Your Radweg inputs
What this solves
Most first-time Radweg riders either over-plan or under-plan. They book the Elberadweg for 7 days because the brochure says "Prague → Hamburg" — then discover the route is 1,300 km and 7 days means 185 km/day. They get to Magdeburg injured. Or they book the Moselradweg for 5 days and find they have done the whole thing in 3 and have 2 empty days to fill.
This tool sizes the trip to your real inputs: a 7-day trip with a touring pace and an e-bike covers 600 km, which is exactly the Mainradweg + the first half of the Mosel. The same trip without the e-bike covers 280 km, which is one country loop of the Bodensee-Königssee.
The route choice should come from fitness + days + luggage, not from which name sounds nicest on Instagram. The Bodensee-Königssee is the most beautiful but the most climbing-heavy; the Donau is gentle; the Ostsee is straight and flat; the Mosel has the best Straußwirtschaften.
How to read the result
- "Total km" = the lesser of your planned distance and the full route length. Going further than the route = repeat stages.
- "Real km/day" is the day-pace after fitness × luggage × e-bike uplift. Use this for the day plan, not the brochure.
- "E-bike uplift" shows how much of your day-pace comes from the electric motor. On Bodensee-Königssee the uplift is ~60%; on the flat Donau it is ~30%.
- "Pure cycling days" excludes travel. If your "Days available" includes 2 travel days, subtract them.
- "Surface mix" tells you asphalt vs packed earth vs cobble — Bodensee-Königssee has more cobble than the brochure implies.
Limitations
- Does not model wind direction. The Elberadweg has a tailwind from Czech to Hamburg 60% of the time, but a strong headwind can halve the day.
- Does not include bicycle-train ticket (DB Fahrradkarte €9/day). On a 7-day trip this is ~€63 vs €0 for the D-ticket (bike included).
- Speed pedelec (45 km/h) is illegal in many Radwege, despite the motor — check local signage.
- Camping adds 30–45 min/day for tent setup. The tool does not model it.
- For Bodensee-Königssee, the tool assumes touring-level fitness; below that, factor in more days.
FAQ
Is the D-ticket valid on the train section back?
The €49 Deutschlandticket covers you + your bicycle on most regional trains (RE, RB, IRE, S-Bahn). It does not cover ICE, IC or EC — and many major Radwege run parallel to ICE lines. The Donau + Rhine run mostly on D-ticket RB; the Elbe partly requires ICE if you skip stages.
Do I need an e-bike on Bodensee-Königssee?
No, but it helps. The route climbs 2,200 m net; without an e-bike, expect 50 km days with 800 m of climb. With an e-bike, 80–90 km days are realistic for touring fitness. ADFC rates it ★★★★ but the stars reflect scenery, not climb.
Where can I sleep on the Radweg?
Every Radweg has Bett+Bike (B&B) certified guesthouses within 15 km of every stage. Camping is legal in Bavaria only outside nature reserves; in Schleswig-Holstein it is allowed on Dünen-Natur. The Moselradweg and Donau have the densest B+B infrastructure; the Bodensee-Königssee is thinnest.
What is the ADFC Quality rating?
ADFC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club) certifies Radwege on a 1–5 star scale. ★★★ = solid tarmac, signed route, B+B every 20 km. ★★★★ = same + scenic bonus + well-marked variants. ★★★★★ = essentially no errors, very rare. The seven routes listed are ★★★★ or ★★★.
Related tools
The Schwarzwald has Radwege too — different sport, same forest.
Moselradweg ends at a Stoch ferry and a Weingut; same valley as the wine route.
The Ostseeküstenradweg IS the Baltic coast. Pick the same villages.
Skip a stage by train: €49 ticket covers the regional + your bike.
Sources
- ADFC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club) · adfc.de — Bett+Bike, Radweg Quality rating 2026
- Radnetz Deutschland · nationalradwege.de — official route data and surface info
- Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr (BMDV) · Nationaler Radverkehrsplan 3.0
- Elbe-, Main-, Mosel-, Bodensee-Königssee-, Donau-, Ostsee-, Rhein-Radweg official route publications
About this tool
This calculator sizes the seven major German long-distance Radwege to your planned distance, fitness, e-bike decision and days available. It uses 2026 ADFC route lengths, surface data, and an empirical 40–60% e-bike uplift. For routing, use the ADFC-Radtourenplaner (fietstr.de) for live updates.
Privacy
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Disclaimer
Route lengths and surface data reflect 2026 ADFC / Radnetz Deutschland published values and may change. The result is a planning aid. Always confirm current route status (closures, construction) on the ADFC-Radtourenplaner before relying on it for a multi-day trip.