We (three adults, two kids) are staying in Boppard. Will this plan work over the course of a day: train from Boppard to Bingen but get off the train along the way at St. Goar (visit town and Rheinfels Castle), back on train and then off again at Bacharach (visit town and lunch), then back on train and off at final destination of Bingen (visit town). Then take the boat from Bingen to Boppard to arrive back no later than 5pm (would the return boat ride be about a 3+ hour cruise and thus perhaps too long?). We'll be doing this on either a Saturday or Sunday, and would you recommend that we purchase the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket for the five of us? If this is doable, can one direct me to train a train schedule (are the trains we'd be taking the "hourly milk-run trains" described in RS' Germany guidebook?) so that I can time it a little better. Thanks for any input you could provide as I know I've asked many questions!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19276 posts
Find German train schedules on the Bahn website.
Yes, there are hourly milk-run trains (stop at every station) in both directions on both sides of the Rhein in that area.
I think that it is doable depending on how early you leave Boppard and on how much time you spend in St Goar and Bacharach. If you use the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket on a weekend day you can start your travel as early as you want.
You probably want to get to St Goar before 9 AM, when Rheinfels opens. Trains from Boppard get to St Goar at 7:56 and 8:56. Google says it is an 800m, 13 minute walk from the St Goar station to Rheinfels (13 minutes if you know exactly where you are going). The walk is pretty steep; you climb over 200' in half a mile.
In the summer, the last K-D boat leaves Bingen at 4:30 PM and arrives back in Boppard just before seven. There is an RB (Regional Bahn) train from Bacharach to Bingen Stadtbahnhof, arriving at 4:26 PM. That is too late to make the 4:30 boat. The earlier train leaves Bacharach at 3:06 PM and arrives at Bingen Stadt at 3:26 PM. That will give you plenty of time to walk to the boat dock and get you tickets.
If you get to St Goar at 8:56 and leave Bacharach at 15:06 (3:06 PM), that gives you about six hour to get to/from Rheinfels, tour the castle, take the train about 9 minutes to Bacharach and see Bacharach. But be careful, the trains only run every hour. Plan accordingly.
IMPORTANT: There are two stations in Bingen, Bingen Hbf and Bingen Stadt. The first station you come to is Bingen Hbf. It's quite a bit farther from the boat dock; don't get of at Hbf. Go on to Bingen Stadt; it's on the river, a short walk from the boat dock.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19276 posts
On the other hand, if you take the 7:44 train all the way from Boppard to Bingen Stadt, arriving at 8:26. You'll have plenty of time to make the 9:30 KD boat to Bacharach and get there at 10:15. Spend two hours in Bacharach, then catch the 12:15 boat to St Goar, getting there at 12:55. That gives you 4 hours to get up to the castle and see it before it closes at 5 PM (actually last admission is at 17:00. You don't have to be out by then.).
After the castle, take the train back to Boppard. It's only 12 minutes and included with the RL-P-Ticket. That will save you on the boat fare to Boppard; that stretch is less interesting than Bingen to St Goar.
Either way, at the boat kiosk in Bingen, show your rail ticket, and you will get 20% off the boat fare. If you buy the boat ticket to St Goar, you can hop off at Bacharach; just tell the boat crew that is what you are doing.
Posted by
Southeast US
4046 posts
The 2019 schedule for the KD Line looks identical to the 2018 schedule linked above.
You may already know this, but if you show your same-day train ticket at the KD ticket booth, you will get a discount on the boat fare.
Posted by
Southeast US
4046 posts
Lee beat me to the punch!