This time we only cycled a small part of the Donau - it was a bit we missed our last time out. But we call it all - the Queen of the Bunny Hills. It has good surface, perfect signage, few or no hills, and tons of services including guest houses and restaurants right on the trail. In our little section, knock your socks off towns were scarce, but they are out there on the sections - like Krems and Melk and of course Vienna and Passau.

This is probably the most heavily travelled bicycle path in Europe. This can be a problem, especially near towns, where locals out for a fast thrill ride can conflict with heavily loaded travellers.

Note: the prevailing wind and the slope of the river all favour west to east travel. 95 percent of people do it that way

Pros

Great surface, signage
Tons of maps available
Very family friendly
Few hills
Support services like tour companies that will plan the whole thing for you
Lots of ferries to cross banks
Choice of cycling either side (usually)
Easy access by train
River boats

Cons

Congestion
Guest houses may be booked up in June through August
Not as many bakeries as you might think