Vienna to Budapest cycling tours

Christian Locke, head of product at our self guided travel specialists Exodus.:
“The joys of self guided cycling are that you have the independence to start whenever you like, go at your own pace and make some fabulous memories in the company of people you love (or just some really good friends!)”

Self guided cycling vacations are designed for travelers looking for independence, but without the stress of all the logistics. Cyclists are provided with a map and detailed notes of the route from Vienna to Budapest, including distance and timings, so you can travel at your own pace. Emergency assistance is available at all times, should anything go wrong.

The route is mostly on quiet roads and cycle paths, with some sections on busier roads – so although it’s suitable for families, children must be confident in cycling alongside traffic. Overall, the cycling tends to be fairly relaxed. Christian Locke advises: “This trip is for anyone that can ride a bike for up to 68km per day (this is the longest distance covered on day two then the remaining days vary between 41km-57km per day). The routes are predominantly flat as they mostly follow the River Danube from Vienna to Budapest, so the routes will be fairly gentle with some short climbs.”

You’ll want to see the capitals, but the truth is that many other tourists have got there before you, and it shows. Overtourism is increasingly becoming a problem for European capitals, particularly Budapest. Overcrowded streets and badly behaved stag and hen parties are common, while a proliferation of ‘ruin bars’, popular with tourists, has taken over certain districts. Cycle touring is the perfect way to discover a Europe untouched by tourism. By visiting smaller towns and the countryside in between, where life continues just as it did before the budget airlines arrived, you get a real feel for what each country is like.

The best time for cycling also coincides with the best time to visit cities. “There are obviously times of year when the major cities on this trip are very busy,” says Christian Locke. “The best months for cycle touring tend to be outside of the peak summer months of July and August, traveling in May, June and September. Hopefully this means that the burden on the cities is more spread out and the customer experience is also better.”

Environmentally conscious travelers can also enjoy knowing that their chosen mode of transport leaves next to no impact on the areas they visit. But as well as being greener, slow travel provides more time to appreciate the little things about the places you go. Cycle touring is the best way to see the changing landscapes of the different countries you travel through, alongside the small towns and sights you would miss if you were traveling by bus or car.

Travelers often recommend Gyor as the most memorable part of this cycling tour. This charming city is a colourful stop, where narrow winding streets thread through an assortment of buildings in different architectural styles, painted in pastel shades. Palaces, synagogues, castles and churches jostle for space among museums and fountains, but the centerpiece is the cathedral basilica on Káptalan Hill. Demolished during the Mongol invasion of Hungary, it has been restored and redesigned with a baroque interior stuffed with frescos and gilded artefacts.

For Hungarian soldiers, the return home to Komarom at the end of the war came as a bit of a shock. Suddenly, they were Czechoslovakian. Overnight, the city – which straddled the Danube – had been split in two, the northern half claimed by the newly formed state of Czechoslovakia. Over the next 75 years, northern Komarom changed hands some more, its citizens switching nationalities six times before Komarno (as it’s now called) settled into Slovakia. Festivals now take place in the enormous fortress that sprawls along the river, and its open air thermal spas are a treat for cyclists’ feet.

Cycling through Szigetkoz, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d arrived somewhere a little more exotic. Here, tributaries flow from the Danube and funnel through the surrounding flatlands, forming a multi-island oasis for flora and fauna. Birdsong floods these backwaters and water lilies and willows line the river banks. Lucky cyclists may spot nesting storks or, much rarer, a white tailed eagle. En route, you’ll stop at the old Baroque town of Mosonmagyarovar – more simply pronounced as the ‘city of 17 bridges’.