Welcome to Hooked on Cycling holidays and our cycling holidays in Austria. This biking vacation is a bike and boat tour. On a boat and bike tour your hotel is the wonderful ship the MS Diana. This cycling holiday is a self guided bike tour which we have graded as level 1 tour. Of course there is no need to cycle as you can stay on board, making this holiday ideal for non cycling partners and also families. Cycling along the Danube is a very special pleasure because on this tour the hotel is always with you! Always gently downhill, mostly with a helpful tailwind you are experiencing the impressive river. Such delights of the Donauschlinge (“Great Loop”), the gorgeous landscape of the legendary Wachau, untouched woods of the National Park Donauauen (”Danube Meadow”).Then there is Vienna with sights like St. Stephen´s Cathedral, the town hall or the Riesenrad (Ferris wheel) are close to reach during a sight-seeing tour by bike.

Available on Saturdays from 14th July to 25th August (MS Diana).
Level 1 self guided tour.

Day 1 Saturday Arrival to  Passau
Arrive in Passau/hotel Jesuitenschlössl before 4pm. Transfer at around 4.30pm from the hotel or 4.45pm from Passau train station to the ship station.. Passau is the “Bishop-City” which is embedded between the 3 rivers, Inn, Ilz and the Danube, close to the Bavarian/Austrian border. A 4 course welcome dinner will be served on your first evening.

Day 2 Sunday Obernzell – Schlögen - Linz 42 miles 67 km.
First the boat sails to Obernzell, cycles are handed out directly on the danube cycle-path. It is possible to test them and there is enough time to set up saddle, handlebar, etc. the your have your first cycle tour along the Danube cycle path passing the Schlögener Schlinge, Ottensheim and finally arriving in Linz.
Boat: 10.00 a.m departure Obernzell/3.00 p.m. arrival Ottensheim/ 5.00 p.m departure Ottensheim/ 6.00 p.m. arrival Linz.

Day 3 Monday Linz –Grein 37 miles 59 km.
On the cycle tour today on the Danube cycle path you will be passing the lake called Pleschinger See and Mathausen (famous for its 2nd world war history) to the moated castle Pragstein. In Pragstein there is an interesting museum about emergency currency! Then it is through Mitterkirchen with its open air museum called Keltendorf and onto Grein with its baroque city square and the Castle Greinburg.
Boat: 12.00 p.m departure Linz/4.00 p.m. arrival Grein.

Day 4 Tuesday Grein – Emmersdorf/Melk 31 miles 49 km.
Today a cycle tour along the Danube to Struden and Nibelungengau, passing Säusenstein and finally you pass Melk known as the “Entrance to the Wachau”. Melk has a world-famous abbey which is for certain worth taking time to visit. Soon you shall arrive in Emmersdorf, where the boat is waiting for you.
Boat: 12 p.m. departure Grein/ 5.00 p.m. arrival Emmersdorf

Day 5 Wednesday Wachau – Krems 25 miles 39 km.
Today you cycle from Emmersdorf through magnificent vineyards to the well known wine growing villages Spitz and Dürnstein with its ruin church. The you shall pass Loiben to Krems which is on the UNESCO-World Heritage Site listings.
Boat 12 a.m. departure Emmersdorf/5.00 p.m. arrival Krems.

Day 6 Thursday Tulln – Vienna 22miles 34 km.
In the morning the boat starts in Krems to Tulln (arrival 8.30 a.m.). Then you can continue your cycle tour on the Danube cycle path to Vienna. You can leave your bikes on the boat and can start your individual sight seeing tour in Vienna known as the city of the waltz. Numerious sights, like the Stephansdom, Hofburg and the Ringstraße are easy to get to with the urban train. Dinner will be on board at around 9.00 p.m. The boat will then sail from Vienna passing the Wachau to Au.
Boat: 6.30 a.m. departure Krems/8.30 a.m. arrival Tulln.
9.30 a.m. departure Tulln/12.00 p.m. arrival Vienna.

Day 7 Friday Au – St. Florian - Linz 28 miles 45 km.
In the early afternoon the boat arrives in Au. You can then cycle from Mauthausen passing Enns which is Austria´s oldest city and onto St. Florian.. You will have a guided tour of the famous abby and Bruckner’s-grave, which is the most important baroque building in Upper Austria. After the guided tour, you cycle passing Abwinden to Linz (where you leave your bikes). 4-course-dinner on board and journey (7.30 p.m. departure Linz) to Passau.
Boat 2 p.m. arrival Au/3.00 p.m. departure Au
6.00 p.m. arrival Linz/7.30 p.m. departure Linz

Day 8 Saturday Passau
At around 9.45am. Transfer by bus to the central station.

NOTE: timing above can vary due to water levels and daily schedules.

MS Diana
A good middle class Dutch cruise liner 79 m long, 7,75 m wide, 1,3 m drought. The ship has 39 roomy exterior cabins for 80 guests on two decks (main and promenade deck). Each lovely cabin has a shower, toilet, ground bed, air-conditioning, TV (2 three-bed-cabins with bunk bed). Furthermore there is a lovely restaurant, lounge with bar and sun deck.

Gastronomy:
Included on ship will be a daily breakfast buffet (cold & warm), 3-course-dinner in the evening where you can choose the main course (except for the 1st day), daily 2-course lunch (except on Thursday) especially for guests, who want to spend the day on the ship, otherwise a packed lunch for the cyclists. Daily coffee or tea on board.

Tariff 2012 - please note special cancellation charges apply - please ask

How to get there
Fly to Vienna where you can catch a train to Passau.
Fly to Munich where you can catch a local bus to Freising from the airport terminal and then by train to Passau.
Fly BA to Vienna for details click Here
To View other cycling holidays in Austria

Click below to view our great
Walking Holidays in Austria

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