Before we give our report we should say that this was our first experience of taking a cycling holiday anywhere, so this fact may be taken into consideration when reading our report. The weather during our trip was not very good, in fact we were told it was the coldest on record for the past 40 years. All of the per-trip planning went very smoothly and we felt that we understood our travel options well and we were able to plan, book, and pay for our trip efficiently. Some general guidance on the type of weather conditions we might face during the trip may have been helpful. The friends who recommended the trip went last year when the weather, we understand, was unseasonably hot and our tour was unseasonably cold and wet. Nevertheless a general guideline for May might have prepared us better for the cooler weather. The things that went well on the trip were: - movement off our luggage went very smoothly - the half-board was a good thing to have and was generally very good - our accommodations were very good - the instructions in the guide books were generally clear - bicycles worked well - equipment worked well (my bag had a small rip in the side which I did.not see until later but it still worked well enough) - when our bikes were mistakenly picked up in Vienna despite the tags that were put on in Passau to prevent this from happening, the situation was resolved quickly with the help of the hotel receptionist Areas for improvement: - the guide books could have a key to signs that would be useful for bicyclists not used to European signs: ie a sign that has a circle but says bike frei means that bicyclists can go on that road/route - also some general rules of the road for bicyclists would be helpful - it would be useful to have more information about available toilets on the route, particularly in the Vienna to Budapest section - if there are only going to be toilets in places where you can eat that would be good to know - the book should also indicate when alternative routes put you into perhaps quieter towns but take you off separated bike paths. For example, when you suggest leaving the Vélo 6 route in Rajka, it would have been good to know that had we continued on Velo 6 the route was along a busy road, but there was a separate bike lane. Given how cold our day was from Bad Duetsch-Altenburg, we might have opted for the less scenic route with a separate bike lane rather than the scenic route which we had to share with vehicles. - the book did indicate when the roads were busier roads but was not as clear when the busier roads had bicycle lanes - the book let us know about the muddy path outside of Acs, but did not mention the muddy road outside of Nagyszentjános which was much muddier than the road outside of Acs on the day we road it (the book does indicate it is a dirt road but does not have the same warning as it does about the dirt road out of ACS) - should really indicate that the road from Grein to Bad Kreuzen is pretty steep and long - should mention that the timing of the ferries on the trip from Esztergom to Szentendre could be tricky so might suggest a latest ferry to Szob time so that you don’t miss the ferry in Szentendre - there were no bike repair vouchers for the trip from Vienna to Budapest so I am not sure what we would have done had we had issues on that route - even suggested bike shops would have been helpful In summary: We feel that Rad en REISEN was a very good company to use for our first bicycling trip in Europe. The poor weather we had has made us less likely to choose this type of vacation again than if we had experienced generally better weather. We realize that the weather is totally out of Rad en REISEN’s control, but when you pay a lot of money for a vacation and you have to be out in the elements regardless of the weather, it makes us think about alternative types of vacations. While it was cold a lot of the time, we did appreciate how going on a shoulder season meant that we had more access to museums, etc. and there were many less bicycles on the paths which we enjoyed. I guess we want both, good weather and less crowds, which is not always possible!