My husband and I will be traveling from Munich to Lake Constance by train in May 2025. We need recommendations for a hotel in LINDAU that is in walking distance from the train station. Would it be best to stay on the island? We plan to stay 2 nights in the Lindau area then travel to Constance for 3 nights. Thanks for your help.
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Lakewood, Colorado
19300 posts
Good choice! Lindau is a beautiful town, with the picturesque harbor and the Alps across the lake. I've been there half a dozen times, most times just for a few hours passing through or a day visit from the Oberallgäu. The last time was four nights in 2017.
You can stay in one of the hotels right on the harbor, but, at the 5* Bayerischer Hof, for instance, double rooms where you can look out at the harbor any time are over 300€/night. Even rooms at the back (north side) or west side, from which you have to walk through the hotel to see the harbor, are over $200€/night.
We stayed at a less expensive hotel, Möve (seagull, www.hotel-moeve-lindau.de) on the back side of the island, facing the mainland. We had a nice (Cat. B) double room with bath and a small balcony for about 100€/night. I think today, with breakfast buffet, it's closer to 130€/night, double occupancy. From Möve, it's a little less than a ¼ mile walk to the harbor any time you want to see it.
Möve is a 1/3 mile flat walk on paved sidewalks from the Bahnhof. If you have too much luggage, there are plenty of taxis at the Bahnhof. If I remember, for two people with luggage the fare, in 2017, was less than 10€.
There are also two bus lines that run every half hour. Bus 5 loads 100 yds north of the Bahnhof and stops at the Inselhalle, across the street from Möve.
You can find other less expensive properties not actually on the harbor on the Google map of Lindau, but I don't have any experience staying elsewhere, but, on Lindau, I would not be afraid to book any place. After all, this is Germany, and, as I have found, the Germans have very high standards.
With only two nights (one full day), unless you are arriving early on day 1 and leaving late on day 3, I think stay on the island itself and spend your time there. If you had more time, I would recommend one of the "ship" cruises on Bodensee. We took a ship across the lake to Rorschach, Switzerland, and returned by train via Bregenz, Austria. We took the Pfänderbahn (cable car) up to the top of the mountain (Pfänder) behind Bregenz from where you can see all the way down the lake to Konstanz. You might find time for a half day trip to Bregenz and trip up the Pfänderbahn.