2 - use the train, not the boat, for the stops.

Want to have a castle ruin probably all to yourself ? Burg StahlBERG above the Bacharach suburb of Steeg

On the second day we plan on taking the train to Bingen or Rudesheim

It's a direct train trip of 30 minutes to Bingen from Boppard. 15 minutes to Oberwesel +5 to Bacharach + 10 to Bingen, if you stop over in the 2 towns on the way, on the RE trains. This is how I would plan my day - using a later boat to return north.

A train trip from Boppard to Rüdesheim takes 100 minutes via Koblenz. (Or you can cross on the Boppard ferry, walk into Filsen, timing your 15-minute walk to the station to coincide with a southbound train, 1 per hour at :13 after, then spend 40 minutes on the train to Rüdesheim. Not sure how long it would take but at least 60 minutes.)

Getting off the train on the way means so I am
hesitant about this.

If you want to see Rüdesheim, then cruise, that will take time of course, just as seeing Bacharach and/or Oberwesel does, so you will be taking a later boat if you do it like this too.

I don't understand the problem with a later boat. But if you prefer an early boat, just take the direct train to Bingen Rhein Stadt station from Boppard. Then get off in Bacharach and/or Oberwesel and hop back on according to the dictates of the boat schedule. Do you plan on taking the earliest boat (9:15) from Bingen? That puts you in Bacharach at 10; lv Bacharach at 12:00 on boat #2, ar Oberwesel 12:20; lv Oberwesel 15:35 on boat #3, ar. St Goar 16:10. So hopping off for these stopovers by boat puts you on "later boats" and pins you down in each town for a fixed length of time - if you hop off by train on the way to Bingen, there is greater flexibility to come and go when you wish since trains stop by every half hour.

Stopping off by boat requires you to get your cruise tickets marked by KD boat personnel before getting off. Other cruise companies may or may not permit hopping off.

Day 3: Add Cochem to your day. Reichsburg Castle is right there in town, and besides tours in english, it has a fabulous view of the Mosel Valley. Dropping the hike and using the connecting bus from Hatzenport to Burg Eltz may be faster. Check DB schedule to/from "Burg Eltz, Wierschem"

I did enjoy the 365 bus ride to Burg Eltz from Hatzenport—its was a lovely scenic ride up to the castle. The bus takes you up into the hills through some very pretty winding roads. And it would give you some extra time, although of course, hiking up to the castle would also be wonderful.

Very helpful Russ, Mardee and Stephen, thanks so much. I did plan on hopping on and off the train to Bingen then I keep seeing posts to get an early boat but of course hopping off the boat leaves us with a later boat anyway.

I think we would enjoy the 5km hike to Burg Eltz but maybe we will take the bus there or back.

Burg Stahlberg and no crowds sound intriguing.

Thanks again.

We are hoping to see Bacharach and Oberwesel

We visited both last year and I would say if you're pressed for time, skip Oberwesel. A fine little town but felt like a smaller Bacharach.

what else I could be adding like Siegfrieds Musical Cabinet in Rudesheim

Rudesheim has its own chairlift that I would highly recommend. It's possible to do the chairlift, take a short hike around the Niederwald Monument, then take a different chairlift down to Assmannshausen where I'm pretty sure you can catch the KD cruise.

If you're in St. Gaor, I'd recommend a meal at Restaurant zur Krone

I'm a hiking guy. I enjoyed the hike to and from Burg Eltz. Maybe more than the castle. Not that the hike is something drop-dead, stunningly gorgeous. But it is a nice hike. Especially when the castle starts to appear through the trees. My friend and I added Cochem to our daytrip to Burg Eltz and found it worthwhile, but we did not have time to visit the castle there due to dinner reservations in Winningen at a restaurant with outdoor seating with a view of the railroard tracks. I also like trains.

Also... a second vote for the Niederwalddenkmal. It is indeed impressive.

To get to Marksburg Castle, is it easy enough to coordinate the ferry and train from Boppard or best to train to Koblenz then on to Braubach?

**Burg Eltz:" You might...

• Take the train + change to bus in Hatzenport to get there.

• After the tour, take the hiking trail (downhill) to Moselkern and catch your train from Moselkern station to Cochem (or straight back to Koblenz/Boppard if you have no other plans for the Mosel that day.)

The downhill hike will take a smaller toll on you than an uphill hike (or hiking both ways) if the weather is hot (as it has been.)

Rüdesheim:

A worthwhile town despite being very touristy and often crowded, but as explained it requires some time to get there and time to do things like the lifts, the hiking, etc. Not sure it's worth trying to fit in from a Boppard base, however, especially since Boppard has a great chairlift (with the best river views IMHO) as well as some nice walks once you are at the upper lift station. Gedeonseck Terrace cafe/restaurant is near the upper lift station, a great spot to enjoy the views.

