Day Cruise near Frankfurt?

KD river cruises

"I have heard the towns Bingen, Boppard, St Goar etc mentioned."

That is the most scenic cruise zone. And you probably want to take the most scenic train ride to the Bingen-St. Goar area as well, right?

Rather than use the high-speed train route via Frankfurt to this area (a route that bypasses the Rhine Rive,) I would use the more scenic Rhine route trains from Essen to Koblenz to Bingen - and drop my bags at a hotel right there in Bingen. (This would be a far more scenic place to stay than FRA airport or downtown Frankfurt.) Then board an afternoon cruise boat from Bingen to St. Goar and pay a visit to Rheinfels Castle there. Return to Bingen by train later that day; if you have time, stop on the way in Oberwesel or Bacharach for a nice walk around those towns.

The next morning, take a direct train from Bingen to FRA airport. See sample schedule with details and suggestions below.

Map of this area with cruise route in yellow dots

Catch the 10:00 train from Essen to Bingen Rhein Hbf station (arrive 12:42 or 12:51 depending on which trains you book. You'll have a change of train in Koblenz.) Walk from station to NH Bingen Hotel (which is on the riverfront - or other hotel) and check in. Have lunch at the Riverside (or other restaurant) near the KD boat dock. Buy a ticket (present your train ticket to get a 20% cruise discount) and board the 14:30 KD cruise to St. Goar (arrive 15:55.) Visit Rheinfels Castle. Return to Bingen by direct train in 25 minutes (depart St. Goar at 17:56, 18:56, 19:56) or break up the trip with a 1-2-hour stop in Bacharach or Oberwesel. The next morning you will find direct train departures to FRA airport from Bingen Rhein Hbf : 6:47-7:33, or 7:13-8:05.

You can start out earlier from Essen if you wish and perhaps catch either the 11:30 KD boat, or the 13:15 Bingen-Rüdesheimer boat, to St. Goar. Check the DB site to see how early you might have to leave Essen for these boats.

And of course you need to check the DB site for the exact days you will be traveling since the times above are sampled from a random day.

It's not the right comparison, but I've taken the blah "local" river cruise in Cologne, and it has ZERO relation to the magnificent "Middle Rhine Valley" that has already been recommended to you. There is no point in taking a boat ride "close to Frankfurt" because the industrial Rhine isn't that interesting. As Russ wrote, the trains are so much faster than the boats, even the "downstream" one recommended, your primary transportation those two days will be rail.

You didn't give a date-be sure you download the appropriate seasonal schedule from K-D, since there aren't that many boats a day. Also remember that your airline wants you to check in for international flights THREE HOURS in advance - and if you're flying coach, a lot of that time will be spent waiting in the luggage drop-off line.

Thanks KB1942, Russ and Tim.

Russ, really appreciate your taking the time to look up and provide links for all the information. I really like this plan and am going to do what you suggested. I would like to take an earlier train though(6:48-9:51, 7:28-10:51) from Essen Hbf so I can catch the 11:30 cruise. Should I be looking at S/EC or S/IC trains (product)? Is there a train ticket that would cover travel for the entire day? Also, do I have to book the cruise in advance?

Tim, thanks for weighing in. Will follow your advice to reach 3 hours before flight departure.

do I have to book the cruise in advance?

Nope - just buy at the dock. There are no reserved seats anyway, and you can't get your KD discount without showing your train ticket.

deshpande_supriya: please re-post or send me a PM with your travel date. I am not able to advise you on trains or tickets from Essen without that information.

OK, so on the travel date you provided, that 6:48 - 9:51 journey is the one you'd need in order to ensure arrival at the KD dock before 11:30. And that looks like a good connection to me - you have 17 minutes in D'dorf for transfer time after that first S-bahn train ride (and those S-bahn trains are normally on time.) You'll have time to walk from Bingen Rhein Hbf to the hotel (use bridge over the Nahe River) and then to the dock.

http://www.kommunen-marketing.de/interaktiv/bingen/

(At the above map, click on "Bahnhöfe" at the far left, then select "Bingen (Rhein) Hauptbahnhof" to zoom in on the station. The NH Bingen hotel is just across the bridge where you see "Kongress-zentr." The KD dock is a short walk further along the riverfront.

Whether you ride the EC or the IC train shouldn't make much difference, I don't think. The important thing is to catch that 7:47 (which happens to be the EC) from D'dorf to Bingen in order to make that 11:30 cruise (since that is your stated priority.)

There is no single all-day pass that would cover all your trips that day at the hours you want to travel. So the saver fare looks pretty good. After your cruise to St. Goar and your visit there, you can just buy a standard DB ticket to Bingen from a ticket machine at St. Goar station. Or you can buy this St. Goar - Bingen ticket at ANY STATION you pass through that day - Essen, Düsseldorf, or Bingen - wherever it's convenient. The St. Goar machine has moved around over the years, but it was located in the underground passageway to the rear platform when I was there last June. The fare is €7.20. The DB ticket can be used at any hour and allows for stopovers in Oberwesel and/or Bacharach if you wish.

Many thanks, Russ!