On the Liechtenstein Trail
Did you know that you can walk across an entire country in only five days? If that country is Liechtenstein, and you’re walking the Liechtenstein Trail, you can.
I walked this nearly 50-mile (75-km) route that meanders through the 11 towns of the world’s sixth-smallest country. And I’ve got advice about where to stay, from historic properties to modern hotels to cozy, family-run inns.
Here’s the scoop:
Liechtenstein Trail Lodging Options
The Liechtenstein Trail starts in the town of Balzers at the Swiss border and ends at the Austrian border near the town of Schaanwald. The country is small enough that you could base yourself somewhere central, like the capital city of Vaduz or the nearby town of Schaan, and take the frequent public buses to and from your starting and ending points.
Not every town has a place to stay, but lodging is readily available at reasonable distances, or with regular bus options, along the entire route.
If you prefer to move from place to place, Liechtenstein Marketing, the organization that developed and maintains the trail, offers a convenient accommodations package, arranging your lodgings, transferring your luggage to your next lodging each day, and providing a daily packed lunch to eat during your walk.
The package also includes an Adventure Pass, which gives you free admission to a number of the country’s museums and attractions, as well as unlimited access to public transportation for the duration of your trip. Even if you arrange your own accommodations, you might find the Adventure Pass convenient; you can purchase it separately.
For specific lodging recommendations, read on.
Views from Haus Gutenberg, Balzers, Liechtenstein
Haus Gutenberg, Balzers
The Gutenberg Castle, high on a hill, towers above Haus Gutenberg, which was built in the 1850s. The hotel has two buildings, and while they welcome individual travelers, they cater to retreats, seminars, and other small group events.
The guest rooms are spare, with a bed, a night table, an easy chair in the corner, and a small cabinet that opens to a desk. It’s worth booking a room with a small terrace, with views across to the mountains.
The upscale Park Hotel Sonnenhof is located in Liechtenstein’s capital.
Park Hotel Sonnenhof, Vaduz
Liechtenstein doesn’t have many luxury hotels. Most lodgings are comfortable, without many frills. Park Hotel Sonnenhof, in the hills above Vaduz, is an exception.
You can read Hotel-Scoop’s full review of the Park Hotel Sonnehof here: Princely Pleasure at the Park Hotel Sonnenhof in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
Kloster by b_smart has an inventive vegetarian restaurant.
Part of the building that houses this hotel, on a hill overlooking the town of Schaan, is the St Elisabeth monastery. The other half is a modern 19-room hotel that starts with automated self check-in and includes a creative vegetarian restaurant called RUUF, serving sharing plates in the evening and a vegetarian-friendly buffet for guests each morning.
The guest rooms are simple, but the Wi-fi is fast — the building also houses a co-working space — with easy-to-reach electrical outlets and reading lamps by the bed and a TV mounted on the wall.
Gardens surround the structure, and the restaurant’s sunny terrace overlooks the mountains.
Another option in the b_smart collection of lodgings, this one in Bendern
b_smart Bendern, Gamprin-Bendern
As historic as b_smart’s Schaan hotel is, this 57-room Bendern property is the opposite — a modern tech-forward lodging, set on a busy road surrounded by office buildings, that seems designed for business travelers.
But even tired hikers can appreciate the strong water pressure in the showers, the robes and slippers, the comfy duvet-topped beds, and the funky artwork, as well as the lobby-level bar and restaurant.
Liechtenstein’s famous cheese dumplings at Landgasthof Rössle in Ruggell
Would you walk 50 miles for cheese dumplings? For my last night on the Liechtenstein Trail, I stayed at Landgasthof Rössle, a family-owned inn and restaurant in Ruggell.
The three guest rooms upstairs on the third floor are simple but cozy. Two share a large balcony with a view of the mountains.
The food is a highlight here. Several varieties of cordon bleu are a specialty, but I had been looking for Kasknöpfle, Liechtenstein’s classic cheese dumplings which hadn’t been on the menu anywhere else I had eaten during my hike. Think macaroni and cheese that’s somehow both chewier and creamier, topped with crisp fried onions and paired with a small dish of applesauce.
I’d walk 50 miles for a bowl of Kasknöpfle. And apparently, I just did.
Hotel Turna Malbun is high in Liechtenstein’s mountains.
Bonus: Hotel Turna Malbun
The Liechtenstein Trail has an added loop that’s not connected to the rest of the route. It’s up in the mountains around the town of Malbun. You can catch a bus up to Malbun and walk the loop when you arrive.
Malbun is a ski town in winter, and Hotel Turna Malbun has a ski chalet vibe, with an indoor lap pool and sauna on the lower level, a very good traditional restaurant on the main floor, and guest rooms above. Rooms range from compact doubles to more spacious two-room suites that would accommodate a family.
And did I mention the sauna? When you’ve walked across an entire country, even a few minutes in a sauna feels like an excellent reward.
Hotel feature by Vancouver-based travel, food, and feature writer Carolyn B. Heller. Photos © Carolyn B. Heller. Switzerland Tourism and Liechtenstein Marketing provided support for my Liechtenstein travels.
