This is the ultimate Liechtenstein hiking itinerary ideal for a long weekend. Nestled in between Switzerland and Austria, the country shares the majestic Alps regions and winding Rhine River. In fact, following this hiking itinerary in Liechtenstein can give you the most gorgeous views of the Swiss and Austrian Alps. The country is certainly not overrun by mass tourism which further adds to its appeal. So whilst Austria and Switzerland encountered all the tourists, we shared the hiking paths in Liechtenstein with very few people.
But first, some fun facts. Liechtenstein is the world’s sixth smallest country by total land mass. It’s also one of only two countries in the world that is landlocked and surrounded by countries that are also landlocked (Switzerland and Austria). The other is Uzbekistan! The crime rate is one of the lowest in the world with the last recorded murder taking place in 1997! It was once possible to rent the entire country for 1 night for £56,365 (€63,460/$70,000USD). Would you believe that Snoop Dogg was interested? But his request was denied only due to his impatience at how long the process would take to organise. The last fact is a real doozy – it’s the world leading manufacturer of false teeth!
Table of Contents
Liechtenstein Hiking 3 Day Guide
This is the ultimate three day guide to experience the best Liechtenstein hiking trails on offer. Plus, we include the best of the rest. This includes the best landmarks, castle and attractions of Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein Hiking Itinerary – Day 1
1. The Historical Eschnerberg Trail
- Type: Loop
- Distance: 15km
- Time: 4-5 hours
- Accumulated elevation gain: 247m
- Difficulty: Easy
- Trailhead: Bendern Post Office
All hikes in this guide are rated by the Liechtenstein Tourism Board.
This trail is a fairly leisurely 15k loop taking 4-5 hours to complete. The route will take you from beautiful forest to along both sides of the Eschnerberg mountain ridge. There are excellent views of the Rhine Valley, Swiss Alps and the town of Schellenberg. We were actually able to start the hike from our Airbnb! Otherwise though, the hike officially starts in the town of Bendern. The trail is very easy without any technical challenges or even any steepness.
You will also encounter two castle ruins along the track. Firstly, Ruine Alt Schellenberg otherwise known as Untere Burg (Lower Castle). Secondly, Obere Burg (Upper Castle). Both sites were empty and very fun to explore.
There are certainly more epic hikes in Liechtenstein. However this walk helped us explore the area where we were staying. For us, it was very convenient being located on our doorstep, given we had slept in after our late arrival!
Schnitzel House in Austria
Given how small Liechtenstein is, we were able to drive to a Schnitzel House in Austria in only 12 minutes! We can highly recommend Schnitzel-Bär in Feldkirch. It’s not a restaurant, but more of an upper market fast food chain. The food was nice, portions large and a fair price. You’ll unlikely spend more than £13/person (€15/$16.50USD) if only ordering food.
Liechtenstein Hiking Itinerary – Day 2
Gutenberg Castle
One of the two main castles in Liechtenstein. It’s preserved from the 12th Century. There is no actual opening time. The castle is open to the public so there is no entry fee. We arrived fairly early and were the only 2 people there exploring the castle grounds. We found that taking photos from a nearby park created an epic viewpoint with mountains in the background.
Old Wooden Rhine Bridge
This was a quick but cool stop! Basically, you will enter an old wooden bridge that connects Switzerland to Liechtenstein. You can stand over the border with one foot in each country! There is also a nice walk by the Rhine River waiting for you.
Vaduz Castle
Vaduz Castle, residence of the Liechtenstein Prince, was our next stop. This stop was a popular attraction. So it proved to be a bit busier. Unfortunately this castle was off limits to the public with the Prince living there. Still, keep this on the itinerary. It’s worth a quick visit.
2. Fürstensteig (Princes Trail)-Drei Schwestern (Three Sisters Track)
- Type: Out & Back
- Distance: 12km
- Time: 4-5 hours
- Accumulated elevation gain: 847m
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Trailhead: Gaflei Car Park
We did this trail as an improvised 12km return hike which took 4-5 hours. It’s the most classical mountain hike in Liechtenstein and a right of passage for any Liechtensteiner. It is traditionally a one-way 12km hike from Gaflei to Planken. However, with having a car, we had to modify the route. We started at Gaflei completing the entire Fürstensteig component. Then once we reached Drei Schwestern; the peak of the Three Sisters Track at 2,052 metres above sea level, we turned back. This coincidentally ended up making this traditional 12km one way hike, a 12km return hike.
We promise that doing the hike this way does not mean you will miss any of the epic scenery! As long as you get to Drei Schwestern, you will have the most amazing view of the Swiss and Austrian Alps from Liechtenstein. This was our highlight of the trip!
