How it all began...
The two company founders Herbert Würtinger and Walter Schmid got to know each other early in life. Not as business partners from the very beginning, but rather as teacher and student. Herbert Würtinger was a teacher before his career as a successful businessman and taught Walter Schmid and his brothers in Schärding. After a few years their paths crossed again: they worked for a well-known cycle tour operator in Upper Austria, where they got to know and love cycle tourism – the basis for a promising future.
1991 to 1994
After several years of experience in cycle tourism in the 1980s and various positions in other fields, Walter Schmid and Herbert Würtinger thought about getting involved in the field of cycle tours at the beginning of 1991. The idea became reality: During a joint company outing to Innsbruck, the idea of founding their own cycle tour company was born. After numerous discussions, at the end of the year the branch of the company "Radwandern" was founded within the Würtinger & Partner GmbH and with that the foundation stone for today's company was laid.
Only one year later the first Eurobike catalogue was created and the "Ten Lakes Tour" in the Salzkammergut was developed as the first tour. In 1993, they decided to create a separate company and Eurofun Touristik was launched with the brand name "Eurobike" for the cycle tourism sector. In our video you can find out everything about the origins of our company, including exciting interviews with our company founders, the management and the voices of our long-standing employees - here you can get to know the people behind the scenes.
1995 to 2000
In August 1995, the former parent company Würtinger & Partner ceased activities in Franking-Holzöster, and the search for a new office began. They found what they were looking for in Obertrum am See at Mühlstraße 20. The abandoned farmhouse was rented, since in addition to the offices, a lot of space was needed for the rental bikes. Great effort was put into expanding the travel programme. Over the years, Eurobike designed and established further cycling routes such as Bolzano - Venice, the Majorca loop tour and Tuscany roundtrip and the Munich Lakes Tour - cycle tours that are still considered absolute classics today.
The two bike travel specialists Walter Schmid and Herbert Würtinger recognised great potential for new tours in Italy, a country that developed over the years as an attractive travel destination, in addition to the travel destinations in Austria and Bavaria. No competitor had yet ventured into Italy at that time. As a result, Eurobike was the pioneer in Italy when it came to cycle touring and remains the market leader in this segment to this day.
2001 to 2005
In 2001 Eurofun took over a share in the former "Bodensee Radweg Service GmbH" and at the end of the year the cycle tour operator Rückenwind Reisen in Oldenburg was taken over.
One year later the farm in Obertrum am See was bought and extended. In addition to a spacious bike storage area, the addition of a new part of the building provided more space and office areas. The existing offices were renovated. The move to the newly designed premises took place in August 2003, and by the end of the year the existing building had also been completely renovated.
In 2004, hiking tours were offered for the first time in a separate catalogue under the brand name "Eurohike", thus laying the foundation for another, very successful branch of the company. The destinations around the Königssee, around the Zugspitze and the Salzkammergut are still considered hiking classics among Eurohike guests.
2006 to 2010
Under the brand name "Euroaktiv", selected active tours were offered for the first time in 2006 in a separate catalogue. These included family-oriented adventure holidays, horse riding holidays and family holidays in the hiking and cycling travel sector.
At the end of 2006, the active tour operator Eurotrek in Zurich was taken over. In spring 2007, Verena Sonnenberg from the Eurofun team became managing director at Eurotrek AG in Zurich. In the same year the company "KVS-Tours GmbH" was taken over with Andreas Bunge as managing director. In 2009 there was another company addition within Eurofun, "SE Tours GmbH" from Bremerhaven, a specialist in river cruises and Bike & Boat tours.
Another trend that emerged in the cycle travel industry: tours with bike & boat became more and more popular and so in 2010 a separate Bike & Boat catalogue was designed for the first time.
In late autumn, ground was broken for the next expansion at the company location: more office space and additional storage areas were built. In addition, the management of the Eurohike Walking Holidays division was taken over by Verena Sonnenberg.
2011 to 2015
"Germany is so beautiful" - under this title a catalogue with exclusively German cycle tours was published. During the 2011 season, staff moved into the new office premises. In 2012, Eurobike celebrated its 20th company anniversary. Employees and long-time partners celebrated this special day with a big party. The start of the hiking season 2014 brought a relaunch of the Eurohike website. In addition, the new hiking catalogue included over 100 pages for the first time! The popularity of active travel continued to grow. In the same year, the management of Eurofun Touristik was expanded: Thomas Schmid, the nephew of Walter Schmid, came in to support the company founders Herbert Würtinger and Walter Schmid in management.
2016 to 2019
In 2016, the organisational structure of the Eurofun Group was adjusted and operations were clearly separated. The aim was to set clear structures and to focus even more on service and personal care for our guests. The management of Eurofun Touristik was taken over by Thomas Schmid and Verena Sonnenberg. All other companies taken over so far became part of the Eurofun Group. The founders of the company, Herbert Würtinger and Walter Schmid, continue to actively support the Eurofun Group.
After the Eurobike and Eurohike website relaunch in 2017, the web presences shone in a new light and even more users were attracted to the pages. Just two years later, the company's own catalogue appeared for the first time, featuring charm tours that were becoming increasingly popular among cycling and hiking guests.
2020 until today
The years 2020 and 2021 were exceptionally challenging years. COVID-19 turned the entire international travel industry upside down. Nevertheless, despite the trying circumstances, we were able to close a safe biking and hiking season, although with a much lower number of guests and a limited travel offer. At the same time, the family-oriented offers of the Euroaktiv brand were incorporated into the two brands Eurohike and Eurobike. In 2022 we celebrated a special highlight, the 30th anniversary of Eurobike – 30 years of cycling holidays throughout Europe! Perfectly organized active holidays, a wonderful route guidance, constant optimal support, top quality, reliability and a great team – that has been our philosophy from day one.
We are delighted to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of our hiking holiday brand Eurohike in 2024. An anniversary that makes us very proud. The journey through Europe can continue!
