Burg Eltz Castle to Cochem

Yes correct.
Train Hatzenport Bahnhof to Cochem Bahnhof 20 minutes.
VRM Regiobus 365 between Hatzenport Bahnhof and Burg Eltz (=parking!!! 20 minutes walk to the castle) runs every 30 minutes (journey 25 minutes) https://www.verkehrsbetriebe-mittelrhein.de/en/strecken/landkreis-mayen-koblenz/line/365
This bus doesn't run when the Burg is closed.

Snacks, drinks and a wide selection of pastries available at the Vorburg https://maps.app.goo.gl/RqBPAALLD54o6j3i6

PS: Burg Eltz is closed from 3 november up to and including 28 march 2026.

AFAIR there is a shuttle bus from Carpark Eltz to the Castle and back

There is an outdoor cafe at Burg Eltz where you can get lunch or a snack. I had lunch there when I was visiting, and it was pretty good.

The transfer from train to bus 365 in Hatzenport will not be immediately transparent...

DB site: Burg Eltz, Wierschem should be your "to" station.

When you exit the Hatzenport station platform, you will have a 3-minute walk to the bus stop, which is called "Hatzenport Bahnhof"... scroll down on the linked page below and zoom in on "Pizzeria Rosengarten" to find this stop on the map. (The station is marked by the train symbol on the tracks; Bahnhof actually means "station" in German, so the bus stop name "Hatzenport Bahnhof" may confuse you if you happen to know some German.)

https://en.visitmosel.de/cities-culture/poi/bahnhof-hatzenport

Map of the Mosel Valley Railway with stops:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Karte_der_Bahnstrecke_Koblenz%E2%80%93Trier.png

I'm unsure where your day starts/ends in your current plans, but the stretch of river between Koblenz and Bullay is a great place to STAY - and if you were to do so, many additional fine destinations would be minutes away. Stay in Cochem and you will be only 20 minutes from Hatzenport, maybe 60 minutes from Burg Eltz. Or stay in Hatzenport, and you're only 20 minutes from both Cochem and Eltz. Cochem is only 1 hour from Trier (Ancient Roman city and known as Germany's oldest as well.) And the whole Mosel River Valley is full of outdoor options (hiking/biking), wine towns/villages, and great scenery:

https://www.mosel-inside.de/en/travel-guide/mosel-villages.html

Busstop Hatzenport Bahnhof here https://maps.app.goo.gl/MoPYZzHJ3JEgv7FF8

I'm curious what you mean by "do" Cochem. It's more a place to stay than a destination in itself. After visiting the castle, you might consider taking a train, bus and/or boat ride to take in the scenery of the beautiful Mosel Valley.

Thank you everyone.

VRM Regiobus 365 between Hatzenport Bahnhof and Burg Eltz (=parking!!! 20 minutes walk to the castle) runs every 30 minutes (journey 25 minutes)

So thats 25 mins bus trip to the car park + 20 min walk to the castle? Did i read that correctly? Is this VRM 365 bus covered by the D Ticket?

PS: Burg Eltz is closed from 3 november up to and including 28 march 2026.

I'm going next April/May but thank you for pointing this out, this is a good call out. Would have avoided a wasted trip there if I was going there now.

AFAIR there is a shuttle bus from Carpark Eltz to the Castle and back

Is this a private bus or is it covered by the D Ticket?

There is an outdoor cafe at Burg Eltz where you can get lunch or a snack. I had lunch there when I was visiting, and it was pretty good.

Thanks good to know

I'm unsure where your day starts/ends in your current plans, but the stretch of river between Koblenz and Bullay is a great place to STAY

I'm leaning towards Koblenz at the moment for train convenience. While not the prettiest location, I can go over to the east side of the river to places like Rudesheim/Braubach without needing to change trains. While not a big deal to change trains, the trains on the Rhine doesn't seem that frequent running once and hour to some of the places so removing the need to change may end up saving a lot of time.

At the moment I"m planning to do over 2 days the below. And Burg Eltz and cochem on the third. Do you think this achievable and would you swap out any places? Which of these places should I avoid on a Sunday (due to closure)

On the west side:
Boppard
St Goar
Koblenz

On the east side:
Braubach
Rudesheim
Oberwesel (Maybe if time)

I'm curious what you mean by "do" Cochem. It's more a place to stay than a destination in itself.

Oh is it? I thought there was a nice quaint town to explore, is there nothing there? And there is also a castle there - I'm not sure I'll go in though.

The bus is covered by the Deutschland Ticket, And the VRM Day Ticket. It is a public bus.

