Bicycle travel · Western Europe

Who among you has explored northern Italy along the Mediterranean, in Liguria? I’m dreaming of cycling there from Nice, crossing through villages like Menton, Ventimiglia, Dolceacqua, Apricale, Monte Ceppo, Triora, Ponte di Nava, Ormea, Garessio, Ceva, Mondovì, and Cuneo.

Beyond that, it’s the route toward Queyras in France via the Col dell’Agnello, on the slopes of Monte Viso.

A few questions for those who know the area: Is it interesting by bike? Is the road surface decent? Is car traffic low, or at least manageable?

We had this plan back in 2009 as part of a Nice-Rome crossing, but we ended up doing it differently. I might get to revisit it this summer (solo this time, not on a tandem like we usually do).

Looking forward to your thoughts and comments!

I’m leaving from Munich in May to reach Bran (Dracula’s Castle in Romania). The plan: crossing Austria, Hungary (via Lake Balaton), and Romania (through the Carpathians). The idea is to avoid following the EuroVelo 6 route.

Do you have any route ideas in Austria to get to Hungary? I get the feeling there aren’t many options for taking secondary networks, and most routes follow valleys carved out by major road axes.

Thanks for your ideas and experiences biking in Austria!

Cheers,

Hi there, No recent discussion here on the topic (2025). Anyone else interested?

France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria via Claudia Augusta and Italy via the Padana (AIDA) Alta Italia... http://cbandiera.free.fr/recits/2025-via-augusta/ 2024 already done, 2025 in sight

About 2,460 km with the Alps to cross, of course.

Faverges, Annecy, Geneva, Yverdon, Bienne, Bodensee, Danube sources, Ulm, Donauwörth, Augsburg, via Claudia Augusta, Innsbruck, Bolzano, Trento, Nervesa, Treviso, Mestre, Venice; Via AIDA (Alta Italia da attraversare / Padana) Padova, Vicenza, Verona, Brescia, Milan, Novara, Vercelli, Chivasso, Turin, Susa, Mont Cenis Pass, Maurienne, Albertville, Faverges. A fantasy of Glaude’s for n+1 years For 2025? The story is already formatted

To be seen

Hello,

We’re planning to set off at the end of September with our beloved tandem to cycle along the southern coast of Portugal (the Algarve) and the west coast up to Lisbon. One little detail is worrying me a bit: WHAT ABOUT THE WIND? Let’s just say we’re on the Atlantic coast, and there’s nothing worse for a cycle tourist than wind. Basically, we’d just like to avoid a nightmare of battling the wind in Portugal. If you’ve already done this route or know a bit about the wind conditions in the area (strength, direction, etc.), it’d be great to get some more info on that. Also, I’ve read quite a few forums about trains. How’s the rail network between the south and west of Portugal? No issues with taking bikes on board? Thanks in advance for any info you can share! We’re heading into the unknown since we don’t know the region at all, so if you have any useful tips for cycle tourists, please send them our way!!!

Mic

Hi, Like every summer, I’m looking for a (not too distant) destination to cycle with my family for about 3 weeks. I’m drawn to the EuroVelo 1 route in Portugal. Do any of you have information to share? Are there sections that are more or less difficult? Routes that are more or less safe? I’ve heard that Portuguese drivers aren’t very cautious on the road, especially around cyclists. Thanks for your feedback and experiences!

Hi, We’re planning to start the Camino del Cid from Vivar del Cid (Burgos) to Atienza in April. How can we get back and pick up our car, which we left in Burgos? I haven’t found any info on this. Thanks for your tips!

Hi there,

I’m looking for route ideas for a 5-day bike trip in the Spanish Basque Country, max 40 km per day and 500 m of elevation gain max per day, preferably on greenways or small roads for August 2025.

I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the weather: does it rain a lot at that time of year?

We cycled along the Finistère coast last summer but managed to dodge the rain 😄.

Thanks in advance for your tips!