If you do find time for Rüdesheim somehow, understand that the lift from town is a cable car / gondola. The lift that connects to Assmannshausen from the hilltop above R'heim is a chairlift. See this page with the cartoon pics and information.

Oberwesel: worthwhile options...

• The Liebfrauenkirche near the station: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198501-d6854221-Reviews-Liebfrauenkirche-Oberwesel_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

There are also a couple of things here that both involve walking.

• The old town fortifications: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198501-d2189241-Reviews-City_Fortifications-Oberwesel_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

• The Günderodehaus: an uphill hike at the north end of town through some vineyards. The building was once the film set for a much beloved TV series called "Heimat" or Homeland.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198501-d12125686-Reviews-Gunderodehaus_Filmhaus_HEIMAT_3-Oberwesel_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Here's the trail.

"We are slow travellers interested in history, culture..."

If you have a genuine interest in Germany's culture and history in the early 1900's, this part of Germany (the Hunsrück region) is depicted in the Heimat Series. It may be available online, possibly without subtitles??, but it's available at Amazon with subtitles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimat_(film_series)

https://www.amazon.com/Heimat-Chronicle-Germany-Henry-Arnold/dp/B0009ZE944

Have you considered doing the Rhine cruise on the day you leave Boppard (Aug. 1?) That might be a reasonable way to free up your time on the other 3 days for things like R'heim, Cochem/Reichsburg, etc.

...is it easy enough to coordinate the ferry and train from Boppard...

You have the rail schedules at DB. To compare the trips you would need the ferry schedule to see how the times match up. Crossing time is roughly 5-10 minutes. Plus it's a walk of 1 km from the ferry across from Boppard to the station in Filsen.

Ferries depart on the half hour from Boppard, on the quarter hour from Filsen:

http://www.faehre-boppard.de/richtzeiten/

Thanks so much for all of this info, very much appreciated.

If you are in Rüdesheim, then Siegfrieds Musical Cabinet is a fun treat. Very unique. I like the gondola ride going up and returning. Have walked to the 2nd ride down into Assmanshausen, but prefer the RT on the Rüdesheim gondola.

Eltville itself is beautiful, and the bus ride from there to Eberbach takes you through gorgeous scenery as well as the town of Kiedrich which has the church - St. Valentines. Eberbach Monastery doesn't get a lot of press on this forum, but for me it is a must see if you are on the Rhein, far more than many of the other popular stops. The basilica is huge and stunning.

If you are in St. Goar, please include the church next to the train station. Newly renovated, the wall and ceiling paintings are stunning.

Such great info and recommendations, I am still reviewing it all and thanks again.

What if we just took the KD Cruise from Boppard to Bacharach then trained back? I know some folks say it’s too slow going in that direction however we are not in any rush and we could end in Bacarach for lunch. We could easily get to Rhinefels Castle another day from Boppard or even on the way back on the cruise day. Thoughts?

For Burg Eltz I am thinking of taking the bus/shuttle from Hatzenport to the castle then hiking back and spending some time in Cochem as suggested then train back to Boppard. We want to hike at least one way.

For Marksburg Castle I am considering the ferry from Boppard to Filsen then a taxi from Filsen to the castle. Cost is about €30. Has anyone done this?

Sadly I don’t think we will make it to Rudesheim this trip but I appreciate the recommendations.

What if we just took the KD Cruise from Boppard to Bacharach then trained back?

This plan for cruising skips 50% of the most scenic part of the Rhine Gorge (Bacharach > Bingen.) Seems a shame to miss that part.

(Some of Rick Steves' materials in fact advocate doing a cruise segment like the one you suggested, which covers only the sights from Bacharach northward. Perhaps you picked up the idea of ending the cruise in Bacharach from him. But there is a good reason that the cruise companies choose to begin and end their services in Bingen/Rüdesheim - and as I read the consensus on this forum, members tend to agree that the southern end of the Rhine Gorge offers essential scenery for any Rhine cruise.)

Rheinfels Castle is reported to be under construction now and either mostly inaccessible or closed.

For Marksburg Castle I am considering the ferry from Boppard to Filsen then a taxi from Filsen to the castle. Cost is about €30. Has anyone done this?

I have not done so and can't see why I would. If you prefer not to walk the 1 km into Filsen for the train ride to Braubach, you can get to Braubach in two different ways...

1) Train > Koblenz + Train > Braubach (free with your VRM Guest Card)
2) K-D cruise > Braubach (10:15 - 10:45. €16.) Return by train via Koblenz (free again.)

