Rhine river...drought this summer.
 

We plan on taking the boat ride down the Rhine next week. Has anyone been there lately? How low is the Rhine and was it still enjoyable?

We were on the Rhine, well, actually on its beaches near Cologne on Sunday. The beaches were broader now ;-)
And a lot of ships were going up and down so I guess the cruise ships are running as well.

BUT the homepage of one of the lines that I just now checked says:
Dear Passangers
in fact of the very low water level of the rhine, it is not possible to dock on the following stations:
Assmannshausen, Bad Breisig, Bad Honnef, Bad Hönningen, Kamp Bornhofen, Kaub, Neuwied, Niederlahnstein, Oberlahnstein und Rhens.
As soon as the water level rises again, we will update the stations above!

- NEVERTHELESS it seems like in some of these town there's a stop a bit away from the normal stop where the ship can moore more eaily.
Perhaps you want to check with the company whose tour you plan on taking?
Alternatively ask the people from KD: [email protected]

The scenery, of course, remains unchanged and beautiful! :-)

Took K-D boat between Rudesheim and Bingen in late August and believe drought has broken since then. I love the boat ride, been on it many times but actually most of the American tourists on board seemed quickly bored, some even reading newspapers or books. Suggest boating between Rudesheim and Bingen, by far best scenery, including famed Lorelei cliff - portion between Mainz and Rudesheim especially is rather industrial. Getting to be off season, weekends more boats. www.k-d.com site has schedules, fares and, presumably, updates on cancellations. There are other boat lines besides K-D. Eurailpasses are only good on K-D however; just flash pass upon boarding, always seem to have room, no reservations needed or seemingly possible for individuals. Train stations near each dock so you can rail back to your start point in a few minutes. If not boating, take the train or drive through the same scenery on riverside roads and rail routes.

Our plan is to only spend an hour on the boat....board at St. Goar and ride to Bacharach. We will then take the train to Boppard for the wine festival.