Bregenz Transportation

In addition to the cruise boats, there are ships that crisscross Lake Constance on a regular schedule.

These scheduled ships leave several times daily from Bregenz harbor for Lindau, Friedrichshafen, Meersburg and Konstanz, among other places.

Travelling on these ships can be very pleasant -- a good way to get around and see various towns on the shores of the lake. A few years ago, for instance, I took a ship from Meersburg to Konstanz, had a look around Konstanz during the day, and then caught another ship back to Meersburg in the evening.

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Very frequent trains from Lindau, Dornbirn, Feldkirch and Bludenz to Bregenz. Frequent trains to Vienna, Zürich and Munich.
"Euregio" train ticket from 16 Euro (1 zone), 22 Euro (2 zones) and 29 Euro (3 zones), 1 day travelpas in the Bodensee area (Feldkirch, Bregenz, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Konstance, Friedrichshafen, Ravensburg...) by train and bus.
http://www.oebb.at/en/Travelling_in_Austria/Vorarlberg/Excursion_tips/Day_ticket_EURegio_Lake_Constance/index.jsp
http://www.euregiokarte.com/index.php?id=79
"Einfach Raus" ticket, slower Oebb trains from 9 am to midnight up to 5 persons, 28 Euro
http://www.oebb.at/en/Tickets/Groups/Einfach-Raus-Ticket/index.jsp

Ryanair  has daily flights from London Stansted to Friedrichshafen in Germany, just 35 minutes from Bregenz, from £24 return, including taxes and internet discount. A connecting shuttle bus runs to Bregenz (£7; must be booked in advance)

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ALWAYS THE JOY FOR ME TO RIDE THE TRAINS IN EUROPE AND AUSTRIA IS NO EXCEPTION..%O .VERY DELIGHTFUL FOR ME.. ..AND BREGENZ IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES IT GOES RIGHT TO AND THROUGH...SO ENJOY!!!!!

The Vorarlberg is blessed with an integrated transport system, so you can get a ticket for 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, a fortnight or a month which covers all transport (trains (except for international express services), buses (including local services within towns and cities), everything but the boats) in your chosen region or regions, which can be anything from one stop on the railway or bus (a domino) to a single region to a number of regions of your choice. Visit http://www.vmobil.at/ for details. It's amazingly good value, I got a 4-region ticket for a week, and it cost barely more than a return journey to the furthest region.

Don't rely on the website to plan your journey if it involves a change as the site always assumes that all the transport will run EXACTLY to time, and if any element is delayed you could be in for a long wait. Get the timetables for each element of the journey and work it out for yourself!

I travelled by rail, coming from the UK by Eurostar to Paris Nord, taking a TGV from Paris Est to Basel (there are two diect trains a day, they go on to Zurich) where I spent the night, then there are loads of services from Basel to Zurich, and two direct Deutsche Bahn trains a day from Zurich to Bregenz - all the others require a further change at St Margarethen. Sounds complicated, but it's very green, you get to see lots of great scenery, and a friend who'd flown from the UK to Zurich was so fed up with the difficulties of getting from the airport into the city, and then going on to Bregenz by rail, said that she might try my route next time!

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This cableway, brings visitors to the highest point of Bregenz. This spacious panorama cable-car will take you whilst experiencing spectacular views to the top of the Pfänder in just about 10 minutes.
It runs daily from:
8.00 am until 7.00 pm on the full and half hour. On the quarter hour with more than 10 passengers.
Evening trips at special prices by prior arrangement.
Closed from November 10th to 21st 2008.

Weather information: Tel. +43 (0)5574 43316
Prices: Please check website.

The last train back into Switzerland was sadly around 9:40 meaning that we could not take the train to the festival without taking a hotel as well. Not a bad idea really since there is so much good food (not including that Mexican place mentioned earlier) and many sights to take in. By boat you can head across the lake and arrive along side the opera festival stage for a dramatic entrance, but you must seek accomadations or transportation on the third country that shares the lake, Germany.Rail travel within Austria is free by the way with valid festival ticket.