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Danube Explorer

Austria's great river & its castles
 
Combine culture, cycling and swimming on this self-guided cycling holiday for families. While your luggage is transported ahead to the next high-quality, family-friendly hotel, you head along scenic trails, with plenty of time to visit the fortresses and abbeys and to swim in the river and at waterparks.
Danube Explorer. 7 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
Danube Explorer. 7 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
 

Holiday information

 

A family cycling holiday in Austria

Once fiercely contested because of its importance as a corridor between east and west, the Danube Valley today is gloriously tranquil. The glut of imposing fortresses – great for exploring – as well as many monasteries and abbeys, is testimony to those ancient struggles and is concentrated to most dramatic effect in the Wachau region. Along this winding, 40-kilometre stretch of the river, considered by many to be the most picturesque section of the Danube, you find villages of distinctive, pastel-coloured houses clinging to hills clad with vineyards, forests and apricot orchards.
Featuring three 4-star hotels, this idyllic cycling route concentrates on the most alluring section of the Danube, between the historic town of Grein and the wine town of Krems, some 80 kilometres to the east. With bicycle tracks running along both banks and the best scenery within easy reach of the river, cycling is by far and away the best means of taking it all in. The wines of the Wachau, little-known outside of Austria, will delight and surprise you, while children will love the fabulous outdoor waterpark at Melk and the chance to enjoy a leisurely boat ride along the river.

Is this the world's most relaxing cycling holiday?
Ben Ross from The Telegraph certainly thinks so, as he and his family take to two wheels to enjoy our cycling holiday along the Danube. Read his article >
 

Book with confidence

At present, we are only accepting bookings for Austria for travel from 24 June onwards. Our flexible booking arrangements, commitment to safety and financial protection mean that you can book with confidence, despite the current travel restrictions in place.

What we’re doing so you can book and travel with confidence >
Check the destination entry requirements >

If you have a holiday booking with us already, we will contact you before your balance is due (currently 4 weeks before departure) to advise whether or not the holiday can go ahead.
 
Gallery
 

Itinerary

The key to Inntravel holidays is flexibility. You can start on the day of your choice, and are free to add extra nights.
Pay locally for all cultural visits.
  • The average maximum daytime temperatures and monthly rainfall relate to the nearest weather station and are intended as a guide only.
    Average temperatures and rainfall
      Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    °C 2 4 10 16 20 23 26 25 21 15 8 3
    mm 31 32 45 43 62 72 68 61 42 37 46 36
  • Arrival in Maria Taferl
    Night 1: at Hotel Schachner (the first of two nights here). Your bikes will be delivered to the hotel.
    As your first night’s accommodation is on the day of travel, Day 1 is your first day of cycling.
  • Choice of routes around Maria Taferl: 38km or 49km

    Circular route: 38km; longer option via Pöchlarn: 49km; 0m ascent/descent
    The day begins with a transfer upstream (pay locally) either by bus (Jul-Sep) or taxi, to Baroque Grein. Here, take time to explore the Old Town before boarding the small ferry with your bikes for the short crossing of the river to Wiesen (pay locally). After stopping for refreshments and to admire the 15th-century castle, you cycle back through the wooded Strudengau on the opposite bank of the Danube to reach Ybbs (there's a bike museum here) before crossing to Marbach – or you can extend your ride south of the river from Ybbs to Pöchlarn. After 'hitching' a pre-arranged ride back uphill to the hotel in Marbach, take time to relax in the whirlpool and swimming pools, or simply drink in the views from the sun terrace. While in Maria Taferl, take time to visit the village's Wallfahrtskirche (pilgrims' church), a splendid example of Baroque architecture with an ornate interior, two onion-domed steeples and marvellous views over the Danube. Next to the church, look out for the circular stone where sacrifices were once made!
  • Maria Taferl to Melk: 24km; 275m ascent/500m descent
    Leaving the Hotel Schachner-Krone, you cycle to the Habsburg castle at Artstetten. This was one of the homes of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and became his final resting place following his assassination in 1914, the event which sparked the First World War. Surrounded by English-style gardens, the castle now houses an extensive exhibition about his life, giving you an interesting insight into this keen huntsman and his marriage to Sophie Chotek, deemed an unsuitable alliance for the heir to the throne (her father was only a Count, after all, and not from one of the reigning dynasties of Europe). After visiting the castle, you wind back to the river and into the town of Melk, western gateway to the Wachau, where you spend two nights at the Hotel-Restaurant zur Post.
    Maria Taferl to Melk: 24km
    Cycling through open farmland to Melk
  • Circular route from Melk: 18km; 230m ascent/descent
    We suggest just a short cycling circuit today so that you can spend the rest of your time exploring Melk. As you cycle – there are a couple of hills but the ascents are short – you can see for yourself how the views for miles around are dominated by Melk's Benedictine abbey, a huge, custard-coloured celebration of Baroque architecture which stands on a granite bluff. The centrepiece of the abbey is its large, frescoed church with symmetrical spires and high octagonal dome. After visiting the abbey – its nooks and crannies beg to be explored and are perfect for a game of hide-and-seek in the immense gardens – take a stroll through Melk's Old Town following its coloured themed walking trails, and seek out the Altes Posthaus, whose ornate stucco relief depicts horses' heads and eagles.

