Accommodation reservations in Bacharach and Rothenburg

"How far ahead are we able to reserve..."
As far ahead as a given innkeeper is willing to reserve for you. It varies.

Before you book I would caution you to consider what else you'll be doing in the area besides visiting these towns. Bacharach often works out to be inconvenient for the best cruise connections and for trips up the Mosel River by train, for example; Rothenburg is not particularly central to some of the other northern Bavarian highlights (Bamberg, Bayreuth, Coburg, Nuremberg for example) and is a notoriously bad base for train travelers, lying as it happens to at the end of a trunk rail line. Both tend to have an abundance of North American and foreign tourists, especially Rothenburg, and there are somewhat more "German" places you could pick. Also, German law requires payment once you've reserved - so unless your innkeeper has a policy to the contrary, booking = paying. Be sure to check carefully before booking or you may end up with a non-refundable booking in the event you must or want to change.

Thanks very much, Russ:
We are overnighting in Koblenz then taking an afternoon KD cruise upstream to Bacharach. Realize that Bacharach is not large but my wife and I prefer to overnight in a smaller Rhine location. Do you have other suggestions for stays? I, on a previous visit, stayed in Rudesheim. Our plan then is to take the train to Wurzburg, where I've also stayed, pick up a car and drive to Rothenburg staying on the Romantic Road for two nights before driving to Munich to drop off the car. Do you have alternate suggestions to Rothenburg for stays on the Romantic Road?
David

Hi,

We loved Rothenburg and were glad we went. We stayed about 15 minutes outside of the town (we had a car) in Schonach at the Gasthof zum Rappen. Visiting the Herrgottskirche, to see Tilman Riemanschneider 500 year old woodcarved masterpiece of an alter (another being in St. Jacobs in Rothenburg) was a highlight for me. The Nightwatchman Tour in Rothenburg was terrific. Informative and amusing.

http://www.gasthof-rappen.de

We've never been asked for a deposit or for room payment in Germany or Austria when booking rooms at B&B, Gasthof, Pension type places. Actually, we've never been asked to pay until we were leaving our stay at a place (not even upon check in). Our last trip was in December 2013 and we have traveled to Germany and Austria 9 times in the last 14 years.

My opinion, it's way too early to book a room, but it can't hurt to inquire. I'd be double checking as the trip came closer, as things can "get lost" in a year. I worry also, but I'd never think about booking a year out.

Paul

"...my wife and I prefer to overnight in a smaller Rhine location."

We do too - especially on the Rhine.

"We are overnighting in Koblenz then taking an afternoon KD cruise upstream to Bacharach."

DW and I would not choose to book in Koblenz, period (unless it were the dead of winter, when the small towns are shuttered, then maybe.) Koblenz is mostly an under-impressive, largish, modern post-war city... we figure why stay there when Koblenz is surrounded by adorable old-world towns?

About the cruise... What has worked for us well (and should work well for you too) is to focus on the best part of the river. Unfortunately for your plan, that part is not Koblenz, where the scenery is less interesting and industrial in spots. The other unfortunate part of your plan is that you'll spend 4.5 hours on the boat and a fare of over €36 each if you do it in this way.

If instead you cruise from Bingen north to St. Goar (1:25) or Bingen to Boppard (2:20) you will have much better scenery and save more than 2 hours of boat time. Why start in Bingen? Because if you don't you'll miss scenery like THIS, which is well south of Bacharach. Also, the boat is much faster heading downstream from Bingen (strong current.)

So my suggestion to you is to let the cruise from Bingen north guide your choice of base town... bypass Koblenz entirely on the day you planned to stay there, and to stay in Bacharach both that night or the following night - or perhaps more conveniently, in Boppard or St. Goar for both nights. Why? Boppard is just 15 minutes south of Koblenz by train and has LOTS of accommodations choices and eateries - it's still a small town you can easily navigate on foot and very charming. (St. Goar is about 10 minutes further south, a very scenic part of the river.) But the point is that you can end your cruise there and be "home." To do your cruise on the second day, you would first catch a train south to Bingen, then the cruise boat north and eventually end up back in Boppard (or St. Goar) with a free stopover, either by train or by boat, to visit Bacharach for several hours (quite small, easy to do on foot.)

You basically will pay next to nothing for the train ride to Bingen. Buy your train ticket (€10 each from Boppard or €6.10 from St. Goar) of course, but remember to show that ticket at the KD boat dock in Bingen - you'll get a 20% discount off your cruise fare for using the train to reach Bingen (€5 off the cruise fare to Boppard, €4 off the fare to St. Goar.)

