Overview
This is a leisure bicycle tour taking you to the most beautiful lakes of Carinthia, without any sections with steep slopes or car trafficked paved roads. The stages are deliberately shorter, giving you more time to discover the magnificent landscape, and also take in the local cuisine and culture landmarks. The tour takes you from Villach, the cycling capital of Carinthia, to Lake Millstätter, Lake Weißensee, Lake Pressegger, Lake Faaker and via the valley Keutschacher Seental with its four lakes to the provincial capital of Klagenfurt. From there you pass by Lake Wörthersee, join the Drava/Drau cycle path back to Villach and finally around Lake Ossiacher. Passing by blue and turquoise lakes, accompanied by a beautiful landscape, the route will fascinate you with its variety.
- Stift Ossiach
- Klagenfurt
- The City of Villach
- Lake Wörthersee
- Lake Faaker See
Click to view map
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Villach
Individual arrival at your hotel in Villach.
- Accommodation: Mosser or similar
Day 2: Villach – Lake Millstatt round trip – Millstatt/Seeboden | 30km
In the morning you take the train to Lendorf near Spittal an der Drau, from where you cycle on secondary roads to Lake Millstatt, which is completely surrounded by a cycle path. You will discover the untouched south shore and enjoy breathtaking views of the lake in many places. Along the northern shore, you cycle to the capital of the region, Millstatt am See. Austrian emperors used to spend their holidays here, and many elegant villas from this era are still preserved.
- Cycling distance for the day: approx. 30km
- Accommodation: Villa Postillion am See or similar
Day 3: Millstatt/Seeboden – Weißensee – Hermagor/Pressegger See/Tröpolac | 30km
In the morning, a shuttle bus takes you up to lake Weißensee. Once on the top, you have time to enjoy the impressive natural surroundings of the lake and have a dip. Take a boat trip or a swim before making your way along the dreamy Gitschtal valley to the stage destination.
- Cycling distance for the day: approx. 30km
- Accommodation: Schloss Lerchenhof or similar
Day 4: Hermagor/Tröpolac/Pressegger See – Gailtal – Faaker See | 55-60km
The tour starts at the Gailtal cycle path, one of Carinthia‘s most scenic cycling routes. It leads through the Schütt nature reserve, formed by a landslide of the imposing Dobratsch mountain, and where the Gail River flows through wide gravel banks.
- Cycling distance for the day: approx. 55-60km
- Accommodation: Rosentaler Hof or similar
Day 5: Faakersee – Wörthersee – Klagenfurt | 40km
The day starts with a section along the Drau cycle path towards Lake Wörthersee. Before reaching Velden am Wörthersee you turn into the Kreutschacher Seental, which lies parallel to the Wörthersee and is characterised by several lakes along your route.
- Cycling distance for the day: approx. -40km
- Accommodation: Menüwirt or similar
Day 6: Wörthersee/ Klagenfurt – Lake Klopeiner See – Wörthersee/Klagenfurt | 50-65km
After breakfast, cycle to Lake Klopeinersee takes you directly from Klagenfurt to southern Carinthia and back along the same route. Follow the Drau cycle path until Tainach, the tours continues then via Stein im Jaunta to Lake Klopeiner See.
- Cycling distance for the day: approx. 50-65km
- Accommodation: Buchenhof or similar
Day 7: Klagenfurt – Villach | 40km
The first part of the stage will take you along the northern shore of Lake Wörthersee, then you will go back along the Drau cycle path and past the Lake Silbersee towards Villach
- Cycling distance for the day: approx. 40km
- Accommodation: Mosser or similar
Day 8: Departure
Individual departure or possibility to extend your stay.
What to expect
Accommodation
Accommodation is in 3 or 4-star hotels with en-suite facilities. We have carefully hand-picked all places and regularly monitor their quality. We always to choose accommodations that offer friendly service, clean and comfortable rooms and local flavour.
Click here to view default hotels
*Hotels are subject to availability. In case a particular hotel is fully booked for your desired dates, we will replace it with a hotel of equal value and quality level. We will provide exact accommodation details to you upon booking confirmation.
Meals
Breakfast is included. In towns, each hotel has its own restaurant where you can taste international or local meals, or try the other local restaurants. When no restaurant location is available on the route, lunches and snacks should either be bought from local shops, or packed lunch can be pre-ordered from your hotel the night before.
Difficulty and terrain
The tour goes mostly on designated bicycle routes, often directly along the lake-sides. The routes are mainly flat, in a few stages slightly hilly. The itinerary is also suitable for families with children aged 14 and over. Daily distances vary between 30km and 60km. You can also rent an e-bike with us, which makes the trip accessible to everyone (read more about difficulty grades). We provide individual information package upon arrival, including city guides, maps, programme and route description. We can also provide GPX files with all the tracks, which you can load on your smartphone app or GPS device. The road signage is good so navigating between the towns is quite easy.
When to go
The tour can depart on Saturdays between May and early September. Wednesday & Sunday departures are also possible in June, July and August.
The climate in the region is continental, cold and temperate. Depending on location and altitude, temperatures vary, but, in the May-September period, the daily averages are 15 – 25C. Spring and autumn are cooler with occasional rain. Rapid weather changes are possible during the day.
Getting there
Click to view travel options
By plane
Most convenient arrival and departure airports are the ones on Klagenfurt, Salzburg, Venice or Ljubljana. There are good train connections from all these cities to your starting point.
By train or bus
- By car: Villach is easily accessible through motorways A2, A10 or A11 (depending on the point of origin). Depending on the first hotel, unattended parking facilities are available, either directly at your hotel or nearby (for the first night). Reservation of the parking area/parking garage not possible in advance; payable on the spot.
- By train: There are good train connections to Villach, form more details check the timetables on www.oebb.at, www.trenitalia.com or use the Omio planner above.
Inclusions
Included
- 7 overnights with breakfast in inns, 3*** and 4**** hotels
- On the arrival day, our service team is available on site for questions and bike handover
- Video briefing
- Luggage transfer from hotel to hotel
- Train fare Villach – Lendorf near Spittal an der Drau; transfer to the Weissensee according to the program
- Transfer Millstatt – Weissensee
- Detailed documents (maps, route description, places to visit, important telephone numbers)
- Access to our Navigation App
- 24/7 phone assistance by our local office/representative
Excluded
- Airfare and connecting land transfers
- Lunches, dinners, drinks and snacks
- Travel insurance (required – get a quote online)
- Personal expenses
- Local tourist taxes and entry fees (payable on-site)
- Any items not explicitly listed as included
- Boat fare Weissensee
Options, extras and supplements
- If you’re travelling in a group, a supplement applies to group members who would like to have a room of their own
- This holiday is NOT available for solo travellers
- Extra nights in Villach
- Bike rental (standard trekking bike or e-Bike)
- Airport transfers (upon request)
Bike Rental
We can provide high-quality rental bikes and additional equipment if requested. These bikes have been specially designed for our bike tours. They are comfortable, safe and sturdy bikes and therefore perfect to undertake tours of several days duration.
Our standard rental bikes are 21- gears touring bikes. 7- gears touring bikes (unisex model) are also available if requested but only for some of our bike tours. The bikes and appending equipment (repair kit, pump, spare inner tube, wheel-lock, saddlebag,…) will be at your disposal in the arrival hotel. At the end of your bike tour, you simply leave the rental bike at the last hotel – we take care of the return.
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