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All tours cover the same route between Passau and Vienna. Actual overnight locations and daily distances depend on hotel category and availability. The following programs are provided only as examples.
7-Night Program
Day 1: Individual arrival in Passau
Arrive in Passau, the City of Three Rivers, at the confluence of the Inn, Ilz and Danube Rivers. If you'd like, take a sightseeing tour around the city and the cathedral, where you might hear a concert on the world's largest church organ.
Overnight in Passau.
Day 2: Passau – Ottensheim (36 miles by bike, 16 miles by ship)
You pass the charming town of Engelhartszell with its unique Trappist monastery and breathtakingly beautiful rococo church. The monastery also makes its own brandies, which you might pick up for later consumption. After riding through granite massifs, you enter an opulent green landscape and soon you come to Schlögen, where the Danube rounds a nearly 270-degree bend. There you can board a ship (with your bikes) and travel the day's last 16 miles by ship (ship is optional and not included). You disembark in Ottensheim, a medieval market town with historic parish church and castle.
Overnight in Ottensheim.
Day 3: Ottensheim – Wallsee/Ardagger (35 miles)
Continue your ride along the Danube under the gaze of old castles that look from the hilltops. You'll soon come to Linz, Austria's third-largest city, with an historic market square surrounded by baroque buildings. The majestic fifteenth-century Linz Citadel stands watch over the Danube. If you'd like, board Europe's steepest mountain railway to climb the Pöstlingberg, a hill overlooking the city. The train, which still operates with its original 19th -century cars, covers nearly 2 miles and about 825 vertical feet in 16 minutes. The view to the river is superb.
You continue past two medieval castles to the Enns River and head a few miles upstream to Enns, the oldest city in Austria. Enns is postcard-perfect with its medieval tower and fortifications and its Renaissance and Baroque façades.
Past Enns, a winding road overlooking the Danube ends starkly at the concentration camp in Matthausen. From 1938 until the Allied liberation seven years later, 110,000 prisoners died, most of hunger, disease and exhaustion from working the adjacent quarries. The memory of its terrors stands in tragic counterpoint to the landscape below. This is an optional side trip—there's a climb, and the experience is emotionally wrenching.
In Wallsee, take the time to visit the 14 th -century Wallsee Castle, still in the possession of the Habsburgs.
Overnight in Wallsee.
Day 4: Wallsee – Pöchlarn (33 miles)
Past the tiny village of Adragger, you ride under the mighty Fortress Clam. You explore the fertile farmland of the Danube Valley, with rural towns and picturesque farms. A Danube highlight soon comes into view: the baroque village of Grein with its imposing castle. With only 2,800 residents, Grein is one of Austria's smallest towns. Due to its strategic location above rapids on the Danube, the city became quite rich during the 16th and 17th centuries, and the wealth still shows off in elaborate houses built around the town square.
After Grein, the Danube starts getting narrower. The valley is tighter and craggy where ruins of ancient castles seem to appear at every bend in the river.
You stop at the Persenbeug Castle, which still watches over the Danube from a stark rock outcropping. It dates from the 9 th century, although its current form is “only” 400 years old. You cross the river to Ybbs, with its recently restored old town with winding lanes, quiet courtyards and patrician homes from the 15 th and 16 th centuries. Much of the historic town wall is still intact. The day's ride ends in Pöchlarn, where the small Erlauf River enters the Danube
Overnight in Pöchlarn.
Day 5: Pöchlarn - Krems (25 miles)
You follow the Danube around a tight curve and travel a short distance to another tour highlight: the Melk Abbey. The Benedictine Abbey, a magnificent baroque structure built between 1702 and 1736, surrounds seven courtyards and stretches 1,065 from end to end. Take a tour of the abbey and the adjacent English landscape garden.
Melk marks the official start of the Wachau, Austria's most famous wine-growing region. Vineyards stretch up the sides of the valley, and wine villages lie along the river as well as in the neighboring hills.
In Spitz, in the heart of the Wachau, you can make a short hike to the ruins of the Hinterhaus castle and look across to the Tausendeimerberg—the Mountain of a Thousand Buckets—where vineyards are carved into hillside terraces.
You soon reach Krems, which you enter through its impressive Stone Gate. The 1000-year-old town is surrounded by vineyards and filled with historic buildings—including churches, monasteries and fortifications. It's also a lively town with cafés, shops and bistros.
Overnight in Krems.
Day 6: Krems – Tulln (25 miles)
You travel along dams, locks and trails as the valley broadens and flattens. Here the river flows off into oxbows and meanders, and the setting often feels more like remote wetlands (with ample wildlife) than one of the world’s mightiest rivers. In Tulln, known as the “Flower City,” enjoy a ride along the medieval town walls and look for relics from Roman times.
Overnight in Tulln
Day 7: Tulln- Vienna (25 miles)
You pass Klosterneuburg with its imposing monastery and reach the metropolis Vienna.
Day 8: Departure or extension in Vienna
9-Night Program
Day 1: Individual arrival in Passau
Arrive in Passau, the City of Three Rivers, at the confluence of the Inn, Ilz and Danube Rivers. If you’d like, take a sightseeing tour around the city and the cathedral, where you might hear a concert on the world’s largest church organ. A representative of the bike tour company will meet you at your hotel to distribute your bikes and make sure they fit and to hand out travel materials. He will discuss your program and route and answer all questions you might have.
