Itinerary

Day 1: Gather in St. Petersburg, Transfer to Peterhof, Russia
Highlights: Bike fitting and welcome dinner
Most of us will meet in St. Petersburg a few days early to be tourists and see this wonderful city built by Italian architects beginning in the early 18th century. Our biking expedition starts today with an afternoon shuttle to Peterhof, a place known as the 'Russian Versailles.' Once we've settled into our hotel, we will fit bikes and have dinner together tonight.
Day 2: A day of cycling in rural Russia
Highlights: Kingisepp
We'll pedal from Peterhof to Kingisepp. This is a small town located on the Luga River west of St. Petersburg. Distance: 124 km (77 miles).
Day 3: Leave for Saka, Estonia
Highlights: Welcome to Estonia
We pedal today to Saka, Estonia. Our hotel tonight is west of Sillamae, a fascinating, planned Soviet industrial town. Distance: 79 km (49 miles).
Day 4: Pedal to Palmse in Lahemaa National Park
Highlights: Lahemaa National Park.
We parallel the E20 European highway today. We may have to ride it for brief portions as we wind our way to our destination this evening. Our hotel tonight is located in Lahemaa National Park. Distance: 103 km (70 miles).
Day 5: Pedal Palmse to Tallinn through Estonia's Lahemaa national park
Highlights: Beautiful riding, Tallinn
We'll depart early today so we can take time to enjoy our ride and the views of this spectacular natural area. This evening we are in Tallinn, the capitol of Estonia. Estimated distance: 92 km (57 miles).
Day 6: Tallinn layover day
Highlights: Explore Tallinn
We'll have all day to explore Tallinn. We begin with a brief orientation walk together to explore the city; then you are on your own to relax and enjoy this wonderful "Hansa" town. Tallinn's old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Day 7: Bicycle Tallinn to Local Farm
Highlights: Ride into Rural Estonia
Although we aren't here during the summer solstice, we still have Since we're north of 59 degrees north latitude the sun doesn't set on the solstice until almost 11 p.m.! We head south to stay at a farmhouse restored to a guest house. it's an easier day today so we have some time in the morning to explore more of Tallinn: 75 km (50 miles).
Day 8: Pedal to Parnu
Highlights: Back to the Coast of Estonia
We keep heading South today towards Parnu, a nice coastal resort and spa town of Parnu. Since 1996, Parnu is considered Estonia's Summer Capital so enjoy the bustling life of town this evening! Mileage: 75 kms (50 miles)
Day 9: Ride from Parnu to Tuja, Latvia
Highlights: Gulf of Riga
We pedal south along the Gulf of Riga, a great glacial depression left over from the continental glacier to Tuja/Limbazi today. 120 km (75 miles)
Day 10: Ride to Riga, Latvia
Highlights: Bicycle to Riga
We wind through glacial hillocks and ponds to Riga today. 90 km (56 miles)
Day 11: Layover day in Riga
Highlights: Rest day in Riga
Take 36 hours in Riga today. Riga is a world treasure on the UNESCO World Heritage list. We begin our layover with an orientation walk to familiarize ourselves with this important town. One of the main centers of the Hanseatic League in the 13th century Riga burned more than once over the centuries and now sports the finest collection of art nouveau architecture in Europe.
Day 12: Pedal Riga to Birzai
Highlights:
We'll have a chance to see the second famous palace in northern Europe built by Italian architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, in the 18th century. Rastrelli's finest work is the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, now the world famous Hermitage Museum. Rastrelli's second masterpiece is in Rundale, south of Riga. We sleep in nearby Birzai. Estimated mileage: 110 km (68 miles)
Day 13: Birzai to Anyksciai
Highlights:
We continue amid glaciated terrain to the edge of the Lithuanian wetlands and a series of regional parks. Anyksciai is home to one of the largest glacial erratics in the Baltics. Estimated mileage: 120 km (75 miles)
Day 14: Bicycle to Trakai, Lithuania
Highlights: Trakai
Our goal today is to navigate around Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and to head on to Trakai, one of the most important historic sites in the country. We'll stay two days here so you will have time to explore this combination historic center and national park. Trakai is where the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was centered, around the Trakai castle, beginning in the 13th century. Distance: 140 km (87 miles)
Day 15: Visit Vilnius
Highlights: Guided tour of Vilnius
We'll take an excursion into Vilnius today to visit the third Baltic capital. Vilnius is not as rich or well preserved as Riga or Tallinn but it is a fascinating historic capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for five centuries from 1200 until the late 1700s. Estimated mileage: Today is a rest day.
