Hello! Need some advice on planning my first big (and ever) bicycle tour in Europe. I’m a Canadian cyclist and have done a couple overnight trips on my bike but nothing to the extent of touring. I’ve also never been to Europe lol. This year I spent 4 days cycling the Cabot trail which was my first “big” trip and it was amazing.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading blogs, looking at routes, and watching YouTube to try and decide on where I want to go, but this seems to be making it very overwhelming.
My original thought was to start in Budapest and ride west towards France (Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and maybe Spain)
I’d love to ride through the alps, so that was kind of my focus on a route. My budget will include a mix of camping and stays, but it sounds likely I’ve picked some of the more expensive regions.
Does anyone have some insight or advice for me planning this thing or should I just get there and wing it 🤪
Any advice is welcomed!!
by amkenuck
7 Comments
Whatever route you do I would recommend using the website cycle.travel for your day to day routing. We cycled from Oxford UK to Athens and it never failed us. The routing engine prioritizes lower traffic roads, cycle routes and more rural landscapes. Enjoy!
The [EuroVelo routes](https://en.eurovelo.com) are a great way to get into touring in Europe. I did part of the EV17 over the summer with a friend who had never toured before. The route was well signed, which made navigation easy, and the bike infrastructure was great for my friend, who doesn’t feel comfortable riding on busy roads.
As long as you’re not on a budget, you’re gonna be fine riding through Switzerland. Just keep in mind that it is more expensive than you might think. Also: wild camping in Switzerland is prohibited in most parts, so you should look for official camping grounds if you don’t wanna get in trouble.
Edit: My favourite part of the Swiss Alps is the Engadin (canton of “Graubünden”). I highly recommend taking a route through this region!
Fly to Amsterdam, cycle along the coast down to the Basque country, cross to the Med, up to the Rhone valley in Switzerland, via the Ressenpas to Venice. Onward East.
Keep in mind that roaming costs in Switzerland can be very high. Even for those with EU phone numbers.
It’s a good idea. You could ride all the way to Barcelona and probably catch a direct flight back from there or at least to the border and catch a quick train to Barcelona. Not a very interesting ride between the border to BCN unless you take the coastal route or stop through Girona.
Budapest is a great place to start – it’s pretty relaxed and not a large hectic city, not as cheap as it used to be but still better value than other large cities. You have the Danube and good relaxed rides out of the city towards Austria and the alps – flat for a while to get acclimated to riding. Europe is super chilled and relaxed with great infrastructure for cycling and you don’t need to stress about it. Switzerland is crazy expensive but you can cycle in Austria on a budget and on towards a variety of other countries easily – easy to camp, both in campsites and wild even if it’s not technically allowed (in Austria)