NonnaGia

Hello, I'm flying to visit relative in Belgium for few days in April or May and would like to extend trip. Is it safe to travel there alone as a fit and active 60 year old woman? I'm thinking of Luxembourg, Trier, Cochem, Koblenz then fly out of Frankfort. I'd rather not drive and am hoping to do all this by train and bus. Is 12-14 days enough for entire trip?

PalenQ

Very leisurely IMO - have biked that route umpteen times and took 4 days!

Trains are good to the Mosel but not along them but buses pick up the slack.

Suggest overnights in Luxembourg, Trier and Cochem and then south of Koblenz on the Rhine - say Boppard or any cute Rhineside town and do K-D (www.k-d.com) boats down the Rhine to Koblenz.

For lots on trains check www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com. www.bahn.de/en.

May would be better weatherwise IME than April but still could be cool and wet -prepare for any weather.

en route to Frankfurt Mainz could be a good stop with direct trains to Frankfurt Airport.

NonnaGia

Thank you for quick reply and links!

Sounds like you recommend one night/day in each place including town near Rhine, which sounds lovely.

I hate to pack/unpack each day so wondering if staying in one place for 2 nights or 3 nights might work even if bit more time getting back and forth to sites?

PalenQ

No I think basing is fine and I'd use Cochem for Mosel -trains to nearby Trier and Burg Eltz (one of most famous castles in Germany and rare intact medieval one, near Cochem

and may 2-3 days in Rhineside town - and Frankfurt is interesting in many ways and could be a great base for neat cities like Heidleberg.

10-12 days is way more than I'd spend on that short route and extend to Frankfurt area perhaps.

PalenQ

Many folks find Luxembourg City disappointingly modern and blah but I'd stay there two-3 nights and do a day trip by train to some regional town like Clervaux as the countryside of the Grand Duchy is very nice as are castle towns like Clervaux.

But Luxembourg City itself is not that much but be sure to tour the Casements - tunnels hewn out in cliffs that bisect the city - one of the most physically gorgeous cities anywhere if rather dull otherwise (to most).

Fussgaenger

I agree with Cochem as a Mosel base. It is possible to visit Trier as you travel between Luxembourg and Cochem by train; just use Trier station lockers for the day there.

"...-trains to nearby Trier and Burg Eltz..."

From Cochem you could visit Trier in this way as well, though it means you will be backtracking and returning along the same stretch of track that you used to reach Cochem from Luxembourg in the first place. Burg Eltz - no way can you take the train there. You need to take the train to Moselkern and walk from there.

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html

Boppard is a good suggestion for a Rhine stay, lovely town, but St. Goar is more convenient if you're using trains because of the ferry crossing there - once on the other side of the Rhine, it's easy to hop a train to visit towns and castles on the east bank (Braubach/Marksburg and Rüdesheim for example.)

PalenQ

Burg Eltz - no way can you take the train there. You need to take the train to Moselkern and walk from there.>

Yes meant to add that as I usually do.

And besides a lovely few-mile walk uphill to castle there are also taxis and mini-buses I believe from Moselkern train station.

PalenQ

Fussganeger is an absolute expert on Mosel/Rhine areas with more current knowledge than my general knowledge garnered from years of leading bike trips thru the area but long ago. He/she is an expert on hotels and especially Rhine towns to base in. Wonderful resource to tap.

NonnaGia

Grateful to all for the details and suggestions for this trip!

I will likely shorten my visit to maybe7-8 days as I'm hoping to find balance of relaxed pace without too much idle time. I don't want to get bored or feel rushed.

Fussgaenger

Well, thanks PQ but not sure I can live up to "expert" - definitely not when it comes to all the hotel options. I am sorta savvy about getting around by public transport.

PQ mentions "...mini-buses I believe from Moselkern train station" and I think he refers to the Burgenbus, or Castle Bus, which AFAIK is the only bus option to Burg Eltz. The bus runs on Sat and Sun, 4 times per day. From Cochem you would first need to depart by train in the direction of Koblenz. The bus schedule for 2017 is here (2018 schedule not yet available) :

http://burg-eltz.de/images/stories/doc/burgenbus_en.pdf

Whether you should take the train to Treis-Karden, Moselkern, or Hatzenport (the Burgenbus serves all three) isn't clear right now - but in a few months, when the new Burgenbus schedule is published, you should be able to go to the DB itinerary search page and find out. The DB site will figure out for you the best town for changing to the bus and provide you with the most efficient travel schedule. Use "Cochem" as your start station and "Burg Eltz, Wierschem" as your destination; the DB site provides schedule info for both train and bus.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

With only 4 buses each way per day, the bus may not be convenient for the return trip. You could do the downhill walk into Moselkern in this case and take the train back. On weekdays you will need to walk both ways from Moselkern (or find a taxi??)