Day 16: Vilnius to Alytus
Highlights: Ride in Rural Lithuania
We pedal southwest today through a continuing series of national and regional parks and wetlands to the town of Alytus. Our hotel is beyond Alytus along the banks of the Nemuna River. Estimated distance: 95 km (59 miles)
Day 17: Alytus, Lithuania to Augustow, Poland
Highlights: Biebrzański National Park
Like the Baltic Republics, Poland is full of lakes and wetlands left from the great Continental Glacier. The area we pedal today continues to be a great area of regional and national parks. We are in Augustow tonight, a center for river kayaking in Poland. Estimated mileage: 100 km (62 miles)
Day 18: Augustow to Bialystok
Highlights: Bialystock
We pass through Biebrza National Park today, Poland's largest. It stretches along the Biebrza River and is the focal point of the largest marshland in Central Europe, yet more evidence of the North European Plain's Continental Glacier. The park is a Mecca for wildlife, birdwatchers, and nature lovers.
Day 19: Bicycling in Poland
Highlights: Bialystok to Siemiatycze
We travel through the heart of the "Podlaska" today, the borderlands between Poland and Belarus. This is one of the largest remaining forested regions of Europe. It is also culturally diverse, having been a cultural boundary between Central Europe and the steppe lands of Russia and Belarus for centuries. Estimated mileage: 120 km (75 miles)
Day 20: Siemiatycze to Radzyn Podlaski
Highlights:
We continue through the southern part of the Podlaska today, across the Bug River and on to Radzyn. Estimated mileage: 96 km (60 miles)
Day 21: Radzyn to Lublin
Highlights: Rural Poland Cycling
We continue through wetlands, forests and farmland to the town historic town of Lublin with its well preserved city center. Estimated mileage: 100 km (62 miles)
Day 22: Rest day in Lublin
Highlights:
Enjoy a rest day today as we relax and take it easy in this bustling and enchanting city.
Day 23: Lublin to Zamosc
Highlights: UNESCO World Heritage site Zamosc
We'll head straight on the Zamosc today so we can spend as much time as possible in this unique town. On the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1992, Zamosc is a perfectly designed 16th century Italian Renaissance town. We'll have time for an orientation walk early this evening as we begin our 36 hours in Zamosc. Estimated mileage: 90 km (56 miles)
Day 24: Zamosc to Lancut
Highlights: Small farm towns, Krakow
We ride across the remaining part of the North European Plain today and finish in Polish Galicia, near the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Lancut is famous for its 17th century Italianate castle which metamorphosed over the centuries. It survives now with a neo-baroque façade. Estimated mileage: 130 km (81 miles)
Day 25: Lancut to Dukla
Highlights:
Our ride today takes us through the foothills of the Carpathians to the town of Dukla, also the name of the pass we will go over tomorrow into Slovakia. Estimated distance: 90 km (56 miles)
Day 26: Dukla, Poland to Humenne, Slovakia
Highlights:
As we climb up to the 500 meter summit of our pass (the lowest pass in the Carpathians) we enter "wooden church" country. We'll be in Slovak "Ruthenia", part of the borderlands of Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Ukraine. The Ruthenians enjoy a distinct culture and once built elaborate wooden churches. We'll pass several on our ride today. Humenne has a skansen (from the Swedish word referring to an outdoor museum) with several wooden houses and a wooden church. Estimated mileage: 90 km (56 miles)
Day 27: Humenne to Sarospatak
Highlights:
We've crossed Slovakia at its narrowest point and will enter Hungary today. Sarospatak is a part of the Landscape of the Tokaj World Heritage wine region recognized by UNESCO. Sarospatak is renowned throughout Hungary for its Calvinist college and Renaissance castle, one of the finest in Hungary. The Tokaj hills define the northern limits of the Pannonian Plain. This plain has formed the heartland of Hungary from the time the ancestors of the present population galloped out of the Asian steppe lands. The Pannonian plain is a rich agricultural region formed from wind-born sediments which blew south as the great continental glacier melted, leaving fine dust to blow. Called "loess," similar deposits, sometimes tens of feet thick also cover parts of France. Estimated mileage: 110 km (68 miles)
Day 28: Sarospatak to Nyjrbator
Highlights:
Our ride today takes us through the vineyard landscapes of the Tokaj region, through the town of Tokaj and then east across the Tisza River into one of the least traveled parts of Hungary. We are in the small town of Nyjrbator this evening. Estimated mileage: 120 km (75 miles)
Day 29: Nyjrbator to Baia Mare, Romania
Highlights:
We've a long ride scheduled today as we cross the border into Romania. We will leave the Pannonian plain as we cross into the wooded hills north of Transylvania today. We may extend the trip to make tomorrow's rest day more pleasant if necessary Estimated mileage: 135 - 170 km (84 miles)
Day 30: Rest day in Baia Mare
Highlights: Visit the Maramures region
While Baia Mare has plenty of things to see, we'll take an excursion by van this morning to visit several of the world famous wooden churches in the region of Maramures. Baia Mare is the capital of the region and its rural churches are listed as marvels of wooden architecture on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Day 31: Baia Mare to Cluj Napoca
