Planning bike tours has never been easier. The most important tips.

Switzerland is a real cycling wonderland. Well-maintained tar roads and cycle paths, countless forest and logging roads, as well as remote single and mountain trails offer everything the racing bike, touring and cycling heart desires. However, for a long time it wasn’t always easy to find the ideal route when it came to uncharted territories.

Needless to say, the planning options have changed dramatically in recent years. With the use of sophisticated apps and detailed maps, you can now plan tours on your PC that you would have scarcely found before. The various touring aids at a glance:

Map as a back-up

Are you still using a paper map to navigate your bike tours? This still makes sense as an emergency solution if your smartphone or bike computer run out of power, which can happen during long tours. A look at the map also helps to keep an eye on the big picture, so you are not just following the arrow on the navigation device. But if you want to cycle the right route quickly and without losing time, the modern digital navigation devices are vastly superior to the classic map.

Smartphone or navigation device?

Numerous options are available when it comes to vying for the attention of millions of bicycle customers. The most obvious thing for beginners is to use their smartphone when navigating by bike. Basic Apple Maps and Google Maps are pre-installed, and if you're in an area with good network coverage, you can simply take off without any preparation.

If you want to use detailed maps that also mark single trails, you are better off with additional apps – such as Switzerland Mobile or the Komoot Tours app. As a robust alternative to smartphones, there are specialist navigation devices especially designed for cyclists. Here, a rough distinction is made between two device classes: the more comfortable navigation devices come with installed road and topographic maps, as you would expect from a real navigation device. Slimmed-down devices simply roughly point the direction using arrows.

Mobile phone with display wins points

Since most people always have their smartphones with them, this is also the first choice when it comes to navigating a bike tour and will undoubtedly take a bigger slice of the bicycle navigation cake. The display on a modern smartphone is not only usually larger, but the screen resolution is also brilliant and superior to that of a conventional navigation device. It thus makes sense to first try out a smartphone to see whether it already provides the services you are looking for or whether you would prefer a robust navigation device for tours lasting several days.

Bicycle navigation devices are specialists

Special bicycle navigation devices also have some advantages over the smartphone. Pure navigation devices are more robust than smartphones and can also withstand being dropped or getting wet. In addition, bike navigation devices are special devices, making them considerably easier to operate than smartphones.

However, the devices cost more than a mobile phone holder and are only worth it if you are an avid hobby cyclist or, for example, you are not satisfied with the mobile phone’s battery life, its GPS accuracy, or hard-to-read display in sunlight. Pure bike navigation systems such as the Garmin Edge Explore are intended for recreational and touring cyclists. They navigate very precisely via GPS and come with pre-installed maps.

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