2 nights on the Rhine, traveling by train (roughy June 23-25).
We really want to see Berg Eltz and Rheinfels Castle. Where would be the best base for the 2 nights, and is there anything else we must see while there?
Posted by
Paradise
6663 posts
St. Goar itself is a good base town. You can visit Rheinfels whenever it's convenient - just walk up the hill. Will you do the walk to Eltz from Moselkern? The train trip to Moselkern takes you to Koblenz in about 25 minutes; the train to Moselkern takes about 30. You will have a 1-hour layover in Koblenz between trains - and that's true coming back as well. Round trip totals about 4 hours with layover time and train time accounted for.
Boppard is another good choice. The total round-trip time from there would be about 2.5 hours - not only is the train ride a little shorter, but so is the layover in Koblenz. From Boppard you'd also need to travel to St. Goar to visit Rheinfels of course (only about 10 minutes each way though.)
On Saturday and Sunday there is a shuttle from the Mosel River town of Hatzenport (and a couple others) to Eltz - 4 per day in each direction. You could maybe plan to take the shuttle up, then after the tour walk to Moselkern, then take the train back. Why? Because the shuttle may or may not be scheduled to leave when you are ready to leave.
To find schedule connections that include the shuttle, use the following destination from either St. Goar or Boppard:
Burg Eltz, Wierschem
Sample schedule w/ shuttle for June 23:
St. Goar 9:39
Koblenz 9:53; depart 10:25
Hatzenport 10:52; depart 11:21 on shuttle
Eltz 11:38
A VRM mini-group ticket (Minigruppenkarte) costs €23 and covers either the whole train trip to Moselkern or the whole train + shuttle trip to Eltz. Buy the ticket at a station ticket machine in Boppard.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
Been to both , preferred Burg Eltz nr the mosel river. If u can visit Beilstein along the Mosel. Fairytale like village and very charming. great or overnight or meal overlooking the river. Very small village so enjoy its uniqueness in this ay and age. The lochs are a few minutes away a fun to watch.