Hello,
We will be on a danube river cruise next week. The itinerary has two stops in the Wachau valley, Melk and Durnstein. I have thought about renting a bike to peddle from Melk to Durnstein and rejoin the boat there because I assumed I could get better views and more freedom to stop and take pictures. It does involve the complexity to rent a bike in Melk and drop it off in Durnstein. What do you suggest, bike or simply stay on the river cruise for that stretch? Thank you.
Mei
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5384 posts
Which cruise? I hope you pedal and don't peddle your way to Durnstein as that might not be legal :).
Posted by
OP
san diego, us
82 posts
Viking cruise. I guess I need to find out if they would allow passengers to skip a small stretch of the cruising to bike.
Posted by
OP
san diego, us
82 posts
Haha, I am so embarrassed by that typo. :)
Posted by
1906 posts
NextBike is available in both Melk and Dürnstein.
https://www.nextbike.at/en/wachau/locations/
As Melk is on the right bank of the Danube river you should go over the bridge there, and then use the route downstream to Dürnstein along the left bank (parallel to road B3). I think this track is more scenic.
Posted by
OP
san diego, us
82 posts
wmt1, Thank you for the information. I have seen posts describing issues with the English option on nextbike's automated call. Hope that's been fixed as I don't understand German.
Posted by
Everett, WA
1288 posts
How much time does the cruise give you in each town? I have done this bike ride twice and it is wonderful. However, it takes awhile to get from Melk to Durnstein and you might actually find you have less time to explore these cities. I would only bike if I still had time to visit the Melk Abbey and explore the town before renting a bike. The views are the same whether you bike or ride as the bike trail runs right along the river. Also, Your cruise may offer a bike trip. I know last September we saw cruise groups biking on the trail.
Posted by
OP
san diego, us
82 posts
Hi Connie,
Good point on the potential time constraints. We will visit the abbey in the morning with the cruise group. My plan is to then bike to durnstein, which is the last stop of the day before the cruise starts going again. I hope we will have enough time to do the biking and exploring both towns, but will check with the cruise before making final decision. It will also depend on the weather.
Posted by
OP
san diego, us
82 posts
Just want to report back to thank everyone for your advice and suggestions. I visited Melk Abbey in the morning, then rented from NextBike and biked to Durnstein from Melk. It was a wonderful ride. The only tricky part was the initial uphill stretch along the main road. After that it was pretty much all down hill or flat through beautiful vineyards and small villeges. The day was capped by a climb to the castle ruin at Durnstein to enjoy the fabulous views. A perfect day. :)
Posted by
Everett, WA
1288 posts
Thanks for letting us know what you decided and how it went. I am so glad you were able to bike like you wanted. I love biking in that area. Thanks again.