We wish to visit the Rhine/Mosel areas in June. We land in Frankfurt. I have been browsing through guidebooks and it seems that Frankfurt is just 1-2 hours away from these areas.

We have the possibility of using FF points to stay at the Frankfurt Hilton. So...I'm asking for opinions on the pros/cons of staying in Frankfurt and traveling to the Rhine/Mosel as a day trip (one or two days). Normally we would opt to stay right in the area that we're visiting, but it's hard to pass up the use of the FF points and use the savings for other costs.

We are a family of four (2 teens), have been to Germany before, but not this area. We have not decided yet on train vs. rental car issue. Thanks for your feedback.

You can day trip to the Rhine, but the Mosel is too far. I would recommend staying one night on the Rhine because it is a distance from Frankfurt and there is so much to see on the Rhine. We stayed for 5 nights last year (also a family of four) and we loved it. I would definitely recommend a car - especially if you day trip from Frankfurt. You would have to walk from train stations to the castles and that can sometimes be quite a hike and would waste precious time. What do you want to see on the Rhine? There is also Rudeshiem which is a fun stopping place. We rented in a house just a km off the Rhine in Oberheimbach, so that is another option. From there we were easily able to day trip to the Mosel also.

I know what you mean about FF points, but if you can afford it, don't let that be your deciding factor in where you stay if it isn't convenient to what you want to do and see.

Yes, this is easily done.

From Frankfurt main station to Cochem on the Mosel is a little over two hours - there are trains at 8.44, 9.44 etc each day.

Naturally. all the tourist destinations along the Rhine will be closer than that.

However, there is a lot more to this part of Germany than those two destinations - very few tourists ever go up the picturesque valley of the Lahn, which runs east from the Rhine from just below Koblenz - nor do they explore the delightful High Taunus and Taunus national parks just to the north and west of Frankfurt. For these a car is necessary; and I guess a bit of extra time, if you have not yet seen the hotspots.

Harzer

Thank you for your responses, jaconway and harzer.

"What do you want to see on the Rhine?" We would want to travel along the river, probably on a cruise for a short way (St. Goar - Bacharach), walk through some of the towns/villages, and tour a castle or two (maybe Marksburg, if we get that far, and/or Burg Rheinfels). If we have a car we could have the flexibility to take a driving tour of the area.

"There is also Rudeshiem which is a fun stopping place." Haven't heard about this place. Can you provide some details? Also, where is Oberheimbach? Which castles did your family enjoy the most? Did you have any castle tours that offered English tours?

Harzer, thank you for offering the "non-touristy" options of picturesque valley of the Lahn and the delightful High Taunus and Taunus national parks which are just to the north and west of Frankfurt. I have no knowledge of these areas, but I will do more research. If we have a rental car, how many km. from Frankfurt are these areas? Would this be a day trip, half day?

Thanks for all the information.

You'll feel a lot more like you are in a different country - and maybe in a different time - if you overnight in the Rhine/Mosel region instead of the FF Hilton. There are plenty of inexpensive accommodations in private B&B's, etc., if cost is a factor, that would likely offset your transportation expenses and the inconvenience of driving to/from the area each day. And you might meet some locals that way to rather than just some bellhops.

We (4) rented an apartment in St. Goar overlooking the river, the docks, and Katz Castle on the opposite side - a lovely place run by Walter Huppertz called the "Rheinblick" apartment - for 3 nights at a very reasonable price (about 60 Euros/night for 4.) Google his name to find the website.

From there, trips to Marksburg, Boppard, Bacharach, and the Mosel towns of Cochem, Bernkastel, Beilstein, and others are a simple matter either by train or by car. Marksburg is the only intact, never destroyed castle on the Rhine. But the best castle is Burg Eltz along the Mosel - possible to hike to from Moselkern train station, but only if you have the time (about an hour each way) so a car is best if you plan to include it on a tight schedule.