Day 2: Passau – Haibach (20 miles)
After you leave your luggage in the lobby, you climb aboard your bikes for your first day of riding along the Danube. You pass the charming town of Engelhartszell with its unique Trappist monastery and breathtakingly beautiful rococo church. The monastery also makes its own brandies, which you might pick up for later consumption. After riding through granite massifs, you enter an opulent green landscape and soon you come to Schlögen, where the Danube rounds a nearly 270-degree bend.
Day 3: Ottensheim (16 miles)
You continue through the narrow and winding Danube valley to Ottensheim, a medieval market town with historic parish church and castle.
Day 4: Ottensheim – Mauthausen (19 miles)
Continue your ride along the Danube under the gaze of old castles that look from the hilltops. You’ll soon come to Linz, Austria's third-largest city, with an historic market square surrounded by baroque buildings. The majestic fifteenth-century Linz Citadel stands watch over the Danube. If you’d like, board Europe's steepest mountain railway to climb the Pöstlingberg, a hill overlooking the city. The train, which still operates with its original 19th-century cars, covers nearly 2 miles and about 825 vertical feet in 16 minutes. The view to the river is superb.
With added distance (about 20 miles), you can ride to St. Florian, a small Danube town dominated by its Augustine Abbey, recognized as one of the finest baroque buildings in Europe. Beyond its architectural splendor, St. Florian also contains the so-called “Bruckner Organ” with its 7,386 pipes. Organist and composer Anton Bruckner played the organ and is buried in a crypt beneath it. Behind Bruckner's tomb, more than 6,000 skeletons are stacked in neat rows. Monks have served in the abbey since 1071.
You continue past two medieval castles to the Enns River and head a few miles upstream to Enns, the oldest city in Austria. Enns is postcard-perfect with its medieval tower and fortifications and its Renaissance and Baroque façades.
Past Enns, a winding road overlooking the Danube ends starkly at the concentration camp in Mauthausen. From 1938 until the Allied liberation seven years later, 110,000 prisoners died, most of hunger, disease and exhaustion from working the adjacent quarries. The memory of its terrors stands in tragic counterpoint to the landscape below. This is an optional side-trip, and the experience is emotionally wrenching.
Day 5: Mauthausen - Grein (19 miles)
In Wallsee, take the time to visit the 14th-century Wallsee Castle, still in the possession of the Hapsburgs. Past the tiny village of Adragger, you ride under the mighty Fortress Clam. You explore the fertile farmland of the Danube Valley, with rural towns and picturesque farms. A Danube highlight soon comes into view: the baroque village of Grein with its imposing castle. With only 2,800 residents, Grein is one of Austria's smallest towns. Due to its strategic location above rapids on the Danube, the city became quite rich during the 16th and 17th centuries, and the wealth still shows off in elaborate houses built around the town square.
Day 6: Grein - Melk (26 miles)
After Grein, the Danube starts getting narrower. The valley is tighter and craggy where ruins of ancient castles seem to appear at every bend in the river.
You stop at the Persenbeug Castle, which still watches over the Danube from a stark rock outcropping. It dates from the 9th century, although its current form is “only” 400 years old. You cross the river to Ybbs, with its recently restored old town with winding lanes, quiet courtyards and patrician homes from the 15th and 16th centuries. Much of the historic town wall is still intact. In Pöchlarn, the small Erlauf River enters the Danube
You follow the Danube around a tight curve and travel a short distance to another tour highlight: the Melk Abbey.
Melk marks the official start of the Wachau, Austria's most famous wine-growing region. Vineyards stretch up the sides of the valley, and wine villages lie along the river as well as in the neighboring hills.
The Benedictine Abbey, a magnificent baroque structure built between 1702 and 1736, surrounds seven courtyards and stretches 1,065 from end to end. Take a tour of the abbey and the adjacent English landscape garden.
Day 7: Melk - Krems (24 miles)
In Spitz, in the heart of the Wachau, you can make a short hike to the ruins of the Hinterhaus castle and look across to the Tausendeimerberg—the Mountain of a Thousand Buckets—where vineyards are carved into hillside terraces.
You soon reach Krems, which you enter through its impressive Stone Gate. The 1000-year-old town is surrounded by vineyards and filled with historic buildings—including churches, monasteries and fortifications. It's also a lively town with cafés, shops and bistros.
Day 8: Krems – Tulln (25 miles)
You travel along dams, locks and trails as the valley broadens and flattens. Here the river flows off into oxbows and meanders, and the setting often feels more like remote wetlands (with ample wildlife) than one of the world’s mightiest rivers. In Tulln, known as the “Flower City,” enjoy a ride along the medieval town walls and look for relics from Roman times.
Overnight in Tulln
Day 9: Tulln - Vienna (25 miles)
You pass Klosterneuburg with its imposing monastery and reach the metropolis Vienna.
Day 10: Departure or extension in Vienna
Lower-distance options are available between Linz and Vienna.
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OO Salzburg Vienna 180.jpg)
OO Salzburg Vienna 180.jpg)
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OO Salzburg Vienna 180.jpg)
The Danube Bike Path offers nearly carefree cycling and an ideal way to view the region. It's downstream all the way, passing through picturesque towns and villages and across lush farmland. It's paved and almost traffic-free, following an old horse path where teams of horses once struggled to tow barges upstream. Along the down the majestic river, you pass romantic castles, cozy villages and sprawling vineyards.
