• With the mobile guest card, which you receive as a holiday guest in most towns in the region, all stage starts and destinations can be reached by bus or train.
• Registration and deregistration, including filling out and paying for the registration form, only take place at one accommodation.
• No change of accommodation
• You only need to take a light daypack for one stage.
• In the evening, you can rest your tired legs and return to your familiar surroundings, without having to pack your bags and change rooms or hotels.
• The way is the goal - even if it takes a little longer with the transfer, you can enjoy the incomparable landscape from the bus or train.

As an overnight guest, you can obtain the mobile guest card, including use of buses, trains and ferries in the VVO tariff zones as well as numerous advantages for leisure activities, directly from your landlord in the following towns:

Bad Schandau | Gohrisch | Hohnstein | Königstein | Lohmen | Rathmannsdorf | Pirna | Reinhardtsdorf-Schöna |  Sebnitz | Stadt Wehlen

With this ticket, you can use local public transport in the Upper Elbe Transport Association (VVO) in Saxon Switzerland in the tariff zones Pirna (70), Bad Gottleuba (71), Bad Schandau (72) and Neustadt (73) as well as the Kirnitzschtalbahn from the day of arrival to the day of departure without an additional ticket.

Special means of transport such as the hiking boat as well as means of transport of other companies such as passenger shipping on the Elbe, the ferry in the health resort Rathen as well as private bus offers are excluded. Separate tickets are required for the transport of animals, bicycles and beyond the tariff zones of the region.

Guest tickets are issued directly by the host upon arrival and cannot be purchased.

Please note that the discounts at the partners cannot necessarily be combined with other offers and reductions.
Here you will find the detailed terms and conditions of use and transport for the guest cards.

We particularly recommend Pirna (1st stage to 3rd stage) and Bad Schandau (4th stage to 8th stage). Of course, you can also book only Pirna or Bad Schandau as your base accommodation for all 8 stages. Places close to the Elbe river such as Königstein, Kurort Rathen, Stadt Wehlen or Schmilka are also suitable, as they score points with the very good S-Bahn and bus connections.
The blog post lists the detailed bus and train connections from Pirna, Bad Schandau or Königstein to the stage starts and back to the starting point.

You can't always find a room for just one night on the spur of the moment. It is therefore advisable to book a room in a town for two or more nights. This way you can also hike individual stages "backwards". To make this possible, we present all the stages "backwards" in a blog series (german).

Our accommodation recommendations for 2 nights in one place:

Stage 1 & Stage 8: Central accommodation in Pirna or Stadt Wehlen.

Stage 2 & Stage 8: Central accommodation in Wehlen or Rathen

Stage 2 & Stage 3: Central accommodation in Hohnstein

Stage 3 & Stage 4: Central accommodation in Bad Schandau or the Kirnitzsch Valley

Stage 4 & Stage 5: Central accommodation in Hinterhermsdorf

Stage 5 & Stage 6: Central accommodation in Schmilka

Stage 6 & Stage 7: Central accommodation in the spa town of Gohrisch

Stage 7 & 8: Central accommodation in Weißig

Tip: Accommodation partners "Hiking Friendly on the Painters' Trail" can be requested or booked directly via the Saxon Switzerland Tourist Board.

It is advisable to stay in the Elbe river Valley. This is supported by the fact that the suburban trains run every half hour all year round. The towns of Pirna and Bad Schandau also have a bus station and bridges. The town of Königstein is also an ideal starting point for central accommodation, as here, in addition to the S-Bahn, many bus lines serve the town.

Tip: Accommodation partners "Hiking-friendly along the Malerweg" can be requested or booked directly via the Saxon Switzerland Tourist Board.

Yes, it is possible! There are various campsites along the Malerweg. They are not always located exactly on the Malerweg. We recommend the following:

1st stage: Start: Camping Pirna and at the stage destination: Hostel on the Kulm (about 50 min walk away) or tent meadow at the Hinterland Hostel.

2nd stage: camping site Entenfarm

3rd stage: campground Ostrauer Mühle

4th stage: Camping Thorwaldblick Hinterhermsdorf

5th stage: no campsite nearby, we recommend Schöna Castle near Schmilka

6th stage: Caravan Camping Gohrisch

7th stage: Hostel on the Kulm & tent meadow at the Hinterland Hostel

8th stage: Camping Pirna

Important note: Wild camping is not allowed and can be punished with high fines!

Wilderness adventurers should take a look at the Forststeig. There are bivouac sites and trekking huts here. Scenically, the cross-border multi-day hiking tour is spectacular.