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Rhine Source to Sea

August 2026

From the mountain tops of Switzerland to the North Sea, our route takes you the entire length of this wonderful river. One of Europe's great geographical features, the Rhine is also an ancient trading route running from the very heart of the continent to the sea and with it, a fascinating diversity of language, culture and food. This is a predominantly flat route so the difficuly lies not in the climbs but in keeping pedalling without freewheeling!

We have based our ride on the Eurovelo 15 route, but this is better for mountain bikes, whereas ours diverts where the designated surfaces do not suit road or touring bikes, which is surprisingly often. This, together with our research and reconnaisance trips finding out many details omitted from guide books, results in a tour ideal for all capabilities and a great experience of Europe's foremost waterway and all of the culture and history that comes with it.

Highlights include:

Swiss mountains
Vineyards in Switzerland, Germany and France
Wonderful cities of Basel, Strasbourg and Cologne
Germanic coffee and cake shops
Cologne Cathedral
Lake Constance
The Rhine Falls
Rhine Gorge
Picturesque castles
Friendly and welcoming locals
Arnhem
The windmills of Holland
The beach at the Hook of Holland

Your Next Adventure Awaits

What you need to know...

Start Location
Andermatt, Switzerland

Finish Location
Hook of Holland, The Netherlands

Country/Region
Europe multi country

Grading
Moderate

Shortest Day
45 miles / 72 km

Longest Day
85 miles / 136 km

Total Days
14

Total Miles
851 miles

Departure Dates & Prices

Month	Dates	Tour Price	Single Supplement*	Bike Hire From	Enquire	Book
August 2026	9th to 22nd August 2026	9/8/26 to 22/8/26	£3,095	£895		Check Availability	Book Now

*A single supplement is only payable if you would like a guaranteed room to yourself. If you are happy to share with another traveller of the same gender, no supplement is payable.

Day 1

We meet you at 0930 in Andermatt from where you can ride the 7 miles to the top of the Oberalp pass or take the funicular railway (not included) which offers superb views - if you opt for the railway we will transport your bikes to save you getting a bike ticket for the short journey. After the obligatory photographs the switchback descent starts before the road levels out a little with longer straighter sections. There are many pretty villages and most of the descent of the whole trip is done today! That said there are some shorter slight inclines of only a couple of percent. It's quite a long day today and we stay in a lovely alpine village and enjoy a meal with superb views, close to where the Heidi stories were set. 65 miles / 104km. (Breakfast, dinner included).

Day 2

Today you will visit three (or four if you like) countries as we ride from Switzerland to Austria (visiting Lichtenstein if desired) and on to Germany. Starting in the Swiss vineyards you soon join a wonderful tarmac cycle track beside the river where you will make good time. Lunch options are in Breganz or Lindau - both have their merits and noth lie on Lake Constance (the Bodensee in German). Continuing along the north shore, we stay in a wonderful old walled town with its impressive schloss and promenades along the lake from which to view the sunset. A long day but easy cycling - even long very slightly downhill sections - compensate for this. 86 miles / 137km. (Breakfast, dinner included).

Day 3

From our hotel we start with a ferry across the lake to Konstanz from where the km markers that you will see for the rest of the route are measured. There are pleny of pretty villages along the route and Schaffhausen is a favourite, with a wide range of options for lunch before visiting the Rhine Falls, Europe's largest waterfalls (by volume of water). There is then a shorter afternoon to our hotel. 66 miles / 105km. (Breakfast, dinner included).

Day 4

A short day today to near Basel, a city worth exploring with its wealth of history and architecture, its prosperous origins due to being the furthest navigable port on the river. 52 miles / 83km. (Breakfast included)

Day 5

A leisurely start today gives time to enjoy a long breakfast and perhaps visit a bike shop or local sights, before departing for France. We ride to the west of the river between it and the Vosges mountains and through some of the wonderful and famous vineyards. A lovely hotel awaits in an old walled town for which the region is famous, and those needing to work up an appetite can always ride up to the mountains and the nearest col or two! 55 miles / 88km. (Breakfast, dinner included).

Day 6

Strasbourg is our destination today and is another city which merits time to explore, hence the shorter day. The 'Petite France' district and famous covered bridge are touristy at peak times but very pretty and we recommend taking your camera! 45 miles / 72km. (Breakfast included).

Day 7

From Strasbourg cycle lanes get you out of the city safely and soon you are back in the green corrridor aside the river. There is one very gravelly section where it may be better to walk (less than a mile) or go very carefully (we were ok on 28s) but other than that, the surfaces are great, as everywhere. The river is close at hand and you will notice the increase in barge traffic and cruise boats. Our destination is a pretty town originally built around a military garrison with a comfortable and friendly family run hotel of the type we like. 72 miles / 115km. (Breakfast included).