    Here, you can enjoy the lovely park with play area; a game of indoor bowling; or the large waterpark with water slides. Otherwise head over the river to spend an afternoon at the outdoor riverside pool in Weitenegg, where you can swim, sail or surf.
    Circular route from Melk: 18km
    Pedal through landscapes framed by forested hills
  • Melk to Dürnstein: 29km; 180m ascent/descent
    Enjoy a superb riverside route through the Wachau, passing peach and apricot orchards as well as the seas of vines which yield the noble and versatile Riesling grape. You catch glimpses of the onion-domed castle of Schönbühel and, as the valley continues to narrow, you pass through the typical Wachau town of Aggsbach, beyond which are the impressive ruins and famous rose gardens of the castle at Aggstein. A good place to pause for lunch is Spitz, a wine-producing village with cobbled streets, a Gothic church with 14th-century sculptures of Christ and the Apostles, and a museum devoted to how villagers used to make their living from the Danube. Setting off once more, visit the vine-covered Tausendeimerberg, a hill named for its reputed ability to yield a thousand buckets of wine per season! One last village before Dürnstein is charming Weissenkirchen, renowned for its wines and its church, which appears more like a fortress than a place of worship. In Dürnstein, you stay two nights at the Gartenhotel Pfeffel.
    Melk to Dürnstein: 29km
    Pass peach and apricot orchards en route
  • Circular route from Dürnstein: 30km; 240m ascent/descent
    Your first target on this circular route is Krems, surrounded by vine-clad hills. The sloping, cobbled streets of the Altstadt (Old Town) showcase a range of architectural styles dating from between the 13th and 17th centuries, a time of great prosperity for the town, including the Renaissance town hall, a Gothic church and a Baroque church with trompe-l'oeil masonry. It is also worth exploring the town's Stein district, with its Renaissance buildings (many with arcaded courtyards), handsome medieval squares and museum of modern art. There is also an indoor swimming pool and miniature golf course here.

    Once you have explored, you can choose to continue by bike (3.5km each way) to the exceptional Benedictine abbey at Göttweig, seated imperiously on a hill in the Dunkelsteiner Forest. Admire the abbey’s ornate Baroque interior, including the elaborate Imperial staircase, before cycling back to Rossatzbach to hop aboard the ferry (pay locally) to Dürnstein.

    Boasting an idyllic location on the riverbank, Dürnstein itself is well worth exploring. The two main sights are the blue and white tower overlooking the water, and the castle in which Richard 'the Lionheart' was held for ransom for two years. Legend has it that he was eventually tracked down by a minstrel identified as Jean II of Nesle, who was nicknamed 'Blondel' for his long blond hair.
    Circular route from Dürnstein: 30km
    Fertile landscapes
  • Dürnstein to Maria Taferl: 34km; 0m ascent/descent
    Start the day by taking a river cruise to Spitz (included), a great way to enjoy a different perspective of the valley. At Spitz you pick up a leisurely route along the sheer-sided valley back to Marbach, where a taxi will collect you for the short journey to Maria Taferl for a final dinner in the fabulous Hotel Schachner’s panoramic restaurant.
 

