Planning the Tour: Logistics and First Impressions
It is January 2026 and I am doing the outline planning for a cycle tour in the autumn of this year. Up until now I have limited myself to hopping over the channel and just cycling from the ferry terminal but the time has come to go further afield. As I don't like the idea of flying if avoidable - environmental cost and risk of bike damage - I need a way to travel deeper into Europe without the headache of multiple train changes, risk of train cancellations and bike bookings/spaces on day trains. I find part of the answer in the form of the European Sleeper ( The Good Night Train ) which has a route from Brussels to Prague via Amsterdam and Berlin, and another route from Paris to Berlin via Hamburg; this is anchor number one for my tour. It's worth noting that in 2026 the European Sleeper train adds a route to Milan. The European Sleeper has yet to provide information on bike bookings so I'll need to monitor that and if the bike carriage is separate to the sleeping carriage...