Thanks sam, even the shuttle from car park to the Burg Eltz?

That I do not know.

I did some googling. Apparently the shuttle from carpark to castle is privately owned. Costs EUR2 and not covered under Dticket incase anyone is interested.

Which of these places should I avoid on a Sunday (due to closure)

Restaurants, museums, tourist shops, sights and attractions, etc. do not close on Sundays - grocery stores and retail stores do.

As for the east/west bank towns...

Oberwesel is on the WEST side, 5 mins. south of St Goar and 5 mins. north of Bacharach. Map showing both railways: http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/walking-hiking.php

At the moment I"m planning to do over 2 days the below.

• Avoid Rüdesheim if sharing a place with large numbers of tourists isn't your thing...

• On one day, I would probably visit Bacharach (plus either St Goar or O'wesel) and arrive in the PM at Bingen for the final 16:30 northbound KD cruise of the day (NOT on Monday, this cruise ship's day off.)

• On a second day, I'd visit Boppard fiirst, then Braubach/Marksburg (ferry crossing to Filsen + 7-min. train ride... or... Boppard > Koblenz > Braubach by train.)

Oberwesel - thanks for correcting

and arrive in the PM at Bingen for the final 16:30 cruise

Thats a good suggestion. But is it really possible to spend 3.5h (assuming final stop Koblenz) on the boat without it getting repetitive? Maybe I can take it from Rudesheim and just do partway and get off earlier on a stop on the west side and take the train back to Koblenz. Which part of the route would you say has the best view?

Is food included, if not, can it be brought on board?

Do i have to book this ticket in advance (are they popular that they will sell out?) or can i just buy on the day before boarding? I also read there is a 20% off with a valid DB ticket, does this include the D ticket?

3.5 hr. Rhine Cruise

Not a good idea, IMO - not just repetitive but a slow-going and expensive way to return to Koblenz - and from Rüdesheim, it's actually 3.75 hours. Here's how it works... Like all the other cruise boats, this boat makes stops on its way north. Tickets can be bought to ANY of the dozen or so stops on the way to Koblenz and are priced according to distance traveled. The trip to St Goar - widely considered the best cruise segment - is short and sweet if you take my suggestion...

1) southbound train from Koblenz on the west bank railway... 2) hop off to visit a couple towns... 3) train to BINGEN... 4) board the 16:30 northbound cruise boat...

...you reach St Goar at 17:55. You have now seen the best of the Rhine Gorge scenery in just 85 minutes. Perhaps find dinner in St Goar before hopping on a direct train to Koblenz (takes only about 25-30 mins., hourly service at the top of every hour.)

Crusing from Rüdesheim is impractical after your visit to the west bank towns (Boppard, St Goar, Oberwesel, Bacharach.) You would have to ferry across the river (probably from St Goar) to reach R'heim and catch another train to get there, and there's no point, really. The 16:15 boat from R'heim only crosses the river anyway to pick up passengers in Bingen and does not add any scenery to your cruise experience.

Arriving at the Bingen Rhein Stadt station puts you closer to the boat dock than at Bingen Hbf. Buy at the Bingen dock for your cruise discount with the D-Ticket. Tickets do not sell out.

All this info is based on 2025 schedules. The 16:30 boat from Bingen does not operate in shoulder season normally so make sure to have a look at the 2026 schedule (which may be available in February sometime) before finalizing plans.

having Russ as an ally is great for you. There's not much about the middle Rhine valley that he doesn't know - it well worth taking his advice.

Tommyq

Russ’ advice to us months ago - similar to his Day 2 suggestion to you - led us to e-bike Koblenz to Boppard (1 hour ride), wander the town there, then catch the 11:30 ferry to the opposite bank and cycle to Braubach/Marksburg. We got sandwiches in Braubach and cycled up to the castle with plenty of time for the 1 pm English language tour. The slope up to the castle from town was more modest than I expected. Biked back to Koblenz by 5 pm. Nice day!

You mention

I'm leaning towards Koblenz at the moment for train convenience. While not the prettiest location …

We enjoyed the two nights we spent in Koblenz on a weekend this past September. It has much more of an old town than I had expected, and it was both lively and lovely. The parks along the rivers were pleasant and full of locals enjoying walks and cycling. Yes, there are no hillside vineyards or dramatic cliffs there, but we found friendly folks and good food.

FYI, re Burg Eltz, we needed small/correct amounts of cash for the #365 bus since we couldn’t get the ticket dispenser across from the bus stop to work for us. Some restaurants also require cash payment.

