Bike Tour Reviews Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
COUNTRY: Austria, Germany, Switzerland
Self guided from EUR € 1399
Self-guided:
Daily: Apr 14 - Oct 3, 2024
Description:
The Lake Constance cycle route is one of the most popular bike routes in Europe. On this tour you will cycle around the entire lake and discover three countries - Austria, Germany, and Switzerland - and four islands - Reichenau, Mainau, Lindau and Werd.
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★★★★★ Julane Anderson 7 months agoOne of our favorite bike tours!
We've been on many bike tours in Europe and this tour has it all: excellent, centrally located hotels; beautiful scenic routes; variety of activities and experiences included in the price (gondola cable car ride, three museums, cog railway trip, boat trip, bus tickets provided by the hotels); and reliable bikes--we used "acoustic" rather than electric bikes and only had to walk two short hills. The tour company has gone above and beyond to make this tour a memorable and interesting one.
A cyclist doing a self guided tour for the first time should be confident about riding with (rare) city traffic and navigation; we were glad that we had downloaded the GPX tracks before we left the States.- What was the date of your tour?
- mid-September, 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12+
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Dave Carlstrom 11 months ago
On the road again... our third Biketours.com adventure
Thankfully I’m not unduly worse for wear after almost three weeks and hundreds of kilometers of European cycling… though I did take four tumbles. The most serious (and ignominious) was in an Austrian grocery store parking lot when my pants cuff caught on the pedal and over I went – hard, attracting the immediate attention of several shoppers (“Carnage on lane one”) who with some difficulty got me back on my feet. At first I was pretty sure I’d broken something important, but all limbs are yet attached and seemingly intact… albeit a bit looser.
I pedaled the balance of the day’s distance but at my compatriots’ urging skipped the following day’s segment in favor of bus/train passage to St. Gallen, Switzerland. The next day was a scheduled no biking day so I had two days to recover, sorta. The next day – our last of actual cycling – with some anxiety I got back on my trusty velocipede and, sure enough, one click later fell again… though this time comparatively softly albeit in front of a bus. I made it the remaining 45K to destination without further incident.
Our merry band included Seattleites Curt and Brenda Burnett, Gerry Champagne, and friends until recently from Fairbanks Ron and Jeanine Woolf. Fine folks all, we really did have a good time together.
Our odyssey began with six days at a rental house in Eguisheim, France, followed by an eleven day clockwise circumnavigation of Lake Constance that touched Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Here are a few day-by-day snippets of my adventure:
Sunday, April 30th. Aloft en route to Paris Delta served the worst dinner I’ve ever ingested on an international flight: the “beef” entre was the consistency of spam, reminiscent of the mystery meat of junior high cafeteria days, and dished out in a biodegradable cardboard clamshell.
Monday, May 1st. Having hobbled off the plane I was semi-involuntarily consigned to a wheelchair for the lengthy transfer to the airport train station. Manly hombre that I am, I dared not disclose to the friendly pusher that I had come to Europe for three weeks of cycling. Arrived Colmar, in Alsace, just before midnight via a 180 MPH TGV with a transfer in Strasbourg and, coincidentally, six minutes prior to the Woolfs’ arrival. Settled into our very nice rental house.
Tuesday, May 2nd - Thursday, May 4th. Daily e-bike excursions to nearby picture-perfect towns with eat-in dinners crafted by chefs Burnett and Woolf. Imbibed copious amouints of wine, certainly did our part for the local viticulture industry.
I developed a serious case of ABC – Asymmetrical Butt Chafing – which was ameliorated by liberal bi-daily nether regions applications of Bag Balm – my personal favorite posterior palliative, see https://bagbalm.com/. SHOW MORE
Friday, May 5th. Hung out at the house, pas mal.
Saturday, May 6th. Day trip with Burnetts to the tourist mecca of Colmar where, alas and alack, Curt was pickpocketed! Charge and debit card cancellations ensued, not good.