To visit Marksburg and Rheinfels, you needn't hike uphill to visit - there are some little choo-choo shuttles you can take up for a few Euros from the center of Braubach and St. Goar, respectively.

Avoid FRA and stay in the wonderful small towns and vills in the Moseltal and the Mittelrhein as RUSS has mentioned. I also like JagdSchloss Niederwald just above the tourist trap of Rudesheim as well.
Don't miss Burg Eltz!
Too far? I have driven many times from Munchen to Nurburg (Eiffel)- just N of Cochem - in less than six hours.
M

It's not a bad drive from Frankfurt to the Mosel--under 2 hours. We took back roads and country byways and had a great time driving the opposite direction--from Beilstein to Frankfurt via the Rhein gorge.

Just my personal opinion that the Mosel is much more enjoyable and Burg Eltz is not to be missed. I felt that the Mosel was what I was hoping the Rhine would be. Trier is interesting if you enjoy Roman ruins. I did not care for Rudesheim--overrun with stores and people.

I agree with the others that Burg Eltz is a not to be missed castle - our favorite. Burg Eltz does English tours, but you may have to wait for one - well worth it. Marksburg also does English tours, but they aren't as regular as the German. We got lucky and one was starting just as we got there.

If you go to Rheinfels, get a copy of Rick Steve's book because he does an excellent walking tour of the castle explaining everything you see.

Another good castle on the Rhine closer to Bingen is Castle Rheinstein. This is also an excellent castle. It is still family owned and the husband, wife and their daughter live on the grounds. You park at the bottom and walk up a path to get to it. We really liked this castle also.

A charming town on the Rhine would be Bacharach. Old cobbled streets to walk, cute shops, church, and alte haus from the 1300's. Very quaint.

Oberheimbach is just south of Bacharach and about 1km from the Rhine through Neiderheimbach (sp?). We rented a holiday house on the property of Hotel Bergschlosschen. You can do a google search for it. Rates are 55 euro per night for 2 people and 10 euro for each additional. It has 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, a cute kitchen with dining and a living room. Bingen and St. Goar have grocery stores. It's a wonderful place to stay and at Neiderheimbach you can catch the auto ferry across the Rhine, so sightseeing on the other side is easy.

As far as Rudesheim, it is touristy, but fun. It has "the narrowest street in Germany", the Drosselgasse. It's filled with shops and beer gardens. There is also a chair lift that takes you over the vineyards on the hillside to the Niederwald Monument for views over the Rhine. You could combine this visit with a stop at Burg Rheinstein.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, Russ, Mikemo, Harzer, Rufus, xxxx and jaconway for all your great suggestions/opinions. We will have to stay in the Rhine/Mosel area and definitely will see the Burg Eltz. Glad to see there are some English speaking tours, although I do already have Rick Steves guidebook and you're right, jaconway, he does outline a tour of the castles in the book.

Russ, the Rheinblick looks very nicely located. Which apartment did you stay in? Mikemo, I looked at your suggestion of JagsSchloss/Niederwald also. Found their website, but not too many pictures. May be more than I wish to spend and a bit away from the river.

Lots of great suggestions for places to stay along/near Rhine, anyone have any suggestions of similar places (family accomodations for shorter visit, 3-4 nights) in the Mosel area?

Just one more note on accomodation suggestions in either Rhine/Mosel areas. While a view of the river and such is very nice, we would not want to be close to train tracks. A nice, quiet location is desired. It's tough enough to combat jet lag without the rumble of the trains! Thanks

DeeDee is absolutely right about the trains. All the towns along the Rhine have trains that go right through them and the hotels are typically right next to them.

Another option that we also did is to stay in a castle hotel. We stayed at Liebenstein Castle. It sits on the hill above the town with great views of the Rhine and the town below. Really fun to stay in an old castle. We stayed in this castle because it was cheaper, but there are others along the Rhine you could check out also.