Rhine river day cruise
Oct 6th, 2016, 02:04 PM
#1
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Rhine river day cruise
We will be based in Bacharach for 5 days for hiking and sightseeing along the Rhine and the Mosel. We would like to do a river cruise one day, but not sure which one to pick. There are two of us and we will be there Oct 22-26.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Oct 6th, 2016, 02:13 PM
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K-D (k-d.com) runs most of the ships for day trippers I believe and has a daily morning boat Koblenz to Cochem - not over the best part of the Mosel - to most much more gorgeous scenery wise than the Rhine, which you will have seen more than enough of in five days.
A really sweet Mosel cruise goes from Cochem upriver to Beilstein over a simply awesome section of the river- take buses back or return by boat- those are I think just in the tourist season. But that would be my suggestion.
Be sure to hike up to Burg Eltz, the famous castle high above the Mosel - take train or car to Moselkern and trail starts by station - just a few miles uphill but thru a neat forest.
From Cochem there is a short hike up to a ruined castle overlooking the Mosel from high up.
Trains serve Cochem if you don't have a car.
For info on boats and the area in general check www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com- their online European Planning & Rail Guide Germany chapter.
A really sweet Mosel cruise goes from Cochem upriver to Beilstein over a simply awesome section of the river- take buses back or return by boat- those are I think just in the tourist season. But that would be my suggestion.
Be sure to hike up to Burg Eltz, the famous castle high above the Mosel - take train or car to Moselkern and trail starts by station - just a few miles uphill but thru a neat forest.
From Cochem there is a short hike up to a ruined castle overlooking the Mosel from high up.
Trains serve Cochem if you don't have a car.
For info on boats and the area in general check www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com- their online European Planning & Rail Guide Germany chapter.
Oct 6th, 2016, 02:37 PM
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Do not overplan.
The boats on the Rhine sail on regular schedules, like public buses in cities. You do not need reservations. So, make your plan when you are in the area, depending on weather. The problem is that the regular cruises stop after 23 October.
To be frank, sailing on a boat is a very convenient way to see some scenery. But the perspective is not that different from the views from the right and left riverbanks.
Travel to Bacharach and make yourself familiar with the area. A recommendable boat trip would be starting from Bacharach at 10:15 downstream to Braubach (arriving at 12:20), visiting Marksburg Castle there and taking the train back. You can do it on Sunday, 23 October. Then the service will stop.
The boats on the Rhine sail on regular schedules, like public buses in cities. You do not need reservations. So, make your plan when you are in the area, depending on weather. The problem is that the regular cruises stop after 23 October.
To be frank, sailing on a boat is a very convenient way to see some scenery. But the perspective is not that different from the views from the right and left riverbanks.
Travel to Bacharach and make yourself familiar with the area. A recommendable boat trip would be starting from Bacharach at 10:15 downstream to Braubach (arriving at 12:20), visiting Marksburg Castle there and taking the train back. You can do it on Sunday, 23 October. Then the service will stop.
Oct 6th, 2016, 02:42 PM
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wine tastings - though I've drunk a ton of Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wines during the decade or so I led bike trips up the Mosel that was long ago and I am not current on that - My only wine tasting was at the Hieronimi Winery right in the heart of Cochem and a couple of times in Bernkastel (a really neat town IMO).
Zell is also a very cute wine town- home of once popular in U.S. Black Cat - http://lawineaux.blogspot.com/2014/0...-cat-wine.html
If interested in Mosel wines Trier has a Wine-Teaching Path behind the old Roman Theatre- Trier is a fascinating town because of its Roman relics such as the Porta Negra- the mammoth city gate and one of the most intact Roman edifices anywhere.
I did see many Mosel wine festivals - and do a Google search as in summer and fall they are ubiquitous - one going on someplace - Rhine too.
Be sure to try the ballyhooed Ice Wine that is produced only in years when there is an early enough freeze I believe
Prost!
Zell is also a very cute wine town- home of once popular in U.S. Black Cat - http://lawineaux.blogspot.com/2014/0...-cat-wine.html
If interested in Mosel wines Trier has a Wine-Teaching Path behind the old Roman Theatre- Trier is a fascinating town because of its Roman relics such as the Porta Negra- the mammoth city gate and one of the most intact Roman edifices anywhere.
I did see many Mosel wine festivals - and do a Google search as in summer and fall they are ubiquitous - one going on someplace - Rhine too.
Be sure to try the ballyhooed Ice Wine that is produced only in years when there is an early enough freeze I believe
Prost!
Oct 6th, 2016, 02:48 PM
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Ricksteves won't help you much with the boat schedules. Go to the sources below.
Regularly-scheduled off-season KD boats sail until 10/23.
https://www.k-d.com/fileadmin/schiff...table_2016.pdf
Bingen-Rüdesheimer boats sail until 11/1.
http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/wp...edule-2016.pdf
Both companies cover the most scenic part of the Rhine, between Bingen and St. Goar, which takes just 1.5 hours. The B-R cruise flyer has a map of the towns and castles you'll pass. Start in Bingen, end in St. Goar - if you do it the opposite direction it takes about twice as long because of the strong river current. So from Bacharach hop on a train for Bingen and cruise north to St. Goar - then get a second train back to Bacharach. If you just get on in Bacharach, you will miss out on half the great scenery. And it is great.
