Highlights of my Passau to Budapest Boat & Bike Tour

The landscape, buildings, food, people and everything else made Passau to Budapest the perfect introduction to Boat and Bike holidays. Would I recommend taking the leap and trying a cycling holiday for the first time? A million per cent, yes.

There were so many highlights that it would be nearly impossible for me to name them all here, so I'll just list the aspects of the tour that I enjoyed the most and what you can look forward to if you go on a Danube River Boat & Bike tour yourself.

Book online to secure your own leisurely cycling and sailing adventure along the Danube, or for more information from our team, enquire online or call us on +44 (0) 1273 224066 (Mon to Fri 9am to 5:30pm UK time).

The beautiful scenery that flanks the Danube made an appearance on our very first day of cycling. After a peaceful morning ride along daffodil, buttercup and lavender-lined paths, we arrived at the Schlögener Loop. This is one of the most stunning parts of the Danube where the river performs a dramatic 180-degree turn, which is best enjoyed from the Schlögener Blick. It's a bit of a hike up to the viewpoint but it's worth the effort for the stunning photo opportunities.

There were always gorgeous scenes to view on our route as we pedalled through green farmland and vast fields of bright yellow rape. We mostly followed the river which snakes underneath forested slopes, and occasionally cycled away from the peaceful banks, passing charming rural towns and villages.

The final day of cycling was a 30km stretch in the Wachau Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its vineyards and historic villages and towns. Leslie, our tour director, advised us not to rush the morning's cycle as this was the most beautiful section. He wasn’t wrong; Krems and Durstein, and all the little villages in between were nothing but a delight.

With such a long cycle ahead, we knew we'd need to keep our energy levels up. The moment we arrived in Passau (and indeed every other city we visited), we were on the hunt for food. At a lovely Biergarten, I ordered the oven-roast pork knuckle, a behemothic slab of roasted meat with a crisp layer of crackling, served with a sharp meat knife sticking right through the centre. I was convinced that it wasn’t intended to be eaten by one person, until on the last day, a group of German guests aboard our boat, the Vivienne, told me otherwise, clearly bewildered that I would raise the question at all.

One of the best cities for food was undoubtedly Budapest, primarily because of the traditional Hungarian lángos. It's a famous dish of deep-fried flatbread topped with sour cream, spring onion and sausage. Once more, we unwisely went overboard on the portions. Defeated. Again. But it was extremely tasty and I would highly recommend it.

Eating on the Vivienne itself was a delight. My favourite part of the day was breakfast, where there was a fancy buffet with hot options like bratwurst sausages and American pancakes. The dinners on the boat were delicious too, and I got to try so many local dishes - the wiener schnitzel in particular was fantastic!

My personal favourite aspect of the tour was the utterly beautiful and awesome cathedrals and churches that lined our route. As we sailed and cycled along the river, we witnessed a wonderfully varied range of architectural styles. Even as the trip wore on, I never ceased to be impressed by the incredible religious monuments that we saw. St. Stephen’s in Vienna, Austria’s largest Gothic cathedral, was particularly striking. Dating from 1137, what first hits you is just how tall it is, its incredibly ornate spire reaching 136 metres into the sky.

Another of the undeniable wonders was the colossal Basilica in Esztergom, the former capital of Hungary. Sitting regally on top of a hill overlooking the Danube, the face of the Cathedral looms upwards and is capped by a huge dome on top. After a short uphill hike, we entered the main church. The interior of the Basilica is just as spectacular as the exterior, with its ornate gildings and impressive painted ceilings. It even houses the largest canvas painting in the world just above the altar.

It wasn't just the religious buildings that impressed me. We were able to see a phenomenal range of other cultural sites including galleries, museums, castles and many more. Of all the locations we visited, Vienna held perhaps the greatest treasure trove of historical and cultural gems. The Kunsthistorisches Museum was my architectural highlight of our journey with its grand staircase and ceiling painting that is difficult to do justice to in words. Who was it that said talking about painting is like dancing about architecture?

One of my favourite moments of the entire trip was taking the catacombs tour underneath St Stephen's Cathedral. An eccentric German tour guide took us past gravestones and gargoyles, and down eerily cool brick passageways further underground until we were in a centuries-old graveyard. Peering through a small window was a room with a huge pile of skulls! Ghoulish indeed!

The sundeck was my favourite place to hang out during our hours lazing on the boat. I like to take plenty of snaps when I'm on holiday, so with such great scenery on offer, you can imagine I spent a lot of time here. During our first evening aboard the Vivienne in Passau, I made my way upstairs to enjoy the views as we cruised out of the city during the soft golden hour. It was wonderful to watch the spires of St. Paul’s Church and St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and the grand fortress, Veste Oberhaus illuminated so beautifully.

Nothing could have prepared me for how spectacular the ride into Budapest would be. As we passed under Arpad Bridge which connects Buda and Pest at the northern end of Margit Island, the silhouette of the Hungarian Parliament Building came into sight, and we all rushed up to the sundeck to take in the view. The scale and grandeur of the building is astounding and approaching it by river made the experience even more special. A guest on the boat turned to me and said “this is the best day of my life”. I checked my watch – it was ten thirty in the morning! A little premature, I thought, but we were off to a fantastic start anyhow.

Needless to say, we could not have done the tour without the boat crew and our tour guides, all of whom provided a first-rate standard of service and insightful local knowledge. Everyone was incredibly friendly. In total, there were 94 guests from all over the world and they somehow managed to remember everybody's name!

From the moment we arrived on board, we were greeted with smiles, the staff at the bar were always very chatty and we even had our own waiter for the whole week who we got to know well!

There was plenty of good humour from the tour director, Leslie, who provided such useful pointers as "if you're going uphill you've gone the wrong way", "the panniers hold twelve bottles of wine" and a grave warning on our second day against entering the vegetable gardens we were cycling beside because if we did, we would never come out... I still haven't found out why, but it gave us a laugh nonetheless!

There was a real mix of guests on board the Vivienne from eager amateurs (I wasn’t alone!) to regular cyclists and all from a diverse range of countries. There were also guests who chose not to cycle at all and spent their afternoons relaxing on board the boat. During the week got to learn plenty about our travelling companions and enjoyed socialising in the lounge and on the sundeck - there was even an ice cream party one afternoon.

The final night on board was one to remember... just about. A gala dinner and 70/80s Disco where we chose our outfits from a rack of tie-dye hippie clothes. After finishing up another excellent meal, we followed the sound of Dancing Queen to the dancefloor. I was in my groove, getting down to all the 70s classics when a guest wearing the same t-shirt as me stepped onto the dance floor. To my horror, it was immediately clear that while our outfits were identical, his dance moves were infinitely cooler! I discreetly shuffled off the dance floor leaving the master to work.

I had such a fantastic time boating and biking between Passau and Budapest, I'm confident that you'd have an equally splendid trip. Like I said at the outset, this was just an overview of the things you can look forward to on a Danube Boat & Bike Tour and there's plenty more you'll discover for yourself!

To secure your own spot on the sundeck, your can book online via our tour pages. Or for more information, enquire online or call us on +44 (0) 1273 224066 (Mon to Fri 9am to 5:30pm UK time). Whether you have dates or a specific tour in mind, or you're just looking for ideas, we're here to help.