Getting basic support on a self-guided cycling holiday

If you feel unable to organise accommodation in Germany yourself or to get an appropriate bicycle for your ride, you should think about doing a self-guided cycle tour. There are quite a few companies providing countless tour packages today. Typically included is accommodation, luggage transfer from place to place, a booklet with maps and information about the region as well as a bicycle to rent.

Subjects you should think about beforehand

If you come from a different time zone you possibly better rest one or two days before jumping on the bike. Tour operators often offer pre-tour accommodation. This is convenient as you don't have to change the hotel when starting the cycle holiday itself.

However, the most difficult question is: How to get to to the starting point of the tour? Only a few tour operators offer a transfer service. However, they appear to be rather pricey compared with a regular train tickets.
The tour package which you receive upfront usually doesn't tell you. So ask the operator beforehand. If you plan to travel Germany by train, visit the website of Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national rail carrier.

Local tour operators

Mecklenburger Radtour offers a vast range of holiday packages, mostly in the northern part of Germany.

Bodensee-Radweg Service is another Germany-based tour operator that offers tours in the south-west, around Lake Constance and along the Danube.

Velociped runs self-guided tours in the western part of Germany, namely along the Moselle, the Rhine and the Main river.

Take the routes that you find on those websites as a starting point for your search. Find out what region of Germany you would like to travel. Basically every major tour operator offers self-guided packages in every corner of Germany. They simply operate some tours on their own and resell tours from their competition. Hence, once you have found the perfect destination, look for the different packages that are offered and compare. You will find more than just one package along the more famous routes, like the Moselle, the Danube and the Elbe river - often differing in the number of days, the daily milage to cycle or the quality of the places you will be booked in.