Sunday, May 7th. Auto trip to a German mountain hiking lodge, an intermediate stop on our way to Konstantz, the starting and ending point of our main event circumnavigation of the eponymous lake.
Monday, May 8th. Had to beat feet to get Burnetts’ rental car back by a 10:30 am deadline… made it with a full five minutes to spare. Checked in at the stunning four star Hotel Halm where the breakfast buffet includes champagne and cheesecake. Woolfs arrived by train, Gerry direct from Seattle via Zurich. Got our e-bikes.
Tuesday, May 9th. Pedaled forty some K to Gailingen, a bit of a shakedown cruise. Great scenery and picture postcard-worthy medieval villages. Adequate lodging, but not a Hotel Halm.
Wednesday, May 10th. Roundtrip to Rhine Falls, Europe’s largest. Second night in Gailingen, first of nearly nightly self-catered hotel room team happy hours.
On previous European bike tours we’ve grumbled about route instructions encrypted by by non-native English speakers. This time the tour operator-provided guidebook was completely devoid of route guidance… we were on our own, taking turns as Google Maps-assisted trail breaking pathfinders with plenty of navigational errors. But we always (eventually) got to where we were going.
Thursday, May 11th. Return to Konstanz for a Hotel Halm reprise. Got soaked during the last couple clicks of the day’s ride.
Friday, May 12th. To Radolfzell via Mainau Island, the latter a facsimile of sorts of Butchart Gardens.
Saturday, May 13th. A mere sixteen K to Ludwigshafen.
Sunday, May 14th. Forty K to Friedrichshafen, home of the Zeppelin Museum to which I made a solo afternoon excursion via city buses. Turns out the Hindenberg was 245 meters from stem to stern, almost three football fields.
Monday, May 15th. Day of my aforementioned parking lot tumble. Overnight in Bregnz, Austria. I was very sore, somewhat bruised, had marginal repose.
Tuesday, May 16th. Having shipped my bike with the luggage I patronized buses and trains to our next destination, St. Gallen, Switzerland. As it happened today was Jeanine’s turn to tumble, hard, while passing a path-blocking truck.
Wednesday, May 17th. Today was a scheduled non-cycling day so while others toured about (monastery, waterfalls chocolate factory, shopping) I rested my bruised corpus in the hope that I might be sufficiently healed for the morrow’s last lap back to Konstanz.
Thursday, May 18th. 14K of almost continuous downhill on the 46 K journey back to our starting point. Celebratory dinner, a bit melancholy to be soon parting ways.
Friday, May 19th. Train to Zurich for a twelve hour Swissair flight to San Francisco and a connection home to Seattle.
Great trip, a good time had by all (despite bumps and bruises).
D. Carlstrom. May, 2023
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★★★★★ Jeanine JeffersWoolf 11 months ago
Great
Love the route planned and the suggested sites to see. Beautiful area. Responsive organization. Some of the directions were tricky
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Robert Hardies November 7, 2022
Fantastic service and a great tour
Radweg Reisen is by far the most organized and efficient tour company we have used. The ride was fun and interesting. The path is fairly simple to find and the grade is level and easy. Each hotel and transportation ticket worked perfectly. I just want to rave about a job well done.
- How many tours have you completed?
- Five or more
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Robert Hardies August 25, 2022
This isnabgreat and fun trip!
Radweg Reisen did a fantastic job. The bikes were in excellent condition and were great bikes. Luggage transfer was seamless. The hotels and meals were great. The guide books were comprehensive. I feel like I cannot rave enough about how well organized this tour was. Thanks!
- How many tours have you completed?
- Five or more
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Dorothy Richards August 24, 2022
Great Trip!
We really enjoyed our trip around the Bodensee! Our bikes were in good working condition, the hotels were nice and typically had great breakfasts. The route took us by many highlights and even some places off the beaten path. I would absolutely recommend this trip and I would use this tour company again.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Mark Ivkovich August 23, 2022
Wonderful bike tour experience
The hotels were very nice and morning meals excellent. The cities on the bike tour were all very interesting and offered many historical points of interest. I would highly recommend the bike tour to friends and family.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 6, 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Merry Beckel August 2, 2022
Nice trip!