Liechtenstein Hiking Itinerary – Day 3
3. Furstin-Gina-Weg (Princess Gina Trail)
- Type: Loop
- Distance: 12km
- Time: 4-5 hours
- Accumulated elevation gain: 761m
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Trailhead: Malbun Ski Resort
We ended our 3 day trip with another fantastic hike. This trail was another 12km affair, again taking 4-5 hours. Be aware, if the chairlift is not open or operating, the start of the hike is brutal! You will climb several hundred metres in the first half hour. You will actually ascend 924 metres in total to reach the peak of Augstenberg (2,359 metres above sea level). From here, you will have incredible panoramic views of the Alps as well as exceptional views of Malbun. This is the quaint ski village where the hike starts and finishes. The trail is not a technical one but is hard work!
SIDE NOTE: When we were living in London, that’s all we could manage around work. But it was nice to have a long weekend to explore Liechtenstein. It meant that we literally had the Princess Gina Trail to ourselves on the Monday. Sure, it’s great to meet people when travelling. But how good is it when you have a beautiful trail all to yourself? How indulgent! But anyway, if you only have 2 days, this itinerary can easily be adapted. Just pick and choose from above.
Drive Amongst the Swiss Alps
Switzerland drive back to the airport: Driving through Switzerland is unavoidable if you are travelling by car from Italy to Liechtenstein. Because we drove from Milan to Liechtenstein during the night, we didn’t get to appreciate our surroundings. But for the return drive during our final afternoon, we had the most beautiful scenery which made for quite the special road trip back to the airport. For this trip, it was my turn to drive. So Beck had passenger seat privileges to soak it all in.
Liechtenstein Hiking Recap
We hope that this three day guide will help you plan and enjoy your Liechtenstein hiking adventure. Within this guide are the three best Liechtenstein hiking trails on offer in this stunning Alps based country. Additionally, you’ll be ready to check out all if the other epic attractions in Lichtenstein reviewed in this guide.
For more information on how to get to and hoe to get around Liechtenstein, accommodation, local food and total costs, please read below.
Getting to & From Liechtenstein
There is no airport in Liechtenstein. The closest international airport would be Zurich, Switzerland. There is an approximate 85 minute drive separating them. Given that Switzerland is an expensive country in general, we decided to fly to Milan Malpensa Airport (please see prices for the Zurich flying option under Total Costs). The drive is much longer at around 3 hours. But the return flight from London and car hire in Milan was much cheaper. Plus, you’ll still get to see the beautiful Switzerland as you drive from Milan to Liechtenstein. Additionally, you could always buy a delicious pizza in Milan, to then enjoy on your journey to Liechtenstein. Beck and me highly recommend this!
Flights: We purchased airfares only a few weeks in advance of our trip. The London-Milan return was £97/person (€109/$120USD). We departed Friday night and returned Monday night. This route is usually much cheaper though. Booking this route a few months in advance the year after, we found return airfares for £62/person (€69.50/$76USD). But do watch out for deals! According to, Jack’s Flight Club this route can be purchased for as low as £34/person (€38/$42USD) return. For booking flights, always use Skyscanner to source the cheapest flights. Book directly with Ryanair if they are in fact the airline with the cheapest airfare.
Getting Around Liechtenstein
Car hire: Due to our busy hiking itinerary, we decided it would be easiest to hire a car in Liechtenstein. We didn’t want to rely on public transportation which may not have been able to efficiently get us to all the relevant trailheads. Booking through Rentalcars.com, car hire from Milan Malpensa Airport was super cheap with an automatic costing £25.50 (€29/$31USD) for 3 days.
However, be aware that if your car rental is from this airport, and very cheap, it is likely that their office isn’t located at the airport but at a nearby location. You will need to organise a transfer from the airport with the company. We had to call our company, B-Rent, when we arrived. Thankfully they came and picked us up for free. As long as you follow all the car hire terms and conditions, you shouldn’t have any issues with this company. They will also drop you back at the airport upon returning the car, free of charge.
The petrol bill over the 3 days came to £50 (€56/$62USD).
Accommodation in Liechtenstein
Airbnb: Using Airbnb, we booked a charming wooden cabin for 2 people for 3 nights in Schellenberg for £169.66 (€191/$210USD). Accommodation in this part of the world generally isn’t cheap. However, we can highly recommend this cute and cosy place.
Despite our flight being delayed and therefore arriving much later than expected, our host Tim was very kind and accommodating. He let us check in at some ungodly hour. The place had all the necessary amenities one would need for a short stay. We really enjoyed staying at this Airbnb.
