I’ve got the daft idea of doing some touring in Europe in May. I’ve never toured before so it’ll be a totally new experience. I’m ok with covering distance, would probably aim to do between 70-100kms a day and will probably try and stay in hostels rather than camp (although camping is a possibility)

I’m thinking about taking the EuroVelo route 15 from Rotterdam to Andermatt following the Rhine from sea to source. Then once I’ve got to Andermatt then picking up Route 17 which follows the Rhône to Montpellier. The EuroVelo routes are apparently well waymarked and follow quiet roads and paths.

Has anyone done either of these routes? Am I being a bit too ambitious for a first tour?

Very reasonable in terms of distance, you have all day to cycle.

I ended up cycling a bit of that route along the Rhine near the Black Forest last year. It is reasonably well signposted, and you can’t get that lost as if you lose the river you’ve lost the path. There were a few muddy bits that weren’t ideal on a road bike with panniers, but mostly good surfaces. I was amazed by the sheer number and variety of people touring on that path on all manner of machines, so I guess it would be good for a first tour.

I did end up getting away from the river and Eurovelo route as after half a day of it I was pretty bored of riding along a river, it gets very same-y, riding the whole thing would be too much I think, especially as a lot of what borders the river is pretty industrial. Apart from near big towns a lot of the roads are quieter than the bike path, and you get to see some nice towns. I’d recommend trying to plan a route on quiet roads taking in some touristy towns, as they’ll have places to stay and things to see. By all means do a bit of the Rhine path, but I’d imagine it only gets more industrial as you get towards Rotterdam. Having said that the river was a great way into Strasbourg rather than being on the roads there.

I’ve also done some of the Eurovelo 17 route in the South, and remember it being nice but quite mosquito infested in places, as the water isn’t moving very fast there, but you might be lucky in May. Again a lot of the roads are quieter and prettier.

Don’t worry too much about being too ambitious, trains are always your friend if you’ve overstretched yourself or things go wrong, but please do give it a go, it’s great! Northern France/Belgium etc is quite flat and busy though, so I’d recommend getting a bit further south before starting your tour unless you’re set on doing coast to coast.

Ambitiousness depends on your cycling experience over all. 70-100km per day is relatively normal touring pace though and EV15 is virtually pancake flat. It’s also mostly traffic free. If there’s a long distance route to start on, that’s one of them.

I followed EV15 through Switzerland and it’s a beautiful place. The route is easy follow. You’ll be cycling with oldies on electric bikes, families, groups of lads on holiday, it’s very chilled. I didn’t follow it all because I wanted to get off the beaten track and do my own thing. As great as the route is, some might consider it sanitised, but that’s all personal preference. I have heard it gets more industrial the further North you get. Although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you’re heading South, watching the landscape progressively change.

Camping is easy, but really depends on what you want to carry as it adds a lot of weight to your bike. Once you get South into the warmer territories, it’s not entirely unusual for campsites to have swimming pools. It’s a different experience to camping in Britain.

I’d still take GPS i.e. eTrex 30 with the route GPX downloaded onto a OSM map or a phone with appropriate data-free/offline mapping software. 50-70k a day is very realistic if flat – on pavement in flat terrain I’d usually be doing 80-120k. Not done either of those routes but I understand the infrastructure for western mainland Europe is very good, especially along the rivers of the Rhine and Danube. The Eurovelo which most interests me would the one which runs the length of the former Iron Curtain, but I don’t think it is anywhere near as developed as the 15. One of my favourite all time trips in Europe is the Altravesur which is an off-road/gravel route in southern Spain – see Bikepacking.com for more details.

We set out following the EV15 last year from Basel to Rotterdam. As others have mentioned the route can get a bit boring. After the first day we ended up using ‘ride with gps’ and just put where we wanted to finish that day. We ended up on either cycle paths or quiet roads and got to see some interesting sights.

Thanks for the information so far.

I hadn’t realised that the route was quite boring, I had spent most of my time thinking about Switzerland despite it being probably the smallest part of the route. Might have a look at some alternatives in that respect. Although the popularity and dullness of it might come as a blessing with it being my first tour. There’s also the added advantage of getting the ferry/train to Rotterdam for the start rather than the ballache of flying.

