Hello, We are planning a biking trip around Lake Constance (Konstanz/Bodensee) in August. My husband and I will be travelling with our two sons, ages 13 and 16. We will be starting from Lindau and working our way around the lake. I have consulted many different bike tour websites to look at itineraries, but most of them start in Konstanz, not Lindau. I prefer to plan and book accommodation myself to save $$. I am wondering if anyone has recommendations for the best places to stop along the lake. Also, is the west arm a "must see", or could we save time by skipping the trip out to Stein am Rhein, and just going straight from Konstanz across to Uberlingen? We hope to complete this trip in 5-6 nights. Any advice, tips/trick, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your assistance!
Posted by
Nederland, CO
1521 posts
Tracy, my husband and I are biking around Lake Constance in June. We booked through Bodensee - Radweg. After doing lot of research on all of the towns around the lake Stein am Rhein is one of the ones I'm really looking forward to. It's supposed to be the swiss version of Rothenburg. We're starting in Konstanz, then staying in; Stein am Rhein, Uberlingen, Friedrichsaven, Lindau, Arbon, then ending in Konstanz. We booked quite early and I was able to choose our hotels. I would think it would be fairly easy to book all of your own accomodations. Bodensee - Radweg has an extensive list of accomodations all around the lake on their website, however I found that most of the websites were exclusively in German. I've done a lot of googling trip reports and such, and it seems to me that Stein am Rhein will be a very worthwhile stop. We already got all of our paperwork for our tour, and they have us biking to stein on the german side, and back from stein on the swiss side.
Posted by
OP
Kamloops, BC, Canada
20 posts
Thanks, Jill. I have been on that website a lot as well. We will likely use their luggage service when we do our tour, and there are some great resources on their site. Thanks for the info on Stein am Rhein. We loved Rothenburg, so maybe we should not cut it out of the trip. Sounds like it will be a great place to visit!
Posted by
OP
Kamloops, BC, Canada
20 posts
Does anyone know if it is possible to base ourselves out of Lindau and return there most nights to sleep? What are the ferries like? Could we bike from Lindau to Arbon, then ferry back to Lindau for the night? The next day, ferry to Arbon, then bike to Konstanz.... ferry back to Lindau for the night, etc.? We will have access to a house in Lindau, so I wonder if it would be more economical to head back there each night rather than stay in a different town each night.
Posted by
Greeley, co, usa
2551 posts
If you stay at hotels that are part of the bett and bike association, then they will transfer luggage. www.bettundbike.de
Posted by
OP
Kamloops, BC, Canada
20 posts
Thanks, Stephen. I hadn't come across that link yet. I am still wondering about ferrying back to Lindau each night, but am having difficulty finding the right information. Does anyone know where I could find ferry/train schedules for locations around Lake Constance, and whether or not bikes are allowed on those ferries? Thanks for your help!