Base from Speyer or go down the Rhine?

I really like Speyer. It's one of the few cities on the upper Rhine that escaped the destruction of the war. Most of it's historic core remains unscathed, including it's massive Romanesque cathedral.

However, if your goal is to explore the famous Mittelrhein, I'm not sure Speyer is the best base, and comparing Speyer to places like St. Goar and Oberwesel is a game of apples and oranges. First of all, although all are on the same river, Speyer sits in the broad and heavily populated upper Rhine valley, whereas the Mittelrhein is filled mostly with small towns and is very narrow with steep valley walls (I'm sure you've seen the pictures). By my estimation, it's at least an hour's drive from Speyer to the southern terminus of the Mittelrhein at Bingen. I have no idea how long it would take to reach Bingen by train, but probably significantly longer. Speyer is also a small city in it's own right, whereas the only town I would classify as a city on the Mittelrhein would be Koblenz.

Heidelberg is a great old university town, but I would use it as a base to explore the scenic Neckar River Valley, of which it sits at the terminus. This is very similar to the more famous Mittelrhein- steep valley walls, lots of castles, scenic towns, but viritually ignored by most English-language travel books.

And if you'll be in Speyer, and if time allows, try to experience some of the towns of the nearby German Wine Route.

Love, love, love Speyer. And its Domhof Biergarten just across from the Dom.

The Dom has a Holy Door of Mercy for the Jubilee Year.

I really appreciate the huge Romanesque yet exceedingly simple Dom.

If you have a local train pass, 2 changes from Speyer (Schifferstadt and Neustadt a.d.Weinstraße - don't bother looking at either of those towns) and then the second station on the line to Bad Dürkheim is Deidesheim, an absolutely beautiful little town. I was just there earlier this week for their Goat Festival. Yes - goat. Just the one goat. Great festival. Get a big crowd, a big brass band, the local wine producers all dressed up and singing and plenty of food and wine for all. Give a civic leader a litre of white wine, stand him on a huge barrel, give him a microphone, with the backdrop of a MAGnificent ram (buck), and let him go.

We absolutely loved it there.

Oh, and the Technical Museum just around from the Dom? They don't just hang the little planes. They have a huge selection of aircraft, really big ones, some of them, all off the ground in the grounds. Magnificent.

I checked Deutsche Bahn... Speyer to Bingen lasts anywhere from 1:20 to 2 hours (realistically close to 2:30, when you consider leaving out the front door) to even get to the train station). Not overly far for a daytrip to a single destination, but since Bingen is only the gateway, you're looking at a substantial commute to and fro. For example, Speyer to Braubach can be as long as 3 hours.

First and foremost, I would recommend not short-changing Speyer, Heidelberg and the surrounding region. I lived on the other side of the river a little further to the north for several years, and I was amazed that just when I thought I had overturned every stone and found the last hidden gem, I stumbled upon another. To get just a sample, take the Sbahn from Heidelberg up the Neckar River to Bad Wimpfen. You will be amazed at the splendor before your eyes.

I think for exploring the Mittelrhein, your best option would be to pick a base for a night or two closer to the sites you want to explore. Most of the posters on this website will automatically point you directly towards the Ricknik mecca of Bacharach, but I'm going to make an unorthodox suggestion- Rüdesheim. Yes, it is very touristy (like Bacharach isn't?), but it has one unique redeeming, absolutely unique feature. A majority of the town's many restaurants feature nightly live performances of German Schlager music. Schlager is a bit of an acquired taste (a lot of Rhine wine helps!). Throughout the night, bachelorette and stag parties from Frankfurt, Wiesbaden and Mainz start to filter in, and it makes for a very lively atmosphere. I have some great memories of singing "Du hast mir tausendmal belogen" and "Atemlos durch die Nacht" with complete strangers...

I would probably spend all of Monday in Speyer, then Tuesday and Wednesday in Middle Rhine Valley, where you'll need 2 days for getting there and back and for getting around between towns once you're there. Use just one MRV town for a base. St. Goar is most convenient for using public transport; it's on the west bank train route just 5 minutes from Oberwesel and 10 minutes from Bacharach, and there's a ferry that crosses the Rhine there all day long and allows you to use the trains on the east side between Braubach and Ruedesheim. Also, St. Goar's setting is the most scenic of all the towns (IMO anyway), and Rheinfels Castle is right there as well.

St. Goar room and apartment options: http://www.st-goar.de/612-1-host-directory.html

Braubach's Marksburg Castle offers a very good tour of an intact medieval castle. If you choose to do a river cruise - the best way to fully appreciate the scenery, probably - start in Bingen or Ruedesheim and cruise back home to St. Goar. Be sure to visit Bacharach and Oberwesel for a couple of hours each if you can. The town wall of Oberwesel is worth the walk: http://www.oberwesel.de/en/wandern0/stadtmauerrundweg/

The Rheinland-Pfalz ticket day pass can be used to travel by train between Speyer and the MRV and on other days for outings from St. Goar. It's valid on local/regional trains - not the high-speed IC or ICE trains. Normal tickets may cost less if you only use the train for short trips like St. Goar to Oberwesel and Bacharach on one day. You can get the R-P ticket and regular tickets at station ticket machines (which have an English language option.)

http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and-fares/ticket-offers/rheinland-pfalz-ticket/