A Dutch Rider Takes on the Trans-Europa Cycling Tour

“For us, born in the early sixties, it was a not possible to go to the east part of Europe during the Cold War. So now we want to see also that part of Europe.”

Herman Sans has participated in many of our tours around the world – from South America and North America to the Journey to the East in Korea and Japan and is currently cycling in Italy on the Viva Italia. Last year Herman and his wife Ada decided on a big adventure closer to home – crossing all of Europe from the northeast to the southwest on the Trans-Europa. You might recall we wrote about this ‘Crazy European Diagonal’ in the spring when we had a chat with Frenchman, Stéphane Lancereau.

>>VIDEO: Click here to watch the video preview of the route.

We recently asked Herman to think back to his Trans-Europa ride and share some highlights and the reason why he chose this tour in Europe, just as Stéphane had. Here’s what he had to say:

“The start in the Baltic states was very nice. Cycling was not to hilly and most of the route was on very calm roads. People were quiet but friendly. And a lot of them spoke English.” Herman went on to say that Poland appeared a little more poor than the first 3 countries and much more Catholic but that “the big cities were modern and Warsaw, especially, was a worthwhile rest day.”

>>Read all about the dates, details and prices for the 2025 Trans-Europa

His ride continued south and “after some hilly cycling, we came to Slovakia. It was another modern country with very friendly people. Then came Hungary.” Herman marvelled about Budapest where “it became another world, very modern and fancy cars. Budapest was a very nice city with its walkable centre. Especially the old bridge.”

Herman in the Baltics

I asked Herman the inevitable question – what was the best part? “Concerning cycling, I think Slovenia was the most beautiful country. Nice roads and great nature…everything was clean. Also the city of Ljubljana was not too big but very friendly.”

After Slovenia, the Trans-Europa drops out of the mountains into Italy and reached the iconic city of Venice. “Venice was, of course, something that you have to see but for us it was not the most important.  Food and coffee and wine were of course very good.” After that, the route follows the sunny coast of the Mediterranean of Italy and then France, and as Herman remarked, “France was France. Nice weather and the great Mediterranean life.”

Then the group entered Spain and followed the Costa Brava.“After that we cycled along the coast in the direction of Barcelona. It’s a very big city but easy to enter using the wonderful cycling lanes. It has a very beautiful centre and great food. The part between Barcelona and Valencia is mostly along the coast but sometimes busy. After Valencia, we entered the interior of Spain, away from the coast. This was very very nice. In spite of having a lot of climbing and sometimes having very hot weather, the nature was breathtaking.”

Herman summed up his Trans-Europa tour like this… “We think that the nicest part for cycling was Slovenia and the part in Spain after Valencia. The best espresso was in Italy. The best bread in France. The nicest people in the Baltic states.”

Herman’s advice to you – whether you live in Europe or anywhere else? “It is a tour for everyone all over the world but take on the whole tour, not just a part of it. Then you have time to get in good shape for some of the hard days. It is a TDA tour ?.”

Video Preview of the Route

Please enjoy this video overview and consider reaching out to us with any questions. Spaces are open for the 2025 tour (it starts in July) if you want to join, perhaps for a week or maybe to tackle the tour in its entirety.

A special thanks to videographer Ethan Weil who travelled with the cyclists in 2023 and created this video series for us. 

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