FAQ

Rückenwind Reisen GmbH was established in 1990.
Mr. Dietmar Baumanns is the company`s chief executive officer since 2002. Since 2011 is Andreas Bunge Chief executive of Rückenwind Reisen.

Our guests have no age limit. 20 years old travellers enjoy our tours just as much as those 70 years of age. Depending on the tour, you will meet singles, couples, groups of friends and families. Our guest represent a wide variety of interests and occupations and share their love for bike holidays. A third of our guests are regular guests, another third was recommended by friends.

When you book a holiday with us, you will receive an invoice within 3 - 5 working days confirming the booking and requesting a deposit payment of 20% of the tour price.

You can pay this by bank transfer or by credit card via our website under "Online payment".

There is no further request for the remaining payment, which is due 4 weeks before arrival.

The calculation of the season time depends on the day of arrival. If you start in season 1 and your cycling holiday ends in season 2, the tour price is calculated for season 1.

The tour price is therefore based on the day of arrival of your cycling holiday.

Our daily stages are between 35 km and 65 km long, depending on the topography and local conditions. However, you have the choice between sporty tours with longer daily stages or leisurely tours with shorter stages.

The length of the daily stages is indicated in the tour descriptions for each day.

The requirements for our bicycle tours depend on the region, topography and local characteristics. The distances of the daily routes are stated in the tour descriptions. A description of characteristics at the bottom of each tour description points out the particularities to facilitate your choice. A regular fitness and willingness for small efforts every now and then and to stay in a good mood even in spite of a sudden rain shower are certainly good prerequisites to have fun while travelling by bike.

Starting together - arriving together while everybody sets his or her own pace - how does that work? Our tour guides mostly ride in the rear third of the group. They only take the lead in more complicated sections. If anybody likes to ride ahead, they wait at arranged meeting points. We don\'t ride in a bulk, but we always stay in contact and meet on a regular basis. This way, the slower as well as the faster bicycle riders get a chance to go at their own pace. After a break, the tour will not be continued before also the last to arrive had a chance to take their time for a rest.

The group size varies slightly depending on the type of tour. If you book a guided tour with bike and boat, the groups may be larger than on a pure cycle tour. The minimum number of participants also varies. 

Both pieces of information can usually be found on the respective tour description. You can also write or call us at any time.

The average group size is 16 people.

The sooner the tour is booked, the larger the selection of available tours. Some of the high season tours are already booked up in January, other tours can still be booked last minute. For flight tickets, you often get the best rates when booking early. Also, we recommend very early decisions for railway reservations on frequented routes, up to three months in advance.

If you would like to book a tour with boat and bike we recommend an early booking. The ships have limited cabins and these kind of bike tours are really popular.

A detailed description of our included services can be found at the bottom of each tour description.

We organize your railway transportation from the station closest to you and make reservations according to your demands. For all long-distance destinations, we also offer flights as an alternative. If you prefer to travel by car, you can also book each of our tours without transportation to the tour destination.

Your bike is welcome on our tours. If you don\'t want to miss your bike in your vacation, just bring it along with you. We\'d be pleased to give you advice for the transportation of your bike to your destination. For international tours, it might sometimes be a better idea just to bring your own saddle. We install it on your rental bicycle when it fits in the seat post.

You get a light-weight and extremely smoothly running trekking bike that will fit you like a walking shoe. To make this possible, we will select the right bike from four different frame sizes - this is why we need to know your body height in the booking documents. A comfortable saddle and wide base tires ensure a comfortable ride even on narrow paths. Tightly gripping and well controllable brakes, smoothly running 21- or optionally 7-speed gear shifts and a solid and relieable equipment ensure safety and fun on every tour. The bicycles are especially designed for Rückenwind Reisen. More information and a photo can be found on the page "Rückenwind bicycles". On tours operated by our partners, the bike equipment may vary. For more information on these bicycles, please refer to the tour descriptions.

It's up to you: we offer guided tours for all guests who like to travel in a group accompanied by qualified tour guides. Shared experiences, contact to local people, much space for your individuality and an extraordinary service are waiting for you on our guided tours. If you appreciate the comfort of an organized bike tour, but don\'t want to travel in a group, our individual tours are for you. Equipped with detailed information and not burdened by luggage, you can discover the region just the way you like.