Sometimes we consider booking accommodation through Booking.com. But for Liechtenstein, Airbnb had better prices. We enjoyed staying in Schellenberg because it was a really quite and peaceful neighbourhood. We generally don’t like staying cities if there’s an option to stay in the back country. However, Vaduz is not a huge city. So staying there would also be fine.
Food
Liechtenstein, like its landlocked neighbours, is not a cheap country to travel. However, as always recommended, cooking your own meals will save you a lot! We found Spar, Coop and Denner to be similarly priced. However, it would be rude not to at least drive to Austria or Switzerland for dinner on at least one night. Just because, well, you can!
Total Costs
- Return flights from London to Milan: £97/person (€109/$120USD).
- Car hire: £25.50 (€29/$31USD) for 2 people.
- Petrol: £50 (€56/$62USD) for 2 people.
- Accommodation: £169.66 (€191/$210USD) for 3 nights for 2 people.
- Food: £30 (€33/$38USD)
= £235/person (€258/$299USD)
However, this trip was booked with only a few weeks notice. We can guarantee that if you can book this trip with 3-6 months notice, flights could be around £50 (€56/$62USD) cheaper per person and accommodation could be £20 (€22/$25USD) cheaper per person. So your 3 day Liechtenstein trip could be around £170/person (€190/$210USD) instead!
Alternatively, if you are considering flying return from Zurich, and also hiring a car in Switzerland, you’re looking at £100-200 (€112-224/$124-248USD) and £50-100 (€56-112/$62-124USD) more per person respectively. This means your 3 day trip would cost around £400-550/person (€448-619/$496-681USD).
Five Hiking Gear Essentials For Liechtenstein
These are our five hiking gear essentials for Liechtenstein. For a more comprehensive packing list, please check out the Ultimate Packing Checklist. It’s a great general summary of everything you’d need for a trip. For even more information check out our 66 Travel Accessories That You Must Travel With. We go in-depth into what hiking and camping gear we travel with. There, you’ll find specific recommendations for all the products we love.
- Merrell Moab 2 Mid Goretex hiking boots – most of the epic mountainous trails require hiking boots with decent traction to improve performance and safety.
- The North Face TKA Glacier snap fleece jacket – may may want an extra layer if starting early in the morning.
- The North Face Venture 2 waterproof/windproof jacket – – reaching the top of a mountain is one thing, but enjoying it is another. Make sure you pack a windproof jacket so you don’t freeze to death at the top!
- Lightweight down jacket – another layer of warmth for those that really feel the cold.
- Columbia water repellent convertible hiking trousers – just in case it rains, you’ll want hiking trousers with some waterproofing ability.
Trail Navigation
To be fully prepared, consider downloading a GPS guided map before you set out. We recommend Wikiloc or AllTrails. For those not so prepared, if you’re needing navigation help during the hike and don’t have any phone reception, consider using Maps.me. Although you need to have at least downloaded the map of the general area beforehand.
Bonus Tips
- Car Hire: Make sure that you not only pay for your car hire with a credit card, but make sure you take that exact credit card with you. Otherwise, you may be charged an additional £50-100 (€56-112/$62-124USD) fee when picking up your car. Not a great start to the trip!
- Milan Malpensa Airport: Although we have encouraged you to fly here, as it’s the cheapest option, do be prepared for a very long wait to get through customs. Not on this trip, but on a subsequent trip to Italy, it took around 2 hours to get through customs late on a Friday night. On that same trip, it took around 2 hours again, to get through customs when leaving. We almost missed our flight! We would recommend getting to Milan Malpensa Airport at least 4 hours before your flight home.
- Currency: Swiss Franc (Fr.) is the currency here. We actually never needed cash for this trip. The flights, accommodation and car hire were booked in advance. Petrol, supermarkets and restaurants all accepted debit/credit cards. We use Revolut when travelling Europe, as they have no international fees and the bank’s exchange rate tends to be better than Monzo from experience.
Buy an International Driver’s License
We have found that most car hire companies in Europe do not require an International Driver’s Permit. Although most car rental agreements will say that you do need one, most of the time, it is unnecessary and you will never be asked for it.
So we were shocked when the car rental company told us that we should have one and that this is usually a requirement! Apparently, we were lucky to have been given the car without it! So upon arriving home after this trip, we were quick to organise buying one. Just in case this scenario ever presented itself again. Of course, we’ve hired many cars since, even in Italy, and haven’t needed it. But you never know! FYI – In 2018, an International Driver’s Permit from Australia cost $38AUD to have it shipped over to the UK.
If you have any questions about hiking in Liechtenstein, feel free to comment or email us.
Leave a comment