Rhine Area--Town to Stay Im

I stayed in the Rhine area in 2022 and originally had booked a place in Bacharach. But I ultimately decided that it was too small and so I canceled my booking and booked at the Bellevue Rheinhotel in Boppard.

I really enjoyed my stay there. It’s a very convenient location, and the hotel was lovely and sat right on the river. The train station was a short walk away and you were very near the center of town. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.

As for the cruise, you missed the best part on your last visit. The truly scenic segment is Bingen to St Goar:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ca/e1/50/cae1500f42cf03c44bea2da512d659a0.jpg

Mainz is not where you should be if you are looking for nice scenery. It's a great place for most people to spend maybe a day and night if you are flying out of FRA - it's only 20-25 train minutes to FRA airport - but you aren't interested in its main attractions (churches and museums) so maybe just a night there.

Bacharach is a beautiful town. It has some nice hikes but there's not that much to do right in town. Riverfront accommodations aren't possible like they are in St Goar and certain other towns.

If you would like to do a cruise and just bop around to different old-world towns in the area, I think mardee's suggestion - Boppard - is a pretty good one. Bacharach and Oberwesel to the south are on the same train line and good for exploring on foot. Another Rhine town, across the river from Boppard and to the north, is also quite attractive for strolling around - Braubach:

https://delveintoeurope.com/braubach-germany/

Boppard has several waterfront hotels, some wine venues and a nice collection of restaurants as well. One establishment. Gedeonseck, is high on the clifftops above town. Take the Boppard chairlift up and back and enjoy the views.

Boppard chairlift: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198627-d3306006-Reviews-Sesselbahn_in_Boppard-Boppard_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Heilig Grab wine garden, in town: https://www.deutschlandgourmet.info/bilder/gross/5710-Restaurant-Weinhaus-Heilig-Grab-Boppard.jpg

Gedeonseck: https://s3-media1.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/T9oxNMwLvt_-r5nCsce-jg/o.jpg

Boppard is a good springboard for outings. The ferry crossing connects you to the railway on the opposite bank with a short walk into Filsen. From Filsen, Braubach, mentioned above, is only a few minutes on the train. Or you can just take the train from Boppard station to Braubach (change trains in Koblenz.)

It sounds like you have NOT visited the Mosel Valley. That is also an option from Boppard. Old-world wine towns like Winningen and Cochem are accessible by train from a Boppard base (also with a change in Cochem) as are other Mosel villages:

https://www.mosel-inside.de/en/travel-guide/mosel-villages.html

Another reason to settle in Boppard: the VRM Guest Ticket, which comes with your room at no charge in Boppard and provides free transportation around the area:
https://www.boppard-tourismus.de/en/accommodation/

Any of the towns are fine to stay in. You will be using it as a base to explore the region. You can explore any of the towns in under a day. I would find a hotel that suits you and stay there. If you think using your Hyatt points is a good value, then I would strongly consider staying in Mainz. I personally would rather stay in a more local, traditional German accomodation (which I do inexpensively) and save the points for a ‘big city’ stay.

I think Mainz is a great place to stay as there is a lot to see and do there, the train station offers the possibility to easily visit other towns along the Rhein, both north and south, as well a visit to Frankfurt. The city has a lot of museums, and a very long history, (Roman, Jewish, Holy Roman Empire) that might be of interest.

In 2023 we stayed in Bacharach. It is small and doesn’t take long to see. Fortunately we had a rental car and didn’t need to depend on public transportation. On another trip we stayed in Wiesbaden and also had a rental car.

the day trip on the Rhine that we took from St. Goar actually ended in
Bingen.

If that was the cruise, then there's no need to fuss with the cruise during your stay.

I plan to look at places to stay in Boppard... Not sure how that changes things...

With 3 nights there... Your first day might best be spent just in Boppard. Walk the town, take the chairlift? The views up there from Gedeonseck are terrific, and there's a short trail you can take for more views as well.

• From FRA: look for one of the DIRECT RE trains to Boppard, which run every 2 hours and will make the logistics of getting there as simple as possible. In between those RE trains are other departures which require you to change trains, often in Mainz, along the way. You should not purchase advance tickets for this trip.

• Day 2: Suggest you visit some Rhine towns... Bacharach and Braubach would be at the top of my list.

• Day 3: Venture up the Mosel River to Cochem, take a river cruise to Beilstein and back? A stop in Winningen could be nice as well.

Transportation on days 2&3 will be covered by the free Guest Ticket you get for staying in Boppard, with one small exception; you will need a DB ticket for two (€7.40) for the Oberwesel > Bacharach track segment, which the Guest Ticket doesn't cover; and you need the same ticket for that same stretch of track again when you return back north to Boppard and Braubach.

Boppard > Heidelberg logistics:

The best journeys on the current DB schedule take 2hrs. 18 minutes and require ONE change of train in Mainz. These trains also run every 2 hours from Boppard (7:12, 9:16, 11:16 as of now) using the RE train as far as Mainz, where you switch to the IC train to Heidelberg Hbf. You will definitely want to pre-purchase this ticket at the DB site for savings since the journey includes a long-distance train (IC = Intercity.) The price may be around €40/2 adults if bought well in advance, around €110 if you were to buy on the day of travel.

Based on the helpful advice shared here, I think Boppard seems like the best option for us so I am now asking for recommendations for hotels in Boppard with these factors to assist in choosing a suitable property:

Preferences:
--easy access to and from train station--we always travel with only carry on luggage
--we are seniors but reasonably mobile. We don't mind walking shorter distances but a lot of steps can be challenging, especially with wheeled carryon bags
--Price range somewhat flexible but would like to spend between 100 EU and 200 EU--less expensive is always a plus!
--prefer an area where we can easily walk to restaurants for dinner and shops to browse in
--breakfast included--again not a deal breaker but we often love hotel breakfasts in Europe and Asia and struggle to find a restaurant outside of the hotel with the variety and selection that we like.. My husband is diabetic so protein in the morning is much better for him than just cappuccino and pastries (even though they are often amazing)
--views are a plus but not an essential. Cleanliness is essential but that has never been an issue in any of the hotels where we have stayed in Europe

Thank you for your help! Mary