Trains/Car Rental in Cochem Germany
 

Hello folks!

We plan on travelling to Germany and France in fall of 2017. Landing in Frankfurt from Canada, after an overnight flight, not sure if we want to rent a car at the airport or take a train to Cochem and rent a car there. Firstly, after landing, where at the airport can we catch a train and which line would it be? Secondly, we have looked briefly for a car rental in Cochem and can't seem to locate one. Does anyone know if we can rent from the train station and if not, where can we rent one?

Also, I read in some older posts that some type of environmental sticker is required on car rentals in Germany. Is this correct and is it a problem to take the car to France?

We plan on staying in the village of Riqueweir in France. Any comments good or bad about either Cochem or Riqueweir.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well for trains to Cochem from Frankfurt Airport check www.bahn.de/en - the German Railways web site - you will usually have to change twice from the airport and no problem at all - changing at Koblenz nearly always.

for lots on German trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com (also lots on the Mosel) and www.ricksteves.com.

I'd consider going from the airport to a nearby town on the Rhine like Mainz - stay the night and rent a car from there.

Lots of trains from the airport to Mainz, a short trip.

We took the train in mid-September last year from Riquewihr to Cochem (stayed four nights in each). We did not have a car, but rented bikes in both places. (Had to walk from Riquewihr to the next village for bikes there :) PalenQ was invaluable help in arranging the order of our visit and encouraging us to rent bikes and get around on our own.

Loved both towns, they are very different. Riquewihr ancient, tiny, and we had the most unbelievable apartment - right in the center of the main cobblestone street, over top of an ancient wine cellar, called Riesling:
http://i-love-riquewihr.com/o_11-EN.html

And we loved our apartment in Cochem too, because it had a terrace that looks out on the river and has a view of the castle, Apartment Sonnenberg. Cochem was a bit grittier, but was a great base for exploring the area by train and bike:

http://www.booking.com/hotel/de/haus-moselpanorama.html

A car is generally unnecessary to get to Cochem or to do day trips from Cochem. Perhaps you have some unusually isolated destinations in mind?? Or perhaps you aren't aware that the German train system and other transport options are exceptionally well developed and efficient. I rented a van once when we traveled with my 75-year-old in-laws in part because we were concerned about their stamina and some of the last-minute room locations that had been forced upon us. (Perhaps you have similar concerns or mobility issues.) Turns out the in-laws packed appropriately and managed just fine - and the car was unnecessary.

Find Cochem on this map and you'll see the Mosel destinations available to you by train:
http://www.vrminfo.de/fileadmin/data...reckennetz.pdf

Two common Mosel destinations, Beilstein and Bernkastel, have no stations; Beilstein is served by bus or boat from Cochem, Bernkastel by train + bus connection.

France and Alsace are a different matter IME. What makes sense to me would be to use the trains for FRA - Cochem - Strasbourg (and for outings from Cochem) and to then pick up a car once you're in Strasbourg.

From FRA, train departures to Cochem from FRA are particularly convenient (and usually inexpensive) for the 7:21, 9:24, and 11:24 departures by RE (regional express) train. The ride takes just over 2 hours. Two adults can do the journey for less than €40 total for most departures and most days of the week, and no advance-purchase is needed (an important point - pre-purchased DB "saver fares" are train-specific and might have to be forfeited if your flight is late.)

A DB saver fare is just the ticket for Cochem to Strasbourg. They sell for €29 each for the trip to the French border at Kehl (if bought well in advance.) A cheap supplemental ticket for Kehl-Strasbourg completes your journey.

PalenQ, thanks for your info. To start, I like your comment on your profile "you fell down in Naples, went to the ER!". I will check Mainz out and get back with any questions as Joan feels you are the expert! �� Everyone seems to like the trains. I am not sure of what towns we would like to visit, but in other posts, some say you should visit Luxembourg. So I thought a car would be best, maybe not so much.

Joan, we plan om staying a week in both places as a lot of apartments only rent by the week. Do you think that is too much time?

Also, as you felt Cochem was grittier, can you suggest somewhere else, perhaps a town you visited that you loved close by to Cochem? We are open to suggestions. I read that Cochem was very nice so chose it on that basis. I will check out your accommodations and thanks for that.

We too love bicycles and would have no problem renting same. Actually I,have noticed responses to posts from PalenQ and feel,that he would be a good advocate for travelling this area.

Fussgaenger, thanks for all the info on these particular destinations. Your train travel information is very detailed. It would seem all responses agree that a car is not necessary, although we have always rented a car in Europe. Wasn't aware that Germany had such a great train system. We do not have mobility issues, just thought it's nice to have a car at ones disposal. I will check out the two towns you suggested, Beilstien and Bernkastel. Are there any other places you can suggest we can see in that area. And what did you mean that France and Alsace are a different matter? I will also check out the map you suggested.