Highlights:
We are well into the heart of Transylvania today, headed to the pre-Roman town of Cluj-Napoca. First settled by the original Dacians who came from Thrace in Greece, the Romans occupied it by the second century AD. Today it remains on the historic cultural and linguistic boundary between Romanian and Hungarian speakers even though it is in the heart of Romanian Transylvania. Estimated mileage: 147 km (91 miles)
Day 32: Cluj Napoca to Targu Mures
Highlights:
We wind our way amid the foothills of the Transylvanian Alps today to the important university town of Targu Mures. The city plays host to one of the finest 20th century Orthodox Cathedrals in Romania. Estimated mileage: 115 km (71 miles)
Day 33: Targu Mures to Sighisoara
Highlights:
We've scheduled a particularly short day today after two long days to provide a half day rest in one of the most beautifully preserved and enchanting Medieval towns in all Transylvania. We'll take an orientation walk together in Sighisoara this afternoon. The town holds a well-deserved place on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Estimated mileage: 72 km (31 miles)
Day 34: Sighisoara to Victoria
Highlights:
We're in the mountains again today, heading to the base of our next major mountain chain, the Transylvanian Alps. This particular range that we are preparing to cross tomorrow are known as the Fagaras Mountains. Estimated mileage: 109 km (65 miles)
Day 35: Romania's High Mountains
Highlights:
We take, perhaps, our most spectacular ride today over Romania's highest mountain pass. At 2034 meters (6673 ft.) this is the highest point on our entire ride from St. Petersburg to Istanbul. The total climb today is just over 1600 meters (5250 feet). After the summit we follow the Argesul River down hill to our destination tonight! (883 ft.) Estimated mileage: 126 km (87 miles)
Day 36: Bucharest
Highlights:
We continue downhill today following rivers and over rolling hills to Bucharest, the capital of Romania. We'll try to get in early enough in the evening to take an orientation tour of the city before dinner. Estimated mileage: 145 km (75 miles)
Day 37: Bucharest morning layover; Depart this afternoon for Ruse, Bulgaria
Highlights:
We have roughly 500 km to go on our ride to Istanbul so to make the next few days a little easier we're going to head out of Bucharest during lunch time both to avoid traffic and to get a jump start on our ride across Bulgaria. We cross the Danube into Bulgaria and the town of Ruse this afternoon. Estimated mileage: 90 km (55 miles)
Day 38: Veliko Tornovo
Highlights:
We pedal to Veliko Tarnovo today, one of Bulgaria's oldest cities and capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire in the 12th and 13th centuries, between the Byzantine domination and that of the Ottoman Turks. Near the town of Dryanovo you may want to stop and visit the historic, Dryanovo Monastery. Rebuilt several times over the centuries, the monastery is still occupied. Old Town Veliko Tarnovo is enchanting and together with the surrounding area, gathers some of the most important historic buildings and monasteries in Bulgaria. We'll be here two nights. Distance: 110 km (57 miles)
Day 39: Rest day in Veliko Tornovo
Highlights:
We'll enjoy a Rest day today in Veliko Tornovo. The town itself was a spiritual center during the Second Bulgarian Empire and remains a center of historic monasteries in Bulgaria. On the banks of the Yantra River, Veliko Tarnovo has the largest collection of historic buildings of any city in Bulgaria.
Day 40: Jambol, Bulgaria
Highlights:
We have another long day today as we head east and south towards Jambol. It is another long day so pace yourself as we go over the mountains towards Turkey! Estimated distance: 140 km (85 miles)
Day 41: Enter Turkey
Highlights: Bicycle to Edirne
Edirne was the second capital of the Ottoman Empire, before Istanbul eclipsed it. Distance: 140 km (85 miles)
Day 42: Rest day in Edirne
Highlights:
This is a rest day in Edirne. Enjoy the warmth and hospitality of the Turkish people as you get to know this fascinating city. We'll take a group walk this morning to explore some of the architectural works of Sinan, the architect of Suleiman the Magnificent.
Day 43: Pedal from Edirne to Vize or Saray
Highlights:
We continue through Turkish Thrace, the ancient Greek region, toward Istanbul. We'll be in Vize or Saray this evening. Distance: 138 km (86 miles)
Day 44: Pedal from Saray to Kumkoy
Highlights:
Our last full-day's ride takes us to Kumkoy on the coast north of Istanbul. We overlook the Black Sea and the Bosphoros this evening. Distance: 132 km (82 miles)
Day 45: Boat ride into Istanbul
Highlights: Bicycle into Istanbul
We'll have a short ride to our ferry this morning. We'll be in the heart of Istanbul by early afternoon where we can take a short orientation walk together. We have a final dinner this evening to celebrate the completion of our great adventure.
Day 46: Tour ends in Istanbul
Highlights:
Our trip ends this morning. Join us, if you have the time, for our Istanbul extension - a chance to explore this fascinating city for two more days!

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