Road Bike Tour Austria: Active Holiday with a Campervan!

A road bike tour through Austria! Are you looking for a destination for a sporting challenge? Austria's diverse landscape offers ideal conditions for road bike tours of all difficulty levels. Here you'll find routes over high mountains with breathtaking scenery, through romantic valleys, and along flat roads next to emerald green lakes. Let our road trip through Austria inspire you and get helpful tips for your next camping trip!

Road Bike Tour Austria: Contents

What is a road bike tour?
Best time for a road bike tour?
What should I bring?
Which campervan is suitable?
How do I mount or store the bike?
Our itinerary: Road Bike Tour Austria
Conclusion: Road Bike Tour

What is a road bike tour?

In our case, a road bike tour is a round trip with a campervan, primarily focused on diverse road bike routes. However, we also included active rest days at swimming pools or thermal spas to allow the body to truly recover.

Best time for a road bike tour?

Summer, sun, sunburn. Just kidding. Of course, it can get very hot on the asphalt in the summer months. But some mountain passes can only be ridden by road bike in mid-summer.

Plan your road trip so you can actually ride your planned road bike tours. If possible, you can also plan your camping trip in spring or early autumn. This means there will be much less traffic on the roads, and sometimes campsites are cheaper than in peak season. Here you can find our blog about the advantages of the off-season.

What should I bring?

Standard Set

Depending heavily on how long your road bike tours are planned, the following items should be with you on your trip: a suitable helmet, comfortable shoes, cycling glasses, gloves, plenty of fluids, snacks for in-between, appropriate clothing, a pump, chain oil, a toolbox with the most important equipment, and of course, eye-catching socks.

Emergency Kit

The emergency kit for longer tours consists of a first-aid kit, spare tubes, a multi-tool, a mini-pump or a CO2 cartridge, and fruit or muesli bars for blood sugar.

Navigation

Not the most important, but these tools saved us from many wrong turns on our road trip: GPS navigation on the handlebars is indispensable for me. This way, I can manage a few hours without my smartphone and still reach my destination safely.

Lighting

Again and again, we saw athletes without lights mounted. On many road bike tours, we rode through tunnels or returned late in the evening. Remember to mount a light on the front and back. See and be seen.

Which campervan is suitable?

There's no single "best" motorhome or campervan. But you can find the perfect campervan for you and your needs!

How many people are traveling?
What time of year are you traveling?
Do you want to be able to camp off-grid?

Your needs and your vision for your camping trip will determine the type of camper you need. In another blog, we go into more detail and help you make the right decision.

How do I mount or store the bike?

Store bikes inside the vehicle or on a bike rack? Is that even safe? Mounting bikes on the rack is child's play. Once you get the hang of it, it only takes a few minutes until all bikes are securely fastened. Even in an emergency stop, the bikes stay where they are.

A small tip would be not to place the bikes handlebar to handlebar. With some models, this doesn't work with the frame. The second tip rarely applies to lightweight road bikes, but the maximum load capacity of the bike rack must never be exceeded.

We generally do not recommend storing the bike inside the vehicle. Small scratches and dirt could lead to deductions from the deposit for rental vehicles.

Itinerary: Road Bike Tour Austria

Lake Millstatt
Lake Faak
Gamlitz
Waidhofen an der Ybbs
Lake Mondsee
Hallein
Kitzbühel
Gaicht Pass
Schoppernau
Nauders

Lake Millstatt

First stop, lake in sight! We started our journey in Carinthia at Lake Millstatt and immediately began our tour on the Nockalm Road. The round trip from the lake over the Nockalm Road and back again covers about 112 kilometers and 3,610 meters of elevation gain.

Lake Faak

The second stop in Carinthia is near Villach at Lake Faak. With 123 km and 1,850 meters of elevation gain, the route is classified as difficult. The route runs from Lake Faak to Lake Ossiach, then along the southern shore road of Lake Wörthersee, through the lake valley past the Keutschach Lakes back to Faak.

The second 128 km day tour took us through the Julian Alps. From Austria to Italy, then through Triglav National Park in Slovenia and back again. A very impressive tour!

Gamlitz

From the land of lakes to green Styria. Our third stop on the camping trip took us to Gamlitz. An ideal starting point for our next two tours: Karnerberg Loop and Weinstraßen Trophy.

The Karnerberg Loop was, with 59 kilometers and 510 meters of elevation gain, intended as a small break before we tackled the Weinstraßen Trophy. The tour through the Wine Road is an absolute insider tip and should definitely be on your list if you want to travel through Styria. After 76 kilometers and 1270 meters of elevation gain, we treated ourselves to a bottle of red wine at the end of the day.

Waidhofen an der Ybbs

City, country, river. Greetings, Waidhofen an der Ybbs! Our next moderately difficult road bike tour of 49.6 kilometers and 500 meters of elevation gain was quite easy to ride, yet we still needed a rest day at the Ybbstaler Solebad afterwards. Fresh, clean, and rested, we absolutely crushed the difficult Losensteinrunde with 78 kilometers and 1150 meters of elevation gain!

Lake Mondsee

Next stop, next region! We landed in Salzburg, but before we started the next tour, we took another day at the lake to recharge our batteries. From Lake Mondsee to Lake Fuschl, over Lake Wolfgangsee, and finally past Lake Attersee. The Weissenbachtal round trip, at 96.4 kilometers and 870 meters of elevation gain, is partly very demanding, but you are rewarded with fantastic views!

Hallein

On the next road bike tour, we wanted to gain some elevation. The circular route via Hallein, about 112 kilometers with 1680 meters of elevation gain, was exactly what we were looking for: panoramic roads meeting lake landscapes.

Kitzbühel

Griaß enk! Our camping trip continues in Kitzbühel, Tyrol. We took a wellness day at Stanglwirt before our next ride. The next road bike tour took us 127 kilometers and 1200 meters of elevation gain through the Kitzbühel Alps.

Gaicht Pass

The difficult 4 Passes Tour, at 199 kilometers with 3300 meters of elevation gain, requires very good fitness and is only recommended for experts. Before we rode the road bike tour, we camped for two days at Campingplatz Reutte. Here and there, you should schedule "bike-free days." Trust me, your body will enjoy walks through small villages.

Schoppernau

Our journey took us to Schoppernau. The next planned tour runs over the Bregenzerwald, then through the Lechtal to Allgäu. At 180 kilometers with 2860 meters of elevation gain, this difficult tour is only manageable with good fitness.

Nauders

Next and final stop on our camping trip before heading home. Nauders is ideally located for our last and most challenging road bike tour. The wild 3-Länder-Giro is only for hardened bikers! At 167 kilometers and 3770 meters of elevation gain, you shouldn't drop below an average speed of 17.2 km/h if you want to complete the tour in under 10 hours. If that's not for you – like me – you can simply accompany your partner via campervan and keep them happy with snacks. A little fun is a must!

Conclusion: Road Bike Tour Austria

There are many fantastic reasons to take a camping trip with your road bike in Austria. The diverse landscape offers ideal conditions for road bike tours of all difficulty levels, and there's no shortage of routes that offer not only scenic beauty but also sporting challenges. Whether you're looking for an easy round trip or an epic day tour, you'll find what you're looking for in Austria! We hope this article has inspired you for your next camping adventure!