Rhine help needed -Koblenz base

Yes, I would take the train to Bingen, then travel by boat. Be aware that the boat is not a Hop-on-hop-off. If you get off the boat, you have to buy another ticket to get back on. That was our experience last year when we travelled from Bacharach, got off in St.Goar, then got back on to continue to Boppard. BTW, Boppard is an excellent base for the area, if you’re not locked in to Koblenz. Lovely promenade along the river with nice hotels and restaurants, plenty of shops, cute half timbered buildings.

We’ve visited Burg Rheinfels a couple times. I highly recommend Marksburg castle if you’d like to visit an intact castle. We really enjoyed our tour last year. Burg Eltz is great as well.

There are various VRM transport passes. Whether or not they will save any money over just buying ticket will depend on how many trips you take. Since the VRM district only goes as far as Bacharach, you would need supplement tickets to get to Bingen Stadt to get the K-D boat, but your train ticket gives you a discount on your K-D ticket.

If you stayed in Boppard instead of Koblenz, your VRM tickets would be included in your stay. Not to mention it would be closer to all your sites you are interested in.

https://www.vrminfo.de/en/

PS. VRM = Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel, aka Rhine-Mosel Transit Authority.

Do I need to prebook the KD boat cruise or should there be plenty of availability?

Bingen is the 2nd stop heading north. You should not have to pre-book and there should be plenty of availability.

Koblenz is a great base for exploring the Mosel as well. Many folks on here recommend Cochem. Burg Eltz is about an hour hike from one of the train stops along the Mosel.

I highly recommend Marksburg castle if you’d like to visit an intact castle.

We were there last month and would recommend it as well. There's an English speaking tour at 1pm during the summer season. Not sure if early Sept qualifies as summer though.

Rather than Bingen, I would take the train down the other side of the Rhein to Rüdesheim. Easy to get to the dock, you could explore a little bit before the ship leaves and you get better seats, as the ship then goes across the river to Bingen. I have taken this trip dozens and dozens of times and when the folks get on in Bingen, all the good places to sit up on the deck are taken.
Alternative is to take the ship the other direction, getting on in St. Goar or St. Goarshausen. Yes, it is slower, but you could take the train back to Koblenz from Bingen, and get off at the towns you want to visit. There aren't many ships a day, so getting off and hoping to get back on one may be difficult.

I'd argue the most scenic river trip you could do from Koblenz is up the Moselle. Wider valley, more castles, better wine. Compare Cochem or Traben Trarbach to St Goar and you'll see why. You should also take a look at the status of Rhinefels; it's been covered in scaffolding for over a month.

While in Koblenz you should take the time to ride the sielbahn up to Fortress Ehrenbreitstein. Try to time your tour so you can watch the sunset from the walls.

Do I need to prebook the KD boat cruise?

No. Doing that will not get you a better price or a better seat, or the guarantee of a seat at all. Nor will you receive a full refund if you change your mind. Pre-purchase helps only the K-D company. You can get a 20% cruise discount by showing your TRAIN ticket - the one you will use to reach your cruise start point - at the K-D dock.

Is there a certain train pass that is recommended for the area?

THIS DAY PASS (The "Rheinland-Pfalz Ticket") covers a much larger area than just the Koblenz - Rüdesheim area. It is valid for everything on the map below, so you could use it to visit Mainz, Bacharach, Rüdesheim, Cochem, Trier, Burg Eltz, and other destinations too. Price = €35/day/2 adults for all the train trips you can fit into one day:

https://www.mobiregio.net/fileadmin/mobiregio/pdf/DB-Netz%20Rlp-Saarland.pdf

The cruise between Bingen (or Rüdesheim, across the river) and St Goar (or St Goarshausen, across the river) covers the most scenic part. Here's a map of the must-cruise zone.

I would expect your week to be a fairly busy one. Temperatures look pretty warm over that time. I suggest getting an early start on a morning boat. Jo had an idea - that you board in St. Goar or St. Goarshausen and cruise south from there. This might be a good plan for you. There is a daily 10:45 boat from St Goar which reaches Bingen at 13:35 (or Rüdesheim at 13:50.) So with the R-P ticket, you could take the 9:30 TRAIN from Koblenz Hbf to St. Goar (arrive 9:55) which gives you plenty of time to pick up your tickets in St. Goar and to line up at the dock for good seating. This boat will have just finished its northbound trip and will turn around for its southbound run, dumping off its one-way passengers in St Goarshausen and St. Goar, which should leave plenty of room for the two of you on your southbound cruise.

After your cruise, the same R-P train ticket will take you anywhere you want to go in the afternoon and get you back to Koblenz at any time you wish.

You can buy the R-P Ticket at the Hbf station in Koblenz or using the app. If you have to use the bus to reach the Koblenz station, it too will be covered by the R-P ticket, and it is possible to buy the ticket from the bus driver.

Hop On/Off ticketing issues aside, these boats are IMHO not frequent enough to be regarded as a bus service. We saved some time by enjoying a sausage and beer lunch aboard.

You have excellent answers. I would emphasize how much faster even the most local train is than the boat. Your train will be the speediest part of your day, no matter where you are sleeping. I always feel some stress at a ticket machine in an unstaffed rail station, but our trains went fine. I found the Bingen-Boppard scenery nicer than the more pastoral Mosel.

We liked Koblenz fine, but could not (10 years ago) find an attractive enough hotel.

KGC writes, I'd argue the most scenic river trip you could do from Koblenz is up the Moselle. Wider valley, more castles, better wine.

Maybe I am underinformed or am misunderstanding, but AFAIK there are no companies that offer scheduled day cruises from Koblenz up the Mosel, at least not any further than Winningen - and I don't think you can see any castles between Koblenz and Winningen. Most cruising takes place upstream from Cochem (which is half way up the Mosel to Trier) and continues to Bernkastel. Also, it's always been my understanding that the narrowest part of the Rhine is wider than the widest part of the Mosel.

The appeal of different wines and river scenery is of course very personal. The Mosel does have a very different, more peaceful mood about it, IMO, but I find it hard to say which is more attractive. Love 'em both, and I wouldn't turn down a glass of wine from either.

@KGC: Maybe you can clear up my confusion over those other comments on the Mosel?

I would take the train down the other side of the Rhein to Rüdesheim. Easy to get to the dock, you could explore a little bit before the ship leaves and you get better seats

Having just done this trip starting in Rudesheim, I wouldn't worry too much about getting a good seat. I was constantly walking from side to side taking pictures and taking in the sites despite having my pick of seats up top. Furthermore, not a whole lotta people got on at Rudesheim with me, so there were plenty of good seats available once we crossed the river to Bingen. Plus folks will move between decks often if they get too cold up top. Yes, even in late July on a warm morning, the top level proved to be a bit too cool for some folks.