Thanks so much Russ for all your help. So now I am planning the KD cruise from Boppard to Bingen at 11 then train back with a stop in Bacarach and possibly also Oberwesel on the way. How does that sound?

Thanks for the heads up about Rheinfels.

I think we will do either the KD to Baubrach or the train via Koblenz as you suggested.

Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions and recommendations including the recommended restaurants.

As long as you are OK with the details of this outing, I am as well.

Once you reach Bingen (15:00) you can walk either to the Bingen Rhein Stadt station (upstream from the dock, the same direction your cruise boat has been traveling, and the closest station) or to the Bingen Rhein Hbf station (downstream) for your train to Bacharach. The train journey between Oberwesel and Boppard is covered by your VRM Guest Tickets. The train journey between Bingen and Oberwesel is NOT. Don't buy a ticket to Bacharach, though... You need to buy a Bingen > Oberwesel train ticket to cover the whole uncovered track segment. Buy the ticket anytime you like using the DB app, or a ticket machine at Boppard station that morning, or at the station of your choice in Bingen, but you must have the ticket prior to boarding your train that afternoon.

From Bingen Hbf the fare is €7.50 each. From Bingen Rhein Stadt, €8.70.

The Ticket will permit you to stopover in Bacharach and of course Oberwesel as well on the way, for whatever period of time you wish. Just make sure you use it only on regional trains (No ICE or IC trains!, which occasionally appear at the Hbf station.)

Thanks Russ, so very helpful. I think that’s what we will do. Thanks for all your valuable info, cheers.

I did not read all the replies.. but getting to Rudesheim was a little bit challenging (we also stayed in Boppard) so we just picked up the boat in Bingen to go back up to Boppard. But since it was the second stop, the boat was already packed, so if I had to do it over, I would make the effort to get to Rudesheim to get on first and get a good spot outside. :)

I would also leave early and stop at St. Goar on the way down by train. Also be aware that the free pass from Boppard hotel does not go all the way to Bingen - we did not know and got in trouble on the train, but the guy just said don't do it next time! And the trains there were all SUPER LATE every route and every day... I was a bit surprised by that.

We also rented bikes in Boppard on a different day and rode down to St Goar and Oberwesel on another day.
https://www.rentabikeboppard.com. We emailed in advance - I thought there would be more bikes around the Rhine but not so much.

There was a fun biergarten too we went to a couple of times. https://www.das-ebertor.de/biergarten

Have fun!
Kim

...getting to Rudesheim was a little bit challenging (we also stayed in
Boppard) so we just picked up the boat in Bingen to go back up to
Boppard. But since it was the second stop, the boat was already
packed, so if I had to do it over, I would make the effort to get to
Rudesheim to get on first and get a good spot outside. :)

Note to other Rhine cruisers who stay in Boppard:

It does take some time to reach Rüdesheim for anyone staying on the west bank (Bacharach, Oberwesel, St Goar, Boppard) so most people choose to leave from Bingen (that 2nd stop.) How full a given boat get depends not only on your boarding dock but on many factors... season, day of the week, which departure time you pick, holiday periods, etc. Also: at certain hours - 11:00 and 13:45 from Rüdesheim, 15 minutes later from Bingen - a second cruise company (Bingen Rüdesheimer) covers the same route and relieves some of the demand on the mid-day boats operated by K-D. Of course, if you do not know about the B-R boats, you may reach Bingen too late to catch that 13:45 boat.

Bingen-Rüdesheimer schedule: click on "Loreleyfahrt" at this page: https://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/fahrplan/

Cruising with K-D in the opposite direction (from Boppard, possibly with a break in St Goar) is also a good strategy on a busy day since these boats aren't loading heavily in Boppard like they are in R'heim and Bingen. The trip is longer this way because of the current, but this works for the more leisure-cruise-oriented. OR... you might wish to catch the train from Boppard to St Goar, then cruise (10:55 - 13:35 and later departures as well) from there to Bingen as this is the most scenic part of the river anyway.

If you choose to take the train all the way to Rüdesheim: The VRM GUEST TICKET covers your entire train ride.

If you choose to take the train to Bingen from Boppard: The VRM GUEST TICKET gets you to Oberwesel for free, but you need an add-on DB ticket to cover Oberwesel > Bingen Rhein Stadt.

Thanks so much Kim and Ross, very helpful info. I’m thinking we will go from Boppard or St Goar to Bingen on KD then back by train stopping in at Bacharach and/or Oberwesel. We don’t mind the longer cruise and it just seems easier all around. Thanks again, cheers.