6 long-distance bike itineraries in Europe

09.09.2024 - 14:30 / lonelyplanet.com

Sep 9, 2024 • 4 min read

Some people like to relax on their summer vacations. Some like to stay active. And yet others seek out invigorating, adrenaline-pumping – even grueling – holidays that test their endurance and deliver the ultimate in thrills.

If you’re in the last group, read on.

Adapted from Lonely Planet’s The Bikepackers’ Guide to the World, the itineraries below will test your mettle as they take you up, down and across Europe. The payoff? Sublime views, superb training and the endless pleasure of taking the road less traveled. (In this case, way less traveled.)

So gear up and get ready for some continental-scale adventures.

Western Balkans 
3106 miles (5000km); challenging

The multi-use Trans Dinarica Trail was designed by local enterprises to encourage visitors to explore all the Western Balkan countries by bicycle: the route connects Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo. It’s a sister trail to the Via Dinarica hiking route. The Trans Dinarica starts in Slovenia’s Soča Valley, famous for its water sports, then rolls through the foothills of the Julian Alps beside the Italian border before dipping into Croatia for a foray into the forests of Risnjak National Park. Next, it shadows the Adriatic before a transfer takes riders across the border and into Bosnia & Hercegovina, where it visits Mostar and Sarajevo. Then it's on to Montenegro – with a pit stop at Durmitor National Park – and Albania, where you can either bike the Albanian Alps or take a more relenting route through Tirana. From there, pedal by Lake Ohrid and through Mavrovo National Park in North Macedonia, and visit the cities of Pizren and Gjakova in Kosovo. Cross the finish line in Serbia after enjoying the views of Uvac Canyon and cycling along the Drina River. 

The Netherlands
860 miles (1384km); easy

Holland’s long-distance cycling routes, known as LF routes, are an easy way of exploring this cycle-friendly nation. Most use traffic-free bike paths that are wide and well made. Some of the classic trips include the LF Kustroute along the North Sea and Wadden Sea coastlines; the popular LF Zuiderzeeroute around an inland sea and through national parks and historic towns; and the LF Vechtdalroute linking quiet Dutch villages. But put some of the LF routes together and you get this fantastic 860-mile (1384km) circuit of the Netherlands. Dunes, dikes, canals, sculptures, megaliths, polders, towns and villages feature. Completing the Ronde van Nederland earns riders a special certificate.

Germany
Distance varies; moderate

EuroVelo’s EV13 route, the Iron Curtain Trail, follows that great geopolitical fissure from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea, through Norway, the Baltic