Thanks

PalenQ, I have checked the map,and I,like the idea of going to Mainz to rent a car if we go that route. Thanks for that!

"Are there any other places you can suggest we can see in that area. And what did you mean that France and Alsace are a different matter? I will also check out the map you suggested."

Day trips from Cochem might include...

TRIER, 45 minutes from Cochem by direct train, €28/2 adults round trip with a "Rheinland-Pfalz Ticket" day pass. Trier sports numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites...
http://www.trier-info.de/english/une...heritage-sites

BURG ELTZ (castle tour), take the train 18 minutes to Moselkern and walk through the woods to this never-destroyed castle:
http://de.best-wallpaper.net/wallpap..._1920x1200.jpg
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html

BULLAY, ALF, PUENDERICH, REIL, all small, scenic riverfront towns that are connected by paved bike routes along one of the Mosel's most attractive segments:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...erich_2010.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/64234594.jpg

"... is it a problem to take the car to France?"
If you rent in Germany and drop off in France, you pay a hefty drop-off fee. If you rent and drop in the same country, no additional fee.

The trains are a very pleasant way to see the Mosel and the rest of Germany for that matter - the Mosel scenery is great and the one who'd otherwise be the driver can relax and enjoy the scenery as well. With the trains, there is no drop-off fee, no insurance, no rental contract, no pick-up or drop-off routines, no gas, no potty stops, no fender-benders, no radar speed traps.

http://www.zughalt.de/wp-content/upl...10/DB11321.jpg

About France and the Alsace: I only meant that French train service tends to be less comprehensive than the German system - the rail network makes it trickier to get from one small place to another in France, and a car is often more useful than in Germany.

Most people probably have no major problems when they rent, but a significant number of visitors have some quite serious ones with the rental companies. There are dozens of threads on TA like this one that speak to the potential difficulties with rentals in Europe:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...y-Germany.html

Regarding Cochem....I would never associate the word "grittier" with Cochem. Really?

Why is Cochem 'grittier'? Both Cochem/Burg Eltz and Riquewhir are high on my bucket list for a 2017 trip.
It looks so delightful online.

I certainly appreciate all the feed back. Certainly, all the suggestions regarding places to visit near Cochem. Train information is invaluable, maybe we will look more seriously into this idea as we all know the driver can't enjoy the scenery as the passengers.

I also would like to know how Cochem is grittier and if so, is there a better smaller place to stay in order to visit the area.

Any other places to visit near Riqueweir would be appreciated.

We always have rented, a dozen times in many countries, including twice in Turkey and have never encountered any difficulties but it is always good to be wary. We go through VRBO or Homeaway or Owners Direct.

The reason I wrote "grittier" is because we found Cochem to be more city-like than Riquewihr. The train station was honestly dirty with broken glass in the stairwells etc. Lots more touristy shops (example: an Irish pub blaring rock music - but hey we stopped in for a pint), loads of people taking boat tours departing from the waterfront. This is only as compared to Riquewihr, we would go back to Cochem in a heartbeat and it was a great base. Watching the river traffic from our little terrace was captivating.

If you want smaller, we did bike along those paved pathways to quite a few towns. We found Beilstein utterly charming. But for a whole week, I'd stay in Cochem, as there is much more to see using that as your base. Do go to Burg Eltz, and use the Rick Steves hike to get there from the train station. Pick up a local paper and use the internet to find wine festivals. We rode our bike to one - it wasn't happening, so we turned around and rode into a walnut festival complete with bands and homemade food and wonderful people selling wine by the bottle.

P.S. Could not get to Riquewihr by train - you must train to Colmar and then bus or taxi to Riquewihr. Nearby Ribeauville is also gorgeous - I don't think you can go wrong with any of the villages nearby. Have fun planning!

joan -

Thank you for your comments about Cochem. We'd considered going there for our German Christmas trip this year, but decided otherwise as it's just not convenient to other areas we plan to visit. Now I'm wondering if we'd have even liked it.

Cochem gritty??

Older train stations all around Germany are indeed neglected in a way the rest of Germany generally is not. Cochem's station is indeed sad - but IMO not gritty (which implies a bit of danger, maybe a place to pick up illicit drugs...) and neither is the rest of Cochem. Cochem IS old - narrow streets and alleyways, old town walls and towers... maybe one of Germany's most charming old-world destinations in spite of the large number of summertime daytrippers who pass through there. If you're not going now, Melnq8, put it on your list for later - I wouldn't let a few ill-chosen words deter me. Some Cochem photos:

http://www.der-takt.de/typo3temp/_pr...087e83a8d1.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4093/5...5a5d55d3_b.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...hem,_Markt.JPG

http://ks-portfolio.de/wp-content/ga.../cochem-11.jpg

Wow, those are gorgeous Fussgaenger. Not at all 'gritty'.

