Across the Alps on a Touring Bicycle - Garmisch to Lake Garda BT1

Accommodation

This itinerary passes through a combination of cities, where a selection of standard hotels are available, and small villages with very limited accommodation options. Accommodation in the small villages is usually in small, family-run guest houses.

Meals

In all cases, both breakfast and dinner will be available at, or near, your hotel. We try to book hotels with breakfast included, but this is not always possible. What we are able to book for you depends on what the hotel offers. For dinner, you almost always have a selection of nearby restaurants to choose from.

Lunches can almost always be picked up during the day in one of the various villages you pass through.

We consider June and September to be some of the best months for bicycle touring in and near the Alps.

Here’s what conditions to expect at different times of the year:

May: By May, spring is in full force and the Alps are starting to give hints of summer. Weather can still be a bit unstable, and there are often periods of cold and of rain, but there are also periods of sunny weather with temperatures that are often just right for bicycle touring.

June: By June, the weather is a bit more stable and is generally more comfortable than in May. It can get hot, particularly on the south side of the Alps.

July and August: These months are often great for bicycle touring on the northern slopes of the Alps, but hot temperatures on the south side of the Alps make them less ideal for bicycle touring than some of the other months. Afternoon thunderstorms are likely. In general, there will be more tourists traveling around the Alps at this time. This may mean more crowds in one or two key locations along the route, but it also means that more infrastructure is available for side tours.

September: By September, the weather often tends to stabilize, and thunderstorms are much less likely. While there is an increased risk of cold temperatures in September, most days in September are brilliant bicycle touring days. Oktoberfest takes place in Munich from mid-September to early October, and during this time, hotels throughout southern Bavaria are expensive and availability can be difficult to find. This is important to keep in mind when making travel plans in and around Munich.

October: October can be a risky time for a bicycle tour, but sometimes the higher the risk, the higher the reward. Weather in October varies greatly from year to year. In many years, the Alps experience what is called a golden autumn, with brilliant blue skies and temperatures just right for a bicycle tour. In other years, October can be a miserably wet and cold time of year to be out and about on a bicycle.

In all months, it is reasonable to expect one to two rainy days on the bicycle.

For more details about average temperatures and precipitation in certain times of year, we recommend checking Meteoblue (go to “History & Climate” and then “Climate (modelled)”) for Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Landeck, Bolzano and Torbole.