You can do the same thing from Bacharach, if you choose to stay there - train south, then cruise north from Bingen. But when you're done, you will need to catch a second train south to Bacharach.

Boppard: nice market square, Rhine promenade, and some fine buildings
I recommend a visit to Braubach for a tour of Marksburg Castle. The St. Goar ferry gets you over the Rhine to St. Goarshausen, where you catch a train north to Braubach (22 min.)

I found Bacharach to be a wonderful smaller town to stay in, and you can certainly take the KD cruise from there. The dock is directly across from the town, and easy to walk to. I stayed at Hotel Kranenturm and would certainly recommend that. Hotel Pension Im Malerwinkel also seems to get good reviews.

"We don't want to be disappointed."

Bacharach is a nice place. If you book there, avoid disappointment by using caution about location - much of the town (including the Kranenturm) is adjacent to the railway line so you may wish to book in the Blücherstrasse area, a street running perpendicular to the railway and up into a small river canyon called the Steeger Tal. Look over the reviews not just for oohs and aahs but for mention of this noise problem as well.

One TA review of the Kranenturm.

One Bacharach location to avoid.

Boppard and St. Goar tend to have fewer problems with noise, but again, take any review comments about noise seriously.

Possible overnight stops in the Rothenburg area would be Dinkelsbuehl or Noerdlingen, both are walled towns with towers.

FWIW, I wanted to mention that my room in Kranenturm faced the tracks and I didn't have any problem with train noise at all (but the window was left closed at night). Also, the hotel may have changed hands since that Trip Advisor review was posted.

For those who prefer more of a B&B, I would also highly recommend Pension Lettie, which is a short distance from Kranenturm and not facing the tracks.

I am staying at the Pension Hotel Malerwinkel in Bacharach in September,it is above the town so train noise should not be too bad and they serve breakfast,we booked 10 months ahead.We have stayed in Rothenburg twice inside the wall,it is touristy but that is why we are there because there is something worth seeing,just like Yosemite.I personally did not care for Rudesheim,full of tourists and the cruise boats over night there.
Mike

Hi, Mike:
Thanks very much for the information.
Would you mind telling me where you stayed in Rothenburg? Was the accommodation what you expected?
David

Not Mike - but last year in late May we stayed in Bacharach for several days with the plan for one of the days to take the train to Bingen and cruise from there to Braubach and arrive in time for the 1pm English Tour of Marksburg castle. Unfortunately we were a bit lazy that day and didn't get up in time to make it to Bingen - but the good news is the K-D cruise stops in Bacharach so we just boarded there (we managed to see the part of the Rhine we missed from both sides of the river later - once from the train from Braubach to Rudesheim later that day, and once from the car driving to Heidelberg.

Our group stayed at the Hotel Bacharacher Hof and truly enjoyed it. It is located just inside the walls so if you are on the river side of the hotel and have your windows open you will definitely hear the trains. We requested a room on the opposite side of the hotel and were not disturbed by the sounds even though we had our windows open each evening. It was a short walk from the hotel to the K-D dock/ticket office, a bit longer walk to the train station and right around the corner from an ATM and a grocery store. The restaurant was truly excellent, but frankly what I remember most about the hotel are the owner/proprietors - Dirk (the Chef) and Ellen (the manager) - true gems willing to help in every way imaginable and given a few spare moments from helping their other guests they were wonderful to talk to.

We spent some time in St Goar and St Goarhausen and they were very pleasant and well located, but they didn't have the same feel to me as Bacharach.

The 'mouse hole' next to the pedestrian sign on the center right of the photo is the entrance to the town through the wall - the train tracks are somewhat visible in front of the entrance/behind the sign.

"...the K-D cruise stops in Bacharach so we just boarded there (we managed to see the part of the Rhine we missed from both sides of the river later - once from the train from Braubach to Rudesheim later that day, and once from the car driving to Heidelberg."

The KD boats stop in every town of any size. One could start and end anywhere, and one could see the whole river by car or by train. But if you're going to cruise at all, I would make sure it includes every km of the most dramatic stretch between Bingen and St. Goar - it's just 85 minutes. Starting from Bacharach cuts what you see of that section in half and eliminates sights like these that are south of Bacharach:
Rheinstein
Reichenstein

The highly-regarded Rheinhotel St. Goar enjoys an outstanding view of the river and of the vineyards and Katz Castle on the opposite bank. Bacharach is just 10 minutes to the south.