Hi, We’re traveling as a couple in mid-April for 7 days in the Netherlands. We want to see Amsterdam, the tulips, and the windmills. We’d like to bike through the tulip fields. We’re not athletes, but physical ability probably won’t be an issue. How many days should we devote to each part? (Amsterdam-windmills-tulips) Is it better to stay outside Amsterdam for the windmill-tulip portion? (like 2 nights in Leiden?) Is renting bikes a problem? Should we rent a car, or is public transport efficient? Thanks so much in advance for taking the time to answer! Mélanie

Hi there! I’m really keen to cycle from Bruges to Amsterdam. Has anyone here done it before? We’re a group of three—is it easy to find accommodation on the go, or should we book ahead? If we do a round trip and take our bikes, would it be simpler to plan two different routes?! Thanks so much! Laurence from Bayonne

Hi there,

A year ago, I posted looking for a cycling route for a trip in Sicily with my partner and our two kids (3 and 4 years old) in a trailer—something calm, with nature and a bit of culture. I didn’t get many replies, so I’m sharing our itinerary, which we really enjoyed. We cycled from the southeast (Syracuse) to the northwest (Palermo).

**Note:** We had no issues on the road—drivers were very courteous, the welcome was exceptional (lots of invitations to eat and/or stay overnight), and there were very few people on the roads, even the big ones, since we were there from September 23 to October 7.

**Weather:** Apparently, the summer of 2014 had been awful (only 25°C...). We, on the other hand, had 3 days at 44°C—it was *brutal*, including one day at 35°C at 1,000m altitude in the center of the island on October 1st...

**Accommodation:** 15 days of wild camping, with just one really nice apartment after 7 days in Piazza Armerina. Wild camping was tough—rocky, dusty, hard to pitch tent stakes. Our tent got pierced by thorns (even the groundsheet) from one side to the other. We washed up at village fountains, and—let’s be honest—less often than we’d have liked. The kids’ clothes, which spent a lot of time on the ground, were pretty grimy since laundry was rare. Only one official campsite (otherwise, they’re all on the beaches): Da Vinci Camping, in the middle of lemon groves near the southeast (Rosolini). It’s well-known on social media for being very "roots."

**Water:** A real challenge—*very* tough. Off-season, many homes are abandoned, and on some days, we passed through few villages. Result: we always carried our max water (9L) and sometimes had to add extra bottles to last 2 days, covering the day’s ride, wild camping, and the next morning—that’s 15L on the bikes. So be careful with this!

**Itinerary**

We arrived by train in Messina from southern Italy (yes, the train goes onto the ferry—worth seeing!), then took the train to Syracuse. We decided the northeast coast was too dangerous to cycle, so we visited Syracuse and then picked the SP roads (the smallest ones, more or less following the coast) toward Noto. We were supposed to head southeast to Pachino, but since our ferry from Palermo was booked 15 days later, we cut the route short and headed toward Rosolini instead. Nothing exceptional until Modica, crossing the Ispica fault. Modica is a really pretty town to see. Then Ragusa’s old town via the SS 115—a quiet but very scenic road. The town is stunning, but getting through the modern part (Ragusa Alta) means 300–400m of elevation gain... Caltagirone: a lovely town (famous for ceramics), but the center is uphill. We took a bigger road, but there was hardly anyone around. Left via Mirabella, then visited Piazza Armerina and the Villa Romana. Took the SP 15 to Barrafranca, Pietraperzia, then Caltanissetta via the SP96 (choose carefully—there’s a bigger road nearby).

Then Serradifalco, Mussomeli (castle), San Giovanni Gemini—a series of hilltop villages with valleys in between. We climbed and descended 500m+ repeatedly. Santo Stefano Quisquina, Prizzi (passing at 1,000m altitude—really nice, no one around). Corleone (great road, some climbing, but it’s awesome); Ficuzza, Santa Cristina Gela, Altofonte, and Palermo (no traffic issues).

**Reminder:** This was off-season—no one on the roads. We found the route through Caltanissetta, Mussomeli, etc., *spectacular* and sometimes breathtaking. Sicily is a rugged place for rugged people (especially wild camping). We’d heard the center of Sicily was overrated (not at all...). After 4 months of traveling without always listening to others’ opinions, we confirm: central Sicily is amazing—rugged, dramatic, and perfect for what we were looking for (though we didn’t swim).

**Elevation:** People kept saying Sicily was a nightmare for climbing. We’ve done much tougher routes in the Black Forest or Slovenia. The tricky part in central Sicily is the constant ups and downs—you climb 300–600m in one go, then descend right after. We used "Ride with GPS" to test different routes and avoid unnecessary descents (or minimize them). With a few extra kilometers, we saved about 2,000m of elevation gain overall, especially around Caltanissetta, the Modica-Ragusa link, arriving in Modica, and leaving Ragusa.

Hope this helps someone...

Hi there!!

We’re planning a bike trip down the Douro from the Spanish border to Porto in May 2025. We’re looking for any info on possible routes and trails, as well as camping options and/or homestays. Thanks so much!!