One Day to Explore the Mosel Valley

When we drove the Mosel, we stopped in Bielstein, Cochem, and Moselkern to park and walk through the forest up to Burg Eltz. It was a delightful day !

Beilstein is a cute, little (with emphasis on little) town. After an hour, you've seen everything.

Unless you just want to hike, in which case there are many other opportunities, there is no reason to stop in Moselkern and walk to Burg Eltz. You can drive to the parking lot above the castle.

You might also want to visit Bernkastel, which is "ground zero" for Riesling or Zell, where you can see the statue of the famous Zeller Schwarzkatz.

About the only thing of significance in Cochem is a late 19th century reconstruction of an earlier castle that was destroyed by the French. It's hardly historical as it was rebuilt, not as a castle, but as a chateau for a wealthy Berlin businessman.

Note the itinerary for the GAS tour includes a drive along the Mosel to Burg Eltz, including a lunch stop in Beilstein.

I think you need to be careful about your plans on Day 1 in Germany. Are you arriving at FRA after an overnight transatlantic flight? And driving on that same day to Trier via the Mosel valley villages? Oh, my, you will spend hours and hours in the car that day as you drive all the windy curves along the Mosel, if that is the case. And you will have little time for sightseeing.

And you will very likely be drowsy, jet-lagged, or just plain tired - not one of these is good for driving.

I suggest you take the train to somewhere interesting en route to Trier on Day 1 and stay there. The next day you can proceed to Trier for your 4 pm tour meeting.

Mainz (near FRA) is a good option. Bacharach (Middle Rhine Valley) or St. Goar would be good too (take a river cruise past all the castles - your tour sadly skips this pleasure.) Cochem on the Mosel is a good suggestion as well.

Actually, Cochem is an especially nice place - beautiful setting, lovely old town center, nice walks.
http://www.der-takt.de/typo3temp/_processed_/csm_NEU_T_Reichsburg_Cochem_3_087e83a8d1.jpg

You can take an afternoon cruise from Cochem to Beilstein if you want - about 1 hour each way.

Reichsburg is not medieval but that doesn't mean it's not historical:
https://www.german-way.com/travel-and-tourism/germany-for-tourists/castles-and-palaces/cochem-castle/

Just TAKE THE TRAIN to whatever town you choose, relax, see the sights, and adjust your inner clocks with your feet on the ground. It's very easy to do. And it's very scenic as the train follows both the Rhine and Mosel rivers (if you route yourself properly via Koblenz.)
http://www.zughalt.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DB11321.jpg

Then catch a train the next day to Trier. You have plenty of time to get there prior to 4 pm.

"Note the itinerary for the GAS tour includes a drive along the Mosel to Burg Eltz, including a lunch stop in Beilstein. "

Hi, Stan. Are you a former tour participant? I'd very much like to know the actual route or what part(s) of the Mosel River the bus actually follows, if you know.

My husband and I are going on the GAS tour Sept 26. We will also be arriving in Trier a day early. We are considering taking a casual bike ride along the Mosel. We are not serious cyclists, although we are in decent physical shape and enjoy the outdoors. I'm not sure if the area around Trier is scenic enough to warrant maybe a 5-10 mile bike ride. As one of the previous poster stated, we also need to take into account fatigue and jet lag. Our other thought is to take a boat ride along the Mosel. It looks like there is one that goes from Trier to Bernkastel-Kue, which looks like a very nice town. Again, that may be too ambitious for our first day. Has anyone ever done either of those activities?

Russ, yes we did GAS in 2014. If you look at a map of the area, you'll see the relative locations of Trier, Beilstein and Burg Eltz. The excursion was a day trip and its not that far. I believe the bus followed the highway nearest the river, via Cochem. The river wasn't always in view, if thats what you're thinking. There were only the two stops - Beilstein and the castle. I'm sure it would be more scenic cruising on the river, but that was enough for us. Beilstein is right on the river, and was well worth the visit.