Thanks to those of you who've answered my other posts. I'm starting a new one, with a different topic.
I will be in Cologne for two to three nights. I'd like to take a one-day trip down the Rhine. Long days are fine, as long as I can either get back to Cologne the same night or be able to get a Flix Bus and lodging from a recommended town. I've searched the forum, but most of the posts are several years old and things may have changed.
Thanks so much in advance for your suggestions.
Take the train south from Cologne to Bingen Rhein Stadt station, where you board a cruise boat north to St. Goar.
Sample schedule:
7:56 - 10:26 (Direct RB train; walk the Bingen Rhine Promenade and get your ticket for the KD cruise north at 11:30 - show train ticket for a 20% cruise discount.)
11:30 - 12:55 (Cruise to St. Goar. This is the most scenic part of the Rhine. Have lunch, tour Rheinfels Castle.)
RETURN St. Goar to Cologne:
17:00 - 19:02 (Direct train)
On a Saturday or Sunday, the day pass train fare for one using the regional trains only will be €44 round trip. You can use the same day pass on a weekday if you get an alternative schedule starting after 9 am from Cologne. There are many other regional trains every day in each direction - you may have a connection to make in Koblenz or elsewhere at other hours, no big deal, really.
Buy the day pass at the station in Cologne.
DB Railways site for alternative train schedules. You must click on "only local transport" under "Connections" in order to fiind the regional train journeys that qualify for this fare.
I would suggest you take a train from Cologne to either Bingen or Rüdesheim, then take the boat downstream from there as long as you please - Boppard is a good place to end it however, as the scenery is much less interesting beyond. Or even St Goar, for a shorter cruise.
Thanks so much! This is making my trip so much fun and interesting. I'll be arriving in Cologne Tuesday afternoon, and departing Friday morning, so will likely do the cruise Thursday.
Thursday: In that case look into the 9:56 - 12:26 direct RB train from Cologne to Bingen-Rhein Stadt.
That puts you there in time for the "Bingen-Rüdesheimer" cruise boat leaving Bingen at 13:15 for St. Goar (15:05.)
See the castle - then catch the direct RB train at 18:00 or 19:00 for the 2-hr. ride back to Cologne.
Thanks Russ and Balso,
A couple of other questions:
Would going to Boppard or Rüdesheim give me a longer boat ride, as I'd like to make the most of it. (Having a hard time finding distances online.)
Boppard and Goar were both mentioned at end points . Which would provide the longest and most beautiful ride, and perhaps an opportunity to hop off and on? Or are there other end points you recommend?
Do you know if there are less touristy, smaller boats that go down the Rhine?
4.Are there particular companies you recommend?
Lots of questions! Thanks again for your help with organizing!
1.) Would going to Boppard or Rüdesheim give me a longer boat ride, as I'd like to make the most of it. (Having a hard time finding distances online.)
Cruising to Boppard makes the cruise longer - from Bingen, Boppard is 2.3 hours, whereas St. Goar is 1.5 hours.
STARTING the cruise in R'heim instead of Bingen adds 15 minutes more to your boat time. But these are completely useless minutes since all you are doing is crossing the river over to Bingen. You see nothing more. Map of the area:
http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/walking-hiking.php
2.) Boppard and Goar were both mentioned at end points . Which would provide the longest and most beautiful ride, and perhaps an opportunity to hop off and on? Or are there other end points you recommend?
Hopping off the boat more than once gets tricky and time consuming. There are only 5 KD boats per day going north and they don't always arrive when you're ready to leave.
The most beautiful segment to cruise is between Bingen and St. Goar. Going further to Boppard is alright, but not as spectacular (and depending on weather conditions and your mood, the longer boat ride can actually get a little tedious.) I like Boppard but I did not recoommend Boppard as an end point mostly because of your limited time and because St. Goar has the biggest sightseeing pull - Rheinfels Castle. Better to stop there and skip Boppard, I think. And IMHO Bacharach is the town with the most beautiful buildings if you want to do a stopover. So my rec. remains Bingen > (Bacharach) > St.. Goar in your situation.
3.) Do you know if there are less touristy, smaller boats that go down the Rhine?
Both Bingen-Rüdesheimer and KD are tourist sightseeing boats full of tourists. The only boats the locals use are the ferries at the ferry crossings (see map.)
4.Are there particular companies you recommend?
The one whose boat is departing at a time that is convenient for your schedule that day.
If you were staying the night and sightseeing over 2 days, my rec's would be completely different. Boppard has a great chairlift ride. Braubach has an amazing medieval castle, more interesting than Rheinfels Castle ruins, IMHO. There's more in this area to see and do that you are omitting on a 1-day outing from Cologne.
Dear Russ,
Thanks so much for the additional information. Good point about the weather. I just took a look at the forecast and it looks like it will be raining on Thursday. Of course, always subject to change. So...will check the weather again when I arrive and may switch to Wednesday - partly cloudy, but better than rain.
Thanks again for your help!
Warmly,
Theresa
