Danube River Guided Bike and River Cruise Itinerary

Day 1 Embark from Engelhartszell

Individual arrival in Passau (Germany) or Engelhartszell (Austria). At around 3pm, A-ROSA offers a free bus shuttle from the central train station in Passau to the landing stage in Engelhartszell, Austria (27 km / 30-40 min travel time). At 4:30pm, your tour guide welcomes you on board the A-ROSA Bella.

You must be on board the ship in Engelhartszell by 4pm at the latest, as the boat departs punctually at 5pm and travels downstream towards Vienna. For larger groups (> 10 guests), a tour guide will usually stay with you on board. Only 14 km after departure, the ship reaches its first scenic highlight: the Schlögener Schlinge. Here, the Danube goes through the Bohemian massif in several meanders. At the loop, the river turns in a narrow bend curved to the left by 180 °, followed by another 180 ° bend!
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: None
Meals: Dinner

Day 2 Discover the Danube

In the morning, the ship glides past the wooded slopes of the Vienna Woods and reaches Vienna around noon. After lunch on board, the bikes are ready for you at the bank. Today’s bike stage begins right at the jetty. Over the Reichsbrücke, you reach the elongated Danube Island, popular with the Viennese as a leisure and bathing area. The floodplain landscape of Lobau lies on the northern side of the Danube. In the Donau-Auen National Park, numerous water birds and other endangered animal and plant species are protected, threatened by the Danube’s straightening and expansion into a large waterway. Our cycle path leads us across the Danube Island through the Viennese paradise of entertainment, the Prater. From here, you return to the ship on the banks of the Danube. If you like, you can spend the evening in downtown Vienna. The boat stays in Vienna overnight. Your guide will show you the best way to get into town.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 34km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 3 Explore Vienna Forest and Klosterneuburg

Even today, you can start cycling directly from the landing stage in the morning. Then, up the river, you pass Vienna towards the steeply sloping slopes of the Vienna Woods, which the Viennese have always called “nose”. The “Nasenweg,” which leads up to the Leopoldsberg, begins at a wine tavern village. Then, on foot, we climb the paved hiking trail (3 km uphill; possibility of taking a ride in the accompanying bus if you don’t want to hike), which leads us to a fantastic view high above the Danube with a beautiful view of Vienna. Here the fate of Vienna was decided during the 2nd siege by the Turks!

The bikes are ready again at the top, and an enjoyable descent takes you effortlessly to Klosterneuburg. Klosterneuburg Abbey was a center of art and culture in the High Middle Ages. Charles VI had Klosterneuburg rebuilt in the baroque style and turned it into a stone symbol for the connection between the kingdom of God and the empire, an Austrian escorial. From Klosterneuburg, you return to your ship in Vienna – almost free of traffic. In the evening, the A-ROSA Bella leaves Vienna and travels downstream toward Hungary.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 33km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 4 Explore Hungary

While you fortify yourself at a tempting breakfast buffet, the ship docks in Esztergom, where you can spot the Esztergoms castle hill rising above you with the mighty basilica, the largest sacred building in Hungary; it was once the coronation site of the Hungarian rulers. Esztergom is one of the oldest settlements in the country and is mentioned in the Nibelungenlied as the castle of the legendary Hun king Etzel. We visit the facility, and you will learn why this place occupies an essential position in Hungarian history. Then a short transfer to Visegrad Castle on the Danube Bend. The Danube Bend is one of the most picturesque regions on the banks of the Danube. The ancient Visegrad Castle is located above the bend of the river. Above, you can enjoy the intoxicating view of the narrow breakthrough of the river and, after visiting the fortress, start with a descent back to the banks of the Danube.

