a separate room in the house where a bath is available for guests.

Breakfast: in countries such as Austria and Germany usually consist of a fairly substantial buffet with cereals, bread rolls, yoghurts, ham and cheese, fruit and various other items as well. Please to not take food away from the breakfast buffet, it is considered very bad manners. If you would like a packed lunch please ask the hoteliers on the evening of arrival and they should be able to prepare one for you at a reasonable cost.

Dinners: The included dinners are the ‘half pension’ menu. It may be possible to upgrade to more expensive options by paying a supplement directly to the hotel. Drinks are not generally included.

Special Diets: It is important for you to tell us if you have any dietary requirements when you book your holiday so that we can inform the hotels.

Single Supplements: are payable on most of our tours. The single supplement guarantees the privacy of your own room, however, rooms can at times be small and in some places may not enjoy the same facilities as double/twin rooms.

Language: Note that you will not necessarily come across people speaking English. Remember you have left home to experience a different culture so take a phrase book and try to learn a few words of German.

Luggage: When arriving at hotels, your luggage should be waiting for you at reception, at busy times it may not arrive until 18.00 but it will normally be there before you arrive.

Accommodation & Meals

7 buffet style breakfasts and 3 evening meals are included in the holiday price. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from on other nights not far from your hotel. Lunches are not included, so you can buy picnic supplies or opt to stop off at one of the many cafes and restaurants along the way. You may also wish to partake in the local custom of ‘coffee and cake’ in the afternoons.

Nights 1 & 7: Salzburg. Bed & breakfast only on these two nights at a 3* hotel that is a 15 minute walk from the heart of the old city, but closer to some good restaurants. The hotel has been in the hands of the same family for over 100 years. All the rooms have private facilities.

Night 2: Waging am See. A centrally situated 3* historic lodgings in the market square. All rooms have ensuite facilities. The hotel’s restaurant has a good reputation locally so half board arrangements are included.

Night 3: Inzell. The 3* hotels motto is ‘arrive as a guest and leave as a friend’, which should give you some idea of the welcome you will receive. This is a larger complex of 4 hotel buildings set in fantastic scenery where all rooms have ensuite facilities. The hotel also has a good size indoor swimming pool, sauna, solarium and whirlpool, and offers massage, and reflexology. If your cycling muscles are aching after 2 days this may be just what you need. Dinner is included at the hotel restaurant.

Night 4: Bad Reichenhall. There are 2 hotels that we use in Bad Reichenhall, both are 3* and all rooms have full ensuite facilities. We stay on a B&B basis as there are many restaurants of various guises in the historic buildings of the town center.

Night 5: Near Eugendorf. Either a traditional 3* Gasthof in a small hamlet near Eugendorf that provides comfortable accommodation for the night, or an Hotel in nearby Seekirchen is home for the night on a on a half board basis. The restaurants provide fantastic traditional Austrian dishes All rooms have ensuite facilities.

Night 6: St. Gilgen. We stay either in the town or just along the lakeshore. All accommodation is situated no more than a short walk from the lake. Just bed and breakfast is included as there are many places in the town where you can have dinner. All rooms have ensuite facilities.

Itinerary

Day 1. Arrive at Salzburg airport and take a taxi costing approx. 15 Euros (approx US$23) to the hotel. Bikes are delivered to the hotel at 16.30, if you are there at this time you can get assistance to adjust the saddle etc. If you have not arrived at this time a suitable bike will be left in the bike room at the hotel for you. All bikes are supplied with the tools you need to make any adjustments. The Route notes and maps are very comprehensive but if you are at the hotel at 5 o’clock there will be a representative at the hotel who can give a short briefing on the tour and answer any questions you may have.

Day 2. Salzburg to Waging, approx. 50km/31mi. Follow the cycle path along the banks of the Salzach River with the old Baroque church ‘Maria Plain’ high above watching over the city. The riverside path goes as far as Oberdorf where you can visit the Silent Night Chapel, the place where the famous Christmas Carol was first performed. With the words and music of the carol lodged firmly in your mind even in mid summer, cross the historic iron bridge and the border into Germany’s southern state of Bavaria. Pass through Laufen the first Bavarian town on the route and perhaps opt for the detour to the ‘water castle’, Trebenbach. Towards the end of the day you reach Tattenhausen and the shores of Waginger See and Taching See where there are some lovely spots to relax by the water and even take a refreshing swim.The day ends at the village of Waging am See.

Day 3. Waging to Inzell, approx 40km/25mi. Across pretty Bavarian countryside as far as Traunstein. Here a little sightseeing is in order; perhaps the city tower, salt works or perhaps it will be the brewery that more suits your taste. Riverside cycling takes you up the valley via Siegsdorf to Inzell for the night.

Day 4. Inzell to Bad Reichenhall, approx. 30km/19mi. A shorter day with more mountainous surroundings. First circumnavigate Falkenstein Mountain then ride through the Weissenbach valley. This is idyllic mountain scenery all the way to the Saalach River. Following the river brings you to Bad Reichenhall, another town founded on the wealth of the salt trade and a regular stop over for Mozart on his journeys to Italy. The afternoon can be filled with a trip to berchtesgarden, Hitler’s ‘Eagles Nest’ and Konigssee, a cable car ride up Predigtstuhl Mountain (or a walk for the more active) or a visit to Rupertusbad thermal spa.

Day 5. Bad Reichenhall to Eugendorf, approx 60km/37mi. Crross back into Austria at Grossgmain where there is an open-air museum consisting of numerous old farmhouses from different regions and periods that have been moved to one site and restored. The cycle path then takes you back through Salzburg on the old railway track with a chance for a little sightseeing and a good lunch. Don’t linger too long however, as this is the longest stage of the route and you need to keep the pedals spinning all the way up to Eugendorf.

Day 6. Strimlov  toTrebon  47 km/29mi.  A Transfer will take you to Strmilov and then you will be rolling over the Czech Moravian Highlands into Bohemia. Cycle to the Gothic fortified town of Jindrichuv Hadrec with its castle from 1220 and there are many baroque and renaissance buildings.  The route continues through Straz nad Nezarkou to Trebon.

Day 7.  St Gilgen to Salzburg, approx. 45km/28mi. From St Gilgen there is an unusual start to the day. You cycle to the outskirts of the town and drop your bike at our collection point. The bike is then transported up the hill and you undertake a scenic walk to the top of Kehleiten. This walk is not too taxing and can be taken at a gentle pace. It is only 3km but does involve a climb of 300m (1000ft), this will take 60 90 minutes for most people. At the top you are reunited with your bike and head off on a descent through a remote valley and the Stubklamm and Glasenbachklamm gorges to arrive at the southern outskirts of Salzburg by Hellbrunn Castle. With echoes of the sound of music in your ears you will have time to visit the castle and cool off in the famous fountains before heading back to the hotel near the center of the city.

Day 8.  End of Tour. The tour ends Salzburg with easy access to the airport and the train station for your journey home.

Extend your stay

Extra nights can be added in Salzburg at the beginning or end of the tour but it is not possible to add nights in the middle of the tour because of luggage transfer logistics.

Included

7 nights in normally 3 star pensions and hotels with breakfast.  Transportation of luggage between hotels. Maps, route notes, other information, briefing at 17.00 on the first day.

Not Included

Sightseeing and entrance fees, lunches and evening meals; helmets, expenses due to bike problems with road or bad weather conditions, use of bus and taxi.

Hire of bikes is not included in the tour price. If you require a hire bike then this is paid for locally, the current price is 55 Euros (approx US$83) for 6 days.