Bicycle Rentals

[pac and pac]

I am going on Viking Basel to Amsterdam in July. I am interested in renting a bicycle at several port stops to do some touring. Has anyone used any bicycle rental companies during their river cruise (specifically in Breisach and Koblenz)

[dqueenbay]

Hi pac and pac! We are doing the same trip in October, and also hope to do some bike riding, although we will be later in the season than you, so weather may no permit. Last year, we did Viking's cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest and rented bikes in both Passau and Wurtzberg, as well as the guided Viking bike tour at the Kinderdijk. All were lovely getaways. We just walked up and rented in Wurtzberg, there were no ebikes available, but we were able to take pedal bikes up the lovely bike paths on the river an hour each direction. In Passau, because we had an extra night, we were able to reserve ebikes for the entire next day, so covered a lot more ground - the ebikes were very welcome when we turned upriver for the return trip up into the wind. 

 

For this year we already booked the Viking ebike trip in Breisach - figure it will be worth the expense to have the trip arranged for us. We are also interested in renting in Koblenz or Cologne, but I haven't done much research into it yet. One thing I would recommend is NOT committing to a reservation ahead of time, since the docking schedules can changeable depending on water conditions. Good to know where to go, but not be committed to a fixed time. 

 

Best of luck, keep us posted on what your decide to do please!

- dQueenBay

[badtwin]

We are doing a Viking cruise with stops on the Danube of Melk in the morning  and Krems in the afternoon.   The ship takes about 2 hours, but has a 3-4 stop in Krems.  The bike path is supposedly around 24 miles and mostly downhill. 

 

Would it be possible for us to bike on our own between ports?  I know it is "possible" to rent bikes and ride one way.  I was more wondering if Viking lets you skip sections of the cruise to travel on your own and if anyone else ever tired such a thing.  

 

Any advice would be appreciated.  

 

 

[dqueenbay]

Hmm, my earlier reply seems to have not gotten posted - trying again...

 

When we had this same itinerary last year, our concierge had actually suggested the bike ride from Melk to Krems, and pointed out  the rental place on the map (a short walk from the dock). He had done it himself on an afternoon off, and said he really enjoyed it. We opted to stay for the tour in Melk and the scenic cruise instead (some of the only daytime cruising we did - they serve champagne)! Krems was shuttered up for Sunday and so a bit dull. 

 

If you do go, consider getting eBikes. Even though it is downhill, it may not be downwind. The winds blowing through those river valleys are often strong and steady.

 

Have fun, and report back if you do try it!

 

[badtwin]

Thank you for that response.  Really excited to hear this is a possibility. I think we are going to get registered with one of the bike rental companies and load the app and then wait and see how the weather looks (I was thinking more of rain but good reminder about the wind) and see how we feel by that point in the cruise.  I really don't want to skip the Abbey tour in Melk so we will have already done some walking.

 

 

 

 

[CPT Trips]

We "bugged out" of the ship in one port and caught up with it at another more than once. We always made sure to inform the ship's hotel manager and our program director. The ship was always where and when we were told to find it, but we made certain to get the telephone numbers of the ship and our program director so we could make contact if needed. 

 

[TravelerThom]

On 7/18/2019 at 10:14 PM, CPT Trips said:

We "bugged out" of the ship in one port and caught up with it at another more than once. We always made sure to inform the ship's hotel manager and our program director. The ship was always where and when we were told to find it, but we made certain to get the telephone numbers of the ship and our program director so we could make contact if needed. 

I’ll point out that due to locks and other issues River boats don’t always run right on schedule. We have had a River boat be several hours late to our pick up point after a our side trip on our own, but other that side trips work easily.