After a short section on a busy road, a small ferry takes us to the long island in the Danube Bend. A rural idyll awaits us here. Our route leads more than 20 km south across the island of Szentendrei-Sziget. Our way leads us to Szentendre, only a few kilometers before Budapest. The cheerful baroque town on the right bank of the river was an artist colony and is characterized by many churches and its location on the banks of the Danube. It is only approximately 20 km from here to our dock in Budapest. A bus will pick you up here to take you to the ship.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 32km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 5 Leisure day in Budapest

Almost a whole day in Budapest (without a bike) at leisure! The writer Péter Esterházy called Budapest “the lady with the Danube between her breasts.” This lady shines again as perhaps the most beautiful metropolis on the Danube. The river majestically divides the city into two parts, Buda and Pest, connected by splendid bridges. The highlights of the Pest district are the monumental parliament building and “Heroes’ Square.” Not far from the river shipping port is the famous market hall from 1897, a basilica-like building based on a steel structure. In Buda, the castle district has a unique flair.

Public transport in Budapest is well developed, and the city is served by metro, tram, trolley, and bus. You can explore the city center alone or book a comprehensive 3.5-hour city tour on board via A-ROSA: you will see the Millennium Monument on the spacious Heldenplatz, the magnificent opera, the former stock exchange, and the gigantic parliament building. A tour through the castle district takes you past the Matthias Church to the Fisherman’s Bastion. Finally, you continue to Gellért Hill and visit the 220-meter-long citadel, at the southern tip of which the Statue of Liberty rises (all A-ROSA excursions that can be booked on site are presented on board).

The BELLA casts off at around 4 p.m. to travel upstream again toward Germany.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: None
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 6 Reach Bratislava

In the morning, the ship docks in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. From the outside, the cityscape is still a bit brittle socialist, but the old town has been nicely renovated and, like Vienna and Budapest, exudes the ancient splendor of the Habsburg Empire. Pressburg was the name of the city until Czechoslovakia was founded. Then, in 1993, when it separated from the Czech Republic, Bratislava became the capital of Slovakia.

The cycling stage begins at the ruins of Devín Castle, a few kilometers west of the city. From there, you can reach the enormous baroque palace Schloss Hof in Austria and cross the Danube at Hainburg via a massive tension bridge. The cycle route ends here at the Hainburger Pforte, a narrow part of the Danube between Austria and Slovakia. Bus transfer back to Bratislava, where the ship will leave again in the afternoon.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 25km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 7 Ride through wine towns in Austria

While you have breakfast, the ship glides through the landscape of the Wachau. The A-ROSA Bella docks in Krems in the morning (approx. 8:15 am) for the group of cyclists, and we first drive to Dürnstein, probably the most famous of all wine-growing locations in the Wachau. Dürnstein is picturesquely situated on the Danube, surrounded by vineyards and at the foot of an old castle. It has been a romantic ruin since the Thirty Years War and is a reminder that King Richard the Lionheart was a prominent prisoner there.

The further cycle route to Weißenkirchen soon leads past Dürnstein through terraced vineyards with small winegrowers’ houses. As soon as you have reached a picturesque row of houses with wine taverns, you are close to the wine-growing village of Weißenkirchen with its impressive Gothic fortified church from the 14th century.

You will pass other picturesque wine-growing towns like St. Michael, Spitz, and Willendorf. The almost 30,000-year-old statuette “Venus von Willendorf” was found in Willendorf in 1908! It is Austria’s most famous find from the Stone Age and is now exhibited in the Natural History Museum in Vienna. The bike tour ends in the early afternoon near Melk, opposite the imposing monastery complex. The baroque Benedictine monastery marks the beginning of the Wachau in a picturesque way and offers a unique interplay of landscape and culture. You will be back on board around noon, and the ship will continue upstream toward Engelhartszell.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 26km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 8 Depart the cruise ship

The ship docks in Engelhartszell between 7:00 and 8:00, and you have reached the journey’s starting point again. Your trip ends after breakfast. Disembarkation and transfer to the train station in Passau around 9:00 a.m. (27 km / 30-40 min travel time).

Of course, extending another night (or two) in Passau or Munich is advisable to experience these lively and fascinating Bavarian cities even more extensively.
Overnight Location: None
Distance: None
Meals: Breakfast