Lake Constance without a car...itinerary suggestions?!

Starting from the Rhein, I don't know what airport you would leave from - Bonn, Frankfurt - but adding time to/from airports to checking, security, waiting, flight time, etc, you trip by air would likely be as long as by train (about 6 hours). If you take the train via the Schwarzwaldbahn (Hausach to Triberg), it will add an hour to that, but I would recommend it for the scenery. It doesn't look like you can get all the way to Meersburg by train; the last part (about 20 min) will be by bus.

Once you are in Meersburg, there are boat connections along the lake, including to Lindau. You should probably also plan to go to the island of Mainau. The Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen is interesting.

On our last trip we visited the following:

Lindau was amazing. My main goal for visiting there was to photograph the lighthouse. You can get a breathtaking view of the lake, and alps here. I wish we would have taken more time to explore. The hotels along the harbor seemed to step out of the 1930s-40s. I felt like I was looking for F Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda.

We stayed in Bregenz, again I wish we had more time here. The hotel was so cozy. I had the best Aspargus Soup there. Granted it was in May when the White Asparagus was in season.

In high school we visited the following:

Insel Mainau has a really cool botanical garden. I loved the animal shaped topiaries. I beleive the gardens belong to the Royal family of Sweden. I don't know how colorful it will be in October though.

We did a ferry ride across the lake and I remember seeing a ton of grape vines. So I am sure there are some great wineries there. (I was 18 at the time, so not my thing yet)

Not too far away from the lake is the Rhein falls which were amazing.

Sounds like such a fun trip!!!! Enjoy!

It is possible to do a complete circumnavigation of Lake Constance (or Bodensee to give it its local name) by bike. But you need more than 2 days for that.
I would recommend Lindau or Konstanz. There is also a railway line going all the way around the lake, so you can get to Lindau or Konstanz by local train. But by train Lindau is a lot nearer than Konstanz. Another option is a ferry to from Meersburg to Konstanz, a lot shorter than taking the train round the lake. I don't know if this is summer only, it may not run in October.
Don't bother with Friedrichshafen, it was destroyed in WW2 and rebuilt afterwards.

I would also recommend the island of Mainau, especially if you can get a ferry directly from Meersburg (might be seasonal).

Re: "we will be traveling from the Rhine to Lake Constance", whereabouts on the Rhine? Lake Constance / Bodensee is itself on the Rhine, but it then flows all the way to Holland. There is a railway all the way along the Rhine, but whether train or flying would be easier depends where on the Rhine you are coming from.

The closest airport is probably Memmlingen, but I doubt flying would save you any significant amount of time. Just take the train.

Carrie,

We did a 7 day cycle tour around Lake Constance. One of the most enjoyable stretches was between Uberlingen and Meersburg. If you want to cycle for just a few hours I would think you could rent bikes in Meersburg and just do this stretch. We used this company
https://www.radweg-reisen.com/en/short-lake-constance-cycle-tour. Really the whole lake was very enjoyable for biking. There is dedicated bike path along quite a bit of the lake, with only one very short stretch that was on a busy road. I would definitely recommend getting to Lindau - either by boat or train for at least 1/2 day to explore.

I would take the train, as factoring in time spent at the airport, flying and then getting to Meersburg it would probably almost be a wash, and taking the train is so much fun!:)

Thank you so much for all of the helpful information!!! We will be taking the train thanks to the unanimous feedback! I didn't realize the Bodensee was also considered the Rhine :) We will be staying in Bacharach and visiting Boppard and St. Goar (looking forward to taking a boat up the river along the "Romantic Rhine" stretch to see castles from the water!). I will look into where we can take a train from somewhere close to or from Bacharach.

Thank you again!!!!!

Use the Bahn website to find train schedules. You can leave from Bacharach by train. Change in either Bingen or Mainz for Mannheim or Karlsruhe, then go up (south) the Rhein. If you give it Triberg as a stopover (with no time so you don't actually stop and change trains), it will give you the route I mentioned along the Schwarzwaldbahn.

Check out my trip report - Black Forest and More - at www.bensbauernhof.com

We went to Meersburg by bus from Friedrichshafen. It's a good bus with few stops. Nearby is the Birnau church ( excellent!) and the reconstructed lake dweller village at Unteruhldingen. The castle at Meersburg is excellent. I like that you don't need a tour to see it. In Friedrichshafen is the Zeppelin Museum. it is right by the train station, where the bus goes. Lindau is O.K., with a nice location amd some nice buildings.

Thank you for the detailed train information!!! How wonderful!
Thank you, thank you , thank you!