Hello,
We will be travelling in Germany in August/September and would like to take a few hour trip on the Rhine. We will be in the area of Freiburg, Oberwessel, and up into Koblenz. I have not been able to find anything like this so far. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you!
Posted by
Paradise
8310 posts
Oberwesel (pronounced oh-buh-vay-zull) lies within the most scenic part of the Rhine. Your best option to see this river segment is to start your cruise in Bingen and cruise north to St. Goar. You don't say where you are planning to stay, but St. Goar, just north of Oberwesel, works out quite well for cruising. Wake up there. Catch a train to Oberwesel and/or Bacharach, both just to the south. Have a nice visit in both of these old world towns if possible. Then continue by train to Bingen's Rhein Stadt station and walk to the boat dock for an afternoon cruise back to St. Goar.
See map on first page then scroll down to find Bingen > St Goar cruise schedules. Afternoon boats leave Bingen at 14:30 and 16:30:
https://www.k-d.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/KD_Fahrplan_intern_2026_web.pdf
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19729 posts
Going from Freiburg would just not be worth your time. The portion of the Rhein from Freiburg to Bingen is probably the most boring place you could go. The best Rhein gorge trip would be to board the K-D ship in Bingen and cruise to St. Goar. Even from St. Goar down to Koblenz would be a waste of your time.
Posted by
493 posts
agreed, the river closest to Freiburg is not the really scenic part, and it's not that close at about 10 miles from the city centre.
But if you are interested in ships the town of Breisach is worth a call because it's one of the points where they have locks (and hydro-electric turbines) to control the flow, so the ships are raised or lowered to pass this point.
Posted by
1064 posts
low river levels are currently affecting some traffic on the river
Extreme Heat Pushes Rhine River to Critically Low Levels
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9872 posts
We just went to Rüdesheim today. I was shocked. I have never seen the river that low. The boats look like they are almost grounded and there are no ships. I think we saw 1 barge, and that was on the Main, which stays at a stable depth due to the locks.
Rüdesheim was practically empty. Stores and restaurants closed down. It was really sad to see. Normally, the town would be packed. Of course the fact that no trains can stop here either is not helping their situation.
Hopefully, we will get enough rain soon, so that you can take a ship in Aug. or Sept.
Posted by
Paradise
8310 posts
K-D has canceled northbound departures through Aug. 9 from Rüdesheim/Bingen to St Goar/St Goarshausen with one exception, the 11:00/11:15 departure Tu-Sun, which will not be stopping at every dock but does cover the route. It's the only one which as of now does not appear on the company's cancellation list.:
https://www.k-d.com/en/2026/07/niedrigwasser/
The current cancellation details for their cruise offerings on one page:
https://www.k-d.com/en/2026/07/niedrigwasser/
It's a little different with Bingen-Rüdesheimer Cruises, which has canceled its only two daily departures for the above route until further notice.
https://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/aktuelles/
Currently, the regular schedule of "Castle-Cruises" is still being offered by B-R. These are shorter cruises at the southern end of the scenic part which focus on the immediate area with stops at these docks: Rüdesheim, Bingen, Burg Rheinstein, and Assmannshausen.
https://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/linienfahrten/linie/burgenfahrt
https://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/linienfahrten/linie/burgenfahrt-plus