Rhine river questions

I haven't seen that particular video, but the most important scenic part of the Middle Rhine is from Bingen to Boppard or St. Goar. Unless you have a reason for going to Koblenz (which I have been to), it's likely that a small town like Boppard will be a nicer visit. It is unlikely that you can boat on the Mosel without a major change of boat company and waiting delays. I suggest you skip the Mosel if you are not sleeping there or going to Burg Eltz. See Rick's menu top left for a Rhine Castles page. You should look at the DB site to surprise yourself with how fast the trains are beside the rivers.

I happen to like Cologne very much, but it is not on a scenic part of the River. (But we did walk to look for the vantage point of JMW Turner's painting at the Frick Collection!) Note that the KD boats have a seasonal schedule that you should download immediately. They are not as frequent as trains or busses, to say the least.

There is a lot of good material to mine for this itinerary:
https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=middle+rhine&utf8=%E2%9C%93

Thanks Tim,
Am I missing something or does the Rhine flow what seems to be backwards. i.e Bingen to St Goar? The only reason for Koblenz would be to pick up the rental car to go to Rotheburg, Munich, Salzurg-drop off in Vienna and fly back to London for departure. Ive worked this all out, just fuzzy on the Rhine thing. We will be in Normandy and take train to Cologne-thought this would be the start of Rhine but found out it is not the Scenic part. Still Cologne would be ok for 1 night. then train to (Bingen?), get on a boat, go to St Goar, or Boppard. I also could pick the car in Bonn when this is all done. BTW Rick actually has Bacharch as a good starting point for river tour. The video is one of three under: Explore Europe/Germany/Rhine Valley/watch.

does the Rhine flow what seems to be backwards. i.e Bingen to St Goar?

The Rhein starts in Switzerland and flow general North and West to the North Sea. Yes, it flows from Bingen to St. Goar. It's kind of important to know this because the current is pretty strong, particularly in the Rhein Gorge between Bingen and Koblenz. Boats from St. Goar to Bacharach, for example, go excruciatingly slow against the current. You can go from Bingen to St. Goar in about the same time it takes from St. Goar to Bacharach.

An advantage to starting in Bingen (if you are not staying there) is that when you arrive by train you can get a 20% discount on your boat ticket by showing them the train ticket.

So, if you stay in Bingen 1 night, float to say St. Goar, can you take your luggage on the boat plus would there be a place to stow?
Also, how long is that cruise? (Can you get on and off? (hassle with luggage).
Milt

mrhowes the KD boats that go up (south) and down (north) the Rhine are better thought of as ferry boats, moving people (including locals) from one town to another on the river, not as cruises solely for sightseeing. You could use it just to cross the river. They are nice enough, but not something you need to think of as more complicated than that.

milt, please download the KD schedule:
http://www.kdrhine.com/rhineschedule.htm

BTW, is your trip during those (roughly, it's the 2018 calendar... ) dates?

If you really have no interest in Cologne, you could continue right on to Bingen that day. We didn't have time to follow the trail of Hildegarde von Bingen, but I have an idea that it's not the most interesting of the Rhine towns ... . The train is so trivial, we just took it there from our (much farther away) bed in Andernach, before the ride from Bingen to Boppard. Train home from Boppard, which has a nice wine bar across the street from the rail station. Note that you may have to use vending machines at unattended rail stations.

Your itinerary is still a little "conceptual" to us, but I get the idea that you think you have to rent the car in a huge city. That's not the case. I don't pick up a car until I know I'll be staying in places with parking and no big cities. Bad example, but because we were staying WAY out of Frankfurt, at the end of an S-Bahn line (expressly for that parking/daytrip reason) we returned the car the day before we left Frankfurt, at an office park kind of business-service Hertz or Avis place, within walking distance of a different S-Bahn stop than best served the hotel. No big deal. Because we were staying in a luxury hotel, they drove us to the S-Bahn station when we checked out, for free. (Took the S-Bahn to the HBF, train to Berlin, our next city stop, for a big garden show. Mentioned that because we had been in Andernach another year, for the BUGA garden show in Koblenz.)

Edit: Bingen has two rail stations, so go to the one (Google Maps) that's closer to the KD dock. As I remember, it was fully paved, but an annoying walk with even rolling luggage, for example a bridge over the train tracks. But possible. Lots of people bring bags on the ship, but we didn't. I don't think they have racks, I think they have a corner of the gangway deck.