Thank you for those suggestions.

Crusing from Rüdesheim is impractical after your visit to the west bank towns (Boppard, St Goar, Oberwesel, Bacharach.)

Sorry I should have given more context. I was actually thinking of doing it after my Rudesheim day. I note your earlier point about it being crowded and have set my expectations :D! So I'm not going to Rudesheim just to catch this ferry but using it as a way back to the west side after exploring. As far as I can see its just 15 mins more than catching it from Bingen and it also appears to be the same price to St Goar so nothing to lose there. Would that also work?

having Russ as an ally is great for you. There's not much about the middle Rhine valley that he doesn't know - it well worth taking his advice.

Absolutely! His suggestions have been most helpful. I'm most appreciative. :)

We got sandwiches in Braubach and cycled up to the castle with plenty of time for the 1 pm English language tour.

Was Marksburg worth it? The guided tour of the castle in english only runs twice a day. The timing of this is a bit awkward for me, if I do it on the day with Rudesheim (since its on the same side), that means I won't get to Rudesheim until like 3pm ish and then if i had to catch the ferry back I have to be out of rudesheim by 4 ish which doesn't make much sense and feels really rushed. If I do Marksburg, I'll probably have to join a german tour but not undestand a thing so not sure whether that is worth it.

Unless I decouple the ferry and catch it from Bingen instead like Russ suggested, this will give me about an hour more (since things will start closing). It is an option though but again feels rather rushed.

If i don't do Marksburg, is Braubach stop worth stopping at?

We enjoyed the two nights we spent in Koblenz

Do you mind telling me where you stayed? And any recommendations on food around the area?

Thanks for the tip for the bus.

Was Marksburg worth it?

All three castles, Cochem’s Reichsburg, Burg Eltz and Marksburg were good visits. I’d say the same for Haute Koenigsburg in Alsace. Each has different features in terms of history and originality, construction and reconstruction - or not being reconstructed in Marksburg’s case.

Braubach had a few very old, picturesque blocks, but I wouldn’t go out of the way to see it on its own. Boppard is worth a visit for its own sake and I wish we had more than the hour we spent there, but we had to make that 1 pm tour at Marksburg.

In Koblenz, we enjoyed eating outdoors on a sunny late-summer eve at An Nam restaurant, by the Rhine. Cash only. Pan Asian. Only scores a 4.0 on TA, but again, we thought it was pretty good. Late entry: DNR where we stayed; nothing special.

I see you have more of a Rhine focus; we had more of a Mosel focus largely due to advice we got here on the forum. E-biking for a week meant we did not have to deal with the transportation issues that are bedeviling you, other than the #365 bus to Burg Eltz and then the train from Koblenz to Mainz as we moved on to the next phase of our journeys.

Happy travels.

If i don't do Marksburg, is Braubach stop worth stopping at?

The castle tour takes an hour plus an hour's time walking up and back down plus whatever wait time you might have for your tour. Braubach is just a small tangle of streets at the foot of the cliffside below Marksburg, and it does not take much time to explore on foot. But it is in fact pretty spectacular in terms of the architecture and old-world feel you will walk away with. Except for the fact that Marksburg is in Braubach, you would not know anything about Braubach's charm if you are relying only on Rick Steves' publications. I invite you to take a look at the link below - the 3 pages of photos constitute a "spoiler" but I think if you go, you will still be charmed.

https://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/index.php?thread/7322-braubach-am-rhein-und-marksburg-galerie/

Braubach is no good for shopping, amusements, museums, or fancy dining. But for a quick look/feel for what a small town looked like around half a century ago, it's a good bet. Most tourists are distracted by cruises, souvenirs, etc. and don't bother with it - thank goodness, or it might be a very different place today. Map:

https://www.turismoindependente.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/braubach.jpg

Good German food in town (closed W & Th) : Zum Goldenen Schlüssel:

https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=1070x10000:format=jpg/path/sc484ea64eed53c8f/image/i82e0948970fa8d90/version/1550765364/image.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4143/4751924826_98980aa49f_o.jpg

So I'm not going to Rudesheim just to catch this ferry but using it as a way back to the west side after exploring.

Not visit Marksburg? It is in fact an entirely intact medieval Rhine castle that has never been destroyed by invaders or turned into a hotel or otherwise repurposed/abused. It is #1 on my own list of the top Rhine sights, and Braubach's one of the Rhine's coolest old towns. I can't imagine being in Koblenz and not making the 10-minute train ride to Braubach for both town and castle.

