We booked here as well, for 2012. We went to the Ludwig castles on our previous trip to this area so probably won't do those again but some of the smaller towns in the area sound interesting. We're flying into Frankfurt and taking the train, via Munich rather than renting a car. So we will rely on trains or the resort' daytrip offerings.
I've just started doing some research but here's a bit of what I've found some travel forums-
"Meersburg & Lindau are also great places to explore and relax in. You could combine Lindau & Bregenz together one day. Park in Lindau, get the ferry (15mins) to*Bregenz*and go up the Pfaender where you will find views of the lake, swiss mountains & surrounding area. Finish off the day with evening meal on the harbour. It's only about a 45min drive back to Oberstaufen"
"Meersburg is the loveliest town on the Bodensee, has Germany's oldest castle, a visitable Baroque palace, a city museum and a bible museum. This is a good
mix of beauty with culture"
"Upper Swabia is full of beautiful Baroque palaces, churches and monasteries, see*
www.barockstrasse.org*and also*
www.oberschwaben-tourismus.de*. Better towns to visit not too far away are: Meersburg, Lindau, Wangen im Allgaeu, Ravensburg, Isny im Allgaeu, Kempten (Allgaeu),*Memmingen, Ottobeuren, Biberach an der Riss (Cafe Kolesch on Gymnasiumstrasse is one of Germany's best Konditorei's, try the excellent Wielandstorte, although everything is good), and Ulm.*
Bad Schussenried has a brewery with Germany's first beer mug collection and a nice beer garden, a monastery with a very nice library and church, and an outdoor museum containing many restored Upper Swabian buildings including an interesting one lane bowling alley and also a mini-steam train, and nearby is Steinhausen with the world's most beautiful village church.*
The brewery in Ummendorf just east of Biberach is an excellent place to eat, the beer is also excellent, and the church across the street is beautiful although getting no such recognition, and the storks will be in residence on the palace"