Tim,
Our vaca starts next Wed (18th) with 5 nights in London and surrounding. Then we go to Normandy (Bayeaux) for two days to see DDay beaches and WW11 memorials. We are taking the rain to Cologne primarily as a start for a (1 day ) Rhine trip. As I said, originally this was to get to the Rhine, until I found out we needed to be in the middle Rhine. (Cathedral in Cologne would be nice); Anyway, we need to:
1.) Get to the middle Rhine, one way or the other, from Bayeaux. Spend the night (i,2) in one of the towns we discussed.
2.) Do a 1 day cruise of Rhine (don't carei if its a water taxi-Rick talks about these} Unless there is a low key 'cruise option'. The boats I saw on Viator for the Rhine from Cologne were just that (upper Rhine)
3.) Pick up a rental car (at this point in Bonn, could do Koblenz)-then onto places in Germany Austria that I have booked.
I don't need to rent a car in a big city-Europe has a lot options. I just don't want to train through the rest of the itinery. Rail passes through Germany and Austria seem expensive to me, and are limited in days.

Please don't use Viator to book a cruise or any other tour. These are middle-men selling other peoples's tours for a hefty 25% commission.
The ships never sell out. Just walk to the docks and buy your ticket, showing your train ticket. If you are over 60, or a student, you get even a better discount though.

These are ships, not ferries. A ferry just goes back and forth across a river and the Rhein has those too. These ships are not used by locals to go from one town to another. That would be horribly expensive. They are strictly for sightseeing or for having events.

Bingen is a bit more difficult to get to the ships than lets's say Rüdesheim or Assmanshausen. Do start in one of these towns though and go to at least St. Goar. That tiny cruise from Bacharach to St. Goar is way too short and you miss a few dozen castles. It is less than 2 hours, but very relaxing. If you want to do a tiny bit more, you could start in Eltville, but there is only one ship a day from here and that is at 09:15.

Hardly anyone is sitting downstairs, so you could put your bags at one of the tables. I would just be with the bags when the boat docks at the various towns and people are getting off the ship.

Thanks ms-i've finally got this clear.
1.) Are the excursion boats 'hop on, hop off'?
2.) Would it be best to book a room in one of the towns you suggested, take cruise to say St. Goar, then train back to point of origin to stay for a second night-rather then haul stuff up (or maybe book in St Goar?)

I wish you had posted here months ago, since you have missed substantial advance discounts on trains. You are almost certainly going to have to change rail stations in Paris to get to the Rhine, and the train to Cologne (a favorite city of mine, much more than just a Cathedral) could take the entire day. London to Normandy can be tedious as well, also requiring a station change in Paris.

There are still good prices for trains going from Paris to Mainz if you act now. Assuming July 25 is your travel date. Its about 4 to 4 1/2 hours with a single train change in Karlsruhe or Mannheim. Mainz is a good jumping off place for Rhine cruises. There is one departure at 8:30, and in July and August, one at 9:30. Other times it is an easy train ride to Bingen Stadt where you can walk to the dock.
Hop-on hop-off? Possible, but there are only 5 boats a day, so it is limited and then how do you handle luggage when you hop off? Easier to hop-on hop-off using the train with a Rheinland-Pfalz day ticket and have your luggage already stashed at a hotel. 24 EUR for the 1st person and 5 EUR for each additional person up to 5 traveling together. Unlimited use of regional trains after 9 am for the day.

"We are taking the rain to Cologne primarily as a start for a (1 day ) Rhine trip. As I said, originally this was to get to the Rhine, until I found out we needed to be in the middle Rhine. (Cathedral in Cologne would be nice)"

Sam has a good alternative to Cologne - get yourselves by train to Mainz if possible - it's closer to Bingen than Cologne - But there's no point starting a cruise in Mainz since it's a short train ride to Bingen to start your cruise - and THAT's where the great scenery starts, not Mainz (also, it's a long trek from Mainz' train station to the Mainz boat dock - that will take nearly as long as the train to Bingen.)

Even better than Mainz as an overnight place would be Bingen itself (if you can make it there that same day.) Try the Nh Bingen hotel. Then you wake up the next morning in Bingen, leaving your bags at your Bingen hotel, and you don't fuss with your bags at all as you do your cruise north to St. Goar (good place to END the cruise with just one day for the Rhine.) Once in St. Goar you will have seen the best of the Rhine; visit Rheinfels Castle, have a nice meal at the castle/hotel next door. Then you can board a TRAIN back south in the direction of Bingen. The trains will stop in Oberwesel and in Bacharach on the way. You can hop off the train and back on again 1, 2, or 3 hours later in one or both towns. Both are lovely places for a walk around but Bacharach has the best old-world buildings. Then return to Bingen for your bags (and maybe a second night, or go to Mainz.) Perhaps you pick up your car in nearby Mainz that same day (take the train there) or the next morning.

Do you already have a ticket to Cologne?? If so, then you COULD just get off the train in Aachen instead (assuming it's on your route here.) Aachen is a smaller city for picking up in. Then drive down to Bingen for the night, and cruise from there to St. Goar + train ride the next morning as I outlined above.

If you are picking up a car in Germany and dropping in Austria, plan on a large foreign drop-off fee.