Guten tag,
My husband and I are are visiting the Rhine River on December 1st and would love to see the Rhine River by boat. We would love to hit the river between St. Goar and Bacharach or somewhere nearby if possible but I understand boat rides in that area are limited in December. Any recommendations on boat tours that may be running at this time of year? Or can you recommend other options? I see there are some Christmas cruises out of cologne, Frankfurt, and Mainz as well, and I am wondering how they would compare. I would greatly appreciate your help.
Posted by
Paradise
6640 posts
"We would love to hit the river between St. Goar and Bacharach or somewhere nearby..."
That's how it seems to you now, but it's nasty cold in winter on the deck of a boat, and the scenery, though still impressive, is less so than in the warmer months. KD cruises cannot dependably scrape together enough willing participants to offer scheduled cruises at this time. What they do is set aside certain dates on which they MIGHT provide one cruise if enough customers happen to pre-register. The hypothetical cruise covers the most scenic part - it begins in Rüdesheim at 10 and ends in St. Goarshausen at 11:40, if it takes place. Possible dates include Dec. 1:
- - 17.12., 19. - 21.12., 23.12.2017
KD contact page: https://www.k-d.com/en/contact/
Personally, I would visit the Christmas markets in Ruedesheim and take the train north to Braubach for a tour of Marksburg Castle, open year-round and the finest of the Rhine castles for touring. The train takes 45 minutes for this route, passes through the same part of the river valley as the boats (and continues further north,) and follows the river the entire way.
Typical train near Marksburg Castle:
http://www.bahnbilder.de/1024/ein-flirt-triebwagen-vias-gmbh-faehrt-623624.jpg
Train line map along east bank of the Rhine; make stops in Ruedesheim, Braubach, and other towns if you wish:
http://rheingaulinie.de/files/rheingaulinie/files/Fahrplan/fahrplan.png
Braubach:
http://kristabrownlee.com/wp-content/gallery/braubach/braubach-germany-012.jpg
