Cologne, Rhine and Mosel areas in August 2023, suggestions please

I have made several trips to this area.
This region and the places you want to visit are very well served by trains. From experience I can tell you that a car is way more trouble than it is worth in the region. The towns significantly pre-date the invention of the automobile and researching parking options ahead of time is a required part of the planning. A car will not reduce your travel time between locations - it is actually likely to slow progress significantly in August.

On a recent trip we did the Mosel first then the Rhine because we entered Germany at Saarburg coming from Luxembourg. There are plenty of day cruises out of Bernkastel-Kues. We stayed in Saarburg, Senheim, and Bacharach. We spent our last night at a hotel by the airport since Bacharach is an hour from Frankfurt Airport.

Some castles in the area area Burg Eltz, Marksburg, Rheinfels, and Rheinstein.

Having a car was not a hindrance, but I did look up parking lots in advance. On our 3 weeks long trip we did visit a number of locations nowhere near a train station, so a car was a must. All our lodgings had available parking.

With regards to Cologne, I would suggest spending 2 nights there. Cologne is a beautiful city with a lot of ambience and the most gorgeous cathedral you will ever see. There are a number of good restaurants and also has some fun shopping as well. One restaurant I recommend is maiBeck FÜR DICH, which had some of the best food I ate in Germany. I also ate at Brauhaus früh am Dom, which serves authentic German food. I opted for beer and sauerbraten, and it was very tasty. Both restaurants were within walking distance of the cathedral (and my hotel).

I stayed at the City Class Europa am Dom hotel, which was a short distance from the train station. It was a wonderful location and I had a view of the cathedral from my window. The hotel was quite nice, a reasonable price, very clean, good breakfast and it has A/C, which is a huge plus in August. :) I enjoyed my stay here very much. I think that area, regardless of which hotel you choose, is a very convenient place to stay. As I mentioned, it's near the train station and the major sites. You really can't go wrong there.

If you stay 2 nights, that will give you time to explore Cologne and all of it sights, but will also give you time for a day trip to Aachen, which is a quick 30 minute train ride away. I loved Aachen. Its cathedral is quite beautiful (especially the interior, which is drop-dead gorgeous) and houses the remains of Charlemagne, leader of the Holy Roman Empire. The town is also very charming and has a lovely vibe to it. It's smaller than Cologne and you could easily spend some time just walking around and enjoying the sites. Don't miss the Granus tower, which is next to the Rathaus (town hall) and is one of the few pieces remaining from Charlemagne’s palace. It dates back to the 8th century, making it over 1200 years old.

"...then we plan to rent a car and drive down to spend the remaining time touring both the Rhine and Mosel wine areas."

Those and the Ahr Valley as well, right?

Not sure how the Ahr Valley is looking now but I suppose they're eager to see visitors. The Ahr Valley destinations of Bad Neuenahr and Ahrweiler are only 12 and 16 minutes by direct train from the smallish Rhine town of Remagen. Cologne is just 40-45 direct-train min's to the north of Remagen. Remagen has an interesting WW II museum, the Arp Museum, the Apollinaris Church, a nicely-developed waterfront, and good proximity to nearby Linz. It is also on one of the KD Cruise segments... cruising from Linz to Bonn is quite popular. I could see Remagen as a good base town for a few days for you.

After that, I'd locate myself on the Mosel for 3 nights or so - I like centrally-located Cochem a lot - then on the Rhine for about the same. Boppard is an undeniably good Rhine base town which offers its guest free local train transportation to other Rhine and Mosel destinations. Maybe Bingen would be good if you wish to be closer to FRA airport; it has some direct trains to FRA, a nice waterfront hotel at the mouth of the Nahe River, and it serves as an ideal Rhine-cruise-boarding location for seeing the most attractive part of the river.

Because wine and driving don't mix, and because wineries are located INSIDE most towns, not out in the vineyards, using the trains for this adventure is probably the most sensible choice. That's what the German wine-lovers tend to do.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/can-i-see-enough-of-cologne

In other years, this area has also been affected by LOW water! In August, parking will be a hassle except at high end hotels with private parking. Just as an example (not saying you need to stay there) we stayed at Weinromantik Hotel Richtershof, Hauptstrasse 81-83, D-54486, Mulheim +49(0) 6534-948-0 weinromantikhotel.com In Cologne, we stay at the Hilton, right across from the HBF. But everything in Cologne (almost) is right near the HBF.

It's usually fruitless to explain to Americans why they don't need a car for this plan. I'll only note that you ONLY want to ride the K-D boat downstream (going NORTH) from Bingen to Boppard, or something like that. There is no scenery to be seen near Cologne, not even the Cologne 1 hour boat ride. It's also important to note that you will need a train on your boat day, to get back to the car. Then you will find out that the train is ten times faster than either the boat or the car, making it a pleasure, not a burden, to buy train tickets once. (They also get you a discount on the boat.)

I will concede that we used a car on the Mosel, but it's really not necessary, and undesirable if you are wine-tasting. You want the smallest car you can rent (and hope for an automatic transmission) so that parking and in-town driving is easier. All high-end wineries require reservations, which maybe your hotel concierge could make for you, if you don't do it in advance. We saw (years ago, in Bernkastel-Keues) one big-name winery with signs in four languages at the gate saying in effect, "Here's a list of retail stores. Please do not ring the bell unless you have a reservation."

