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Help with ferry transportation around Lake Constance

Posted by (Chicago) on

Hello—

I am planning a trip to Italy and Switzerland in April 2020 which will include a day trip from Zurich to Lake Constance. The plan is to take the train from Zurich HB to Konstanz (we’ll have the Swiss Travel Pass). Then take a ferry to Meersburg and a ferry to Mainau and then return to Konstanz to take the train back to Zurich. We’d like to spend some time in each location—Konstanz, Meersburg, and Mainau.

I have several questions:

1) Am I correct that the Konstanz train station is near the old town?

2) Is there a good place to find information about the ferries in English? Location, schedules, etc.

3) Is the car ferry a quicker option than the passenger ferry to get to Meersburg? I think the car ferry might be distance from the old town.

4) Are there multiple ferry options to get from Meersburg to Mainau?

5) Is taking a ferry from Mainau back to Konstanz the best/quickest option?

I greatly appreciate any information you can provide. I’m a planner so I’d like to have a sense for how the ferries work before arriving. I think I have a good sense for how the train transportation works, but the ferries are making me a little nervous.

Thanks very much!!!

Carrie

Posted by
3847 posts

  1. You are correct. The Konstanz train station is near the old town and, as noted above, near the passenger ferry docks. You probably are very familiar with Google Maps. I use it a lot to help me get oriented to where things are before trips and use it "on the ground" in Europe due to being directionally-challenged. If you search for Konstanz Bahnhof, you will also see old town sites and the ferry docks.

  2. The 2019 ferry schedule for Lake Constance (in German and English) is here. Note that the ferries did not start running this year until April 14 (which is typical) and were on the limited "low season" schedule (see pages 2 and 3 of the schedule). "Meersburg an" is arrival time in Meersburg; "Meersburg ab" is departure time; these are not separate Meersburg docks!

  3. You must catch a bus from the train station to the car ferry in Konstanz. The car ferry lands at a place in Meersburg that is not very convenient to the main sites of the town. It would require a long walk or a short bus ride to get to where you want to go in Meersburg from the car ferry dock. The passenger ferry, however, is a very short walk from the Konstanz train station. It arrives right on the Lake Promenade in Meersburg. The passenger ferry is therefore more convenient, but the car ferry runs much more frequently (especially in April).

    1. There are multiple passenger ferry lines/companies serving Lake Constance, but most (if not all) are included on the schedule above (the car ferry is not -- its info is here).
    2. There is a bus that runs from the main entrance of Mainau Insel to the train station. If you take the ferry to the island, you arrive on its east side. You can work your way west across the island, walk across a bridge to leave the island, and then leave through the main entrance on the Konstanz side. (See map of the island here). You want the 13/4 bus (NOT THE 4/13 BUS!) from Mainau to Martkstätte/Bahnhof. The 2019 schedule for both lines is here. The bus is about 20 minutes; the ferry is 40 minutes.
Posted by
3847 posts

Not sure why the website reformatted answers #4 and #5 to subheadings #1 and #2. Oh well.

Posted by
2671 posts

Thank you Sam and Dave!!!! That is exactly the info. I have been looking for! I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Posted by
3847 posts

Glad to be of help. I really enjoyed the time I spent on Bodensee/Lake Constance. Enjoy your trip!

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