Burg Eltz Castle and Koblenz

You might be hard pressed to do both with only five hours. From Moselkern to the castle is a 15 minutes drive. Once at the castle’s parking area there’s a short walk to the castle. When we were there we had to wait for the next tour that lasted about an hour. Add 30 minutes each way to/from Koblenz to/from Moselkern and you’re already at 2.5 hours, if there is no wait for the tour, there are no wrong turns, the driver is on time, and you get off the boat in a reasonable amount of time.

I will say the castle was worth visiting. When we went we had a rental car.

When we did the cruise - Amsterdam to Basel -, the boat docked at Koblenz to disembark the excursions, and then moved upstream to meet the return buses at a different location. You might want to check on that.

I'm guessing you will do Marksburg on your cruise? It is a pretty interesting castle. There is another castle across the river from Koblenz, Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. I believe you can take a gondola to it. We didn't go to Ehrenbreitstein and spent all our time visiting Koblenz historical center. We did go to Eltz Castle on another trip, and it is a very interesting castle with a great tour. Unfortunately, I don't think you have enough time to do it, especially since you have to be very careful to not miss your departure time. If you were able to do Eltz, I don't feel you have near enough time to visit Koblenz. If you wanted to do another castle, maybe look into Ehrenbreitstein. I think your only chance to do Eltz might be to find a guide that can handle the logistics for you. I'm sorry that I can't be more optimistic.

I see Stan's comment above. While our ship may have moved a bit, we got back on at about the same spot we were left off. But, yes, check on it.

I feel like if it was doable, Viking would add it as an optional tour, perhaps.

Appreciate the comments, very helpful, thank you! I think we would be better off adding Marksburg Castle to our tour vs Eltz. Marksburg is not included in the cruise tour, and Eltz is an additional excursion, it sold out quickly and our group was not able to book it. The cruise offers a historical walking tour of Koblenz, two hours, and I am assuming Marksburg will be much easier for us to get to on our own, allowing us to do both the city and a castle.

What is your recommendation for things not to miss in Koblenz? Which castle of the two suggested, Marksburg and Ehrenbreitstein, would you recommend we visit?

I am assuming Marksburg will be much easier for us to get to on our own, allowing us to do both the city and a castle.

Marksburg is actually the better castle in several ways. It's on a hilltop in the town of Braubach, just south of Koblenz.

Where will you dock in Koblenz, exactly?

I believe that the Koblenz Stadtmitte (City-Center) station will probably be the closest Koblenz station to most boat docks. You can probably complete the walk within 15-20 minutes. Direct trains to Braubach take 16 minutes; they leave the Stadtmitte station at :49 minutes after the hour and arrive in Braubach at :05 after the hour.

From the station in Braubach it's an uphill walk of 25-30 minutes, or a short taxi ride.

Tours take an hour. Return to Koblenz as you came.

Check the DB site for train schedules in each direction on the date in question:
https://int.bahn.de/en/

Taxi service in Braubach:
http://funktaxi-braubach.de/kontaktzuuns/index.html

Braubach tourist-info office for questions:

Loreley-Touristik Braubach,
Rathausstr. 8, 56338 Braubach
[email protected], Tel. 02627 / 976001

Marksburg contact page for castle information:
https://www.marksburg.de/en/visitor-information/#/

An alternative time-saving option: Taxi from the Koblenz cruise dock directly to Marksburg; after the tour, return on your own as outlined above.

You'll need to check the information above against the facts of your cruise, of course...

It is possible that your time could still end up being snug for some reason... where is your ship scheduled to dock after leaving Koblenz? I'd want a plan B for reaching that location by train, just in case.
 

I'm surprised Marksburg is not on your cruise. Do they have another castle option during the cruise? Our cruise visited Marksburg prior to docking in Koblenz. I agree Marksburg is a much easier option from Koblenz than Eltz. I'm not sure Viking will be able to tell you exactly where you will dock in Koblenz. It depends on what is available based on river traffic.

With Marksburg, it must be seen as a guided tour. There is no wandering. When we were there, like Burg Eltz, we had to wait for the next tour. If you wanted a tour in English I recall it being at 1pm. I remember seeing docked cruise boats from the castle.

Upon leaving I needed to back up my rental car since a couple Viking cruise busses were coming up the one lane road.

Travel to and from the main station in Koblenz can be done by bus (Bus 1 takes 37 minutes) or by train (RB 10 takes 13 minutes). Each leaves hourly. We took the train there and back and each time it was late arriving. (This has been true of all our train travel in Germany the last two weeks unfortunately.) The walk to the castle wasn't hazardous but did tweak my fear of heights since the first part of the climb was along a dirt and stone path about a yard wide cut into the side of the mountain. The later portion had stairs with railings that tackled the steeper part of the climb. We didn't wait for the English tour at 1pm and opted for the tour in German that was supplemented by the printed guide (a worthwhile piece of advice posted often here on the Forum). The guide was kind enough to summarize his presentation in English at the end of each part of the tour which was excellent. Other than the spectacular views and historic architecture the armory houses a collection of warriors depicting a timeline of warfare from the Spartans up to 16th century musketeers compiled by a former owner of the castle. We found the cafe a nice spot for a simple lunch too. Marksburg certainly satisfied our desire to visit a real medieval castle. (BTW all the advice provided my wife and I for our week along the Rhine has been spot on perfect. Thank you Travel Forum!)

Many thanks for the great info! You have all helped immensely in planning this stop over in
Koblenz! Appreciate the details on train and bus schedules as well as the walking path and docking. Very grateful for the Travel Forum and your quick responses!

I was just at Marksburg Castle last week and there was a Viking Cruise group there, recognizable by their red umbrellas.

You're going to be 5 hours in Koblenz, and you're not going to Festung Ehrenbreitstein? That's the castle to visit. If it's clear the view from the walls is spectacular. And you can take the sielbahn up the hill from the Eck. It's much better than Burg Eltz or Marksburg.

I agree with KGC, Ehrenbreitstein castle is right across from where the boat docks and offers a great view of the rivers and Koblenz. If you do Ehrenbreitstein, as your castle, you will have time to tour Koblenz.

Also, I think you need to recheck your itinerary. I wouldn't bet my house, but from my experience and the comments above, I'd be surprised if you aren't seeing Marksburg before stopping in Koblenz.

Loved riding the gondolas up to Ehrenbreitsein. We went there last year for the Winter Garden, and were lucky enough to ride at sunset, then the return trip in the dark was stunning as they turn the lights off inside. There is space in each gondola for at least 20 people and they are wheelchair accessable. The fortress is huge and magnificent.

Really appreciate the comments! I had seen a photo of a Viking ship docked and gondola's going across the Rhine had no idea that it takes you to Ehrenbreitsein Castle. Assuming the gondola's are near the docks. This is our first ever cruise of any type and I am trying to fill in the gaps along the way. I did recheck the itinerary and Marksburg is not included. Thanks for the help!

The Winter Garden at Ehrenbreitstein is one of the best Christmas things nobody knows about. I stay over in Koblenz just for that.

The sielbahn is right across the walk from where the Viking ships dock.