Day 8

History is on the agenda today as we ride via Speyer and Worms, two towns which had great effects on the religious history of Europe several hundred years ago. Today it is possible to appreciate this but also just to admire their unspoilt natures. As the day's ride ends you will notice the banks of the river rising up as we approach the southern end of the famous Rhine Gorge, and we stay in a famous wine village (again!) where the alternative is another excellent local beer - something at which Germany excels! 70 miles / 112km. (Breakfast, dinner included).

Day 9

You will pass the famous landmarks used in many an advertisment for the Rhine region today as you ride through the famous Gorge, with castles dominating the hilltops to protect the valuable trade routes. It's certainly a day you will remember, with a hotel on the banks this evening and with luck dinner outside, admiring the view. 68 miles / 108km. (Breakfast, dinner included).

Day 10

After a short ride the Moselle enters the Rhine and it broadens. Once again, the route mainly borders the river the whole way and there is plenty to admire, from castles near Bonn to cake shops! The highlight comes at the end as the magnificent Cologne Cathedral hoves into sight, a survivor of destruction of the Second World War as St Paul's was, and well worth a visit. 69 miles / 110km. (Breakfast included).

Day 11

Your last day in Germany and a last chance for the excellent beer or schnitzel! The route takes you through the old part of Dusseldorf and then past some of the old Palatinate towns on its way to the Ruhr. Our hotel sits apart from the built up areas in a quiet location with a nice garden in which to enjoy dinner. 58 miles / 93km. (Breakfast, dinner included).

Day 12

Keeping west of the river the most built up areas of the Ruhr are avoided. There are some great cycle tracks and towards the end of the day you enter the Netherlands and ride along the dyke, entering Arnhem via the famous bridge. Arnhem is a great town with some lovely hidden streets and nice shops and coffee houses, bordering as it does one of the arms of the river which has now splintered into several parts as it approaches the sea. 65 miles / 104km. (Breakfast included).

Day 13

A delightful ride using Holland's wonderful cycling infrastructure. Not only will you see the famous line of windmills near Rotterdam but you will also ride through one just before! Rotterdam, whilst a major city and trading post, has undergone massive regeneration in recent times and you willhave time to enjoy one of the fashionable bars or cafes on the river bank. 65 miles / 110km. (Breakfast and dinner included).

Day 14

It's always a bittersweet moment finishing a journey like this but you will have seen and experienced so much that we have no hesitation in describing this as a real journey, one you will remember for a lifetime. The vans will be waiting at the terminal to hand over your luggage for the ferry (not included). 35 miles / 55km. (Breakfast included).

Day 15

The ferry arrives at about 0630 depending on tide / day of the week (for info only - ferry not included).

Beautiful German walled towns abound

Beautiful Speyer

Castles everywhere defending the important waterway

Characterful hotels on our Rhine itinerary

Colourful 'Petite France' on Strasbourg

Evening view

Fantastic surfaces as the route passes Lichtenstein

Friendly and welcoming places to stop abound along the whole route

German cake and coffee shops - a great feature of the route!

Heidi's house in the Swiss mountains

Just beyond Konstanz, where the kilometre markers are measured from.

Kilometre markers are found every km from Konstanz to the Hook.

Koln (Cologne) cathedral, thankfully survived the second war.

Modern history at the Remagen bridge

Near Bonn, large schlosses.

Pretty swiss chapel near the start of Eurovelo 15

Pretty villages in southern Germany

Pretty walled town near Duisberg

Storks are an ever present feature of the Rhine route

Strasbourg's fine historic centre

Sunset on Lake Constance

Swiss mountains near the source of the Rhine

The confluence of the Rhine (left) and Moselle (right) in Koblenz

The end of the road at the Hook of Holland

The famous bridge at Arnhem

The first proper view of the infant Rhine.

The justifiably famous picturesque Rhine gorge

The Rhine falls

The Rhine gorge

The Rhine near Worms

The top of Oberalp pass near Andermatt, official start of the Rhine cycle way.

There are many fine vineyards along the route with wines to sample

Vineyards and monastery

Vineyards are a feature of the route - here in Switzerland

You will also cycle in Austria early on!

Travel Information

Andermatt is easily reached using the excellent Swiss rail system. You can either go from London on the Eurostar via Paris and then Basel or Zurich, or fly to Basel or Zurich and pick up the train there. You will need a ticket for your bike, lasting the whole day and valid on the whole Swiss rail system, as well as for you. For the return the ferry from the Hook of Holland to Harwich is very straightforward and comfortable, with good connections to Liverpool Street Station in London from Harwich International Station which is on the quayside.

Click here for our Travel Information page.