Travel report: The big tour around Lake Constance with RADWEG-REISEN
From our guests Romy and Egbert
Choice of Trip and Weather
It had been clear for a long time that we wanted to cycle around Lake Constance at some point. Now it was about time, as two 60/70-year-olds, as long as they are healthy, also have plenty of time, which was not available when they were working. The deliberately chosen period for the trip was intended to cover the rest of the "Indian summer" and - lo and behold - we had particularly beautiful weather: sun, blue sky, blue lake and pleasant temperatures in the afternoons with daily iced coffee on the sun terraces along the way. Only on the last day did we have some light drizzle from time to time, but this did not detract from the overall impression of the trip. The seasonally late tour also had the advantage that there were few tourists on the road. The very well signposted route was almost empty.
Show more Show lessOrganization
From the catalog, we chose the 7-day tour with five cycling days and opted for category A. Both were the right decisions: the five cycling days meant relaxed cycling (approx. 50 km/day) and plenty of time to enjoy the places, breaks and other sights.
The overnight stays with breakfast were of a high standard in the hotels; we were extremely satisfied with all services: Hotels, bike accommodation and charging facilities (in Arbon, Römerhof, the bikes had to be parked in front of the hotel in bike racks -so as a small downer). The personalized tour booklet from RADWEG-REISEN did the rest with general information, presentation of the route and sights as well as support options on the trip, such as the use of trains, boats and bicycle repair shops.
The round trip
We rode our own pedelecs from the Hotel Kreuzlingen at the harbor along the Untersee on the Swiss side and, after visiting the beautiful medieval town of Stein am Rhein on the German side, back to Öhningen-Wangen to the Residenz Seeterrasse (41 km).
In the afternoon we took the bus to Radolfzell, where we visited the beautiful old town and the "water level indicator".
The next leg took us from Öhningen-Wangen to Lake Überlingen to Überlingen (52 km), past the Otto Dix House, across the turbulent Höri peninsula and up the Bodanrücken ridge with truly magnificent views of Lake Constance and insights into the grape, pear and apple harvests. To paraphrase Otto Dix: "the area here is beautiful as hell". The beautiful Parkhotel St. Leonhard, situated above the town, gave us fantastic views of Lake Constance and the snow-capped Alps.
Show more Show less
From Überlingen we cycled to Lindau (67 km), with stops at the Birnau monastery church, Meersburg, Immenstaad and Friedrichshafen. We took the boat from Immenstaad to Friedrichshafen, which was a particularly nice experience and a recommendation from RADWEG-REISEN.
As we continued our journey, we realized that we had forgotten something at lunch in Friedrichshafen. So we had to turn back and pick up the tour booklet there. We now made up the ten kilometers we had saved by taking the boat with our bikes and our own physical strength.
All along the cycle route, farmers brought in their valuable harvest of wine, apples and pears in a professional manner. In Lindau, we stayed at the Lindauer Hof right on the harbor, a very good hotel in an excellent location. A walk along the harbor and through the old town rounded off the day.
The distance from Lindau to Arbon was 54 km, with stops at the lake stage in Bregenz (major construction site during our trip) and views of the Pfänder, in Fußach at the mouth of the Rhine, at the Mehrerau Cistercian monastery, the Fußacher Bucht nature reserve and in Altenrhein at the Hundertwasser market hall.
The visit to the medieval town of Arbon with its colorful half-timbered houses and castle was a delight.
Hundertwasser Market Hall
On the last day of cycling (40 km), we cycled through Romanshorn in drizzling rain back to our hotel at Kreuzlingen harbor and the harbor promenade with its amusement park.
We collected our car from the RADWEG-REISEN parking lot we had rented before the trip, loaded our bikes and spent a great evening in Constance and at our hotel in Kreuzlingen before leaving the following day.
Show more Show less
Overall Rating
The five Lake Constance round trip routes and days (we cycled a total of 257 km) were a unique experience in terms of the organization of the cycling route, the accommodation and the weather.
It makes a big difference whether you visit Lake Constance by car and visit individual places or towns, which we have often done in the past, or whether you can experience the lake up close, completely and intensively with time and thus in a relaxed manner by cycling.