More Burgenbus information: https://regioradler.de/pages/en_en/infos/burgenbus.php

Tickets: Cochem to Burg Eltz costs €8 total (per person, one way.) So you are better off getting a VRM mini-group ticket (Minigruppenkarte) priced at €22.10 - that will cover you both for all your bus and train trips at any hour that day.

If it's a weekday, then you have only the round trip by train to Moselkern (plus the walk of course.) That trip is €4.70 each each way on a normal VRM ticket (so €18.80 total.)

You can buy the round-trip mini-group ticket (just one ticket for both people for both train and bus) for Sat or Sun (or the one-way ticket to Moselkern on a weekday) from a ticket machine at the station in Cochem. Weekday return trip: Buy the Moselkern-to-Cochem return ticket at the Moselkern ticket machine once you get there. The ticket machines will look something like those in this photo, with a VRM logo on them. (VRM is the local transit authority that handles local train and bus tickets.)

http://www.vrminfo.de/fileadmin/_pro...4a6a8c2601.jpg

PalenQ

Well fuss with that type of awesome info I'd say expert (vs my general knowledge only from years of leading trips thru area long ago). Walking is best from Moselkern I'd believe - I did that several times and not that far really. In any case don't miss Burg Eltz on Mosel and Marksburg on Rhine - latter only intact ancient castle on that stretch of Rhine.

smetz1

All good advice above. Another possibility would be to make your base in Koblenz, which is where the Mosel and Rhine trains come together. From there you can have day trips up the Mosel or the Rhine depending on your itinerary. There are several interesting sights in Koblenz, including the altstadt, Deutches Eck, and Ehrenbreitstein fortress (actually across the Rhine).

Certainly nothing wrong with having one base on the Mosel then another on the Rhine. Cochem of course is perfect for the Mosel. The only town I have stayed in along the Rhine is Oberwesel, which my wife and I enjoyed immensely.

smetz1

One other point - with 12 to 14 days you could easily consider expanding your trip to some other nearby areas. Cologne, to the north, is one possibility, and the many cities of the Black Forest to the south would be another. Germany's excellent train system will get you to any of these areas easily.

bilboburgler

Fussg is certainly an expert on the area

PalenQ

Koblenz is a nice but large city lacking ambience of riverside hotels at least in a more rural setting. But do visit Koblenz and especially Deutsches Eck area.

Fussgaenger

Koblenz is a reasonable choice in winter, when the smaller towns are in their seasonal comas. But in late spring or summer I'd much prefer the old-world atmosphere of the smaller villages that dot the rivers. Outings by train from Koblenz work well except for the fact that staying near the Koblenz station (the dullest part of the city, which tends to be somewhat dull overall anyway) isn't an attractive option.

PalenQ

Koblenz does have a popular pedestrian shopping street with normal stores like any such street in Germany- a regional shopping magnet.

PalenQ

I will likely shorten my visit to maybe7-8 days as I'm hoping to find balance of relaxed pace without too much idle time. I don't want to get bored or feel rushed.>

For your original wish list it would be perfect, 7-8 days, IMO. Especially in March when weather may not be conducive to idling time away outside or doing a boat ride.

smetz1

Yes, it's true that Koblenz doesn't have the charm of the smaller cities, and also true about the location of the train station. A stay in a nicer Koblenz location would require a bit of a hike to the train station. But - one advantage to Koblenz for me is that it has a much greater variety of restaurants and pubs open in the evening. If you like to go out late when on vacation, like I do, Koblenz provides many more opportunities. My wife is fond of saying the smaller towns "roll up their sidewalks" around 8:00 (at least on weekdays).

PalenQ

Koblenz ain't that big that a walk to train station would be little more than 15-20 minutes from any city center hotel.

But Koblenz is a city lacking totally the charm of small riverssides town on Mosel and Rhine. But still a nice nice place and some hotels probably have riverfront views.