Biking on The Rhine

We are on Uniworld , "Castles Along the Rhine" in June. Are there any ports that would be particularly good for biking? Ports are Breisach, Strasbourg, Speyer, Rudesheim, Koblenz, Cologne. Thanks...

It depends a little on what you mean with good for biking. Would you like to cycle through town or have a nice embankment to cycle along or into the neighbouring countryside? To start you off, here is the website of the long-distance cycle path: http://www.rhinecycleroute.eu/

Hopefully some past cruisers have some suggestions from first-hand experience for you soon.

notamermaid

Thank you notamermaid. We are not avid bikers. So just some easy biking through the town or countryside. I understand that Uniworld carries some bikes on board, but are there bike rentals or bike tours available near the docks?

You are free to take the bikes out. Fellow travelers biked around Breisach. On our Castles on the Rhine, we docked in Boppard, and about 20 passengers biked to Koblenz, while we sailed. They arrived shortly after we did.

I don't recall seeing independent companies, if that's what you're asking.

Robin

JerryinIL:

We are taking the somewhat similar Remarkable Rhine itinerary in early November. I have been corresponding with various others taking this itinerary earlier in the year, and got this comment (excerpted) on the subject of biking from one of the people who has already taken our cruise:

The BICYCLES are to be RESPECTED...

IF YOU DO NOT REALLY BIKE AT HOME, STAY OFF THE BIKES IN EUROPE...ESPECIALLY AMSTERDAM...

MY HUSBAND IS AN AVID BIKER, AND DID NOT ATTEMPT TO BIKE IN AMSTERDAM...

One of the passengers was thrown off balance by a bike and had massive damage to his face...He healed well during the cruise!...

BIKERS RULE THE ROAD!

Tom & Judy

The bike ride between Boppard and Koblenz is nothing like biking in Amsterdam. They rode through small villages. There are opportunities for leisurely riding in all of the ports Jerry listed.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

We did the Legendary Rhine and Moselle with Uniworld a couple years ago, and there were several organized bike tours as "Go Active" excursions that we enjoyed. We also took the bikes out on our own a few times--biking was great at all the ports because the paths make it so easy--you're not competing with traffic. I'll have to take a look back at my pictures and see if I can recall where we biked.

For one of the excursions we biked to a small winery and then sampled wines. Lots of fun!

We did 2 organized rides on the Danube cruise. Really enjoyed.

Will be doing Castle next year so following with interest.

Hiccups gave me an idea. I have done a cycle ride from Koblenz to Winningen on the Moselle. It is relatively flat with not much elevation at all, unless you go into the hills, i.e. the vineyards at Winningen. It is 22km there and back. Winningen: https://www.winningen.de/en/

Cycle paths along the Rhine tend to be either cyclists only or shared with pedestrians. There are stretches that require you to use the roads. Boppard to Koblenz sounds really nice. A distance of about 23km, some of it on roads.

notamermaid

We've gone biking twice on our river cruises but not in the towns you mentioned. I would ask the staff on your ship for their recommendations. I would expect they know the best routes and sights.

Last summer on a Uniworld cruise we rode along the Moselle from Bernkastel to Traben-Trarbach, The year before we rode from Weiskirchen to Melk on the Danube. Both outings were very enjoyable.

Paul

You are free to take the bikes out. Fellow travelers biked around Breisach. On our Castles on the Rhine, we docked in Boppard, and about 20 passengers biked to Koblenz, while we sailed. They arrived shortly after we did.

 

I don't recall seeing independent companies, if that's what you're asking.

 

Robin

Thanks Robin. I was surprised they carry 20 bikes.

On my Uniworld trip back in 2011, the ship only carried about 6 bikes. For the one organized tour, in Passau, which didn't happen because of rain, they were bringing in bikes from an outside company. I believe that there are more bikes on board now than there were then, so that might have changed.

Thanks Robin. I was surprised they carry 20 bikes.

It was a "hot ticket" excursion, so make sure you sign up as soon as you get on board. There was a waitlist on our cruise. They left Boppard about 30 minutes before the ship did, stopped to take a picture of us as we sailed by, and arrived in Koblenz about 20 minutes after we did.

Robin

We are considering an E-bike excursion into the Black Forest. Anyone have any information to share? Any reviews? Thank you!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Ok, so no one replied about the ebike excursion, but we just did it last week and I can give it the double thumbs up! [emoji106][emoji106] In fact, it was the highlight of our entire week on the cruise. By far, the best excursion they offered!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We did use the ship's (S.S. Antoinette) bikes at one of the ports (I think Germersheim) and there was a bike path on the river and you could ride through the small town. It was hot so we didn't go very far. Some of the ports like this were in small towns outside of the larger cities, so it was good for riding. It looked like the riders to Bopppard had a great ride. Our ship did not offer a Black Forest ebike tour.

Also, I agree, the bikes in Amsterdam do have the right of way and you really have to pay attention.

We did use the ship's (S.S. Antoinette) bikes at one of the ports (I think Germersheim) and there was a bike path on the river and you could ride through the small town. It was hot so we didn't go very far. Some of the ports like this were in small towns outside of the larger cities, so it was good for riding. It looked like the riders to Bopppard had a great ride. Our ship did not offer a Black Forest ebike tour.

 

Also, I agree, the bikes in Amsterdam do have the right of way and you really have to pay attention.

We will be on this same trip this September. We love to bike so are interested in a bike excursion. Are the bikes multiple speeds ? Are the routes somewhat flat ? Thanks for any info.

Are the bikes multiple speeds ?

I don't know if this will help, but here are the bikes they used on the excursion from Koblenz to Boppard. These are from an outside company, not the Uniworld bikes. I never got a photo of them.

We will be on this same trip this September. We love to bike so are interested in a bike excursion. Are the bikes multiple speeds ? Are the routes somewhat flat ? Thanks for any info.

The Uniworld bikes were multiple speeds. Routes along the river are flat. It looked like the organized ride to Boppard was along the river and flat.

The Uniworld bikes were multiple speeds. Routes along the river are flat. It looked like the organized ride to Boppard was along the river and flat.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a perfect ride.