We have a quick visit to the Rhine River area in our trip coming up in August this year, and I am considering staying in Bacharach as suggested in the Best if Germany book. I am a little confused as the best way to take the cruise from Bacharach to Braubach and stop to see the castles in St. Goar and near Bacharach. If I take a boat ride to St. Goar and get off to tour, from looking at the boat schedule, it doesn’t look like another boat will go to Bacharach until 5:20pm. If I take the boat all the way to Bacharach, it should arrive at 12:20p (if we leave in the first boat at 10:15). After touring Marksburg Castle, it says its an hour train ride to St. Goar (have to transfer in Koblenz). My thought was to take the train to St. Goar to tour the castle there and then train ride back to Bacharach. But, this seems quite complicated. Am I missing something? I’m tempted to skip touring one of the castles because of it. Appreciate your advice!
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
You should take the advice about staying in Bacharach with a tiny grain of salt. There is no compelling advantage to staying there, especially if you are using the train and/or taking a river cruise.
Many people do take that advice and end up planning a flawed cruise like the one you have in mind. You want to see the most scenic part of the river by boat - so do your cruise from BINGEN to St. Goar. And staying in St. Goar makes this a little simpler - 2 steps:
1.) Train to Bingen
2.) Cruise back to St. Goar.
Another way to do the cruise: when you first arrive in the area, get off the train at Bingen Rhein Stadt station in Bingen, walk a few minutes to the Bingen Dock with your bags, and board the cruise boat to St. Goar. Then just stay there.
Bacharach has pretty old-world buildings and you should see it. You can do that with a stopover by train from your St. Goar base on the way to Bingen. Or you can do it by stepping off the boat on your way back to St. Goar (if there's a boat available.)
Alternatively, you can just take the train from St. Goar to Bacharach in 10 minutes whenever you want to. It costs only a few Euros.
But St. Goar is a really good base town for train users. AS you know, Rheinfels Castle is right there. There are hotels there with river front settings and great views (not so in Bacharach, which is set back far from the river.) And the FERRY CROSSING in St. Goar operates all day. (Bacharach has no ferry crossing.) Just cross over from St. Goar and take the TRAIN 20 minutes to Braubach to visit Marksburg Castle.
Hope this is clear.
Posted by
Green Bay
21166 posts
You don't have to stay in Bacharach, Rick Steves preference not withstanding. If you stay in Boppard, with its beautiful waterfront promenade, your hotel will give you a free transport card for the regional trains and buses in the VRM district that covers most of the castles along the Rhine and lower Mosel. The VRM district line ends just before Bacharach at Oberwesel, so to take trains beyond Oberwesel will be a small supplement. The VRM goes as far north as Bonn, and up the Mosel as far as Bullay.
VRM = Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel, or Rhine-Mosel United Transit District.
https://www.vrminfo.de/
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
I've stayed in Boppard multiple times and agree with Sam that Boppard is also a very good base. Boppard also has a nice riverfront setting (though not quite as scenic as St. Goar's.) If you have 2-3 nights in the area, you might consider it, since you can make good use of the free guest ticket there for additional outings (like up the Mosel River.) The cruise from Bingen to Boppard is a possibility - it requires an additional 40 minutes or so and costs some additional Euros - but I think the extra segment you'd be cruising doesn't pay off that much. I think St. Goar has the edge if your stay is really "short" and you don't have time for visiting Boppard, Cochem, etc.