Accommodation

You stay in high-quality, yet family-friendly, four-star hotels.

Please note: most beds in Austrian hotels are normally one large base with two mattresses/duvets. We refer to these as 'Austrian Twins' and they are locally regarded to serve requests for both double and twin bedded rooms. Separate twin beds or traditional double beds with one large mattress are rare and cannot be guaranteed.
 

Extend your stay

 

Prices

All prices are in £ sterling (GBP), based on 2 sharing, with a 3rd/4th bed as required.

Prices in £ per person
2 May - 4 October 2021 & 7 May - 2 October 2022
Adult / Child (up to 17yrs), sharing a room for 2 people*
2 - 21 May 2021: £1165 / £920
22 May - 27 Sep 2021: £1195 / £945
7 - 21 May 2022: £1225 / £970
22 May - 25 Sep 2022: £1255 / £995
*For a single room, add £195 in 2021 or £205 in 2022 per adult or child

For family rooms, add the following:

Child (15-17yrs), in 3rd/4th bed
All 2021 dates: £835
All 2022 dates: £880

Child (10-14yrs), in 3rd/4th bed
All 2021 dates: £585
All 2022 dates: £615

Child (5-9yrs), in 3rd/4th bed
All 2021 dates: £470
All 2022 dates: £495

Child (2-4yrs), in 3rd/4th bed
All 2021 dates: £290
All 2022 dates: £305

All child prices include child's bike or tag-along; deduct £95 for a child seat on an adult bike
Electric bikes available: add £95pp in 2021 or £100pp in 2022 (adult size bikes only)

Self-drive option:
Add £120 per car in 2021 or £130 per car in 2022 if travelling self-drive – includes P&O Ferries Dover-Calais (weekend supplements apply during school holidays)

Connecting travel from Vienna (2021 prices):
• return rail/taxi from Vienna Hauptbahnhof (out/home 2h505rail £56 per adult, £28 per child (6-14) plus taxi £68 for family of up to 3, £128 for a family of 4-8;
• return taxi from Vienna (out/home 1h30) £330 for family of up to 3; £390 for family of 4-8.

Connecting travel from Vienna (2022 prices):
• return rail/taxi from Vienna Hauptbahnhof (out/home 2h05) rail £60 per adult, £28 per child (6-14) plus taxi £70 for family of up to 3, £136 for a family of 4-8;
• return taxi from Vienna (out/home 1h30) £344 for family of up to 3; £390 for family of 4-8.

Connecting travel from Linz (2021 prices):
• return rail/taxi (out/home 1h30) rail £56 per adult, £28 per child (6-14) plus taxi £68 for a family of up to 3, £128 for a family of 4-8

Connecting travel from Linz (2022 prices):
• return rail/taxi (out/home 1h30) rail £60 per adult, £28 per child (6-14) plus taxi £70 for a family of up to 3, £136 for a family of 4-8
 
 
Currency converter
We can only accept payment in GBP, but you can use this converter to find out how much the holiday equates to in your own currency.
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  • RECOMMENDED AIRPORT(S):
    Linz or Vienna (latest flight arrival time: Linz 1700 / Vienna 1700; earliest flight departure time: Linz 1300 / Vienna 1230)
    As an alternative to flying, we can arrange rail travel from London.
     

    Travelling from the UK

    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Vienna or Munich.  To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    Travelling from outside the UK
    We have many years' experience catering for customers who live outside the UK, and will be happy to make tailored arrangements to fit with your plans.

    You have two options:

    1) Book your own flights to London, from where we can book flights and onward connecting travel to your hotel.

