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July Train Trip - Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Netherlands

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My family and I (husband, 2 kids (6 & 8)) will be traveling this July via train. We will fly into Zurich (1 night) and then travel to Wengen for 4 nights. From Wengen we want to head to Germany, likely along the Rhine. It will be a long travel day from Wengen to Germany and I am trying to determine where we should use as our home base for 2 nights. I've thought about Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Bacharach, even Heidelberg and Mannheim. I'd like to go to St. Goar and Bacharach as it has been 20 years since I visited these towns. I know Rothenberg could also be a possibility (I've been twice) but it seems very complicated to get there via train/bus.

After our time in Germany we will head to Brussels for 2 nights and then onto Amsterdam before heading home.

What are some suggestions on where to go/stay? Also, should we book the Eurail pass and the Swiss travel pass? I know we need separate passes for the Wengen portion of our trip.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Posted by
7015 posts

You will of course be setting aside an entire day for just the transportation with Wengen > St. Goar. I see no ideal solution. But I can tell you what I'd probably choose... This plan breaks your travel between Wengen and Brussels into manageable chunks of 4 - 4.5 hours...

  • 3 nights in Wengen + a half day and lunch on Day 4.

  • Leave Wengen 14:12 on Day 4, arrive Gengenbach 18:49. Gengenbach is a very pleasant old-world walled town that might be mistaken for Rothenburg except for the fact that it is not overrun by tourists from all over the planet. Spend one night here.

https://www.schwarzwaldportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/IMG_20211014_131531-scaled.jpg

  • Leave Gengenbach 10:06 on Day 5, arrive St. Goar 13:55. (This trip puts you on ONE ICE train between Offenburg and Koblenz, which increases the odds that you will arrive on time in St. Goar. Connections between ICE trains on this route have been problematic lately.) This is a good arrival hour. Your room/apt. will probably be ready and you will likely have time to take a cruise or visit Rheinfels Castle this afternoon. Stay 2 nights here as planned.

  • Don't know what time you hope to reach Brussels on Day 7, but you will have a manageable 4.5-hr. train journey with just one change of train at whatever time you choose.
    .

Posted by
2534 posts

Gengenbach is a great suggestion.

I prefer Boppard as a base for the Rhine area. Bacharach is super cute, but very small. We stayed there last summer. It’s a one-street town, and that one street gets a lot of traffic, which isn’t great if you’re a light sleeper. We found many shops closed, which was surprising in early July.

We had previously stayed in Boppard and prefer it. The promenade along the waterfront is just so lovely. Lots of hotels and restaurants. And there are lots of options along side streets. Our rental overlooked a beautiful square with a well. Soooo charming.

Posted by
2465 posts

What you can do is leave Interlaken on the 12:00 EC direction Hamburg. That train stops in Koblenz, and thant makes a good base for exploring the Rhine valley. This is direct, without changes.
Getting from Wengen to anywhere will eat up time. You should not balk at long train rides, they are not as tedious as you may believe. My parents are visiting me by train from Belgium, and they have a longer trip (and 5 transfers) and still find it more pleasant then flying.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you WengenK! I think we will base out of Koblenz. I've found a few nice Airbnb's near the train station. I am not seeing the EC train you mentioned that is direct to Koblenz. I also like that as we head to Brussels we can have a stop over in Cologne.

We've also been considering Colmar but I do not like the connection through Paris 2 days before the Olympics.

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