The catamaran boat Der Katamaran connects the two largest cities on Lake Constance – Friedrichshafen and Konstanz. As a much faster alternative to regular course ships, the catamaran is not only a right choice for commuters but of course also for tourists and holidaymakers in the Lake Constance are. Except, of course, when there is a storm warning, then the catamarans (as well as ships) cannot depart onto the Lake and have to stay in the ports. But otherwise, the catamarans are actually very punctual and remain to the timetable. Whether in Friedrichshafen or Constance, the departure is hourly at :02 with an arrival just 52 minutes later, hourly at :54 in the other port. After 10 minutes for the passengers to get off and on again, the catamaran ships by Der Katamaran commence again in the other direction. The catamarans only connect both Friedrichshafen and Constance, there is no additional stopover. You might also be interested in: a complete guide on travel by ferry and boat on Lake Constance.
The catamarans on Lake Constance are all the same. They each have room for up to 182 passengers (which is often achieved in summer and you may have to wait for the next catamaran), have toilets and catering with ice-cream, snacks and both hot and cold drinks. When boarding the catamaran from the official entrance in the back, the first seats can be found “outdoors”, followed by plenty more inside. The seats are similar to rows of seats in a big aeroplane, with a 3-4-3 seat configuration. Most are mounted in the direction of travel, the few at the tables are against the direction of travel (in case you quickly get sea-sick, you might want to avoid those).
Lake Constance Catamaran – price and time table
The fare per adult for a trip in 2020 is 10,90 € for adults and 5,30 € for kids, for a return trip 21.50 €/10,60€. However, there are regular deals, for example, currently (January till End of February 2020) the price for a return ticket is just 12,50€. An overview of the current rates and deals can be found here (I have linked the german version of the website, as the English one isn’t equipped with current prices…/ is not as up-to-date as the native one).
The first Der Katamaran catamaran of the day on weekdays starts at 6:02 a.m. in every port, and at 8:02 a.m. on weekends. The last one departs at 19:02. From May to early October, as well as in December (Christmas market season), there are special evening lines, the exact departure times are again available at der-katamaran.de.
How sustainable is it to take a Catamaran on Lake Constance?
As you might have heard, or know, ships aren’t an environmentally friendly option. Literally, all commercial ships run on fossil fuels, only sometimes and rarely ships are powered by solar, such as solar ferries rather catered to sightseeing- and joy-rides for tourists. As the first ship in all Germany, one of the three catamarans on Lake Constance, Constanze, now uses an SCR catalytic converter with AdBlue-injection. This not only helps to emit significantly fewer nitrogen oxides than comparable ships, but it also makes it the first ship in Germany to comply with the EU emissions standard V.
Big thumbs up for this engagement!
Pictures: Taking the Der Katamaran Catamaran boat to cross Lake Constance – going from Friedrichshafen – Konstanz and return
