Our 10 day trip to Germany is fast approaching and curious if an last minute tips or advice for me, first time traveling to Germany. We fly into Frankfurt and have two nights in Bacharach (Hotel Altkonischer Hof), two nights in Beilstein (Hotel Haus Lipmann); our plan is the 1 hr KD cruise from Bacharach to St Goar and Burg Eltz, five nights in Munich (Hotel Uhland and Hotel Munchner Kindl). Our plan is to do a day trip to Salzburg and another day trip to Garmisch Partenkirchen/Zugspitze. We will travel by train except for renting a car for the two days we spend in Beilstein. We fly home from Munich. Thank you!
Posted by
Paradise
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"We fly into Frankfurt and have two nights in Bacharach (Hotel Altkonischer Hof), two nights in Beilstein (Hotel Haus Lipmann); our plan is the 1 hr KD cruise from Bacharach to St Goar and Burg Eltz..."
Your cruise is actually only 40 minutes long and covers only a small section of the good scenery. On Day 1 you will quickly pass through the most southerly segment of the scenic section (Bingen to Bacharach) by train on your way to your first stop. You may wish to lengthen your cruise by 1.) catching a train to Bingen on the day of your cruise to revisit that segment of the river by boat, AND/OR 2.) cruising beyond St. Goar to Boppard (another fine old-world town with a cool chairlift ride to a lookout, lots of dining options.) 1.) Bingen - St. Goar is 1.5 hours 2.) Bacharach - Boppard is 1.5 hours. Or Bingen - Boppard (the entire scenic part) would be 2.3 hours.
Since you will use the train to return to Bacharach (and maybe to reach Bingen in the first place) you should purchase your train ticket BEFORE heading out to start your cruise - show a valid rail ticket at the KD dock and you get a 20% cruise discount.
If you were planning to see Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar once you step off the boat... Remember that if you cruise north to Boppard, you can get off the train in St. Goar on the way back to Bacharach - or you can simply take the train from Bacharach to St. Goar at some point during your stay (a 10-minute trip.)
A Rheinland-Pfalz ticket (regional daypass) (€27) may be a better deal than individual rail tickets depending on the length of your train outingss. For your travels it would be valid from Mainz onward - north along the Rhine as far as Bonn, and up the Mosel River too.
R-P ticket info.