Self-Launched Danube Cycle: Passau to Vienna

Arrive in Passau by train (Munich–Passau services take about 2h from around £20 with a Bayern Ticket shared between travellers). Check into a central guesthouse or hostel near the old town, then collect your hire bike. Rental shops such as local Passau bike-hire outlets and multi-day rental companies charge roughly £90-140 for seven days including panniers, lock and a repair kit — book online before you go. Spend the afternoon wandering the baroque old town and climb to Passau Cathedral to hear the world's largest church organ at the midday organ recital (small entry fee, about £5). Pick up a Donauradweg map or use the free Radtouren app offline.

🚌Train to Passau, then on foot/bike

🛏Central Passau guesthouse or hostel private room (£40-60)

• →Bike hire pickup in Passau
• →Passau old town walk
• →Passau Cathedral organ recital

Ride the left (north) bank of the Danube on smooth, flat, fully signed cycle path — around 45 km to Schlögen. Cross the border near Engelhartszell and stop at the Trappist monastery there (open to visitors, small donation). Continue to the Schlögen Loop, the dramatic U-bend where the Danube cuts through the granite of the Bavarian Forest — there's a viewpoint trail above it worth the short detour. Overnight in a Schlögen riverside guesthouse; book ahead in summer as accommodation here is limited.

🚌Bike ~45 km; fallback ferry crossings across the Danube (£3-5)

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Schlögen (£45-65)

• →Engelhartszell Trappist Monastery
• →Schlögen Loop viewpoint

A longer day of about 55-60 km, still flat. Detour across the river to Wilhering Cistercian Abbey (free to visit the church, stunning rococo interior), then ride into Ottensheim for a coffee stop, before following the Danube into Linz. Arrive early enough to explore the Hauptplatz, the old town lanes and the Lentos or Ars Electronica museums. Stay in a hostel or budget hotel in the city centre rather than the outskirts — reviewers of the packaged version complained about out-of-town hotels here.

🚌Bike ~55-60 km along the Donauradweg

🛏Linz hostel private room or budget hotel (£45-65)

• →Wilhering Abbey
• →Ottensheim old town
• →Linz Hauptplatz and old town

About 60 km today. Ride out of Linz east along the river, then detour inland to Enns — Austria's oldest town — with its 60-metre tower and pretty square. St Florian's Augustinian Abbey is reachable by a short train hop from Enns if you want the extra visit (regional trains are bike-friendly and cheap, £2-4). Continue to Grein and stay in the town itself (not on the hill) so you can enjoy the baroque main square in the evening. Optional: Greinburg Castle, Austria's oldest municipal theatre, and the maritime museum.

🚌Bike ~60 km; optional regional train Enns–St Florian (£2-4)

🛏Guesthouse in Grein town centre (£45-60)

• →Enns old town
• →St Florian Abbey (optional detour)
• →Grein old town and Greinburg Castle

A quieter, prettier stretch of roughly 50-55 km through the wooded Strudengau gorge and riverside hamlets. Catch the small wooden ferry across the Danube at one of the crossings for the classic experience (£3-4 per person with a bike). Arrive in Melk in the afternoon and visit Melk Benedictine Abbey — one of the great baroque buildings of Europe. Book the abbey ticket online (£13-15 including the museum and gardens) and try to catch the last entry; the terrace view over the Wachau is the highlight.

🚌Bike ~50-55 km; wooden ferry £3-4

🛏Melk guesthouse or small hotel (£50-70)

• →Danube wooden ferry crossing
• →Melk Benedictine Abbey and gardens

The most scenic day: ride 35-45 km through the Wachau valley past terraced vineyards, apricot orchards and Dürnstein's blue church. Dürnstein is worth a proper stop — climb to the castle ruins where Richard the Lionheart was held for ransom (free, 20-minute climb) and visit the monastery. Do a self-booked wine tasting at a Wachau heuriger or a small winery cellar door in Weißenkirchen or Krems (typically £10-18 for a tasting flight). Overnight in Krems or Dürnstein; if you stop early you can also take a Wachau boat between villages (£8-15 one way).

🚌Bike ~35-45 km; optional Wachau boat £8-15

🛏Krems or Dürnstein guesthouse (£50-70)

• →Wachau Valley vineyard cycling
• →Dürnstein castle ruins and monastery
• →Heuriger wine tasting in Weißenkirchen or Krems

Use the regional train from Krems to Tulln (roughly 25 minutes, £5-7, bikes carried free or for a small fee) to shorten the day, then ride the last 35-40 km along the Danube into Vienna — the path passes Greifenstein Castle and Klosterneuburg Monastery. Alternatively ride the whole 80 km if you want the full distance. Arriving in Vienna, follow the signed cycle route to the Ringstrasse and check into a hostel or budget hotel in the centre or near Prater (avoid the Donau Zentrum hotel-park area on the far outskirts). Evening stroll around Stephansplatz and dinner at a Beisl.

🚌Regional train Krems–Tulln £5-7; bike ~35-40 km into Vienna

🛏Vienna hostel private room or budget hotel (£50-75)

• →Greifenstein Castle viewpoint
• →Klosterneuburg Monastery
• →Stephansplatz evening walk

Drop the hire bike at the agreed Vienna return point (many rental companies let you drop off in Vienna for a one-way fee — confirm this when booking in Passau, it's often £25-40). Spend the day on Vienna's own sights: Schönbrunn Palace gardens (free to walk, about £20-25 for the palace interior), the Sigmund Freud Museum (£13), a guided State Opera tour (£10-15) or standing-room opera tickets from about £4. Finish with Sachertorte and coffee at a traditional Kaffeehaus. Trains onward or flights home the next day.

🚌Bike drop-off; Vienna U-Bahn day pass £6-8

🛏Vienna hostel private room or budget hotel (£50-75)

• →Schönbrunn Palace and gardens
• →Sigmund Freud Museum
• →Vienna State Opera tour
• →Viennese coffee house and Sachertorte