I've done a lot of hiking and some biking but have not in a long long time done any camping. The luxury of flashing a credit card and having comfort and good food at the end of a day wherein I have not had to carry 20 kg has ruined me for the kind of bike touring it seems most people do. Hats off to you but it's not for me.
I want to do a tour from the Baltic coast of Poland to Budapest. I have not thought about specific points of interest or routes to follow. I see from Open Streets that there are relatively few cycle paths in eastern Poland but I also have read that the roads are often not heavily trafficked and that there is less tourism in general. So the absence of marked paths might not be limiting.
I've been around western Europe enough to have the sense that I will find a hotel or some sort of food and shelter in almost every town and that towns are frequent. In general every day can be organized to be somewhere accomodating. 25 km on touristed routes. 50 on less popular routes. In general.
The question I have for anyone with experience of the area is; how well the infrustucture developed in eastern Europe? What are the chances of finding a place to stay in Poland, particularly eastern Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary within a day ride distance? I figure a day ride in Europe to be 50 to 70 km.
Hi Wayne,
For the past couple decades I've winged it, i.e.... not making reservations, while traveling through Central Europe. Out of 70+ nights, there was only one time where I didn't find a place. This was in the Czech Republic, real rural, but there was a music festival and all the places were booked up. Normally it shouldn't have been a problem because I was rejected in 4 places in 25 km. Ended up "sleeping" in an algae lined alcove along an ancient church. Actually found a place earlier, but they wanted twice the rate and it was over 30c and the windows didn't open, so I took my chances. Not too bad, the sun rises early in this part of Europe.
For Eastern Poland there is a bike route, http://greenvelo.pl/en. I've been on parts of it, reviews are good. It starts from the Baltic and runs down to the southern border. On the Baltic itself, it can be a challenge to find a place in season for one night, doable however. Poles have rediscovered their Slavic Riviera since Egypt, Tunisia and other favorite hot spots got, well, too hot.
In the places section you will see accommodations. It's a mixed bag of agro-tourism, B&B's and hotels. It looks like a simple task to find something. However, I would recommend calling ahead as it is the season. I like agro-tourism, it's cheap and even if it's bad at times, you're only there for 10 hours. I highly recommend getting a youth hostel card. Many schools are open as hostels during the summer, and this could be your last ditch option.
For the most part, there are plenty of towns and cities with accommodations.
Myself, I would risk riding from the Baltic to Budapest on a credit card tour. The major difference from Western Europe is the population density, where you do have more choices at the end of the day.
If you need any advice about Poland, drop me a line.
Robert Mink
Jary Poland via Spokane USA