We are planning a Rhine Cruise from Koblenz to Rudesheim mid-April. Trying to figure out how long this will take. We are travelling with our 9 year old daughter and hoping for a 4 hour cruise at the most. Appreciate any feedback.

This is last year's schedule, and only one boat line, but it will give you an idea:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homep...e/boot0000.htm

The K-D line schedule for May to Oct. 2004 can be found at "www'k-d.com" - it is in German but click on "Shiffstouren" the "Rhein Hauptsaison". There are ships leaving Koblenz at 9 and 11am. Unfortunately, it's a 6 hour trip to Rudesheim. You might want to consider a train to St. Goar, tour the town & castle, then catch the 14:15 boat to Rudesheim. Gute Reise!

Taking the KD line from Koblenz to Rüdesheim is approximately 6 hours. You can make it as far as Kaub (across from Pfalzgrafenstein) in 4 hours. Or you can take a train from Koblenz to St. Goar at say 11:10 - arrive 12:20 in time to catch the KD ship at 12:20 - arriving at Rüdesheim at 15:15 for a total of approximately 4 hours travel time. The river is at it's best in that section so that would be my recommendation. Just remember that in mid-April your schedule for boat rides will be limited, especially if you start from Koblenz. There are only two departure times at day from Koblenz - but there are several more if you start in St. Goar. Check the schedules at the KD website - and the train schedules at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e
Ben

cmtnv-

Just to point out CharlieB's message. You should click on "Nebensaison Rhein" instead of "Hauptsaison Rhein". The Nebensaison is low season, which will show schedule for your visit in mid-April.
I also pasted the direct link for you here:
http://www.k-d.com/schiffstouren/fah...bensaison.html

Why are you going to Rudesheim? I really don't think there is anything there to see.

Curious

Koblenz to Rüdesheim is upstream against the current. If you were to go the other way, the journey would be faster as the ship will be travelling with the current - you can see this in KD's schedules. Apart from KD, there are lots of other operators covering this part of the river including Hölzenbein (www.hoelzenbein.de); the smaller family-run operators are usually cheaper than KD.

Appreciate everyones response. It was very helpful. We're committed to departing from Koblenz and may just cruie to St. Goar of Kaub instead of Rudesheim. Thank you.

You should pay attention to poster's advice and train to St. Goar and pick up the boat there. You will miss the most scenic part of the Rhine if you only take the boat as far as St. Goar.

We're thinking of taking the cruise from Mainz to Cologne in July. However, we don't know where in Mainz the cruise will start. Also, we're looking for hotels near the area so we can go straight to it in the morning.

gokings: Are you taking the usual K-D cruise? While it is theoretically possible to cover the entire distance between Mainz and Cologne, I would suggest that it is a truly BAD idea. The scenery at the south end between Mainz and Bingen, and the scenery to the north between Koblenz and Cologne, is really not worth the endless hours on the boat. It's 3.5 hours between Bingen in Koblenz; this is the area to focus on, although you may find even this amount of time too long. Summer boats are typically overcrowded. If the weather is hot, you may have trouble finding a shady spot on deck. If you plan to retreat indoors to the cabin, plan on lots of cigarette smoke. The scenery is fantastic, but even so, I have been on the boats in summer when two hours became absolutely tedious.

You can take the train from Mainz to Bingen (use the "Bingen Stadt" station which drops you right near the docks) and proceed from there. The towns between Bingen and Koblenz nearly all have train stations, making it easy to proceed from there.

In between, I would recommend stopping off in Braubach for a tour of Marksburg Castle or in St. Goar to tour the Rheinfels Castle ruins, then catching a later boat. Boppard is nice too - a good place for a meal.

thanks so much Russ for the very helpful tip. Yes, we are planning to take the usual K-D cruise that comes with the eurail pass. i guess, we'll rethink things again.