Itinerary Help - Black Forest and Rhine River

Ruedesheim has a chair lift too, it actually provides access to the town (I think it is Assmannhausen) next to it that is smaller/more quaint. Koblenz is on the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine and I enjoyed that more than Cologne. Marksburg is an interesting castle close to Koblenz and also there is Ehrenbreitstein is just a cable car ride across the river from Koblenz. Will you have a car? That would enable you to drive along the Rhine and stop at towns that look interesting. Boppard, Oberwesel, Neiderheimbach, Bacharach would be a few. . .

Thats a pretty short trip for the ground you want to cover. I would not backtrack to Cologne (what for?) - keep moving forward.

I wouldn't back-track. Why not stay in St, Goar or Bacharach, drop your luggage (from the train trip from Cologne) and explore that section of the Rhine (Marksburg castle!!), and then continue on from there? We stayed in Bacharach for two nights, one full day, rented bikes and rode along the wide, nice bike trail. We were able to see things up close and stop when we wanted. We rode to the ferry stop from Bacharach, locked bikes, rode the ferry across, caught the train to the Marksburg stop, walked to the castle from the train station, and had a wonderful tour, and then repeated our route going back. This took much of the day. When we returned to Bacharach we hiked around the hillside. There is much more to do in this small stretch of the Rhine that we did not do, so you would have plenty to fill your time with a brief stay...

"Cologne to St Goar for a river tour up to Bingen - I don't think this is a full day, wondering if we should go back to Cologne ..."

I read similar plans here all the time. I am convinced that Rick Steves somehow leads his readers and viewers to the conclusion that there's nothing to do in the Rhine Valley but that cruise.

Stay in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. (St. Goar is a good base.) It's a UNESCO Heritage site and there's a lot to see and do. Tour St. Goar's Rheinfels Castle. Go to Oberwesel and walk the old town wall. Go to Boppard for its old town and its river promenade - and hit a wine garden, or catch the chairlift ride up to Gedeonseck terrace for a great view and a brew. And yes, do tour Marksburg Castle - it's a great tour. It's in Braubach - use the St. Goar ferry crossing to reach Braubach (Bacharach does not have a ferry crossing in town.)

The cruise: best way is to first take the TRAIN south to Bingen and cruise back to St. Goar. That will show you the best part of the river and won't waste your time (it's too slow in the opposite direction because of the current.) You can stop in Bacharach or Oberwesel to look around when you take the train to Bingen.

Hiking: the Rhine Castle trail skirts the clifftops - beautiful views between St. Goar and Oberwesel. Just off the trail is the Günderodehaus (wine, food) with this view overlooking Oberwesel.

Map of this part of the Rhine with clickable town links: http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/city-cities.php

"Day 4: open day, but thinking by the end of the night we want to be in Offenburg to take the Black Forest Train line the next day. Is this a good starting point/place to stay overnight?"

Offenburg is OK but nothing special. I would take the train from Offenburg along the BF Railway to Gengenbach instead - it's only a few minutes from Offenburg and a very pleasant place to settle into. If you do one thing on the BF Railway, it should probably be the Open Air Museum in Gutach.

Agree 100% with Russ.

Triberg is a nice stop. The waterfall is better translated as cascades because that‘s what it is rather than a single drop waterfall. Still it is scenic. Nice museum near it. I like the woodcarving and cuckoo clock shops. Be sure to get the bus that will be at the train station otherwise it is an uphill walk to the town.

Thank you all so much! I know it's a short trip for what we want to do, I appreciate the advice on hitting the good spots with our limited time. These are great suggestions and I can't wait to rework the itinerary to accommodate everything.