Besides Braubach, the other two old-world towns in the top 3 would be Bacharach and Oberwesel on the west bank, IMHO of course.

I'm not clear on why Rüdesheim seems important to you. My take... Rüdesheim is the "shiny object", the perfect Rhine town for shedding unneeded tourist Euros... jewelry, clothing, tourist restaurants, amusements. Aside from that, I do like Rüdesheim's gondola ride and the chairlift ride back down to Assmannshausen - the territory at the top is nice for hiking around - but I see the chairlift ride and the river gorge scenery above Boppard (which shares the west bank town with Bacharach and Oberwesel) as superior. And like Braubach, Boppard is only a few minutes away from Koblenz. That's why I suggested Braubach and Boppard on the same day. And if Rüdesheim isn't a must-see, it's certainly unnecessary to go to Rüdesheim just to get to the west bank. I'd organize this one day as follows:

• Morning train to Boppard - see town, do chairlift, take a walk for the views, have lunch at Gedeonseck terrace at the top of the chairlift perhaps? Awesome views.
• Cross the river. Use the Boppard ferry crossing. Runs all day long, every half hour on the half hour: http://www.faehre-boppard.de/richtzeiten/
• From the dock on the other side, it's about a 10-minute walk into Filsen. Catch a train to Braubach there. There's a train at 13:46 that gets to Braubach in just 7 minutes. Another at 14:46.
• Take the 4 pm English tour of Marksburg. See the town
• Return to Koblenz whenever you are finished.

IME the east bank is a pleasant place to "explore" but with the exception of Braubach, most east-bank towns have less to offer than the west-bank towns, and I know your aim is to plan your visit efficiently - hence my suggested outline for the 2 days.

A photo you should see:

The chairlift of course... with Boppard and its boat docks on the right... and on the LEFT side of the river in the foreground, part of the small settlement of Filsen (where you can catch the train to Braubach) is visible. I couldn't hit Filsen with a stone from Boppard, but almost.

https://fewoboppard.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Sessellift.jpg

E-biking for a week meant we did not have to deal with the transportation issues

Unfortunately biking is not an option for me.

It is #1 on my own list of the top Rhine sights, and Braubach's one of the Rhine's coolest old towns. I can't imagine being in Koblenz and not making the 10-minute train ride to Braubach for both town and castle.

Ok i think you convinced me. I'll make it work with Marksburg Castle!

I'm not clear on why Rüdesheim seems important to you.

Most blogs/vlogs mention Rüdesheim as a must stop when doing the Rhine. That was the only reason. I just thought it was the rite of passage when doing Rhine :D

I do have planned the chairlift in Boppard as well, that photo looks awfully scary though if I'm honest. :)

Cross the river. Use the Boppard ferry crossing. Runs all day long, every half hour on the half hour:

Ok thanks for that suggestion.

Is taking the train from Boppard to Braubach via Koblenz an option if the timing fits? I know I'm backtracking a bit but the ferry option takes about the same as the train option. Is there anything particular on this ferry connection that is worth seeing?

As mentioned in a previous reply, the small shuttle from the Burg Eltz carpark to the castle charges about 2€ each way. The price is undoubtedly higher now than when I visited a few years ago. As I recall, the road down to the castle is quite steep, so especially at my age I wouldn't be hiking down and back.

"...train from Boppard to Braubach via Koblenz"

Nothing wrong with that. "Backtracking" to Koblenz from Boppard to see Bacharach would be pointless backtracking. But backtracking to Koblenz for Braubach is entirely purpposeful.

"Most blogs/vlogs mention Rüdesheim as a must stop when doing the Rhine. That was the only reason."

Yes. Rüdesheim has strong name-recognition compared with other Rhine towns, and visitors tend to go to places they have heard of and then blog about them. Asbach Uralt brandy comes from R'heim and is the "adult" ingredient fin Rüdesheimer Coffee. So do many wine exports from Germany. R'heim has more tourist infrastructure and consequently more overnight stays and daytrippers than the other towns. R'heim sits on a large spot of relatively flat-ish land at the southern gateway to the Rhine Gorge, a spot which allows for some growth over time. It is the closest Rhine Gorge town to FRA airport and the cities of Frankfurt, Mainz and Wiesbaden, making R'heim "low-hanging" fruit for daytrippers and tour-bus customers. R'heim has been a tourist mecca for Germans for a couple hundred years; the "Germania" statue on a hillside outside town has been stirring pride and patriotism in Germans for most of that time... though its importance for foreign visitors is dubious. Despite the pounding R'heim took in WW II, the tourist industry did its best not to let the war interfere with R'hem's success. Since then it's been cutesied up a lot in a Disney sort of way. It's not unlikeable - but I wouldn't call it a "must-see" unless that's what you are looking for, specifically.

