The Wine & Water Route is suitable for all cycling abilities as routes can be tailor made for individual or group requirements. This is a super sociable tour, as there are lots of wine tasting opportunities along the way.

Day 1 - Arrival - Slovenia.

Welcome to your Simply Cycling Slovenia Holiday Wine & Water Cycling Tour. This was the very first tour I created and the reason why people keep coming back. Simply the quietest of lanes, cycle paths and gorgeous gently rolling Wine Hills, it really is push bike paradise! You have no need for bike locks as crime simply isn't an issue. If you need to be collected from the airport, you will be driven to Banovci, which is a small spa village in the Eastern side of Slovenia, and the rest of the day spent relaxing and settling in. Your bikes will be waiting, cleaned, oiled and ready to go. We will have a brief meeting to discuss your routes and your capabilities so that we can adapt any routes to your needs, and our self- guiding tourists will be introduced to their Garmin GPS system and maps. Your accommodation for this night is just 20 meters from the Thermal Spa at Banovci, perfect for those who want to spend time relaxing in the healing waters.

Day 2 - Slovenia to Austria.

Your holiday adventure begins with a gentle ride through the rural landscapes and small villages of Prlekija, crossing the Mura River into Bad Radkersburg in Austria. Lunch is enjoyed in Austria at Murek Mill restaurant, which provides honest home cooked light lunches and pastries. Bad Radkersburg is a beautiful historical town, with small handicraft businesses, shops and boutiques, cafés, inns and numerous squares bustling with life. The friendly town square is a perfect place to sit and drink coffee or sip a cool glass of beer or local wine, watching the world go by.

Day 3 - Austria to Slovenia.

Your route on this day takes you through beautiful lush forests and countryside, up and down the gently rolling Hills of the Goricko Nature Park to the village of Grad with its large castle. This is a beautiful landscape of woodlands, small farms, orchards and vineyards. Tonight you will sleep in a Tourist farm, sipping wine that has been pressed from the grapes grown outside your bedroom window. With home made food and the most friendliest, welcoming host, Evita simply can not do enough for you. As always, the standard of both cleanliness and quality is most pleasing, your sleep will be so contented... ahhh!

Day 4 - Grad to Hungary.

Today's cycling continues in the beautiful and varied landscape of the Nature Park and its pretty villages. You will be in awe of how incredibly pristine the houses and farms are kept, Slovenia's scenery offers picture postcards in every sense of the word! After crossing the open border into Hungary, through huge medieval forests, you will be surprised how suddenly the landscape changes. Its as if you are in another country...! You may also notice the houses are smaller and poorer, but the people are just as friendly and crime does not exist in these rural communities. Tonight you stay in a Country Club, offering sauna, jacuzzi and outside swimming pool. Horse-riding, archery and tennis are also possible in this beautiful location. After the day's activities another 'must try' is Hungarian wine, so inexpensive yet delicious..! A fitting end to full, happy day.

Day 5 - Hungary to Croatia.

Riding back through the open border to Slovenia today, you will have traveled to, and slept in, four countries in one week!! Wow!! On to Bukovnica lake, a popular fishing and picnic spot. The area around the lake is home to the renowned energy points that are thought to have special energies that calm, relax and revitalise, with healing properties. This route takes you past our SCS base, Slomškov Mill House, where we will stop for a short break to take a look around the Mill in its restored, yet original form. Your accommodation tonight is a beautiful Thermal Spa Hotel. Here the thermal springs rise from the earth and are captured in small pools, very restful and healing for aching body's! The hotel is located in a quiet valley, far from crowds and the everyday rush, giving another nights restful sleep.

Day 6 - Croatia to Slovenia.

Today you will be exploring the Ljutomer-Ormož hills which are not only famous for their wines, but also for the beauty of the landscape, which, according to many, ranks among the most wonderful landscapes in the world. Your tour follows the Jeruzalem Wine Road where nature glows with vivid colours in every season. Jeruzalem - with its holy name, energetic vibes, wine road offering top white wines, exquisite viewpoints and pilgrimage church has every right to be named a place of heaven. This is cycling at its best. . Tonight you stay in the Jeruzalem Hotel with its spectacular scenery, just breathtaking! By the way, you are still in Slovenia - I will tell you the story of why it is named Jeruzalem if you buy me a drink. Tonight, for those in the mood, I can take you to one of the oldest cellars for a spot of wine tasting and nibbles!

Day 7 - Jeruzalem Slovenia to Firbas.

Todays cycling begins in amongst the vines and Jeruzalems wine trails. With stunning views and vivid colours, we head down into the valley. We cross the beautiful Mura river by way of a wooden ferry which has no power itself, but uses the inertia of the flowing water and the ingenious engineering and this is all that is needed for us to drift across. The ferry has been in the same family for many years and passed down through the generations, and is another oasis of calm in our fast moving worlds. This part of Slovenia is like going back in time, yet the infrastructure in the towns hospitals and industry is as modern as any other westernised country. Tonight you stay in the most delicious of Tourism farms - exquisitely pretty Firbas Holiday Farm - run by Bojan and his family. Here you will find beautiful terraces to eat home-made food and drink pear juice.

Day 8 – Departure day.

At this stage of your holiday you are welcome to extend your cycling tour, or if you wish, we can arrange transfers or accommodation for you to whereever you may be going. I have groups and couples returning some for the fifth time. Nearly every time, as we say fond farewells, they say "Where next Paul"