I know what you mean about old German train stations - we were a bit taken aback by the seemingly abandoned one in Annaberg-Bucholtz last year. The town, however, was lovely.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...7665066916516/

Thanks folks for all the great information, very much appreciated. Once Imhave made further plans I will get back with more questions. If anyone thinks of anywhere else we should see, just reply feedback!

If we have a few more days to stay, is there a place between Ricqueweir and Cochem you could suggest......in Germany? I have been to Heidelberg and Rothenburg already.

If we have a few more days to stay, is there a place between Ricqueweir and Cochem you could suggest......in Germany?

You mean places somewhat similar to those two?? If so, these aren't far from the route you'd take south through Germany and are worth considering:

Ladenburg (near Heidelberg)
Neustadt-an-der-Weinstrasse
Gengenbach (near Offenburg)

Joan: Regarding your apartment in Cochem, did you mean Apartment Sonnenchien? I could not find Apartment Sonnenberg. What page should it be listed on?

We spent one night in Cochem, walked all over. The drive to get there was beautiful. We laughed at the gps because it kept looking like the car was going off the mountain. A lot of switchbacks. We walked up to the castle and it was very beautiful from that view but already closed. I loved looking at all the vineyards around there. Very quiet once the day trippers got back on their cruise boats.

Hi Barbara, there are two apartments in the one building (well, there are more but these two are managed by the same lovely couple), Sonnenberg and Schlossberg.

Here is the website link. I did not use this website to book, I used booking.com. Perhaps your dates were not available and that is why both apts were not shown? When I check the link, it shows both. Schlossberg is smaller and does not have a balcony.

http://www.haus-moselpanorama.de/index.php?lang=en

OK, posters. I did not say Cochem was bad, I was comparing to Riquewihr. I liked them both very much, but if you've been to both, you might agree they are quite different.

OK, posters. I did not say Cochem was bad, I was comparing to Riquewihr. I liked them both very much, but if you've been to both, you might agree they are quite different.>

Yes Cochem is a largish town - Riquewihr a tiny village - Cochem is on a gorgeous river valley - R is not - I would be bored in R but not Cochem, a town I have stayed in dozens of times - Beilstein, a small R-like village just upstream from Cochem maybe more what you like and the Haus Lipmann there is famous on Fodor's:

http://www.hotel-haus-lipmann.com/

"Beilstein, a small R-like village..."

There may be some similarities in terms of structures with Rothenburg, but IMO they're quite distinct. In fact, Rothenburg is a metropolis compared to Beilstein, which is probably less than one football field in length:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...2-08_CN-01.jpg

Rothenburg:

https://www.nuernbergluftbild.de/ima.../j0523174c.jpg

Stayiing in tiny Beilstein would require an approach to travel that I lack. I find Cochem far more interesting for a stay of a few nights.

Oh... I see R-like meant Riquewihr-like. In my personal cyber-lexicon of abbreviations, "R-" always refers to Rothenburg. But Rothenburg really makes no sense in this thread - alas, I haven't made much sense either.

In your lexicon Fuss Cochem kind of an R-like town! (Though I think Cochem far more scenically situated - the slopes of vineyards opposite town across the Mosel make it so so sweet. But, R as a town has perhaps more there there than Cochem!

Cheers!

Ok......I think we will go with Cochem. Although I like quaint, I also like to have more sights to see things when one gets home for the day!

Any thoughts on villages in Germany of interest for a day or two on the trip from Riqueweir to Cochem if we end up renting a car?

Fussgaenger: Thanks for your suggestions re stopping enroute in southern Germany. I found this article from a traveller.


http://www.thetraveltester.com/gengenbach-germany/

Any thoughts on villages in Germany of interest for a day or two on the trip from Riqueweir to Cochem if we end up renting a car?>

Well you could follow the Alsace Wine Road north to the German border and then drive along the Rhine gorge area to Koblenz and Cochem.

But renting a car in France and returning it in Germany could result in a steep drop-off fee for so doing.

To avoid the two country car pick up and drop off extra fees - from Riquewihr - bop over to Germany and rent there- via Strasbourg which to me is one of Europe's most overlooked large cities - stop there for some hours and take the train over the Rhine to Germany and pick up a car and head along the Rhine to Cochem.

