Lake Constance  Bike Tour Reviews (page 8)

  • Lake Constance Classic
    (4/5) LindaF September 5, 2018

    Great biking trip sound Lake Konstanz!

    · Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • 4/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Waterdog September 24, 2019

    Wonderful tour

    · Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • Photo 1 (photo by Waterdog)
    • Photo 2 (photo by Waterdog)
    • Photo 3 (photo by Waterdog)
    • Photo 4 (photo by Waterdog)
    • Photo 5 (photo by Waterdog)
    • Photo 6 (photo by Waterdog)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Wes G October 2, 2019

    Lake Konstanz Bike Tour

    · Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Merry Beckel August 2, 2022

    Nice trip!

    · Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)

    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!

    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
  • (4/5) Jo Ribordy-Christofferson September 19, 2024

    Not for the inexperienced traveler

    · Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)

    The trip itinerary was very good, the bikes were good, the motels were good, the luggage transport was good. The biking instructions were terrible. We only received a very small undetailed map for each day. We needed to use Google maps to navigate for most days of the trip and we were definitely lost on many occasions. International phone service is a must for this trip! Cycling along the lake was easy but getting in and out of towns was very challenging.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    10+
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Families with teens
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Susan Ferrante-Collier September 23, 2024

    Girls on Bikes

    · Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)

    It was an amazing trip, we are very appreciative for the assistance of bike tours in making the trip as lovely as it was. My only complaint is that one of the hotels was in the middle of a huge construction situation and there were unpleasant septic issues. Choosing another hotel would have been preferable

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 4-16
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
  • (4/5) Pierre C. September 30, 2024

    nice trip but some advance planning is required

    · Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)

    Hotels and views were excellent for the most part. A couple of things to note: 1. Bikes are heavy duty and therefore very heavy, we upgraded to e-bikes 3 days into the trip, that was a big help. 2. Trails are not well marked, we met a few different groups during our tour of the lake and everyone was complaining about the written directions and even the gps tracking. Be prepared to have to stop, take an assessment and even back track a few times a day.

    Crucial items if you want to use GPS tracking; buy a phone holder that can attach your phone to the bike before leaving on the trip, otherwise you will have major issues setting up your phone so you can see it properly (I tucked mine into the front basket which had a protective transparent cover, however with the glare, it was hard to read). Also, make sure that you bring a backup battery pack as 2 -3 hours of tracking and your phone will be dead.

    Be prepared to bike some busy roads and gravel roads. One hotel (Bergenz) was located in a residential neighbourhood, there was ooe other restaurants within 600 meters, the rest were in town, 1.5 km away. Although the hotel restaurant was very nice, we spent more on dinner than we anticipated. Note that in St. Gallen almost all businesses and restaurants are closed on Sunday and many are also closed on Monday. Choices for meals and things to do become scarce if you are there during that time.

    Finally, be prepared to spend lots of money in Switzerland $50CAD hamburgers in a sit down restaurant seems to be the norm, not for the faint of heart. If you want to save some money I suggest flying into Germany before and after, accommodations and meals will be a lot cheaper (we spent 3 days inSwitzerland before and three days after, we figure that those 6 days cost us at least an extra $1K compared to what Germany prices would have been).

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 2024
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • Aare Cycle Route
    (4/5) Petexter October 10, 2016

    Great all Round trip except for the maps

    · Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers

    Route maps failed at the departure point from the main route to the hotel. Upside: met a lot of very helpful people. Downside: consistently irritating.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Late September
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Professor October 10, 2016
    · Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers

    What was the date of your tour?
    9/26 - 10/4
    How many tours have you completed?
    12
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Heidi August 17, 2017

    Fun bike trip through switzerland

    · Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers

    A different and fun way to experience Switzerland. About 90% on dedicated bike paths or bike lanes, which makes it a very safe way of biking. Hotels were mostly very comfortable, but most lacked air conditioning, which would have been greatly appreciated in temperatures of 90plus degree for most of the week.

    What was the date of your tour?
    7/30-8/7/2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • Photo 1 (photo by Heidi)
    • Photo 2 (photo by Heidi)
    • Photo 3 (photo by Heidi)
    • Photo 4 (photo by Heidi)
    • Photo 5 (photo by Heidi)
    • Photo 6 (photo by Heidi)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) apitzer October 19, 2017

    Cycling in Switzerland is Way more Accessible than you think!

    · Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers

    I went on a portion of this tour from Thun to Bern to Biel/Bienne as a BikeTours.com staff member. The route was super easy to follow, very flat, and almost always on bicycle paths. We covered the daily distance quickly and were rewarded with more time to explore the perfectly-preserved and lively medieval town centers each night. The northern part of Switzerland is on a plateau, so it is not at all like the Alps. I missed the mountain views, but I definitely appreciated the more flat terrain.

    Don't miss the Old City, the Clock Tower, the Rose Garden, or the bizarre, centrally located Kindlifresserbrunnen (German for "Child Eater Fountain") in Bern. Allow time to explore Biel/Bienne's old town. It is smaller than Bern, just as charming, and with a more local vibe. The nightlife in Biel/Bienne was more lively than expected, and there seemed to be a large student population. This is a fully bilingual German-French city. Very unique!

    I visited Konstanz for one day at the end of this tour, and it was beautiful! Very charming, red-tiled buildings dominated the historic district. Be sure to climb up to the top of the Cathedral in Konstanz, and definitely visit the Island of Mainau, which is a beautiful botanical garden.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 3, 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    This was my first!
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • Photo 1 (photo by apitzer)
    • Lake Thun Hillside (photo by apitzer)
    • Bern (photo by apitzer)
    • Spiez (on Lake Thun) (photo by apitzer)
    • Streets of Bern (photo by apitzer)
    • Swiss Chalet (photo by apitzer)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) kpatout August 21, 2019

    Great trip!

    · Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers

    The biketours.com staff did an excellent job making sure we were prepared for our trip. The route was beautiful and manageable (even for those of us who weren't experienced cyclists). One concern we had was that the directions within a city - to and from the hotels - weren't detailed enough and we needed to use our cell phones and google maps to find the way every time. We were also unable to reach the local tour company by phone after making many attempts. However, biketours.com was able to help us each time we had a question. Overall I would definitely recommend biketours.com and this tour in particular.

    What was the date of your tour?
    August 2019
    How many tours have you completed?
    one
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Highlights of the Swiss Rhine
    (4/5) Keith Reyen August 23, 2022

    Very Pleasant Ride From Lake To River

    · Highlights of the Swiss Rhine: Lake Constance to Basel

    This was a very nice and mellow ride from Lake Constance down to Basel. The beginning of the trip in Rohrsarch seemed to be a bit of a compromise, but the finish in Basel with a balcony room on the Rhine, with the summer music festival stage on the river directly below was a spectacular finish to a great trip.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
  • (4/5) David P. 5 months ago

    Nice tour, but pricey.

    · Highlights of the Swiss Rhine: Lake Constance to Basel

    This was my fifth Biketours.com tour, fourth as a couple. The other tours, Saar/Mosel, Danube, and Lake Constance were almost totally on bike paths along waterways. The first day from Rorschach to Gottlieben was a repeat of the last day of the Constance tour. The second day we pedaled against a fierce westerly headwind. The boat ride from Stein am Rhein to Shaffhausen was nice, but two people and two bikes cost 90 Swiss Francs. The train would have been much cheaper, faster, but not as nice. In fact, the whole time we spent in Switzerland this trip was a price shock due to the value of the Franc. For this reason, I'd recommend tours in EU countries over this one. Day three involved some long, steep climbs along rural roads with little traffic. An E-bike is recommended for this reason. We didn't used E-bikes. Days four and five were on some roads with heavy traffic, and some rougher gravel paths. Scenery was nice, but no better than other river tours we've done. Bikes were great, seats comfortable, hotels very good. Not having printed guidebooks as we've had on previous tours took a little getting used to, but the provided app worked fine, except for finding hotels, especially Basel. One bag transfer per person required us to be flexible - two bags per person for previous tours. In summary, we enjoyed the tour, but believe our previous tours were better values.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June, 2025
    How many tours have you completed?
    5 from Biketours.com
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • Hotel in Gottlieben, right on the river. (photo by David P.)
    •  (photo by David P.)
    • Rheinfalls. (photo by David P.)
    • Basel. (photo by David P.)
    •  (photo by David P.)
    •  (photo by David P.)
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Lake Constance to Lake Maggiore
    (4/5) Timothy Ricks September 23, 2023