I’ve also considered just heading to Scotland for a week or so instead but knowing my luck it’ll rain the entire time I’m there and be generally miserable, then again could do the same in Europe.

I have been spending a lot of time on the Bikepacking website looking at the routes there, some amazing stuff on there which I would definitely love to try (the Navad 1000 being one of them along with the Alti Via De Monti Liguri) although my off road skills are non existent

I’ve done EuroVelo 15 between Cologne and Andermatt and I’d recommend it as perfect for the first time tourer. I haven’t been north of Cologne which I believe is industrial as far as the Dutch border. Cologne to Bonn (just a morning) isn’t especially scenic, beyond that to Koblenz is nice enough. Koblenz to Mainz is lovely. Don’t remember anything bad or good about Mainz to French border but Speyer and Karlsruhe were worth seeing. At Strassbourg we diverged from EV15 for a couple of days to take the Alsace wine route which is much more scenic than staying by the river/canal. Strassbourg, Colmar and the small wine towns are lovely. There are some lovely towns along the Swiss/German border and the Rhine Falls are more impressive than I thought they would be. Lake Constance is great. Constance to Vaduz is OK and Vaduz to Andermatt beautiful. There’s a big climb from Chur to Andermatt obviously but the rest of the route is flat (although the Alsace wine route is not flat).
Switzerland is very expensive. 100km per day is fairly achievable target (except last day) with a rest day per week. There is very little road riding necessary, almost all cycle paths. Navigation is simple. We had the bikeline maps but a GPS would be equally useful. Oberalp pass will be open in early May.

I don’t know anything about the Rhone route. I’ve fancied going south from Andermatt over the St Gotthard and down to the Italian lakes, maybe flying home from Milan.
swiss N/S route

I did it in 2016, nearly full length (from Lucerne to Rotterdam).
I’m a bit on the fat side (192cm 96kg), still I managed to cycle 1400km in 12 days in bikepacking setup (very minimal but geared with tent, sleeping bag and so on…).
The route is NOT always signposted, I got lost quite often esp in Basel area and industrial areas of Rhur… and it really sucked.
North of Cologne it also gets less and less nice.

I toured half europe and I can tell EV15 is definitely not on my top list, I much preferred Verona to Maribor through Austria: much more peaceful and 90% in a proper bike path separated by the traffic, trough nature and small villages (100% signposted too!).

That sounds like a cracking trip ciquta, Trento -> Dolomites -> Drava ?

yep, you may do the other way around and end gloriously in Riva Del Garda

the trip is really worth, esp the italian side (google “Ciclabile Val Pusteria”, “Ciclopista del sole trentino”)

Also between Trento and Verona it’s really worth, couple years ago they added another bike path along river Adige on the opposite side of EV1. Its goes through vineyards and you end up in a truly beautiful city.

Another option may be Danube bike path crossing Vienna and Budapest.

I would certainly recommend Baden Baden (south of Karlsruhe) and the surrounding area as a place to see. As said it’s all very flat along the river but there are hills all around that could break that up nicely.

I would say just go for it. My first tour, with zero experience and training (not even a test run) was from Calais to Salzberg – train to Basel and cycle back to Calais. I did around 100 to 120km a day and the odd 150km day. I did part of the Rhine from Strasbourg to Chur via lake Konstanz although I only went down the Rhine a bit and then turned left towards the lake. I dont recall the bit between Strasbourg and Konstanz being anything special – although it was 8 years ago now. Konstanz to Chur was great with excellent scenery.

I camped the entire trip, although it was in July/Aug. The only issue with hostels is that you might struggle to find one at your desired daily distance.

As others have mentioned – Its easy to bale if you need to, so I wouldn’t worry about biting off more than you can chew. Trains are plentiful and easy to use.

Have fun 🙂

Thanks for all the info folks, really useful stuff.

Another option may be Danube bike path crossing Vienna and Budapest.

Start up stream of Passau as the German end is well organised, beyond Budapest it gets a bit confused and less enjoyable.

Also have a look at Prague to Dresden and beyond on the Elbe. The Czechia end is a bit variable but once into Saxony it gets much better. The part into Dessau is through wilderness and thence to Magdeburg it’s more built up.