Aerial shot of R'heim:
https://www.luftbildsuche.de/info/luftbilder/stadtansicht-rdesheim-rhein-hessen-216685.html

Braubach, Bacharach and other tiny towns in the steeper, more dramatic part of the gorge are on narrow spits of land and have less room for town spread, big parking lots, etc. They can't deveIop as R'heim has done. In some cases like Braubach's, their historic cores have undergone relatively little change over the years.

St Goar/St Goarshausen: https://i2.wp.com/herbert-piel.de/wp-44b92-content/uploads/2016/01/Loreleytal.jpg?fit=960%2C641

Braubach: https://www.luftbildsuche.de/info/luftbilder/stadtansicht-braubach-ansicht-marksburg-rheinland-pfalz-230680.html

An aerial photo of Koblenz for comparison:
https://www.luftbildsuche.de/foto/detail/luftbilder-stadtansicht-innenstadt-zentrum-sdlichen-vorstadt-ufer-rhein-koblenz-rheinland-pfalz-197604.jpg

@Russ, thank you for the perspective. I see what you mean by not much flat land to expand and why you are saying there are better places to visit than Rudesheim. I've bumped it down on my list now.

Thank you so much for the suggestions, much appreciated.

We had a longer trip to Burg Eltz because we were staying in Boppard. My husband has ancestors from Cochem, so we planned to go there after the castle, but we ran out of time.

All the waiting eats up time. You wait for the bus, the shuttle, the English tour. We took the shuttle in because it was raining. The line for the tour was in an uncovered courtyard (bring gear if it looks like rain). We walked back to the bus stop and on the way found the oldest, active geocache in Germany (with a great view of the castle). By the time we got back to Hatzenport it was 4 PM. We decided to head back to Boppard for dinner. So my advice is to start out early in the morning if you want to do both.

If you are a hiker, our friends recently hiked to the castle from Moselkern Station. They were staying in Cochem.

mnannie's experience (thanks for sharing that!) is informative and a good lesson to those with plans for the Rhine/Mosel region. To enjoy the area to its fullest, it's wise to book an extra night or two beyond whatever you imagine your normal length of stay should be. Sadly, Rick's videos give the impression that you can visit this area on the fly on the way to somewhere else... but you will in fact miss out on certain things without extra time and some detailed planning. The sights and towns are spread out over a large area. River cruises (which are possible on both rivers,) castle tours, shuttles, hiking... all these things take more time than you might think. Fortunately, the train transport along both rivers is highly scenic and will not seem like a waste of time. Kudos to tqs, who is doing a good job at looking into the details so that the stuff that matters personally does not go unseen.

Thanks @mnannie for that.

As I recall, the road down to the castle is quite steep, so especially at my age I wouldn't be hiking down and back.

The trail was wide and wound around, so it was too bad.

That reminds me though that there was a woman on our tour that shouldn't have attempted it. She had a rough time going up and down all the stairs in the castle.

You have misread something or read some misinformation, I think. See map... it's in Dutch, but the map tells the story:

https://burg-eltz.de/files/cto_layout/img/Bilder%20Home/Burg-Eltz_Karte_quer_Holl%C3%A4ndisch.jpg

Bus 365 makes a stop at the green/yellow "H" spot. "H" stands for "Haltestelle" (stopping spot.) This stop is served only until Nov. 1.

There is NO public bus that takes you directly to the castle entrance at any time of year. You can either walk the 800 m. from the green/yellow bus stop to the castle (along the path marked in yellow), or you can catch the Burg Eltz shuttle bus (the gray-colored bus symbol, see the shuttle's dotted path to the castle) for a fee.

Here is the 365 schedule showing that the Burg Eltz public bus stop is served only from Apr. 1 - Nov. 1; in the other months, bus 365 operates but bypasses the stop entirely.

https://burg-eltz.de/files/cto_layout/img/Bilder%20Home/Burg-Eltz_Karte_quer_Holl%C3%A4ndisch.jpg

(OH, I see you deleted your recent post, tqs, about the buses. Maybe you figured it out? I will leave my post here just in case you or others need it.)

The footpath / shuttle path that leads to the castle is shown at the bottom of this photo. It's very clearly not a path that could be negotiated by public Bus 365, which you can see here.