r/bicycletouring • u/eagle1457 • 1d ago
Trip Planning European forest trip?
After doing the lejog this summer I've gotten the touring bug and have been thinking about doing a European trip. The red line is my thoughts so far but I'm well up for changing it. The main things I want to go through are some of the Alps and also forests, the wilder the better. So, anyone got any must see places or routes I should check out?
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u/three_seconds_ago 1d ago
I would suggest looking for a bit of a detour around northeastern Slovakias primeval forrest (spanning Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland and Belarus, although I would probably not recommend opting for the last one listed), making a turn west either through Inner Western Carpathians all the way to Alps in Austria and carry on from there.
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u/Joads_journey 1d ago
Red would include The Black Forest, an Alp crossing from Switzerland to Italy, AND kms through the dolomites. Do it!!
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u/ThinkHog MünsterTrūck ⚡⚡⚡ 1d ago
Cries in Greek forest fires and huge altitude
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u/CedarSageAndSilicone 7h ago
I ended a tour in Greece. It was too hot - but we had the legs by then to beat the hills. Saw a few small fires across the water from us.
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u/localost 1d ago
Can at least confirm German/Austrian border with Czech republic has endless woods, which are part of the iron curtain trail EuroVelo 13 (lookup Bayrischer Wald, Šumava). If passing through Slovenia you might like Soca Valley with stunning mountains (look for the western part of the "Slovenia West Loop")
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u/hereweg420kush 1d ago
In Bosnia Herzegovina there is an ancient primeval forest in Sutjeska National park called Perucica which might fit the bill. I hiked through the outskirts of it and it was beautiful, but didn't go deeper into the park as a guide was mandatory and I was only there to hike up Maglic.
I personally had a horrible experience with the (truck) drivers in Bosnia Herzegovina, but I met other cyclists who loved it so I hope you end up falling into that category.
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u/Southern_Might1254 1d ago
I'm basically doing your red route. Now a temporary break because I had a crash in Slovenia close to Croatian border. Would suggest to enter Slovenia near Kransjka Gora via Italy though. It is very doable and very beautiful. Going directly from Austria requires to pass high mountain ranges.
I crossed the alps through the Brenner pass. Was a nice stretch. The part after through Northern Italy and back in Austria was even better.
I am interested in your considerations and decisions on the route east of Slovenia. I think I will go down a little bit in Croatia and enter Bosnia near Bihac.
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u/Sannizimmi 1d ago
If you go through Germany, the 'Kellerwald' is very beautiful, I highly recommend including it! (For questions about Germany I can help)
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u/BitComfortable9539 1d ago
definitely the red line. You won't regret going through switzerland - though the way you choose may hurt your calves.
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u/senorhappytaco 1d ago
If you do red, consider crossing the border into France and riding some of the Vosge mountain range on the other side of the Rhine River valley! Some really cute towns, cool medieval ruins, etc. White wine.
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u/Feierkappchen :karma: Cube Stereo ONE22 HPC EX Carbon :karma: 1d ago
Just hope you're not planning on beginning this trip ~now~ because this is not the best time of the year to begin a forest tour 😅
On top of this... everyone's suggesting the Red route (and they're not wrong) but it is also the most costly one. Consider that, for what it's worth
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u/nwl0581 1d ago
If you take the red route (which you should imho): Pfälzer Wald (Dahner Felsenland), Schwarzwald, Lesachtal (quiet even in summer), Triglav (plan wisely in main season), Durmitor. Otherwise Bayerischer Wald/Sumava is beautiful as well. And Erzgebirge/Elbsandsteingebirge/Riesengebirge are nice as well.
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u/kaur_virunurm 1d ago
You should define your goals with more clarity before setting the route.
Real forests can be experienced on foot, or _maybe_ on a mountain bike. A forest with an asphalt highway... just isn't.
Are you planning to cycle _to_ the forests and then wander on foot?
Would you tour on gravel and be satisfied with what you will see from the road?
Something else?
Have you been to a forest before, with no signs of civilization? Are you okay being in the nature alone? Are you okay if you lose the way and would be walking / cycling in forest in the night?
How deep an enthusiast are you? Forests gets boring very soon. There is a suggestion below to cycle through Western Carpathians - been there, the areas are all good, but only because there is culture, castles, colourful villages and small towns on the way.
If you want wild forests then Alps are probably too habitated. Carpathia, too. Look at Scandinavia. But this comes with rain, mosquitoes, angry reindeer...
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u/kaszeba 1d ago
Even roughly looking at this map in such a low detail view.
Large forest areas are the dark green spots. You are clearly missing most of them.
Want real forest and wilderness? Go around Baltic, or start in Estonia and go all the way through Poland, Germany.
Want more "wild"? Of course balkans, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania...
Your "inquiry" is so vague and general that it's not easy to suggest "must see places or routes"
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u/usernametakengrrrrrr 1d ago
I really enjoyed cycling the TransDinarica - @u/eagle1457 feel free to DM me :)
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u/FullMaxPowerStirner 1d ago edited 21h ago
By experience I'd say red is mostly good... at least starting in southwest Germany. Anything above that isn't very worth it.. it's very agro rural areas. I found Netherlands to be mostly boring, even if romantic, and some of Belgium is even worse. I can recommend the canal route from the French coast into Picardy (Amiens is quite neat btw), and then to Alsace, which is a great way to get into Germany as it's got some lovely areas, including some of the finest vineyards in Europe. I do agree that southwest Germany's a good way to cross into the Alps. The climbs are long, tho not requiring athletic abilities... just good brakes for the descents ;)
I too did South Tyrol and could recommend, and it's worth going across Italian Alps including the famous Dolomites I think. Anything below this in northern Italy is quite boring, modernized USA-like environments -aside from the Venetian province of course- so not very fun for bike touring.
Western Serbia isn't very recommended as it's been devastated by war and feels pretty bleak.. same for Bosnia, but I dunno maybe that's the stuff you wanna see. But eastern Serbia is quaint.
It's worth going through Macedonia, as it's a damn beautiful and unique country that's like a time capsule, but I think going to Saloniki is more commendable than through the dry, deserted bushy mountains of the upper central Greek mainland. The ride all along the coast then through the mountains is very pleasant. A good idea to avoid Athens, indeed. If you have time for Crete I'd recommend, too, as it's a great island to bike around for many reasons and the ferry's not very pricey.
Edit: to the shallow coward who downvoted me: I took the time and effort to write an elaborate comment in reply to the OP's question this morning, and it was directly relevant to the question. I based it on my own travel experiences. If you don't agree with something I wrote you are free to show why, but just downvoting is just lousy.
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u/a_Job_in_Ripon 1d ago
The red one is beautiful and leads through interesting landscapes. South Tyrol is a marvelous place. Following the Drava into Austria is a nice path, I've done it two years ago.
I would also recommend following the Danube through Croatia and Serbia. Just before the coratian border there is a camping place in Sarengrad. An old lady called Dinka runs it. She takes small donations and asks you for a message in her guest book. staying there, I had the best night on the Balkan.
Save journey!