Help understanding Rhine day-trip boat tours

Hi Trekers. Others will weigh in with more info and suggestions, but I will start and hopefully put you at ease. The boats run regularly on the Rhine, and have large capacity. There is no need to book in advance. Just view the schedule when you are there and show up at the dock at the right time, buy your ticket on the spot. Yes, trains are easy to navigate, so easy to boat one way and train back. Have a great trip!

Koeln-Duesseldorfer (K-D) is the biggest operator. https://www.k-d.com/en/

The problem with hopping off and on is that it could be a long wait until the next boat, and it may be ending short of your intended destination. Boats all have full service restaurants, so you won't starve.

If you start in Bingen, you can get an earlier start. If you start down stream, and take a train to Bingen, you do get a discount when you show your train ticket, and you can enjoy beverages along the way without having to worry about driving afterward.

We are thinking of doing a day-cruise on the Rhine as well, and I’m as flummoxed as you are! Any advice is most appreciated. Thank you all.

1) Most boats travel only as far as St Goar/St Goarshausen. That's the most scenic part. Start in Bingen or Rüdesheim. This can take as little as 1.5 hours one way.

2) No booking. Just show up and buy a ticket. (Arriving by train? Show your train ticket at the KD dock for a discount.) Which company? Doesn't matter, really. Same river, similar boats.

What matters is your cruise date. The KD schedule ends on Oct. 5. B-R runs boats through Nov. 2.
What also matters: The day of the week. On Mondays, K-D runs fewer boats. B-R runs two boats every day of the week.

B-R schedule: https://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/fahrplan/ (Click on "Loreleyfahrt" box)

3) The schedules are quite skimpy. Getting back on a boat will probably not be possible at worst or inconvenient at best. If there are towns you wish to visit, do that before or after your cruise, by train. Trains run much more frequently, every hour or better, all day long. Since Trekers must return to Bingen by train, understand that a St Goar > Bingen Train ticket will allow Trekers to hop off wherever (like Oberwesel or Bacharach) and get back on at any hour.

It is perfectly possible to ride the boat back to Bingen or Rüdesheim. And round trip is comparatively cheap. However, it does take a lot longer for the return trip because of the current, and it is the exact same scenery... AND, more importantly, you use time that could be spent doing other Rhine Valley things (touring Marksburg Castle in Braubach, or walking old-world Bacharach, or hiking the Rhine Castle trail, or taking the chairlift in Boppard to Gedeonseck terrace for the view. Love those views from the clifftops!.)

https://fewoboppard.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Sessellift.jpg
https://s3-media1.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/T9oxNMwLvt_-r5nCsce-jg/o.jpg

St Goar is the station name in St Goar.
Bingen Rhein Stadt is the station name in Bingen that is closest to the boat docks. For a longer walk, you can get off the train at Bingen Rhein Hbf instead, if you like.

You can find schedules for any train ride at https://int.bahn.de/en/

Tickets can be bought on the spot using the DB app OR a ticket machine at the station. Fare is €10.30 pp to Bingen Rhein Stadt, a little less to Bingen Rhein Hbf.

Side note: any of these towns/castles along the boat tour worth visiting on foot as well? Or better just to see from the water?

Many like Rheinfels in St Goar (ruins) but for an entirely intact medieval castle you should target Marksburg in Braubach. It's the real deal.

Get off the cruise boat in St Goarshausen and take a train 20 minutes to the north to reach Braubach. Walk uphill 25 minutes to the castle entrance. English tours at 1 & 4. Great place, 50-minute tour, great views.

https://www.marksburg.de/en/circuit/#/

Braubach is a tiny but fantastic town old-world town. Leaf through the photos:

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

From Braubach you can return to Bingen by train via Koblenz. A day pass called the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket will cover the train from St Goarshausen to Braubach and the train back to Bingen from there.

https://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets/tickets/leisure-tickets/rheinland-pfalz-ticket/

Transportation map with ferry crossings, railways, cruise docks:

http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/walking-hiking.php

I recommend getting on in Rüdesheim rather than Bingen, because the ship starts here. If you want a good seat with a table, they are often all gone if you get on in Bingen. Large parking lot near the docks for both companies. When you get back, you can explore Rüdesheim, maybe take the gondolas up to Neiderwald Denkmal or go to Siegfrieds Musical Cabinet. Nice wine tasting here, but not if you are driving.

The ride on K-D is more expensive than the other company, but I have only ridden on K-D.

I like St. Goar and Burg Rheinfels. It is much more than a ruin. It is massive! The church in St. Goar is worth a visit too. Beautiful wall and ceiling paintings.

If you leave the camper at rhe end and take the train to the start, then for K-D gives you a 20% discount on the fare.

Consider staying at the campground in Bacharach. There is also one in Koblenz where the Rhine and Mosel meet

Hello,
I had trouble understanding the logistics ahead of time last year, but it turned out to be considerably simpler once we were there. We were there during a very busy summer day, and got on at Bingen, which lots of people recommend, and didn't have a problem getting a good seat. We used KD, and after seeing the others in person, would say it was the best looking boat (and had the best schedule for us). We booked the day before online, but it likely wasn't necessary.

It was actually a fairly quick journey down river, so we didn't get off until St. Goar, then had a great afternoon eating a lazy lunch and seeing the sights, before hopping on a train back to Bingen where we parked (boat dock parking and train station were very close to each other). The train was very easy to navigate. It would definitely be easier to do your on the ground sightseeing on the way back by train and stop off at as many of the towns as you'd like, or take a ferry across to the other bank.

For what it's worth, we spent a week in the Mosel valley, and only ventured to the Rhine for the day of our cruise. Didn't do a Mosel cruise, but i don't think it would have been as good. We did have a great time biking along the Mosel River though, with a beautiful path along the water. Burg Eltz and Reichsberg Castles were great to tour, and we were happy to see the Rhine castles from a distance.

Have a great trip.

I realize you're going in October, which should be great, but I'm posting this warning to others who may be following this thread. We were on the boat in summer and it was painfully HOT - hard to find shade.