We plan on visiting Burg Eltz castle on a Sunday in mid-September. We will arrive by train and plan to get off at Treis-Karden to take advantage of the bus up to the castle. Is there luggage storage at Treis-Karden or at the Castle? Are backpacks allowed on the bus and on the castle tour? How long is the bus trip?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
I haven't been to Treis-Karden Bhf since 2008. I don't recall seeing lockers (Schließfächer) there, but I wasn't looking for one either.
Bahnhof.de doesn't show lockers and probably would if there were some.
I suspect that the bus would allow backpacks unless they were very large. You would not expect Burg Eltz to allow backpacks on the tour, but they might have a Garderobe (check room) where you could leave them.
Also note that, according to the Bahn schedule website, the "Bus" to Burg Eltz is a Rufbus (literally Call Bus). It does not routinely run the route unless you call a number (0261-29670388, according to the Bahn) in Germany at least 60 minutes in advance to reserve it. I would not assume that the person answering will speak English.
Ken had luck with a taxi from Hatzenport.
Posted by
Paradise
6632 posts
There are no lockers in T-K. If you are arriving by train from Koblenz there are lockers there. Same in Trier on the other end of the Mosel. Castle bus schedule is here:
Posted by
OP
28 posts
Thank you for this information. It is very helpful. We were tentatively thinking we would tour Burg Eltz and then catch a Mosel river cruise from Moselkern to Cochem. We are booked in a hotel in Cochem for that night. Now re-thinking the plan as time may not allow both activities in one day.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
A couple of years ago, I got off the train at Moselkern spur of the moment (headed for Cochem) to hike up to the castle, as the weather forecast was due to get worse. It's about a 45 min hike from there, which I had planned to do the next day. Anyway - it was also a Sunday, and the hotel mentioned in the RIck Steves book that would supposedly store luggage for hikers was not open. So, I improvised: I found a bar that was open and asked if they would keep for me. They happily obliged. They also wouldn't take any money when I got back. I wanted to stay and have a meal but didn't have time, so I just bought an ice cream as I left.
If you can't hike up from Moselkern and need to take the bus, I can understand that. But other than the incline up, it's a super easy hike.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
The Bahn website (bahn.de) has a page for the Rufbus in Südbaden (south Baden-Württemberg). It says,
Our call buses operate according to the regular timetable and stop at the usual stops - but
only if timely booking at least 60 minutes before departure!
However, Verkehrverbund Rhein-Mosel (VRM), the transit district that runs the bus to Burg Eltz, only says that, for that bus, groups must call the number to "register" (and presumably get a bigger bus).
Gruppen bis 15:00 Uhr am vorherigen Werktag Tel.: 0261 / 2967 0388 anmelden
So does the Bahn notation mean that they run a small bus regularly to Burg Eltz unless a group registers for the trip? I don't know.
Posted by
Paradise
6632 posts
There is only one KD cruise boat per day between Cochem and Moselkern - at 13:00. This is not a popular cruise segment. To get the Burgenbus to Moselkern in time for that you would have to be finished with your Burg Eltz tour and at the Burg Eltz bus stop prior to 12:35 - and even then you arrive 12:54 in Moselkern. Seems VERY snug. AND you would have to be in Treis-Karden by 9:10 to catch the first bus up as well.
Your best plan is probably to travel straight to Cochem, drop bags at your hotel, and catch the train to Treis-Karden after that. It's only 7-8 train minutes by train, after all.
If you want a nice Mosel river cruise, take one the next day out of Cochem and cruise to Beilstein. There are 5 boats per day. See schedule at bottom left on page 2 of this flyer (Schiffsausflug nach Beilstein.)
https://www.moselrundfahrten.de/files/moselfahrplan_cochem_2018.pdf
Posted by
OP
28 posts
Thank you SO much for all this information. It is very helpful. I was thinking we were too tight on time for both activities. It would be fun to hike up to the castle. Your suggestion of a Mosel cruise out of Cochem is a good one.
Posted by
OP
28 posts
I emailed Burg Eltz regarding luggage storage and received the reply below. I thought I would share in case anyone else is trying to figure out how to coordinate luggage.
Thanks for all the help.
From Burg Eltz:
You can hand in your luggage once you are at Eltz Castle. We do not have any lockers or a luggage room but you can leave your bags at the castellan's office where there is no access for unauthorized persons.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2331 posts
Also note that, according to the Bahn schedule website, the "Bus" to Burg Eltz is a Rufbus (literally Call Bus). It does not routinely run the route unless you call a number (0261-29670388, according to the Bahn) in Germany at least 60 minutes in advance to reserve it.
The topic of the putative "Rufbus" on workdays has already been discussed here. It is a wrong entry in the DB database. The phone # actually refers to a Rufbus in the town of Wittlich (60 km away). Burg Eltz is served by the well-known bus 330 and only on weekends (and don't be fooled: if you look for that bus for a Friday at bahn.com, then there seems to pop up a connection but that one is valid for Saturday; i.e. the next available bus is shown.)