Hiring a bike in Liechtenstein, from LIEbike to a mountain e-bike

Liechtenstein’s stretch of the Rhine valley is flat, short and criss-crossed with cycle routes, so hiring a bike makes perfect sense. There are two ways to do it, and they suit different things. LIEbike is for getting from A to B along the valley, much as you’d use a bus. Hire e-bikes are for a half-day or full-day ride. How the bike fits alongside buses and cars is in getting around Liechtenstein.

LIEbike, the shared e-bike scheme

LIEbike is the shared electric bike system run by LIEmobil, the public bus company. It began as a pilot in September 2022 in Vaduz, Schaan, Gamprin-Bendern, Eschen and Ruggell, and in spring 2024 added stands in Balzers, Triesen, Nendeln, Mauren, Schaanwald and Schellenberg. According to its website the fleet numbers 70 bikes, and the stands carry the same lime green as the buses.

The idea is for the bike to complement the bus, and you can see it in where the stands are. There’s one at Parkhaus Marktplatz and another at the Rheinpark Stadium in Vaduz, at Schaan bus station, at the youth hostel, beside Grossabünt lake in Gamprin and at the Widau park in Ruggell, the village that calls itself the country’s cycling village. There’s even one at Buchs railway station, across the Rhine.

How it works, and why to register early

Everything runs through the LIEbike app. You sign up by scanning an ID document, which can be a passport, national ID card or driving licence, and adding a credit card, then wait for the account to be approved. This is where people lose a morning. LIEmobil suggests downloading the app and registering before you need a bike, precisely because approval isn’t instant.

After that it’s easy. Find a stand on the app’s map, scan the bike’s QR code to unlock it and off you go. To finish, you have to park and lock it at another LIEbike stand, not on any old street. The minimum age is 16, or 14 with a moped licence.

A day on a LIEbike, the way I’d plan it

With the 24-hour rate, a relaxed day across the flat Unterland almost plans itself. I’d pick up a bike at Schaan station, ride north to Bendern and Grossabünt lake, where there’s another stand if I fancied a break, and carry on to Ruggell to drop it at the Freizeitpark Widau. For the return, LIEmobil route 36 links Ruggell with Schaan via Bendern, so there’s no need to retrace your tracks. That’s CHF 20 for the bike plus a bus ticket, and you’ve seen half the Unterland without a car.

It works in reverse too, and in the other direction along the valley. From the Rheinpark Stadium stand in Vaduz you can follow the river south towards Triesen and Balzers, both of which have stands, and hop on route 11 back to the capital. The only rule I’d stick to is keeping to the flat, because that’s where these bikes shine.

What it costs

Half an hour is CHF 2 and 24 hours CHF 20. There’s an annual pass at CHF 100 with the first 30 minutes of every ride free, which only really suits residents. For a visitor the sum is simple. Short hops between villages mean paying by the half hour, while a day in the saddle calls for the 24-hour rate.

For the mountains, a different bike

LIEmobil says so on its own website, LIEbikes aren’t made for very steep stretches. Triesenberg, Gaflei and Malbun are outside their comfort zone. That leaves two options. The first is hiring a touring e-bike. The Liechtenstein Center, the tourist office in central Vaduz, rents them from spring to autumn, and the Sele Radsport shop also hires by the day. I couldn’t find their prices published, but the All Inclusive Erlebnispass takes CHF 10 off each. It’s covered in Liechtenstein’s adventure pass.

The second option is the bus. Over the summer the two mountain routes, the 21 and the 22, are fitted with bike racks, with the bike itself on a reduced ticket. You let the bus do the climbing and handle the descent yourself.

Where to ride

Once you’ve got a bike, the valley is the natural playground. The country has over 220 km of cycle routes and the Rhine route is part of the European EuroVelo network. From the Rheinpark Stadium you can look out at the covered wooden bridge to Sevelen and carry on north along the flat. The named routes, from the castles tour to the mountain-bike ride up to the Pfälzerhütte, are ranked in cycling in Liechtenstein, and the country’s most bike-minded village has its own guide in Ruggell.