Prague to Vienna Greenways trail

jks

Am interested in cycling the greenways trail next year and would be grateful for any information re. where to get maps, places to stay, good place to hire bikes - whether we can hire bike in prague and drop it off in vienna or would we need to change bikes when get to border of Czech Republic. Any help would be much appreciated. I know that there are alot of tours but we want to go it alone - the tours seem to be very expensive. Thanks

knedlicky

Maps:

You should be able to get info about the Prague-Vienna 'Greenway' route from the Czech Information Centre:
Address: Èeská Centrála Cestovniho Ruchu (CCCR), Staromestské nám. 6, CZ-110 15 PRAHA 1, Czech Republic.
I think there is a several-part Greenway guide available, with topographical route maps, but I don't know if it's available in English. Same goes for more general brochures about cycling the Czech Republic.

There is a Czech-language website for the 'Greenway', and one section of the website shows the route:
http://www.prahawien.greenways.info/maps.htm
If you click on a map section to enlarge it then want to return to the overview, click on 'Úvodní mapa' in the top right of the webpage.

Detailed cycling maps ('Cycloturisticka Mapa') at scales of 1:60,000 and 1:75,000 are available from the map company 'SHOCart Verlag Zlin/Velka'. Although you can order them online, you should be able to get them in Prague from a decent book-map shop, when you arrive there.

To assess in advance which maps you'd like, have a look at the company's webpage showing an overview map of their cycling maps.
http://www.shocart.cz/e-shop/select.php?edice_klad=6
The list beneath shows the available cycling maps at 1:60,000 (an underlined location means there is one at that scale). So also click on the option 'ČR 1:75 000, cyklo' to see the list of cycling maps at 1:75,000.

Accommodation:

Outside of Prague, you don't usually have problems finding accommodation, especially if you mainly choose pub-hotels in small towns. Occasionally you find private houses offering B&B too. Youth hostels are also a possibility and may bring pleasant surprises, e.g. the one at Marienbad used to be individual bungalows in the grounds of the famous palace there (don't know if it still is). Camping grounds also sometimes have bungalows if you're without a tent.

At the Czech-language 'Greenway' website above, on the overview page, if you click on 'Infocentra' you get a list of towns which the route takes you by, each listed with its own tourist office website address. The websites for many towns also have an English version, so you can then directly look for accommodation and at the linked websites for hotels in the town.

Look out for the sign "Cyclisté vítáni" displayed outside places with accommodation, or on their websites. It means 'Cyclists welcome' and should mean that they are friendly to cyclists, accept one-night stays with no problems, provide protected bicycle parking and drying possibilities for wet clothing, and have available bicycle tools and workroom for use. They often also offer cyclist-appropriate evening meals and breakfast, and sometimes packed lunches and bike hire.

To be able to display the "Cyclisté vítáni" sign, a place is supposed to have been assessed as part of a national scheme for cyclists' accommodation (like they already have in Germany, Denmark and Belgium), so if you contact the Czech Information Centre, you might ask them if they have a publication available which lists all the cyclist-friendly accommodation. I think such publications do exist in Germany, Denmark and Belgium at low cost.

jks

thanks so much for posting the information - looks really promising and helpful.