St. Goar stop while taking a train/boat up the Rhine

I found Rheinfels castle in St. Goar to be absolutely fascinating, but then I like castles. It's a ruin, but you can still see how they designed it to be defensible. I spent 2½ hours there; you might spend less time than I did. If you take the boat, pay attention to the schedule, as there are only 4 or 5 boats a day leaving for Koblenz. There is, however, one train an hour, so if you miss one, there will be another along shortly. When you get off the train, walk down to the market square. There is a tractor pulled tram that will take you up to the castle, avoiding the uphill walk. If he is not there when you get to the square, he is on his run and will be back soon. I would just buy a one way ticket up. That way you won't have to wait from him to come back to take you down. It's not a bad walk down.

I agree with Lee, Rheinfels is one of my favorites! Well worth a trip in my opinion.

Rheinfels is a ruin castle that comes off as under appreciated until you fully explore it. Before you return to the boat, top off your visit with an ice cream float/soda at their outdoor patio. The views of the Rhine are rewarding & relaxing from the entire area. We did Lee's suggestion and went up by tram and walked down. At a different stop we missed the boat so double check the reboarding time & know the schedule of the other boats.

I really like Rheinfels. It's big and you can explore on your own. Before taking my kids to Europe, I asked the boys what they most wanted to see. They both said "Castles." I asked whether they prefered ruins or restored castles? They replied, "Ruins." We arrived first thing, and spent most of the morning there. We also climbed to the Ehrenburg ruins near Reutte, Austria. Those were too "ruined", and a really steep climb. The Rheinfels ruins are the right mix of ruin but intact enough to explore and imagine what it was once like - with a great view of the Rhine.

thanks everyone for the helpful advice!

We returned from our first trip alone in 25years last June, we did a driving tour/loop of Germany. We spent a very romantic couple of days in St. Goar! Our hotel the Zum Golden Lowen that sits right across the street from the Rhine. The price was perfect, the hotel staff very helpful-although they speak very little English- the rooms are beautiful, ours opened right onto the river where we watched the barges and riverboats. The castle was well worth the time! Take your time and explore St. Goar, there are cute little restaurants off the beaten paths. If you take the cruise down the river to see the Laurelei stop in Oberwessel this is another great town to roam through. Have fun!