Nancy

My husband and I will be traveling to Germany in June and want to include a Rhine Cruise in our plans. We will be flying into Frankfurt and plan to stay in Germany for two weeks. Does this trip require an overnight stay or does it only take a few hours? Do you see lots of castles on this cruise?

Linda

You can take both overnight and day cruises. From my experience, the overnight are longer than one night, but I may be incorrect. The trip can be as long or as short as you wish (up to a point, of course). They make multiple stops at various "ports", and you can go for just one stop or for many. You do see quite a few castles, some inhabited and a few ruins, and pass some beautiful scenery. One of my favorite memories is the grape vines growing on the steep hills, and of the dogs that live on the boats that ply the river. And I'll never forget the stop we made in Rudesheim--and discovering Rudesheim coffee. There should be no problems incorporating a Rhine cruise into your plans.

Russ

You can do a cruise of the most scenic part of the Rhine, between Bingen and Boppard, and see an awesome number of castles, in about 2.5 hours (south to north) or about 4 hours north to south (it's a strong current.) But don't be fooled into thinking that doing only this means you've seen the Rhine! You need to get off the boat and wander through the cobbled towns, hike the cliffside trails, taste the wine, and tour a castle or two. There's a lot to see and do here, and you should definitely stay overnight to experience the area.

Philip

I took a Rhine cruise with KD River and it was a nice experience. We started in Cologne and cruised for about 3 hours. I thought the scenery was beautiful, and you can even buy a book on board that gives you information on the villages that you are passing. The only drawback was that I sat on the top deck and got sunburned (but that's not KD's fault). Check out their website at www.rivercruises.com.

Tony

Nancy.. <BR> <BR>I think you should try and schedule two or three days in the Rhine valley area, based on either Koblenz, Boppard, Bacharach or Rudesheim. You should try and spend some of this time in the Moselle valley also - the Moselle flows into the Rhine at Koblenz, and the scenery and ambience on the Moselle in the Cochem, Bernkastle, and Trier area is really something. Ideally you would have a car for this area, so that you can wander in and out of the various towns and villages along the river banks, but it can also be done by train. <BR>The river cruises, which are a must, operate from Koblenz to Cochem on the Moselle, and all along the Rhine between Cologne and Mainz, with frequent stops. <BR>The overnight (usually 2/3 nights) cruises are really superb, great catering and service, but they do leave you wishing you could get off every hour or so to explore what you are passing. <BR>Get a good map, and possibly a train timetable and you can plan a memorable 2/3 days. The good news is the action starts just one hour from Frankfurt airport.

Mary

Nancy, also check out Loreleyvalley.com. The middle Rhine region is beautiful. If you decide to visit the Moselle, don't miss Burg Eltz; it's a great castle.

lisa

I did a KD Rhine & Mosel cruise that left from Frankfurt several years ago and LOVED the region but would not take an overnight cruise with them again. I would recommend instead just taking trains & short ferry trips and staying on land at night. Koblenz, Trier, Cochem, Burg Eltz all lovely. I did not think the food on-board nor the cabins were as enjoyable as what you could experience by staying overnight and eating in the various towns. The castles, vineyards, and towns were lovely and I highly recommend this region, and by all means enjoy some time on the rivers, but you don't need to sleep on the boat to get the most from this experience in my opinion. Also, one downside on our trip was that the river happened to be low and we were unable to dock at a couple of planned stops.