Switzerland is all about scenic beauty – and thus Switzerland bike tours are fun and exciting. All the bicycling freaks know that this is one place that is the perfect destination for biking vacations. Though the high peaks may seem tiring, you can ride your bike there even if you are not a top athlete.
As you will notice, many tour companies will offer you several trips through some gentle passes. And if you are daring, you can select some steep ones, too. And apart from the ease of the passes, you can also pick the level of independence. If you are new to biking, it is best to take a guide along. If you are an experienced biker, you can tour on your own with a map of the trail.
Tip: To ensure a successful trip, read up on the weather.
The best cycling trails in Switzerland are located in alpine regions where the weather is extremely changeable. While cycling in heavy snow and howling gales may be thrilling, it definitely won't be fun if you were expecting warm sunshine and gentle breezes and packed accordingly.
Take a good look at the weather forecast before you leave so you can pack the gear you need for the prevailing weather conditions.
Pack and Pedal
These people will offer you many Swiss biking tours for different kinds of cyclists. If you want an easy ride with a lot of enjoyment and scenic beauty, you can select the Aare Trail Tour. It is a beautiful ride across alpine fields and near crystal-clear lakes. There are medieval neighborhoods and gorgeous castles.
If you are an experienced cyclist, you can opt for the Lakes Trail tour. It starts with Lake Geneva and runs along 16 lakes. And if you want just a moderate trip, you can take the one along the Rhine River, and an easier one along the Rhone. All these trips can be either guided or self-guided. The Rhine and Rhone trips are self-guided. You will find that most bicycle tours in Switzerland are 5-10 days long.
DuVine Adventures
With DuVine Adventures, you can enjoy a tour with your entire family. These bicycle tours in Switzerland are geared towards the entire family and these are moderate trips that highlight downhill biking that is especially enjoyed by kids. And there are many other activities apart from bike tours, like boat rides. So this is a family fun package, with bike riding as a part of the trip.
If you want just Switzerland bike tours, then you can go for other packages. All the meals, stops, and lodging are kid-friendly, and if you are going with your family, I would strongly recommend these biking tours to Switzerland.
Back roads
These tours are also quite stunning and offer family-friendly packages. It is all about variety, and you can get lots of it from Back roads. They also offer many packages other than bicycle tours in Switzerland, but since we aren't discussing boat riding or other adventure sports, we will just stick to biking.
Equipment
Now that you know about the major bicycle tour Switzerland packages, let me talk about the required cycling equipment you must carry:
- Bike (if you have your own, good - or else you can rent one)
- Flexibility and physical strength (though it's not equipment, it goes without saying that if you are not feeling physically fit, you cannot go bicycle touring in Europe.)
- Bags - to hold your stuff
- Water bottles
- First aid kits
- Extra clothes - if you decide to take a dip in the rivers
My Own Bicycle Tours Switzerland Adventure
Here are some of my Switzerland bike tours:
- A short trip with my kids from Oerlikon to Kloten Airport along the Glatt (1 day, 16 miles - 25 km)
- Orelikon - Regensberg - Dielsdorf - Rhine River - Eglisau, and back to Zurich along the Glatt (via Bulach) (1 day, 40 miles - 60 km)
- Zurich - Dubendorf - Kyburg Castel - Winterthur and back to Zurich via Kloten (1 day, 40 miles - 60 km)
- Orelikon to Eglisau (along the Glatt), along the Rhine River to the Toss River, via Embrach back to Orelikon (1 day, 40 miles - 70 km)
- From Orelikon to Baden and back along the Limmat River (1 day, 30 miles - 50 km)
- From Orelikon to Baden and back via Dielsdorf (1 day, 40 miles - 60 km)
- Orelikon to Schaffhausen and back via Winterthur (2 days, 80 miles - 130 km)
- Circle Around the Greefensee (1 day, 25 miles - 40 km)
- From Zug to Luzern and back (1 day, 40 miles - 70 km)
- One way from Zurich to Basel (1 day, 60 miles - 110 km)
- Orelikon - Greefensee - Rapperswil, and back along the east bank of Lake Zurich (1 day, 40 miles - 60 km)
- Zurich - Sihlwald - and back along the Sihl River (1 day, 30 miles - 50 km)
Always, good "cycling nutrition" was a major part of any of our bicycle tours Switzerland - here are some pictures!
For several years now my other job brought me to Zurich almost twice a month. Each visit is for a day or two. Just 30 seconds walk from my hotel's entrance there is a bicycle rental office.
One day my friend and I decided to rent bikes and to travel from Orelikon to downtown Zurich. At that time we couldn't know that this was the beginning of a major change in our stay in Zurich.
Switzerland is considered to be a very hilly country, but as we gained more and more experience we found that there are bike trails for everyone: for the beginning rider, for the "twice a week" bike rider, as well as for the professional rider. The bike trails are well-marked, and there are very good maps for planning and navigation.
Switzerland is a haven for bike riders. At first, we feared that due to the weather, we could bike there only in the summer, but year by year we found that the riding season in Switzerland is longer, and we can ride almost all year round. In the winter, snow biking is the name of the game and there are many bike trails for this wonderful sport. In the summertime, some of the ski resorts turn out to be great places for downhill biking.
My Own Bicycle Tours Switzerland Photo Gallery
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(4 years before our Rhine River Tour)
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Links About Bicycle Tours Switzerland
- SwitzerlandMobility – Cycling in Switzerland - One of the best cycling applications!
- More bicycling tours.
- My Rhine River Tour.
- Take a look at this great web site about bike riding in Switzerland (including high-resolution maps).
- A great hotel in Diessenhofen, along the Rhine River: Seminarhotel Unterhof
I hope this information is helpful when going on bicycle tours in Switzerland.
Books About Cycling in Switzerland
More information about cycling in Switzerland can be found in several informative books. Take a look at these selected books:
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Bill Cosby