Czech Hungary Tour

Part of the Eastern Alps mountain range, the Slovenian Alps provide fantastic riding through high alpine valleys and snow-capped mountains. We'll cross into Styria, the mountainous part of eastern Austria, and tour the meandering roads through an area famous for its vineyards and castles. Tonight we stay in Graz, the provincial capital with an exciting blend of old and new architecture. It's possible to climb the Schlossberg (Castle Hill) to view the Old Town and the ultra-modern bubble-shaped Kunsthaus Graz. Afterwards, we'll relax and have refreshments in the unique glass seashell-shaped Inisel café on the River Mur.

We'll ride some of the best roads in Austria, all amazingly scenic and traffic-free. In the afternoon we arrive at Lake Balaton, also known as the "Hungarian Sea." At 77km long, Lake Balaton has shallow waters, sandy beaches and pretty shore-side towns with enchanting promenades. Visit the Tihany peninsula, a nature reserve protruding 5km into the lake. Tonight, we'll get our first chance to try excellent goulash and Tokaj wine.

Budapest is a multicultural and fascinating city. The architecture of Budapest and the lifestyle of its inhabitants include remnants of its Turkish, Austrian and Socialist pasts, and is truly a pleasure to experience. With its incredible architecture and rich cultural heritage, Budapest deserves its reputation as the 'Paris of Central Europe'.

We'll take a guided tour around its most fascinating attractions. Castle Hill and Citadel on the Buda side have mansions and gorgeous churches which overlook the Danube River. On the left bank of the Danube, known as Pest, visit one of the most picturesque parliaments in Europe and admire Hungarian kings on the Hero's Square. Stroll and shop on busy Vaci and Andrasy streets or soak in one of the city's many Turkish baths.

Riding through the many unique towns and villages provides for an interesting cultural experience. We start to climb the Low Tatras Mountains, ending the day in High Tatras National Park, an outdoors paradise near the Polish border. The High Tatras, with its jagged central massif rising out of the green plains, is Slovakia's biggest attraction. Gerlachovsky Stit, at 2654 meters, is the highest snow-capped mountain in the Tatras.

We descend into southeastern Poland, a beautiful agricultural area in the Vistula River Basin. We'll stop at the Wieliczka Salt Mines, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and a place where many of the buildings and items in them are carved out of salt. Then it is on to Krakow, once the royal capital of Poland, with its excellent Old Town of wonderful medieval-era streets and architecture.

Visit the 14th Century Wawel Cathedral on Wawel Hill or explore Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square), Europe's largest medieval town square. For a more meaningful day, you might consider visiting Auschwitz (Oswiecim in Polish), to learn about and pay respects to the more than 1 million people, mostly Jews, who were killed here during WW2.

Coffee breaks are spent in the central squares of beautiful Renaissance towns or at the side of clear streams in the scenic rural areas. Tonight we stay in Olomouc, one of Czech's most beautiful, interesting and exciting cities. With tourist numbers down to a trickle compared to the capital, Olomouc, with its squares, fountains and astronomical clock, remains one of the Czech Republic's best values.

Occasionally we slow down as we pass through quaint towns of gabled, half-timbered houses. On the way we stop in Kutna Hora to visit the ghoulish Ossuary Chapel of All Saints. Traffic will pick up slightly as we approach the Golden City of Prague, which outwardly appears as a city forgotten in time. It's a place where different architectural styles stand cheek by jowl, creating an atmosphere that's both intimate and romantic, and quite impossible to forget once you visit.

Or make a day ride back into the fantastic Bohemian countryside, stopping in the legendary town of Plzen, where lager was invented in 1842. Pilsner Urquell is located here, and it is possible to visit the Brewery Museum housed in an authentic medieval malt house. Back in Prague, non-riders can spend the day taking in the many sites within Prague Castle, or wandering the lanes of Baroque neighborhoods. Finish your walking tour in the Stare Mesto (Old Town) next to the city's famous Charles Bridge. And do not leave town without tasting some of many excellent beers that are brewed here.

We ride the gentle, sweeping roads of an area of green farmland networked with small lakes, until we meet and ride alongside the meandering Vltava River. The best part of the day is fabulous riding through low, forest- clad hills of the Sumava Range National Park. In the evening, we pull into the enchanting town of Cesky Krumlov, a World Heritage Site, where the majority of buildings have been designated cultural monuments

We will ride narrow sweeping roads through several beautiful resort and spa towns, once the holiday destination of the Hapsburgs, tucked into the side of high mountains and on the shores of peaceful lakes. At the end of the day Salzburg awaits. We'll spend the afternoon exploring Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart and home to a world-famous classical-music tradition.

This is the Hohe Tauern (high passes), which includes some of the highest mountains in the Alps and definitely the highest mountains in Austria. Riding the challenging mountain twisties provides much memorable exhilaration on our final riding day. We pass the border into Slovenia again, still on the exciting mountain roads, before dropping into the fertile Slovenian countryside and returning once again to Ljubljana.

Or try Castle Hill, which provides excellent 360 degree views of the city, before heading out to the airport.