You can get in the rest of the river scenery by visiting the other Rhine towns by train. The ferry in St. Goar gets you over to the other side so you can catch a train to Braubach (Marksburg Castle) or Ruedesheim.
There is not as much demand for the Mosel River cruises PalenQ mentions between Koblenz and Cochem (4-5 hours depending on which way you cruise) - only one boat per day - and there's a reason for that - the scenery isn't nearly as dramatic as the Rhine cruise. There are spots that are very pretty, however. KD ended its Mosel cruise on 10/2 for the season.
Kolb cruises operates the boat out of Cochem to Beilstein through October 30. It's a nice 1-hr cruise available 5 times per day and represents your best bet for a Mosel cruise. ("Schifffahrt nach Beilstein" at the page below.)
http://www.moselrundfahrten.de/files...ochem_2016.pdf
Cochem itself is a very scenic place:
http://www.der-takt.de/typo3temp/_pr...087e83a8d1.jpg
I would just take the train to Cochem. The train follows the Mosel River almost the entire way.
http://www.zughalt.de/wp-content/upl...10/DB11321.jpg
From Bacharach you probably will want the Rheinland-Pfalz day pass for getting around by train.
http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and...-pfalz-ticket/
Regularly-scheduled off-season KD boats sail until 10/23.
https://www.k-d.com/fileadmin/schiff...table_2016.pdf
Bingen-Rüdesheimer boats sail until 11/1.
http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/wp...edule-2016.pdf
Both companies cover the most scenic part of the Rhine, between Bingen and St. Goar, which takes just 1.5 hours. The B-R cruise flyer has a map of the towns and castles you'll pass. Start in Bingen, end in St. Goar - if you do it the opposite direction it takes about twice as long because of the strong river current. So from Bacharach hop on a train for Bingen and cruise north to St. Goar - then get a second train back to Bacharach. If you just get on in Bacharach, you will miss out on half the great scenery. And it is great.
You can get in the rest of the river scenery by visiting the other Rhine towns by train. The ferry in St. Goar gets you over to the other side so you can catch a train to Braubach (Marksburg Castle) or Ruedesheim.
There is not as much demand for the Mosel River cruises PalenQ mentions between Koblenz and Cochem (4-5 hours depending on which way you cruise) - only one boat per day - and there's a reason for that - the scenery isn't nearly as dramatic as the Rhine cruise. There are spots that are very pretty, however. KD ended its Mosel cruise on 10/2 for the season.
Kolb cruises operates the boat out of Cochem to Beilstein through October 30. It's a nice 1-hr cruise available 5 times per day and represents your best bet for a Mosel cruise. ("Schifffahrt nach Beilstein" at the page below.)
http://www.moselrundfahrten.de/files...ochem_2016.pdf
Cochem itself is a very scenic place:
http://www.der-takt.de/typo3temp/_pr...087e83a8d1.jpg
I would just take the train to Cochem. The train follows the Mosel River almost the entire way.
http://www.zughalt.de/wp-content/upl...10/DB11321.jpg
From Bacharach you probably will want the Rheinland-Pfalz day pass for getting around by train.
http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and...-pfalz-ticket/
Oct 6th, 2016, 03:05 PM
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About that ferry in St. Goar...
http://www.schiffbilder.de/1024/pers...chen-18381.jpg
It operates every day all day long. And the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket covers your passage.
About Marksburg: great castle tour, steep walk up of 20+ minutes from town. Braubach's old town center is adorable.
http://www.romantischer-rhein.de/upl...ltstadt_02.jpg
The suggestion to cruise to Braubach/Marksburg from Bacharach will work. Return south by train to St. Goarshausen, ferry across to St. Goar, train to Bacharach. But that first boat is the only one that works, and it does take nearly 3 hours to reach Braubach by boat, and you will miss half the really scenic part between Bingen and Bacharach - which includes scenes like this one:
So I would suggest instead that you cruise Bingen (9:30) - St. Goarshausen (11:05), disembark, and take the train (11:32) north to Braubach instead (only 20 minutes.) This frees you to use boats at other hours and saves you some time as well.
http://www.schiffbilder.de/1024/pers...chen-18381.jpg
It operates every day all day long. And the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket covers your passage.
About Marksburg: great castle tour, steep walk up of 20+ minutes from town. Braubach's old town center is adorable.
http://www.romantischer-rhein.de/upl...ltstadt_02.jpg
The suggestion to cruise to Braubach/Marksburg from Bacharach will work. Return south by train to St. Goarshausen, ferry across to St. Goar, train to Bacharach. But that first boat is the only one that works, and it does take nearly 3 hours to reach Braubach by boat, and you will miss half the really scenic part between Bingen and Bacharach - which includes scenes like this one:
So I would suggest instead that you cruise Bingen (9:30) - St. Goarshausen (11:05), disembark, and take the train (11:32) north to Braubach instead (only 20 minutes.) This frees you to use boats at other hours and saves you some time as well.
Oct 6th, 2016, 03:06 PM
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