PalenQ. Our thoughts at the moment are to land in Frankfurt and as you suggested take a train to Mainz, spend the night and then rent a car from there and drive to Cochem. Spend a week or so and tour the area than drive to Riquewihr. After spending a week or so there, driving back through Germany, and as a suggestion by Fussgaenger thought we may stop for a night in Gengenbach or maybe I will check Koblenz. Then return to Mainz and return the car.

Do you think that a week is too much in Cochem and Ricquewihr.

http://www.thetraveltester.com/gengenbach-germany/

Do you think that a week is too much in Cochem and Ricquewihr.>

For most yes- I would cut each in half. That's just my opinion -others may differ.

Actually a week in Cochem as a base could be sweet:

Boat trip to Beilstein perhaps bike back (rentals in Cochem and some hotels provide them too)

Day at Burg Eltz- short drive from Cochem or easy train + bus or hike

Trier - another short enough drive or train - Germany's oldest city and one with lots of Roman ruins including an old Roman Temple now a Christian Basilica

Sweet drives along the Mosel - like to Bernkastel-Kues; Traben-Trarbach and others - all nice wine towns in awesome settings.

And the Rhine Gorge by car or car/boat or train/boast

And I like Kobelnz too though few seem to concur that it is worth a look - especially like the Rhine Ufer - esplanade along the Rhine and Deutsches Eck, one of the most famous places in Germany for Germans - the German Corner at the confluence of the"mother" Mosel and "father" Rhine - symbolic of German Unity- huge plinth with an equestrian statue on it - once had one with Kaiser Wilhelm before the waning days of WW 2 when an American GI from the opposite shore of the Mosel blasted it to bits with fire power (told to me by the campground manager at the camp now occupying this area or at least did until last I knew):

https://www.google.com/search?q=deut...Hb5tAOkQsAQIGw

You can take a cable car or pedestrian ferry across the Rhine from Deutsches Eck and then climb to the top of Ehrenbreitstien Fortress, once said to be the largest fortress in Europe after Gibraltar:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehrenbreitstein_Fortress

https://www.google.com/search?q=ehre...HdiHA5gQsAQIGw

There is a military museum up top and a youth hostel (or was years ago when I last visited) and sweeping views up and down the Rhine and up the Mosel.

Plus Koblenz has the classic German Altstadt or Old Town with outdoor cafes, beer halls, restaurants and a large pedestrianized shopping zone.

If taking the Rhine boats end at Koblenz and spend some delightful hours there- the boat dock is near Deutsches-Eck - the train station is about a mile from there.

To me Koblenz is a very very pleasant if modern - due to war damage - larger city - a good foil to the touristed wine towns along the Rhine and Mosel.

Joan, that is a very nice apartment. We found a little path and walked up to the castle from that side and then down another road into the village.

PalenQ, while in Riquewihr we plan on seeing Stratsburg for a day as well as Colmar in addition to many of the smaller villages and we could do a daytrip on the Rhine from there???, with that I mind is a week still too much?

Macross, yes that riverfront Cochem apt was a real value, clean and located perfectly - along the beautiful paved Mosel waterway. The hosts lived across the hall and went above and beyond to help us out (I had my purse stolen enroute in Colmar train station and had to make some phone calls), despite a language barrier that was comical. The terrace was charming, furnished better than the pictures, and we even had access to a garage to store our rented bikes. This apt would be great for those with a baby, because there's a "dressing room" which is really a small bedroom which you access through the master, so a plus but not needed in our case.

You should see the Riquewihr apartment, that was even better. Even though no terrace, we set up cocktail hour in the bedroom, where there was a two foot wide sill to sit on, in a giant window overlooking the main street. You could see all the way to the gates of Riqewihr. And the bakery there...

Barbara, my two cents would be: without car, one week in Cochem, half week in Riquewihr. With car, you could easily find wonderful day trips for a full week in Riquewihr.

Have fun choosing!

PalenQ, while in Riquewihr we plan on seeing Stratsburg for a day as well as Colmar in addition to many of the smaller villages and we could do a daytrip on the Rhine from there???>

That part of the Rhine is not worth the day trip - the part near Strasbourg though if car you could easily get over to Germany - trains pretty much via Strasbourg.

Strasbourg and Colmar are great for a day- small villages???

I agree with joan 3-4 days in Riquewihr would be tops for many except Alsace wine aficionados perhaps.

I definitely agree with PalenQ that Koblenz is worth a look.

I definitely agree with PalenQ that Koblenz is worth a look.>

Yes indeed but to base somewhere I highly recommend a smaller more overall dreamy town or village like Cochem or Boppard, St Goar, Rudesheim, etc.