The hotel stays were great! We felt the maps could have been much better. Thank goodness for the friendly local people who were willing to help us! Getting in and out of St. Gallen was scarey and difficult. A couple people in our party said they will never do another bike tour!
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★★★★★ Wes G October 2, 2019
Lake Konstanz Bike Tour
My first bike tour in Europe. The area is beautiful to ride through and each city had its own uniqueness. We really enjoyed sampling local beers and wines along with our favorite snacks and dinners. Generally, our accommodations were satisfactory with some better than others. Thankfully, mid-September is not too warm because many small hotels do not have airconditioning. The bikes from Radweg Reisen were in excellent condition and never once gave any of us any concern.
Just a few suggestions that would have made the trip more memorable. First of all, our tour was self-guided and we used the maps provided by Radweg. Because of some areas that had poor signage, we could have used a GPS with the routes loaded into it. There was a lot of road construction and repairs going on. We got lost several times and ended up way off course and walking our bikes up steep hills to get to our destination.
Second, although all four of us are in excellent condition, two of us are not regular cyclists. So, we trained with spin classes. Even then, we were wishing on many occasions that we had opted for the e-bikes,especially on the St Gallen to Konstanz segment (absolutely crushing)!
Third, the hotel in Manzell was too far away from Friedrichshafen and absolutely nothing to do in that area. The only saving grace was the restaurant.
Overall, a lovely ride, although I would caution against novice cyclists doing the eleven night tour without e-bikes.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 13-25
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
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★★★★★ lenzylamb September 27, 2019
Wonderful!
We had a wonderful time! We got lost a few times due to lack of understanding the road signs(our fault) but once we got the hang of everything we were good to go! Wouldn’t hesitate booking through BikeTours again!!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Waterdog September 24, 2019
Wonderful tour
The bike, accommodations, and breakfast where all very good. I rented an eBike and am so glad I did. Some parts of the route were
harder than I had anticipated. The eBike made those times considerably easier to endure. My only negative about this trip was that the maps and directions were extremely poor at times...numerous times. The worst was when we were trying to find the hotels in the afternoon or leaving town in the mornings. The good news is we were usually able to find pedestrians or other cyclists to ask, but we could ask three people and get the different directions. That being said, it was still a wonderful adventure. I'll definitely book another trip through biketours.com.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 6-15
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Tom on a Bike August 26, 2019
A beautiful ride!
Cycling around Lake Constance (Bodensee) was a lovely experience. Every day brought more beautiful views and villages. I chose this 11-day self-guided tour with lower kilometers to allow me to experience the villages and people more intimately. The tour did just that. You could very well choose another tour with more daily distance and get nice experience. This area presents many opportunities for the cycling tourist. I was never bored on my cycling days.
The tour was relatively flat. The only challenge was on the day cycling to St. Gallen. There was a considerable climb. It was walkable when needed. The tours mostly followed the Lake Constance cycle path. When roads where used, they ware almost always quiet roads with low traffic.
Some things that could be improved: Radweg Reisen did not give an orientation at the start of the ride. I was fitted for a bike that was nicely outfitted although it was heavy as a tank. On this vacation, I did some Swiss touring on a self-guided tour from another provider. That tour provider gave me a nice orientation on signage, routes, the bike, and Swiss cycling. I was also given a tour support person’s mobile phone number to use when I needed help. Radweg could improve on their orientation process.
The Radweg Reisen books were very nicely done in a size that fit in the handlebar bag map holder. What was lacking were detailed instructions on navigating to ticketed attractions and hotels. I would suggest a small insert map on these pages. I was able to use Google Maps and the map the Radweg Resiaen gave me to get to my destination.
