tryonjohn

Do I need sleeping reservations when touring the Danube from Passau to Budapest?

fietsbob

August, maybe.. since Europe has more holiday time, off. and often companies schedule that for that Month.

but I found camping in the commercial Sites with out a Problem (in 91)

now in the mobile phone saturated world you may only need a days advance notice .

B200Pilot

Well a bit your details would be nice. What time of the year are you going? Where are you planning to stay (city wise) and what expectations do you have in terms of price / luxury (or lac of for that matter)... Last year at the end of May I biked Passau to Vienna. For the most part we had no problem finding lodging in small inns, but in Linz and Grein we had a bit of an issue finding something affordable and nice at the same time. In Linz we ended up going for a hotel. In Grein we found a nice "B&B"... So time of year is very important.

PolarBear007

August is THE busiest vacation month in Europe (having lived there for 7 seven years....). However, destinations are widely varied and the Eastern Adriatic coast from Croatia and on south to Montenegro (and soon into Albania....) is the busiest.

For August, I would strongly advise having reservations.

becnal

If camping, no. If staying in B&Bs, then it's a very good idea to have a mobile phone and phone your potential destinations by lunchtime that day. Makes for much much more pleasurable riding when you know you have a bed waiting for you. Nothing worse than arriving at a destination exhausted only to be told there's no bed available and you have to keep pushing on.

tryonjohn

thanks for response. I am leaving May 27 for 3 weeks going from Passau to Budapest. I am hoping to stay at private homes or pensions, nothing fancy. Do you think I will find such facilities available without reservations?. I will be using the Bikeline series which has a listing of such places in the back of the book. Any recommendations appreciated.

Hahob

I biked along the Danube to Budapest a few years ago. I mostly stealth-camped along the way, with a night in a campsite too.
One thing I learned during my tours is, that there is, if you ask nicely, ALWAYS room for a guy/girl on bike. This is true all over the world!

There is also a lot of "warmshowers.com" hosts in this part of the world.

If you do pass through Vienna, I/We can possible host you:-)

Philly Tandem

I've biked the Danube from Passau to Vienna numerous times, most recently in August 2012. We've never made reservations, except for in Passau and Vienna. Usually we go in May, early June, or September, but this last time was in August. The shoulder seasons have plenty of availability and you should have no problems. It is very helpful to have a mobile phone with you, as many B&Bs list a number to call so that the owner doesn't have to be sitting at home all the time waiting. Or, call the Tourist Info office of the town you want to sleep in and ask them for help finding a place.

One trick on the Danube route, especially from Passau to Vienna, is to start on an "off day" other than a weekend. A large number of people riding the route are on self-guided tour packages, and they all tend to stop at the same towns for overnights (there are standard "stages" to the route). If you are riding along with the pack, you'll have a harder time finding a place to stay. Either start mid-week, or plan to stay at towns that aren't where people typically stop. Google to find some of the main stopping points and avoid them. (Look at radreisen.at to see one of the bigger tour operators.) Using these tricks we had no problems with accommodations even in the middle of August.