4 night on Rhine/Mosel - help planning,please

What you've got there sounds near-perfect to me. St. Goar takes 1.5 hours from Bingen - show your train ticket for a cruise discount and you'll pay just €16 each for the cruise to St. Goar. Boppard is a nice town but you can visit it if you like by train from St. Goar in about 10-15 minutes - no need to cruise there (at greater cost) or stay there.

The walk from Moselkern train station to Burg Eltz is very scenic and doable.

For a nice view try the Landgraf terrace at the hotel/restaurant adjacent to Rheinfels castle in St. Goar.

We walked from the train station up to Burg Eltz. About 90 minutes through a village and then through a forest. Beautiful. This was me (46 at the time) and my daughter (13 at the time). She groused some, but not much. We are an active family, so hiking is common and something we enjoy. I know RS has suggestions for a way to access the castle from the top of the hill with a car for those who are concerned about the walk. We also stayed in Cochem for two nights, and on the other day we rented bikes and rode down river (toward Trieste) to the ruins on the other side of the river (name I can't remember). Cochem was nice but overrun.
On the Rhine we stayed in Bacharach for 2 nights. Rented bikes one day and rode, ferried, and trained to Marksburg castle (rode to the ferry and locked the bikes, ferried across, and caught a train on the other side, then hiked from the train station up to the castle). These are the two castles RS recommends most. They were great contrasts in style and great outdoorsy excursions. We opted not to do a river tour because we wanted to see things more up close on a bike, and be able to stop and explore as desired.

You'll have fun,
Jessica

Jessica,
Bacharach looks really cute , but we'd miss a lot of the scenic river - so that's a consideration , since we are doing the boat. Burg Eltz looks great , and hopefully the weather will be ok to hike up. Any recommendations about accommodation/food/hiking in Cochem?

Russ, It looks like it's a nice hike up to Rheinfels Castle , is that correct? Any other recommended walks along the Rhine? And will be be able to see Marksburg from the train on our way to Cochem?

Thanks for any and all feedback

"It looks like it's a nice hike up to Rheinfels Castle..."
It's fairly short. You can take the sidewalk along the access road (Schloßberg) or find a trail. The nicer, easier trail is a longer route kinda through the woods. It begins at the train station... find the thin, squiggly white line that crosses under the tracks just to the right of the station on this map of St. Goar and zoom in:

https://www.st-goar.de/files/stadtplan-st-goar.pdf

Follow the white line, the "R" symbol toward the upper right corner of the map until it empties onto "Gut Rheinfels", a small residential area opposite the castle, which is just across the access road.

"Any other recommended walks along the Rhine?"

One of my absolute favorites is the hike to Oberwesel along the clifftops. Use that same access trail at the station but keep left and take a steep climb uphill to the clifftop like you're headed to Biebernheim... but make a left onto the trail that heads to "Aussichtspunkt Kretschhütte", a viewpoint with a wooden structure, instead. Nice view here - but keep on following that trail south along the cliffs and through pasture and woods and to more little view points, and you'll eventually reach vineyards and Oberwesel:

https://www.outdooractive.com/api/staticmap?i=8624244&size=large&project=outdooractive

The Günderodehaus is a nice place to pull into before you reach Oberwesel. I think it requires a short detour from the main trail. The building was part of the film set for a very famous TV series called "Heimat" but I think it would be popular even without that notariety.

This woman did the hike in the opposite direction and took some photos that will give you an idea:
http://frau-k-wandert-durchs-saarland.blogspot.com/2015/05/rheinburgenweg-etappe-10-von-oberwesel.html

You can take the train back from Oberwesel to St. Goar in 5 minutes.

Yes, you can see Marksburg from the opposite side of the river from the train you will use to travel to Cochem. Should look like this minus the bikers. But the view is a small joy compared with a tour. It's a great castle.

If you don't want to hike to Burg Rheinfels, there is a tourist 'train' that may be operating then

Russ
Do you have to go up that ladder on the trail or is there a workaround for that? The translator made that woman's description a little confusing. I'm not that great with heights!
That terrace looks perfect!

Also, we are wondering if Cochem will be really crowded that time of year ("overrun", Jessica said). Beilstein looks really nice but I'm afraid we'd feel too stranded there without a car. Thanks for any feedback.

Also, do folks recommend a trip to Trier?

Thanks

"Do you have to go up that ladder on the trail or is there a workaround for that?"

Ha. No, that's an optional detour from the trail known - it's known as the Klettersteig.

Cochem is typically not too busy in early May on a weekday. Will you do the chairlift? Nice views from up there. Most visitors stop there to see the castle, do the chairlift, play tourist. I've stayed there numerous times for a few days at a time and never found the crowds there particularly oppressive - but no, if it's busy, you definitely won't feel alone. The views from the terrace/bar/cafe at Reichsburg castle are compelling. It's a fairly steep but also fairly short uphill walk from the center of town. You shouldn't need to buy an entrance ticket if you just want a drink, but the castle is interesting if you have the time (irrespective of Rick Steves' dismissal of the place - I mean, it would be a gigantic hit if it were in Edmonds WA!) An American university professor of German by the name of Hyde Flippo has put together this review of applause for Reichsburg.

Cochem's La Baia and Il Castello have some nice Italian food. Love that outdoor terrace at La Bahia.

You ARE stranded in Beilstein without a car to some extent - it's only buses and boats from there. And you will barely have stretched your legs before you've left town. It's only a few tour buses long. Cochem offers a lot more streets to explore and far more variety in terms of activities. Beilstein seems to have a cult following of sorts - the Hotel Haus Lipmann there is most beloved. I've never stayed there, but they must offer outstanding hospitality to attract so much interest in overnighting in such a tiny town. There are dozens of nice places in Cochem's old towns zone - you'll probably find something that meets your needs. If you're on a budget... I sent my nephew recently to the "zum Fröhlichen Weinberg" inn, uphill from the old town and a short distance from both the market square and the castle. He loved the place.

We stayed in Cochem for 3 nights in June a few years ago and loved it. Beilstein is very cute, but just doesn't have enough variety for more than 1 night. We're biking the Mosel this summer and spending an extra night in Cochem:)

If you don't want to hike to Burg Rheinfels, there is a tourist
'train' that may be operating then

Not currently. According to the St. Goar town website,

Burgexpress

Der Burgexpress ist bis auf Weiteres leider außer Betrieb!

Das Taxiunternehmen Pabst fährt täglich ab 11.00 Uhr eine Shuttle von
der Katholischen Kirche zur Burg und zurück.

Kosten: 2,00€ p. Person und Fahrt.

Infos unter 06741-7011

The Burgexpress is unfortunately out of service until further notice! There is a shuttle (2€/person, not sure if that is one way or RT) to and from the castle after 11 am from the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is at the top of Herrstrasse; the Burgexpress ran from the market, at the foot of Herrstrasse, so you now have to walk the length of Herrstrasse to catch the shuttle.