Coming from FRA by train…staying in Boppard. Obviously we will have carryon luggage since coming from airport. Our time is short on the Rhine..we are only staying overnight in Boppard since on our way to Trier by train.
We would like to cruise from Bingen or Rudesheim to Boppard since our train will be going in that direction and we’d like to Not have to train back for a cruise.
Is it possible to take carryon luggage on k-d cruise?
Yes. Since you have said you are on your way to a Rick Steves Tour with its limited luggage policy, you will be traveling light. There is space where you can stow your bags onboard. Been there, done that.
Thank you Sam:)
Is it better to leave the train at Rudesheim or Bingen and embark there since we will have luggage?
Yep. You can either keep your carry-on next to you at your table or stow it downstairs. I would keep it next to me at the table upstairs on the deck.
I recommend getting on the ship in Rüdesheim because you have a better chance of getting a table in the shade. The ship stops at Rüdesheim 1st, then Bingen, and then Assmanshausen.
Rudesheim itself is a pretty nice town to visit.
The other issue is the distance from the rail station to the KD boat dock. Note that Bingen has two rail stations, you want the one closer to KD, but it's still a hike. The boat expects a percentage of riders to have luggage. It may be in piles in an empty cabin, rather than racks like a train carriage. There is hot food and beer for purchase on most boats.
The walk from the train station in Rüdesheim is very easy and a straight shot along the river. The main problem is that the trains never match up with the ship schedule, so you have about 45 min. or so to wander the town.
This is the Rhein and wine is the drink of choice here, though beer is of course available.
This year, it seems that K-D is running a slimmed down schedule. You can download it at:
https://www.k-d.com/en/downloads.
Note that there is no thru boat from Ruedesheim (or Bingen) to Boppard. The best is the 11:00 am boat to St Goar, then exit and wait for the 14:30 boat to Boppard, giving you 1 hour 50 minutes for a nice lunch on the quay.
Thanks Sam, Stan and Mrs. Jo…. It’s a year and a bit away so I will keep my eye on train and K-D schedules. 😁
Bingen has two rail stations, you want the one closer to KD, but it's still a hike.
Make sure you pick the right station in Bingen. It's Bingen Stadtbahnhof, not the larger hub, Bingen Hauptbahnhof.
Although the K-D dock in Rüdesheim is virtually across the street from Rüdesheim Bahnhof, maybe just a 100 yds walk, the walk from Bingen Stadtbahnhof to the K-D dock in Bingen (I did it in 2017) is not a bad walk at all. It's about ¼ mile. Go through the tunnel at the front of the Bahnhof, under the highway, to the river, then walk along the river front to the ticket kiosk near the dock.
There are only hourly trains from FRA Regionalbhf to Rüdesheim, and they get you to Rüdesheim 55 minutes before the next boat. The 8:45 train from FRA will get you to Rüdesheim at 10:05. The next boat leaves Rüdesheim at 11:00 and gets to St. Goar at 12:40, where the next boat to Boppard leaves at 2:30p and arrives at 3:30p. So, 8:45 is the last train from FRA to Rüdesheim that will get you to Boppard by 3:30p.
However, there are two connections to Bingen Stadt, one at 9:24 (chng at Bingen Hbf) and another at 9:30 (chng at Mainz) that will get you to Bingen Stadt in time to get the boat that gets you to Boppard at 3:30p.
It's similar for the boat that gets to Boppard at 4:30p. That's partially due to the schedule differences, but largely due to a long waiting time in Rüdesheim, to the train to Stadt being almost 20 min faster than the one to Rüdesheim, and to the boat leaving Stadt 15 minutes later. So, with the current schedule, I would pick Bingen Stadtbhf for my transfer point.
BTW, most of us familiar with that area consider the cruise from Bingen to St Goar as the best part and the part from St Goar to be less significant. If you arrive in St Goar on the boat at 12:40, you'll have 20 minutes to hike up to the St Goar Bahnhof and buy a ticket. The next train leaves St Goar at 1:00p and gets to Boppard 12 minutes later, over 2 hours earlier than the next boat. On the other hand, you could use the 2 hour gap to explore St Goar.
This is per this years schedule, which, for the K-D line is much abbreviated. Next summer could be entirely different.
