AmaWaterways River Cruises Partners with Backroads for Bike Tours in Europe

AmaWaterways will offer 20 bike tours in Europe beginning on the Danube in 2015.

One of my favorite things to do when I’m on a river cruise in Europe is to join the ship’s guided bike tour. For the past few years, the only river cruise line to have and maintain a couple of dozen bikes onboard their river ships was AmaWaterways. Europe was meant for beautiful bike rides and the abundance of well-maintained bike paths prove it.

I was very excited to learn that AmaWaterways, an upscale river cruise line, announced a partnership with Backroads, a well-established active adventure travel company. It’s the best of both worlds.

When and where.

This new partnership will begin in Spring 2015. AmaWaterways will begin the new program with 20 Danube River cruise and bike tours between Prague, Czech Republic and Budapest, Hungary. The cruise portion will run between Nuremberg and Budapest, with the actual itinerary beginning or ending in Prague or Budapest. In 2016, AmaWaterways and Backroads will expand throughout Europe and into Asia.

“Backroads is a leader and innovator in the active travel market, so they are a natural fit for us, as we are so focused on finding new, unique ways to enhance the luxury river cruise experience,” said Kristin Karst, Executive Vice President and Co-Owner of AmaWaterways.

Bike equipment and support.

Every Backroads tour will feature the same high quality experience that’s offered on all Backroads trips including multiple expert trip leaders, custom titanium bikes and even support vans. I’m happy to learn that they will also offer flexible itineraries with a range of cycling routes ideal for all abilities. I love bike tours in Europe but I also like to stop and smell the roses along the way. It’s not a Tour de France for me. I’ve learned it’s okay to be the caboose. Having specialized routes for different biking abilities is a great idea.

In 2016, AmaWaterways and Backroads will introduce a number of new tours along the Rhine, Rhone, Seine, Portugal’s Douro River, Garonne and Mekong rivers.

With 14 river ships cruising the rivers of Europe and two more river ships slated to launch next year, AmaWaterways is planning their growth slowly in Europe and continues global expansion to Vietnam and Cambodia, Africa and Myannmar (Burma).

I’ve never experienced a Backroads adventure, whether on a bike, walking or hiking. This new alliance between AmaWaterways and Backroads opens up river cruising to more than just retired folks. To me, there’s nothing like a river cruise. Adding guided walks, hikes and bike tours in Europe with a company like Backroads is a win-win for everyone.

For more info, contact AmaWaterways at (800) 626-0126 and Backroads at 1-800-462-2848.