The daily rides are between 3 and 5 hours, depending on the region and the planned tour. Breaks, sight-seeing, strolls, picnics or café visits will interrupt the tour on a regular basis. The covered distance is not important. What counts is enjoying the moment and sharing the fun.

You will stay in typical, hospitable accomodations carefully chosen by us. The rooms are always equipped with shower and toilet. Some accomodations offer a very special charm, e.g. the traditional monastery in the Provence, the hotel queen Victoria already stayed in, the hotel at the river Weser in which every room is dedicated to a fairy tale or the luxurious Jugendstil villa at the river Elbe

The transport of your luggage is a service included in every bicycle tour. You will just have to take a couple of small things (camera, beverages ...) with you.

To get single room is often difficult - also in our region, but even more in southern destinations.

Please note that the rating of additional charge is not only included the extra hotel price but also the own correspondence, invoice and the travel documents! In spite of the surcharge the single room is unfortunately simply equipped and inside of the hotel inferior situated as double rooms.

When planning your route, we always endeavour to let you cycle as far away as possible from car traffic. Unfortunately, "proper" cycle paths are not available everywhere, especially in southern countries.

In these cases, we use field and forest paths or side roads.

Despite these efforts, it is unavoidable that you will sometimes have to cycle shorter distances on busy main roads.

Either to bridge the connection to other sections of the route or to avoid missing places of interest.

The following discounts are available for children travelling with you:

100% for children from 0 to 5 years,

50% for children from 6 to 11 years

25% for children from 12 to 14 years

10% for children aged 15 and over

Prerequisite: The discount applies to the basic price when booking as the third person in a double room with two full-paying adults.

A limited number of approved child seats (without hire charge) and children's bikes are available. For third-party events organised by Rückenwind Reisen, the discounts are based on the rules of the respective organiser. We will be happy to inform you of these on request. 

At the end of the booking process, you will send us a binding booking request. We usually need 3 business days to confirm it, as we contact several hotels. Once you have received the confirmation along with the package tour contract, your booking is binding.

For most of our trips, you can book additional nights or an extended stay at the starting or ending point. For many tours with daily arrivals, it’s also possible to extend your stay at the individual stopover locations along the route.

If the additional night you’d like isn’t available in the “Stages & Transfers” booking step, please let us know your preferences in the “Extras” 

For many trips, a return transfer to the starting point can be booked for an additional fee. If possible, please book this directly when making your travel reservation in the “Stages & Transfers” step.

We charge an additional transport fee for bringing your own bicycle.

On our custom cycling tours, breakfast is always included in the tour price. For select tours, meals can be supplemented with half-board for an additional fee.

On our guided cycling tours, as well as on trips combining cycling and boat travel, additional meal services are often included. You can find the exact services included in the respective trip description under “Included Services.”

Please let us know about any special dietary requests, allergies, or food intolerances during the booking process in the “Extras” step.

For many of our trips, you’ll now receive your travel documents digitally via email. With a download code, you’ll have access to your hotel list, the itinerary, and the GPS data for your trip.

With our navigation app, you can easily plan your trip on the go. There you’ll find all the important information about the daily stages, sights, places to stop for refreshments, and other useful tips for your trip. Organizational information, such as details about the return transfer, is also conveniently available in the app.

If digital travel documents are not provided for a trip, you will continue to receive your documents in printed form.

After you make a reservation, we’ll check the availability of all the services you’ve booked for your desired travel dates. You’ll then receive your booking confirmation and invoice within a maximum of seven business days. Once you receive the booking confirmation, your trip is officially booked.

If any individual services are unavailable, we’ll of course suggest a suitable alternative.

Upon receipt of the booking confirmation and invoice, a deposit of 20% of the tour price per person is due. The remaining balance must be paid no earlier than 28 days before the start of the tour. Please note that no separate payment request will be sent for the remaining balance.

For last-minute bookings made 27 days or less before the start of the trip, the full trip price is due immediately upon receipt of the booking confirmation.

All information regarding payment options, bank account details, and credit card payments can be found on your booking confirmation or invoice.

Please also note that we do not send automatic payment confirmations.

Please enter your voucher number or discount code in the designated voucher field during the "Billing & Payment Information" step of the booking process.