    2) Book your own flights direct to an airport appropriate to your chosen holiday. You can either make your own way from the airport to the hotel, or we'll be happy to book onward connecting travel for you. Please consult with us before booking your flights, so that we can advise you on the suitability of your proposed route and timings.
    Outward route Airline
    Birmingham - Vienna Austrian Airlines,  Eurowings 
    Outward route Airline
    Bristol - Vienna easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Edinburgh - Vienna easyJet,  jet2 
    Edinburgh - Vienna (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Gatwick - Vienna British Airways,  easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Heathrow - Vienna Austrian Airlines,  British Airways 
    Outward route Airline
    Luton - Vienna easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Stansted - Vienna Eurowings,  Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Manchester - Vienna Austrian Airlines,  easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Newcastle - Vienna (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Vienna or Munich.  To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service (£60 for India and Nepal). Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.

What is included
  • 7 nights
  • 5 dinners
    7 breakfasts
  • luggage transported
  • high-quality bicycle
  • route notes and maps
  • GPS navigation
  • river cruise Dürnstein to Spitz
 
Reviews

If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?

We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >

All 4 reviews
  • Anon
    16 August 2019

    Marvellous hotels, lovely sights and a good mix of scenery and travel makes this a much more interesting holiday than one might imagine a river based cycle ride would be.

  • Dr L Jones
    Enfield
    04 August 2019

    A fantastic holiday in a lovely part of Austria. The cycling was easy and provided a great framework for the day's exploration. There were so many photo opportunities as the area travelled was so picturesque. There was a lovely atmosphere on many parts of the route, meeting fellow cyclists and stopping off at places to eat and drink along the way. The hotels were of the usual Inn travel high standard with good facilities, service and food. It felt very safe in general and so there needed to be less anxiety in terms of the cycling and possible bike theft.Vienna [optional add-on] was a fantastic city, as cities go, and my only criticism is that 2 days was nowhere near enough to explore properly!

  • Anon
    17 July 2019

    We all really enjoyed this cycle tour. The Wachau is a beautiful part of Austria and cycling is an ideal way of exploring it. It was very hot when we went (we hit the heatwave in July), so we didn't stop at as many of the recommended sights, as we would have liked. However, we all loved the lake at Weitenegg (much better than Luberegg), which had plenty of shade and a mid-lake trampoline. The hotel pools were also a blessing: an outdoor one and an indoor one with roof terrace at Maria Taferl, and a small but beautifully formed rooftop pool and terrace at Durnstein. There is also a very good outdoor pool complex at Melk with slides and a diving pool - bring your own towels though, we forgot! The hotels we stayed in on this trip were all good; Hotel Schachner and Gartenhotel Pfeffel were excellent. We enjoyed delicious and copious breakfasts and dinners at all three places, to the extent that we barely needed lunch. We did have the odd ice cream and cake though - regional specialities being apricot tart (it was apricot season when we went so the fruits were everywhere!) and Mohnkuchen, a poppy seed cake. Altogether a very enjoyable week in a lovely part of Austria, and one to which we hope to return - perhaps in spring or autumn next time though! 

     

     

     

     

  • Andy S, Uttoxeter
    29 July 2018

    It was an outstanding holiday from the beginning to the end.... Great customer service from the Inntravel team, quality hotels with superb facilities and timely transfers throughout.... We’re already planning our next Inntravel holiday and we’ve only been back in the UK for 24 hours!
 

FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • If your holiday plans go awry because of Coronavirus, rest assured that we’ll do right by you. Since the start of the pandemic, our flexible booking policy and prompt issuing of refunds to customers who prefer not to defer their holiday have earned us high praise in the national press.
  • We sincerely hope that your holiday experience will be as enjoyable as it would have been before the pandemic – cycling holidays are ideal in these times of social distancing, and we’re not operating holidays if the key highlights can no longer be delivered – but, naturally, there will be some changes to ensure your and other people’s safety.
    Your holiday experience: what to expect >
    Safety measures being taken by hoteliers & others >
  • No, we don't set age limits. You are best placed to judge if your child(ren) can cope with the demands of the holiday and be confident on roads next to traffic on occasions.
  • For adults, our chosen bike rental shop will provide you with a city trekking bike with 21 gears; a waterproof map case on handlebars; panniers/saddlebags; puncture-resistant tyres; and a lock. Electric bikes are available as an upgrade (see price panel), subject to limited availability, and must be requested at the time of booking.
    For children, we will be happy to arrange hire of children’s bikes (20” or 24”), a tag-along or child seats (the latter are available free of charge). Please bring your own helmets (use of which is obligatory for under 12s in Austria).
  • We’ll send you route notes and maps 2-3 weeks before your holiday. The route notes not only contain directions to get from hotel to hotel, but also include practical information about places of interest and eateries along each route, plus cultural information about the area. On mornings when you are moving between hotels, you leave your luggage in reception as you leave, and it will be transferred ahead to your next accommodation so that all you need to take with you are a camera, sun cream, drinks, food and waterproofs.
  • Yes, we will provide GPX tracks for this holiday prior to departure so that you can follow your route on your smartphone or dedicated GPS device if you wish. (We also provide maps and our tried-and-tested route notes, which remain the principal means of navigation).
  • Bike insurance is not included in the price of our cycling holidays, and unfortunately we can't supply such insurance. Some general travel insurance policies can or do provide cover for rented bikes, so it's worth seeing if your policy is one of these. The most important thing is to ensure that you take good care of your bike (you are responsible for damage to or loss of it while it is hired to you), always being careful to lock it up, ideally to an immovable object, and removing all easy-to-steal accessories whenever you leave it unattended.
  • We can book a wide range of airlines and routes from the UK. As well as being more convenient for you to book all elements of your holiday together, it also means that we’ll accept liability for your travel arrangements, so if things go wrong, such as the airline going bust, we’ll make suitable alternative arrangements for you. For Europe, there’s a £35 booking fee per person (£15 for children aged 2-11). For India and Nepal, the booking fee is £60 per person. More information on flights >
  • We can’t book flights that originate outside the UK, but if you wanted to book your own flights to London (or elsewhere in the UK), we can make all onward travel arrangements (including flights) from there. Alternatively, if you are booking your own flights to an airport in continental Europe that’s appropriate for your holiday, we can book onward rail travel and/or taxis. More information about how we can tailor holidays for customers outside the UK >
  • Since our holidays are self-guided, we recommend calling us for a chat about your plans before making a booking, especially if it’s the first time you’ve booked with us.
    The price panel shows the supplement for a single room and also the single traveller charge (this covers (luggage) transfers and other costs which are usually shared between two people).
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.

    More information about the booking process >
    Information about accommodation, general practicalities and more >
    Booking conditions >
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can cost tens of thousands of pounds.

    You don’t have to take out our recommended travel insurance policy (if you live outside the UK you’ll definitely need to make your own arrangements, as the policy is only for UK residents), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies – including falling ill with Covid-19 while on holiday – and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.

    We'll ask you for the details of your policy (insurer, policy number and medical emergency phone number) so that we can help out if the worst happens while you are on holiday. It's up to you, though, to check that your policy covers the activities you'll be doing on holiday and that it is adequate for your own individual needs; we don't check alternative policies.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. If you’re a UK citizen, you need a full British passport to travel to Austria, but not a visa. If you are a citizen of another country, you’ll need to check requirements with the national embassy or your own consulate.

    Current information regarding vaccinations and travel health advice for UK citizens can be found through the Travel Health Pro website. You must make sure you have adequate insurance cover for illness, accidents and repatriation (see the insurance question). You should also apply for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) if your EHIC has expired (if you have a still-valid EHIC, you can use this until it expires).
  • (Austrian) German is the most commonly spoken language. The currency is the Euro. Austrian time is GMT/UTC + 1. It uses Daylight Saving Time, so in summer is on BST + 1.
  • For information on the practicalities of travel now that the UK is no longer part of the European Union, visit www.gov.uk/visit-europe-1-january-2021.

    At Inntravel we work in close partnership with our hoteliers, taxi drivers and other local suppliers to provide our self-guided holidays directly to you. We are entirely confident that you will continue to receive the usual warm welcome from them, regardless of what is happening in the European political sphere.
  • The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides up-to-date, country-by-country travel advice, as well as information on security, local laws, passports and visas for UK citizens.
    If you live outside the UK, see our essential travel information page for a list of relevant websites.
Last fetch time is : 4/21/2021 6:08:19 PM