In conclusion, I was very satisfied with the tour. I felt the hotels were nice. The tickets to the attractions were very nice. The only suggestion is for Radweg Resien to work on their customer focus and interaction.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 15
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Nellyyy91 July 18, 2019
Amazing experience
Such an incredible way to explore parts of Germany and Switzerland I feel I would’ve never visited had it not been for this bike tour. Amazing views and a different experience (I am not an avid biker). Some trails were more intense than others, but it added to the fun. Anytime something came up the staff at Radweg were super helpful, friendly and readily available. Would absolutely recommend this trip to friends and family, and also participate in another one somewhere else.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 02/07/2019-12/07/2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ LindaF September 5, 2018
Great biking trip sound Lake Konstanz!
This self-guided trip was perfect for our group of 13 riders. Quality equipment made for a hassle-free week. Most hotels were very accommodating. I recommend you only use hotels that are willing to supply fans for those hot summer nights.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 24 - August 4, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Freddy July 8, 2018
Beautiful Lake Constance and Switzerland
Riding through three countries self guided was a wonderful experience. My highlight was Gais to St Gallen as I had always wanted to wander along narrow lanes through the Swiss countryside on a beautiful afternoon. But close second was the ride to Rhine Falls. But every day was great, even the torrential rain into Gailingen did not deter us. We got lost many times because the signage is weak in some places but had the overall plan including hotels in Sygic Travel and most problems were resolved with a quick check of the maps on the tablet.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ DWSt June 22, 2018
Great way to experience the local culture
We just finished the trip around Lake Constance and all in all, I can say that it was a wonderful experience. We felt like we much better understood the German and Swiss culture as a result of riding bikes. Most people we met spoke English "a little", some better than others. Their English was certainly better in most cases than my "a little" German.
A couple of suggestions. First, pack light as I had packed too much, especially too many warm clothes. Secondly, download Google Maps for the whole area before you begin the trip. Location on Google Maps works on an iPhone even if you don't have a functional sim. At times you will get lost, but Google Maps saved us more than once.
We enjoyed some hotels more than others, but there was always Wi-Fi and breakfast. The ride to St. Gallen through the mountains was the most difficult, but had great scenery. My wife appreciated her electric bike on that day.
Documentation was pretty good. Since none of us read German very well, we missed using some of the supplied coupons and ended up paying twice. The explanation on the first day may have been missed because there was just too much to process.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 06/2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- This is the first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Bulldozer October 8, 2017
A cultural deep dive
Our second Bike Tours trip and this one was as enjoyable as the first. Of the four of us two are experienced bikers and two are entry level. To balance things our two entry level people had e-bikes (and they did better than us!)
This trip has a good balance of riding and events and if you add to that the dinner package the pressure of finding the right restaurant after a long day in the saddle goes away (especially one of your party is a Coeliac)
The inclusion of vouchers was a great addition to the package and were well thought through by the team as were the hotel selections (1st & last day the hotel provided a lounge area for early / late arrival which was unavoidable due to long haul flight schedules)
If you are prepared to explore a little on the journey then getting a little lost is all a part of the day. There are always friendly locals who will help you to get to the next town, that was our experience.- What was the date of your tour?
- 26 Sept - 05 Oct 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 with Bike Tours
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany October 9, 2017
We're glad to hear you all had a great time on tour. I love eBikes for the same reason- everyone can cycle together! I agree that exploring and being comfortable with getting a little lost adds to the journey!
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★★★★★ Geoff m October 6, 2017
Must do ride for most reasonable cyclists
Having ridden Salzburg to Vienna, this was the second bike tour ride for 2 couples in their late 50's. The guys regularly do low distance triathlons, so they rode normal bikes and their wives rode electric. We chose the 3 star hotel deal that was quite ample but many hotels did not have air conditioners so ok in shoulders and winter seasons but possible too hot in summer. Maps in and out of cities are confusing in places and you can easily miss a sign so you have to be careful.we did the while circuit and average speeds only 13 km hr with many stops. Overall worth doing. Would recommend asking for lower floor rooms in hotels that do not have elevators.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