I personally avoid AirBnb because it is so harmful to local housing markets (and I read reports of owner cancellations and savage cleaning and other nuisance "fees.") Besides, I don't need a Keurig coffee maker and 600-count sheets for my "living local" vacation.

Rather than an AirBnb, you might try looking for a Ferienwohnung (holiday apartment), which you can usually find on the town's tourist website. They are usually much more reasonable in price than AirBnbs and do not have all the restrictions and fees. So if you want to stay in the Mosel area, go to https://www.visitmosel.de/unterkunftssuche/unterkuenfte, which offers many local apartments for rent.

Of if you pick a specific town, head for its website - you can usually find it by keying in the town name, then the domain .de.

For example, if you are staying in Cochem, plug in cochem.de, then choose the English language option and look for the "overnight accommodations" (or something like that) option. Same with with the Rhine area.

When I was traveling in Europe, I stayed at one outside of Münster, and it was a wonderful value. It had 3 bedrooms, living room, balcony, washer, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and was only €55 per night.

Often, the Ferienwohnungen that mardee mentions are available directly from private owners who also have Airbnb pages. But the conditions of renting are typically very different. When you go private, you of course may not have any of the promises or infrastructure that Airbnb offers. But you will often pay less - and you will often receive a discount for stays of 3+, 4+ or 5+ nights - and often you can book without providing anything more than your name and contact information.

If you go the private route, inform yourself fully on cancellation policies prior to booking! Even if you have booked without a deposit, you are responsible under German law for paying the entire amount due for your booked stay... UNLESS there is a written cancellation policy in place from the owner of the rental. Without one of those, you must assume that "gebucht ist gebucht" and that you're legally on the hook whether you cancel or not.

Thank you everyone for your input. I have decided to cut out our stay in Cologne. We will be arriving (jet-lagged) on Sunday, Aug 13 in late afternoon if we take train to Cologne from Frankfurt airport. Museums are all closed on Mondays which means we'd just be seeing the cathedral....doesn't seem worth it for a planned 2 night stay in that city. So instead planning for 3 nights in the Ahr Valley, then 3 nights in Rhine area and 3 nights in Mosel area....not necessarily in that order, before flying home from Frankfurt afternoon of 8/22. If anyone has info, specifically on the Ahr Valley (what town to stay in), the Red Wine hiking trail or what wineries , restaurants are open following the bad flooding in 2021, etc that would be super helpful. Guidebooks barely mention the Ahr Valley and devote only a page or two to the Rhine and Mosel Valleys. Thanks so much.

You may want to read the following thread on Tripadvisor where people who live in the general area have commented on the Ahr Valley:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187371-i534-k14442686-Ahr_Valley_Wine_Country_south_of_Cologne_Bonn-Cologne_North_Rhine_Westphalia.html

Another from last year:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g198636-i6354-k14054141-Day_trip_around_vineyards_Bad_Neuenahr_Ahrweiler-Bad_Neuenahr_Ahrweiler_Rhineland_Palatina.html

I am familiar with Trish and AMainzer on the TA Germany forum. Both tend to be friendly and helpful. I have traveled the Ahr Valley on day trips but never stayed there, and I have no winery experience there either, unfortunately. I don't know of individuals on this forum who have written about the Ahrtal either.

I've looked at the Ahr Valley railway schedule for your dates of choice and found only EV (replacement) bus service - the railway is apparently undergoing massive repairs. The bus hits the towns and runs hourly throughout the day.

Susan if you're into red wine the best area in Germany is just east of Frankfurt along the river Main at Burgstadt. Many excellent wineries, Rudolf Furst in particular makes insanely good Pinot Noir, I think maybe even the best value fine Pinots on the planet. Holds up well to Burgundy, Sonoma, etc.

Not too far from the area you are visit, and right next to Miltenberg, which is top three in Germany for concentration of historic half timbered houses. It's a handsome town.

I have some distant cousins who live in the Ahr Valley and they told me that Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is a good base for that area, especially Ahrweiler. I know the region suffered major flood damage a few years ago, but they are back on track and ready for visitors. I'm hoping to get there on my next trip to Germany.

I am not an authority on this, but I noticed that there is Rhine In Flames (fireworks, partying) event near Koblenz on August 12, 2023. I suppose it could affect travel and nearby hotels around that specific date. If you want to see it, I'll note that we once stayed in Andernach (not a "destination" town, just needed to commute to Koblenz for a few days). It was a pleasant, quiet town. I noticed a lot of (perhaps) big old boarding houses on the river nearby, but they looked vacant.

https://rove.me/to/germany/rhine-in-flames-rhein-in-flammen

Note that this second link is 12 years old:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/kd-rhine-stop-north-of-koblenz

We did both the Mosel and Rhine area in 2019. If you want a pdf of my journal, I'm happy to send both it, and scanned images of my planner. I'm extremely organized and detailed (like down to train track number) so it might be helpful to you. Send me DM so I can email it. <3
Jenifer

a month ago I was looking at staying back in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler but was sad to see that the Dorint Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is still closed. I'd suggest that not everything is back to normal - sadly. They could do with the trade.

I hope to have a look in next time I am passing. Good luck....