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Hotel in Lindau

If you haven't see Lindau, you haven't been to Germany. It's a beautiful island city (walled in medieval times), just off the coast of Germany in the Bodensee, with a romantic harbor. I had stopped there five times for a visit, but never stayed there. The sixth time, Robin and I were changing trains in Lindau, and, although we could have just changed platforms in the station, I deliberately planned a hour between trains. Well, Robin feel in love with Lindau and couldn't wait to go back. So we went back last October.

I spent a lot of time researching accommodations in Lindau. For the well heeled traveler, there are hotels right on the harbor, like the Bayerischer Hof, where rooms start at close to 200 euro a night. Could I afford such a room, yes? Do I think it is worth it, no? , That was the price for rooms without a harbor view! If you can't have a harbor view, you might as well not be on the harbor. Want a harbor view; those rooms are a lot more.

After a lot of research, I found Hotel Möve (seagull). It's on the back side of the island, but close to the bus to the Bahnhof and within walking distance of the harbor. The address of Hotel Möve is "Auf der Mauer", because it is built against the old town wall, upon which there is a street, "Auf der Mauer". The entrance is at the Aur der Mauer level, with the ground floor one floor below, at the level of the surrounding streets. The breakfast and Aufenhalt rooms were downstairs, on the ground floor. Our room was on the entry level (no stairs). We had a comfortable double room with a vine enclosed balcony that was one story up from the surrounding area. The cost was under 100 euro, a bargain for Lindau.

There is a great bus system with two lines from the Hbf to the hub (ZUP) on the land side of the island, from which six lines spread out to the mainland. On the last day, Robin and I spent the morning exploring the island, but it tired her out, and she retired to the room for the afternoon to rest. I used our bus pass (included with the room) to explore several of the mainland routes. I had found some attractive Ferienwohnungen and Privatzimmer on these bus lines on the Internet while in the planning stage, but I thought they might be too difficult to get to. I found them easy to get to; when I return, I might try one of them, but for a first timer in Lindau, I would definitely recommend Hotel Möve.

Posted by
3551 posts

I too enjoyed my days of jetlag in Lindau after flying in to Z urich.
Thx for the recom. The hotel we stayed at has been completely modernized in decor ...from the trad. German style we enjoyed. So I cannot stay there anymore.

Posted by
4049 posts

Thanks for the recommendation! I did a day trip to Lindau from Meersburg in May and loved it. Would like to make it back for a stay there...

Posted by
1300 posts

Heading that way in September. We were going to do a drive by, but you have made me re-think that. Good information. Thanks

Posted by
19282 posts

There is enough to see in Lindau. I've spent a day there on several occasions, but just on the island.

We spent our first full day exploring the island, having lunch on the harbor, etc. The second day we took a boat from the harbor across the lake to Rorschach, Switzerland, then came back by train around the eastern edge of the lake through Bregenz, Austria, where we took a side trip up the Pfänderbahn cable car.

There are multiple boat excursions from the harbor, some to even as far away as Konstanz.

The buses run on a half hour tempo (Takt). Every half hour eight buses converge on the ZUP (Zentral Umsteigen Platz), people scramble between buses, and a few minutes later, they all go off on their ways.

A lot of the small Ferienwohnungen (vacation apartments) and Privatzimmer (private rooms) were right off the bus lines. Two of the bus lines go onto the island, to the Hbf.

Posted by
8889 posts

@Barbra, should be no problem picking up a Swiss hire car and driving it into surrounding countries. But you need to return it in Switzerland, or you will probably have a painful surcharge.
A Swiss car will already have a Swiss Autobahn Vignette (toll payment sticker). It will not have an Austrian one. If you want to drive on Austrian Autobahns you need to buy a Vignette at the border.
No tolls on German Autobahns.
If you pick up a (German) car at Munich airport, you will need to buy Vignettes if you drive into either Switzerland or Austria.