    Spectacular Scenery Along Lakes and Over the Alps

    · Lake Constance to Lake Maggiore

    Easy riding through gorgeous countryside for the first few days, then some serious climbing in the mountains for a couple of days, a long descent and then beautiful Locarno on Lake Maggiore. More gravel road and trails than expected. Sturdy but slow and heavy bikes provided were up to the task—just made for more work. Hotels varied in quality. The hotel in Horn (Hotel Bad Horn) was very nice. Others—mostly just okay.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    16
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • Roadside view (photo by Timothy Ricks)
    • Heading over the Alps (photo by Timothy Ricks)
    • Who doesn’t love a long descent? (photo by Timothy Ricks)
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Timothy Ricks September 30, 2023

    Exquisite Visual Treats

    · Lake Constance to Lake Maggiore

    A few easy days, then some more challenging climbs. Finally a long descent and a ride to Locarno on Lake Maggiore. Some rain and wind added to the adventure.

    Pros: Beautiful scenery. A few nice hotels. Reliable rental bikes. Memorable rides. Excellent luggage transfers.

    Cons: Too much gravel and trail riding. While some hotels were very nice, many were sub-par, in our opinion. Bikes were heavy, slow and unresponsive—making the cycling harder and slower. Tour provider never met nor communicated with us directly—they just delivered written instructions and rental bikes to the first hotel. It seemed that they really were not so interested in our business.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    15+
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    •  (photo by Timothy Ricks)
    •  (photo by Timothy Ricks)
    •  (photo by Timothy Ricks)
    •  (photo by Timothy Ricks)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Lake Constance Bike Path
    (3/5) pmr52 July 11, 2019
    · Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)

    What was the date of your tour?
    24 june - 1 july
    How many tours have you completed?
    7
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (3/5) Mychelle October 29, 2019

    Do Your Research

    · Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)

    My husband and I did the Lake Constance Self Guided bike tour. When we arrived at our hotel we dropped off our bags and we took a taxi to the bike company to pick up our bikes (per our instructions). We were greeted by a man that spoke only German. The maps and instruction he gave us were not clear (some of them were in German as well). The monitor on the bike was not in English (he got a translator over the phone to help him change it). I had upload the suggested Bike app on my phone ahead of time with the trail map but it would not work once we arrived. The first 24 hours of our trip did not go smooth (prior to our ride). I ended up going to the Visitor's Center in town and found someone that spoke English to walk me through the route. I got a much better trail map from them as well. Once we got through the hump of what we felt was very poor planning on the part of this company everything else went well. The hotels were wonderful, the bike trail was breathtaking, the weather was mostly sunny (a little rain) and the trail is well marked. I emailed this company during our trip to let them know about our problems and they were little help.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2019
    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?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (3/5) William McGill II August 3, 2022

    Lake Constance Up Scale Lodging- +’s and -‘s

    · Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)

    We enjoyed the scenery, weather, bikes and the people we met on the trail. The local bike company provided maps and directions were lacking organization, accuracy and specific detail for our trip. As an example they did not include directions to the route from the starting hotel nor to the ending hotel. One of the “upscale”hotels was far from the lake in an area with undeveloped, unkempt grass like a vacant lot. Only after painful and time consuming negotiation did the local bike company agree to deliver the bikes to our starting hotel. We previously took a Danube and Mosel upscale lodging bike tours and received great customer service from the local bike companies. I recommend that until the local company selling this tour significantly improves its customer service Bike Tours stop selling this tour.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
  • Lake Constance Bike Path
    (3/5) Canada November 4, 2015

    A bit of a disappointment

    · Lake Constance Bicycle Path

    We booked the high end tour and in general were very pleased. Most of the hotels were lovely and located conveniently to the bike path. One exception was the Marina hotel we were sent to. We passed by beautiful villages but instead of staying in these lovely locations, we were sent to a marina where there no amenities nearby. We explored through the nearby campsite and located a restaurant much more reasonably priced than the marina hotel restaurant. When we had asked at the hotel about nearby restaurants, the hotel said there were no others nearby. It was also very noisy as they were working on the boats. Also we were disappointed with how little you actually got to bike along the lake. Being as this is a huge vacation area most of the lakefront had homes on them. So we were sharing the road much more than expected with often little or no views of the lake.
    The bike tour company was great and the bikes were of a good quality (though with the bumpy terrain shocks would have been appreciated).

    A lovely touch was the beautiful room at the Hotel Halm in Constance where there was a bottle of wine waiting and a lovely corner room.

    How many tours have you completed?
    Three
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection