A guidebook to cycling the 1227km (763 mile) Elbe river through Czechia and Germany from its source to the North Sea coast. Possibly the easiest long-distance cycle route in Europe, being almost flat or entirely downhill, this route is suitable for all levels of cyclists and is best experienced April through to October.
Presented in 29 stages of 21-69km (13-43 miles) Suggested schedules include 13, 15, 17 and 19 day options, making this a perfect 2-3 week cycle tour Route passes key areas including Prague, Dresden, Magdeburg, Hamburg GPX files available to download 1:150,000 mapping provided for each stage Detailed information on planning, facilities and accommodation
Map key
Overview map
Route summary table
Suggested schedules
Introduction
Historical background
Natural environment
The route
Preparation
Getting there and back
Navigation
Accommodation
Food and drink
Amenities and services
What to take
Safety and emergencies
Using this guide
The route
Bohemia
Prologue Vrchlabķ to Elbe spring
Stage 1 Elbe spring to Hostinn&##xe9;
Stage 2 Hostinn&##xe9; to Jarom??
Stage 3 Jarom?? to Pardubice
Stage 4 Pardubice to Kolķn
Stage 5 Kolķn to Nymburk
Stage 6 Nymburk to Prague
Stage 7 Prague to M?lnķk
Stage 7A L&##xe1;zn? Toue? to M?lnķk (avoiding Prague)
Stage 8 M?lnķk to Litom??ice
Stage 9 Litom??ice to D??ķn
Stage 10 D??ķn to Bad Schandau
Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt
Stage 11 Bad Schandau to Dresden
Stage 12 Dresden to Meissen
Stage 13 Meissen to Riesa
Stage 14 Riesa to Torgau
Stage 15 Torgau to Wittenberg
Stage 16 Wittenberg to Dessau
Stage 17 Dessau to Barby
Stage 18 Barby to Magdeburg
Stage 19 Magdeburg to Rogätz
Stage 20 Rogätz to Tangermünde
Stage 21 Tangermünde to Havelberg
Stage 22 Havelberg to Wittenberge
Stage 23 Wittenberge to Dömitz
Lower Saxony
Stage 24 Dömitz to Bleckede
Stage 25 Bleckede to Geesthacht
Stage 26 Geesthacht to Hamburg
Stage 27 Hamburg to Stade
Stage 28 Stade to Freiburg
Stage 29 Freiburg to Cuxhaven
Appendix A Facilities summary
Appendix B Tourist information offices
Appendix C Youth hostels
Appendix D Ferries, lifting bridges and chairlifts
Appendix E Useful contacts
Appendix F Language glossary
Mike Wells has been a keen long-distance walker and cyclist for over 25 years. He has walked all the major British trails, the GR5 through the Alps from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean and has explored the Italian Dolomites' Alta Via routes. He has also walked in Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Norway and Chilean Patagonia. Mike has cycled the C2C route across northern England and Lon Las Cymru in Wales, as well as the Camino and Ruta de la Plata to Santiago de la Compostela. He has completed an end to end traverse of Cuba, a circumnavigation of Iceland and a trip across Lapland to the North Cape.
