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
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Villach
Individual arrival at your hotel in Villach.
- Accommodation: Hotel Mosser or similar in Villach
Day 2: Villach – Lake Millstatt – Seeboden | 48km
In the morning, cycle towards Lake Millstatt, which is completely surrounded by a cycle path. Take in the lakeside views, then continue towards the northern shore and 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: 48km
- Accommodation: Gasthof Postwirt or similar in Seeboden
Day 3: Seeboden – Weissensee – Freistritz an der Drau/Spittal an der Drau | 70km
Cycle from Lake Millstatt, through the Drau Valley. On reaching Greifenburg, begin the uphill cycle or take the transfer (included) to Lake Weissensee, followed by the ferry (included). After arriving, cycle on to your destination for the day in the Drau Valley.
- Cycling distance for the day: 70km
- Accommodation: Stadt Hotel Ertl or similar in Drau Valley
Day 4: Freistritz an der Drau/Spittal an der Drau – Faaker See | 45km
From the Drau Valley, cycle south, passing typical Carinthian villages, and Villach, towards Lake Faaker See. On arrival, cool off with a refreshing swim in the turquoise waters of the lake.
- Cycling distance for the day: 45km
- Accommodation: Strand Hotel Faak or similar in Faaker See
Day 5: Faakersee – Wörthersee – Klagenfurt | 45km
In the morning, cycle a short distance along the Drau River towards Lake Wörthersee. Before Velden am Wörthersee, branch off into the Keutschacher Seental valley, which runs parallel to Lake Wörthersee and is dotted with several small lakes. Continue till Klagenfurt, known for its Renaissance buildings, Museum of Modern Art, Carinithia Museum and Stadtpfarrturm tower.
- Cycling distance for the day: 45km
- Accommodation: Der Sandwirth or similar in Klangenfurt
Day 6: Klagenfurt – Ossichaer See – Villach | 50km
From Klagenfurt, cycle north towards Feldkirchen, passing Lake Ossiach, Carinthia‘s third largest lake. Take in the views of the surrounding mountains, bathing resorts and Ossiach Abbey, before returning to Villach, the final destination of your cycle tour.
- Cycling distance for the day: 50km
- Accommodation: Hotel Mosser or similar in Villach
Day 7: 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. Please note that, in Austria, it is common practice for hotels and other accommodations to join twin beds together to make a double, with separate linen for each person. If you prefer to opt for twin beds, we will happily request this at time of booking, however they can’t always be guaranteed.
Click here to view default hotels
- Hotel Mosser (Villach)
- Gasthof Postwirt (Seeboden)
- Stadt Hotel Ertl (Drau Valley)
- Strand Hotel Faak (Faaker See)
- Der Sandwirth (Klagenfurt)
*Accommodation is subject to availability. In case a particular hotel or accommodation is fully booked for your desired dates, we will replace it with an accommodation 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 sometimes 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
This trip is available from May to end of September. The flexibility of self-guided holidays means there are no fixed dates, meaning you can start your trip on any date during the season. For more information on travelling in Austria, please visit our blog Best time to go to Austria.
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
- Six nights accommodation
- Video briefing
- Luggage transfer from hotel to hotel (one piece per person, max 20kg)
- Transfers listed as included in the itinerary
- 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
- eSIM data for international travel (get an eSIM)
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
- We regret that this tour is not open to 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.
