Travel report: The Alpine Rhine Cycle Tour
From our guests Max and Josef, who traveled with us in summer 2025
From our guests Max and Josef
We (my colleague Josef and I) have been going on our annual cycle tour with Radwerg-Reisen since 2015, i.e. for 10 years now, and not without reason, because all of them have been excellently organized. It is particularly worth mentioning that trips can also be planned that cannot be booked in the catalog. You express your wishes and Radweg-Reisen tries to make it possible. This is not always easy, as the hotels and luggage transport have to be coordinated accordingly.
As already mentioned, we have been taking our cycle tours via Radweg-Reisen for 10 years, so it was a small anniversary for which my wife had a matching cycling jersey made for us and so we set off on Sunday, July 9th to our starting point in Constance. Our destination here was the Apartment Hotel, where we spent our first night.
Day 1: Splügen - Bonaduz
The driver from Radweg-Reisen picked us up at the hotel right on time at 9.00 am. After loading our bikes and luggage, we set off in the direction of Splügen (Switzerland). Here the driver dropped us off at a parking lot and we started our first stage along the Hinterrhein to Bonaduz. The nice thing about this section of the route is that it is mainly downhill and you can save your strength and also your batteries, because we switched to an e-bike, but that doesn't mean you don't have to pedal. If you don't believe this, it's best to try it out for yourself and then cover a distance of between 50 and 100 kilometers on the Eco setting, just as an aside for those who always smile at e-bike riders.
The Hinterrhein is very wild and eats its way through the mountains, through gorges and waterfalls to Bonaduz, where the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein join to form the Alpenrhein. Particularly noteworthy are the many places along the route where you can see down to the Hinterrhein, especially the Rofflach Gorge with its waterfall and the Viamala Gorge. Here you can see the impressive power of water.
On arrival in Bonaduz, we set off in search of our hotel. When we asked a passer-by for directions, she laughed because the hotel was on the opposite side of the road. Regarding the hotels that Radweg-Reisen books for the tours, it has to be said that a good selection is made here, whereby, as here in Bonaduz, the Hotel Alte Post deserves a special mention, because after the hotel was closed on 31.12.2014 and completely demolished, it was reopened in just 500 days. We were very impressed by the new ambience and how friendly we were welcomed here, even as "cyclists".
Day 2: From Disentis to Bonaduz
After a hearty breakfast, we made our way to Reichenau-Tamins station in light rain. From there, we followed the Vorderrhein to Disentis. Even along the railroad line, there were always wonderful views of the very special rock formations that can be seen along the Vorderrhein. Radweg-Reisen provides detailed travel documents for every trip you book, in which attention is drawn to places of interest. This was also the case in Disentis, where we visited the Benedictine monastery.
The great thing about this day was that, contrary to expectations, the weather did improve, although the weather app had predicted otherwise. When we set off early in the morning and the manager of the Alte Post hotel drove our bikes up from the underground garage, he predicted that the weather would be fine today and he was right. Locals are often better weather forecasters than today's modern technology. After visiting the monastery, we made our way back to the hotel in Bonaduz, where we spent the second night. There was another incident on the way that deserves a special mention.
In the run-up to our cycle tour along the Rhine, Radweg-Reisen sent me the individual stages in GPX so that I could navigate them using Komoot on my cell phone. On day 2 of our trip, however, we were unlucky as the route was closed due to mudslides. We disregarded the closure and it was only when I was standing ankle-deep in mud that I realized why the route was closed. But it's not that easy to upset a Swabian. We managed to get around the obstacle with a lot of effort, but after about 100 meters we were faced with the next obstacle - another mudslide, which was so huge that an excavator was being used to clear the path. So we had to grudgingly go back, true to the motto "If you don't want to hear, you have to feel". We then found an alternative route which took us to the hotel in Bonaduz in the late afternoon, quite dirty. After a shower and cleaning our equipment, we ended the day with a good dinner.
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Day 3: From Bonaduz to Vaduz
After breakfast, we rested up and set off again - although not as breathtaking as on the two previous days, we were able to enjoy the route and the view of the mountains that we saw along our route in beautiful cycling weather. The destination of today's stage was Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. After checking into our rooms at the hotel, we set off on foot to get to know the city a little better.
Of course, Vaduz Castle, which is situated on a hill and can be seen from afar, catches the eye. We walked up to the castle, assuming we would get a nice view of the city, but found out that it does not offer admission to visitors. Nevertheless, there are several beautiful views of Vaduz along the path up to the castle. We rounded off the day with a good dinner and a delicious beer before heading back to the hotel.
Day 4: From Vaduz to Arbon
Today we continued along the Rhine until it flows into Lake Constance at Altenrhein. Here, the Rhine forms the natural border between Switzerland and Austria. The special thing about today was that we crossed national borders several times, namely between Lichtenstein and Austria and then again from Austria into Switzerland.
Once you reach Lake Constance, you immediately feel the flair that it exudes on its visitors, you feel as if you are somewhere by the sea. It is not for nothing that Lake Constance is also known as the Swabian Sea, although it is largely located in Baden and is shared with Switzerland and Austria.
Day 5: From Arbon to Constance
Today's stage could have been saved in terms of distance, as it is just under 30 kilometers from Arbon to Constance. You could have done that on an e-bike the day before. But we are on vacation and not on the run, although vacation is also the wrong term, because my companion and I are both pensioners.
A sign that tours offered by Radweg-Reisen can also be completed at an advanced age and I would like to conclude my travel report "Rhine Cycle Tour in Switzerland" by mentioning once again that Radweg-Reisen does everything it can to accommodate special requests and provide its customers with unforgettable vacations as far as the route and the individual stages are concerned.
Show more Show lessYou pedal and simply enjoy the view of the mountains along the route
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