Bingen Hotels

What time does your plane leave ? The past two times we had to take a 5:30 am train from Bacharach to catch our plane. You might want to also consider Mainz for frequent trains to the airport.

Your cruise ends in St. Goar - so that might be a natural place to settle in. There are several good towns to stay in. Are Boppard, St. Goar and Oberwesel not options?

You should share some more details about the end of your trip for helpful responses. The answer to your question might depend on how you're traveling and at what time you need to be at FRA. By train?? Bingen has a few more direct trains than Bacharach does and is 10-15 minutes closer to FRA. It also might depend on what else you plan to do on the day prior to your flight. The cruise takes only 1.5 hours... but there are castles you can tour (one in St. Goar,) towns (like Oberwesel) that you can explore on foot, chairlift rides to sweeping vistas (like the one in Boppard, a town with a large selection of dining options, if that matters...) Bingen has a nice river walk but not a whole lot more to see and do. So some towns might be natural overnight stops more than others. What date and time are you arriving in this area? If you're there on a festival weekend, you may or may not want to sleep in a town with frivolity and fireworks. Where you are coming from might factor in as well. Is your morning so tight that you need to sleep near near train station on your last night? Some towns are just better for that than others, Bacharach being a weaker choice because of the train noise issue. You probably do not want to end up in a place like THIS ONE IN BACHARACH just because it's near the station. Elsewhere, you probably have a better chance of a noise-free night within reasonable walking distance.

Thank you for your responses! Russ, we will be leaving Rothenburg the morning of July 30 (Saturday) and need to be at FRA on July 31 (Sunday) for a 13:15 flight. We would rather stay in the countryside than in Frankfurt,. I realize the drive from Rothenburg to Bingen is a time commitment, but we would love to cruise the Rhine. Suggestions are appreciated!

I had thought of cruising Bingen to St. Goar and touring Rheinsfeld then taking the train back...

I neglected to say that we are traveling by car.

I almost always stay in Mainz the night before I fly out of Frankfurt because it is such an easy 15-20minute trip by train to the airport. There are a great variety of hotels to choose from in a wide range prices. Many are only a 5 taxi ride or a 10 minute walk to the train station. With that said, I usually treat myself to at the least several hours of touring in Mainz. Among my favorite spots are the Dom (one of the three great Romanesque cathedrals in the Rhineland), St Stephen's Church (for the Marc Chagall "Blue" windows), and the Gutenberg Museum. There are also many, many excellent dining spots all over the Old Town.

Hotel Königshof in Mainz is right across the Bahnhofsplatz, a couple of minutes walk, from the Mianz Bahnhof. The have a great breakfast buffet, including American items and their rates, I think, are pretty good for a place easily accessible to the airport.

If you would like to stay in the countryside rather than in a city, check out Eltville along the Rhine. Only an hour from Frankfurt, with one train switch in Wiesbaden. It is beautiful, quaint, lots of half-timbered houses, has a schloss with a dry moat, a church built in the 1200's, lots of wineries and a great promendade along the Rhine without a train or road running along it.
This vineyard offers rooms at a good rate.
http://www.weingut-koegler.de/weinhotel.html
You can also catch a KD ship here at 09:15 in the morning.

"...we will be leaving Rothenburg the morning of July 30 (Saturday) and need to be at FRA on July 31 (Sunday) for a 13:15 flight. We would rather stay in the countryside..."

I like Mainz too but Mainz is a city and you have adequate time to stay in a smaller place in the more scenic part of the Rhine Valley and to see and do a little something while you're there.

"I had thought of cruising Bingen to St. Goar and touring Rheinsfeld then taking the train back..."

That makes perfect sense to me...

If it were me, I'd leave Rothenburg at about 8:30, drop the car at FRA airport on Saturday morning (2-hour drive) to get that over with and not fuss with that and driving on Sunday. Then take a direct RE train to Bingen Hbf from the airport's Regionalbahnhof station (about 45 minutes, leave at 11:24, E8 each.) Drop bags at hotel desk (preferrably the NH Bingen, right on the promenade) have lunch somewhere on the promenade. Cruise north with KD at 14:30 to St. Goar (15:55) and walk up to Rheinfels for a couple hours of self-guided touring. Have a look around St. Goar and a meal in town after that. St Goar's setting on the river is awesome. At 19:19 or 20:19 take the train back to Bingen Hbf (about 25 min., E6.20 ea.)

On sunday morning enjoy the scenery. Breakfast at the NH is terrific.

The direct 9:47 RE train from Bingen Hbf puts you at the airport at 10:34. Or there's an 8:54 train from Bingen Hbf with a change of train in Mainz, arriving 9:59 at FRA.

It's possible to take the car to Bingen and back on Sunday to FRA of course. I just don't like the idea of getting stuck in an unusual traffic mess or an accident or delays at the car drop station or any of the many variables that can impact making a flight when you're using a car.

I LOVE this itinerary Russ! That's exactly what we'll do - thank you so very much!!!

NH Bingen with breakfast is BOOKED! So excited!!!

Do I need to reserve KD tickets in advance?

KD tickets: no pre-booking needed. Cruise to St. Goar is about E20 ea. but you should get a 20% discount by showing your TRAIN ticket from FRA to Bingen.

The train fares are local fares you buy from ticket machines. FRA airport has 2 stations - use the Regionalbahnhof from there to Bingen Hbf and return the same way.

Use the zoom feature on this map of Bingen to find the Bingen Rhein Hauptbahnhof station (Hbf = main station) at the far left; the NH Bingen is the first "bed" symbol on your left after you cross the Nahe River bridge, right where the Nahe meets the Rhine (use the sidewalk on the RIGHT side of the bridge as you cross the river, then the underground passage to the hotel area once you've crossed the bridge.)

http://www.mappedplanet.com/karten/572/1.png

It might take about 15 minutes on foot to reach the hotel altogether. I'd request a riverfront room for the view and to avoid possible train noise on the opposite side.

Thank you Russ, for perfecting all the details - you are a jewel!

If you have any suggestions for things to do in the Black Forest, I'd love your thoughts. Where can I look to find ideas on easy hikes, etc? In your opinion is the Funicular to Merkur Summit of interest? And what about Furtwangen's German Clock Museum?