We are taking a fourteen day guided land tour this fall and will arrive in Frankfurt from USA/west coast by air four days before the tour begins. We would like to plan pre-tour itinerary that takes jet lag into consideration. Would you please comment on how realistic this itinerary would be? Day 1—Arrive Frankfurt airport and take train to Bacharach. Rick Steves walking tour of Bacharach after hotel check-in. Day 2—Rhine River train to St. Goar and Rhine River Cruise back to Bacharach with sightseeing, castle-gazing and possible castle-touring as time and jet lag permit. Day 3—Train from Bacharach to Moselkern to tour Eltz Castle then train back to Bacharach. Day 4—Train back to Frankfurt to start guided tour the next day. This sounds ambitious to me, but since I haven't been there before I'm seeking advice. We would also like to see Cochem but are not sure how/when it would fit in. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Posted by
Northern Minnesota
605 posts
We are flying into Amsterdam and making our way by train to Ljubljana to join a RS tour. We are also staying on the Rhine along the way. What river cruise are you looking at for day 2?
Posted by
122 posts
You might look at the Time Shifter app or doing something similar on your own. For the last few trips we've done we've done time shifting and had basically no jet lag. We're pretty diligent about it and shift our meds, our sleep, wear the sunglasses, everything. For your itinerary, IF you do the time shifting, you might flip days 2 and 3. I would fall asleep on the boat or find the river part too slow for the day after landing. Usually for me that day 1 I'm good till about 6pm and then BOOM need to sleep. I wake up the next morning fine, ready to go, but I plan something that has me moving, walking. So if you do the Moselkern to Eltz Castle, you're walking, moving, and you'll be fine. Then day 3 do the slower river cruise.
It's not ambitious if you time shift. For day 4, me I'd plan a cooking class or guru walk or something to keep me moving to a normal time.
The time shifter app will let you do one trip for free. Once you figure out how it works, you can either use it or do the math yourself custom to your lifestyle and needs. I wanted to take a bit longer to shift, so I usually started a couple weeks ahead. I've never done it the super fast way they specify (3-4 days?). I just took the concept and spread it over the length I was willing to give it.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14049 posts
Hahaha....As soon as I started reading I was going to recommend Timeshifter. As I scrolled down, I saw "Stw1b" beat me to it.
I had very good luck with using the app last summer going to Orkney/Shetland for a short (2-week) trip. I'd had a terrible time in April 2023 when I went to Amsterdam and then Paris and somehow got myself totally out of whack. It took a week for me not to crump in the afternoon. That was a 5-week trip but I knew I could not spend that amount of time getting my circadian rhythm righted so tried the Timeshifter. I used the free trip offer and it worked really well. I liked the pings I got on my AppleWatch when it was time to do something (avoid light/seek light, avoid caffeine/seek caffeine).
It also worked well coming back home to the Northwest. No jet lag in either direction.
I did follow it as closely as I could and used sunglasses and a ball cap (I am NOT a ball cap wearer) to moderate the amount of light I was getting during those phases.
Good luck!
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
962 posts
A couple suggestions:
It will be easier to adjust if you land in Frankfurt in the morning. But, if you go to Bacharach your hotel may not be able to check you in until later (normally after 3 PM.) Contact the hotel and see if you can drop your luggage prior to checking in. that way you won't have to lug it with you.
Personally I'd stay in Koblenz. it's easy to get to from Frankfurt, it's easy to visit Bacharach and St Goar from there, you could take a Rhine boat ride from there (or take the train to Bingen and boat back), and it's only a 1 hour train ride to Cochem. Plus the hotels are cheaper and you can see the Eck and Ehrenbreitstein.
Recommend you get the Deutschland Pass for the train, it will save you a lot of money and all the trains you need are regional.