Rheinland-Pfalz ticket ?

Day 1 Koln to Cochem

This could be a 2 hr trip using long-distance trains between Cologne and Koblenz; best possible price is a pre-purchased €38 saver fare which locks in your long-distance train, but no way to say for sure w/out your travel DATE. You can check DB. Otherwise it's either €52 on regional trains only for the Quer durchs Land ticket day pass (after 9 am) or €44 for the Happy Weekend Ticket on the regional trains (Sat or Sun, any hour.) Buy these in Cologne at a ticket machine. If you use a schedule with two RE trains for this trip, you'll get to Cochem almost as quickly as with the long-distance option.

Day 2 Cockem to Moselkern round trip (Eltz)

€4.70 VRM fare, buy from ticket machine, per person, each direction.

Day 3 Cochem to St Goar (drop off luggage at hotel) then to Bacharach &/or Oberwesel and back to St Goar

If the trip includes Bacharach: Rheinland-Pfalz ticket, €29/2, observe after 9 am rule on weekdays, buy at station from ticket machine. If it's only as far south as Oberwesel: VRM mini-group ticket, €22.10, observe after 9 am rule on weekdays.

Day 4 St Goar to Bingen ,to get KC boat & off at St Goarshausen then train to Braubach (round trip) then ferry back to St Goar

Rheinland-Pfalz Ticket for 2, €29. Buy at ticket machine, observe after 9 am rule weekdays. Covers St. Goar ferry also. Does not cover cruise but gets you a 20% cruise discount at the KD dock so your cruise fare is €16 each

Day 5 every early train St Goar to Frankfurt airport

€39 normal DB fare/2 for regional trains, buy at St. Goar ticket machine. 6:19 is normally the earliest train. Check for your date. If that's not early enough, you can get to Mainz with your previously-purchased R-P ticket the night of Day 4 and stay there. Then it's just 25 minutes to FRA on Day 5 on the S-Bahn, about €5 each, with trains leaving around 4-5 am if need be. Just leave your bags at your St. Goar hotel and fetch them in the pm of Day 4 in this case before catching a train to Mainz. This might not be a bad plan in the first place given that you are replacing the €39 fare with a €10 fare.

Day 1 (weekday): If you can't get a lower price on a Savings Fare ticket, you should be able to purchase a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket from a Bahn automat at the Köln Hbf, 29 euro for two. Bonn Hbf (even though it's in Nordrhein-Westfalen) is a border station for the RL-P-Ticket and it is valid from there to Cochem. Then buy a VRS Preisstufe 4 ticket for two at 7,80 euro per person. That will take you from Köln Hbf to Bonn Hbf. Total 44,60 euro, a little less than the 52 euro for a QdLT.

On day 4 the train we hoping to take leaves St Goar at 8:56 and arrives at Bingen Stadt at 9:36. The boat leaves at 10:30.
How can I make this work? Not get the Rheinland-Pfalz or take a later boat? How strict is the not before 9am thing?

The train stops at Oberwesel at 9:01, so just buy individual tickets from St Goar to Oberwesel plus the R-P ticket. Then you will be legal all the way.

dwest: Sam's suggestion will work but I don't think you need to do that or spend any extra €s... I don't think you need the R-P ticket...

When I suggested the R-P Ticket for Day 4, your thought of "ferrying" back to St. Goar made me think you were using the St. Goar Ferry to cross from Goarshausen to St. Goar. But reading closer, I see that you are NOT using the train to return to St. Goarshausen prior to that, and NOT using the ferry (the two of which, in addition to the other trains would have been a wash vs. the R-P Ticket.) You are in fact riding the KD CRUISE BOAT back to St. Goar from Braubach, correct?

If so, let me retract the suggestion that you buy the R-P pass. You don't need it in the first place. The only train tickets you need are as follows:

• St. Goar - Bingen (€6.50 ea.)
• St. Goarshausen - Braubach (€4.70 ea.)

Buy these tickets at the stations in St. Goar and in St. Goarshausen and travel on any local/regional train you like at any hour of the day. The R-P ticket would cost more.

KD cruise boats: you could either buy...

• two one-way fares (Bingen to St. Goarshausen; Braubach to St. Goar) or...

• A round trip to Braubach from Bingen (and forfeit the unused parts.)

Off the top of my head, I don't know which is cheaper. Check the flyer. Page 8: https://www.k-d.com/fileadmin/kataloge/KD_Timetable_intern_2017.pdf

Remember to present your St. Goar - Bingen train ticket at the KD kiosk for a 20% cruise discount.

Even though your cruise plans mean you are covering fewer kms than a one-way trip between Bingen and Braubach, I don't think they'll allow you to use a one-way ticket to Braubach in TWO different directions. But it never hurts to ask.

Day 4 St Goarshausen to Braubach would be train round trip & then ferry from St Goarshausen to St Goar
But now to get around the after 9 am thing and also play it by ear depending on the weather we will do the following
Day 3 Cochem to St Goar (drop off bags) train to Bingen for later KD boat, off boat at St Goar & explore surrounding towns
Day 4 ferry across river then train to Marksburg and more exploring area towns (Bacharach & Oberwessel)
So buying a R-P tickets for both day 3 & 4 would be best?
Spending a few dollars more is not bad, I just don't want to spend double. Thanks for all your help

Now that I understand them, I don't see a problem with keeping your previous plans for Day 3 and 4. In fact, I think those might work a little better than your new plan.

Day 4:
TRAIN: St. Goar - Bingen (€6.50 ea.) - if you want, you could even leave early and catch the 9:30 boat (good idea if it's gonna be a hot day) to St. Goarshausen - something you could not do if you were doing the cruise on Day 3 and starting out from Cochem. (Another option - the 9:30 boat goes all the way to Braubach (12:20) and deposits you there in time for the 1 pm tour in English - the cruise will be roughly twice as expensive, however.)

Once you step off in St. G'hausen... it's after 9 am and you can use the VRM mini-group ticket (€22.10) to cover the rest:
TRAIN: St. Goarshausen - Braubach (only if you got off in St. G'hausen, of course.)
TRAIN: Braubach - St. Goarshausen
FERRY to St. Goar

Or what about another routing? The same mini-group ticket would allow you to return to St. Goar by train via Koblenz, stopping over in Boppard (a very nice old town north of St. Goar with a chairlift ride to a lookout, and a great selection of places to get a meal - better than St. Goar's dining options for sure.)

http://home.kpn.nl/JLKampen1961/alb/Rome/Pauze%20in%20Boppard.jpg
http://schnuggel-elsje.de/upload/Bilder/IMG_0131.JPG
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2769/4245012678_95c5c8b305_o.jpg
https://www.boppard-tourismus.de/45-1-Sessellift.html
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2769/4245012678_95c5c8b305_o.jpg
http://ext.pimg.tw/samlucky5711/1379089584-1923285561.jpg?v=1379089585
Römerburg: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Boppard_Weinhaus_R%C3%B6merburg.JPG
Severus-Stuben: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/e0/0b/ce/severus-stuben.jpg

With either of these options, your ground transport is just €35 total for two for the day. A few €'s more than the R-P but nowhere near double.

And now, your Day 3 is freed up for St. Goar, Bacharach and Oberwesel. The Rheinland-Pfalz ticket covers it all from Cochem onward.

Thanks Russ, now I have some options.