Have a free day at Frankfurt in coming Germany trip. 1st time there and very keen to spend few hours at a place nearby for short Rhine river cruise. Two places are mentioned by many, Rudesheim and St Goal. Don't know which one to choose and the difference. Or is there a better choice than these two? I suppose easiest way is by return train. Can't find advance booking allowed in Bahn rail system though.
Can anyone give some advice especially if you had been there.
Greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Rüdesheim-am-Rhein, St Goar or Bingen (opposite Rüdesheim) are good choices (note spellings).
If you are looking on the German railways website, www.bahn.de first you need to get the spelling correct. Second the trains from Frankfurt-am-Main to Rüdesheim, St Goar or Bingen are regional trains, and you cannot book seats on these trains.
Frankfurt-am-Main is not on the Rhine, it is on the Main (hence the name) which is a tributary of the Rhine.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Rüdesheim is easier to reach from Frankfurt.
There's no advanced advanced purchase discounts or reservations offered because the trip goes by a regional train. Just buy your ticket at the station and jump on the next train.
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
Take the train to Rüdesheim for a look around, then catch a cruise boat (11:30?) to St. Goar, look around there (Rheinfels Castle) and return to Frankfurt by train. Suggest you stop in Bacharach on the way back to Frankfurt.
Trains to R'heim from Frankfurt are direct and take 1:10. Fare is €11.20 from a ticket machine. Fare from St. Goar to Frankfurt (you can stop in Bacharach or elsewhere for free) is €19.20, again from a ticket machine. Show your train ticket at the KD dock in Rüdesheim for a 20% discount on the cruise. Make sure you board only regional trains with these train tickets (no IC, ICE, EC high speed trains.)
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
@tiffane, this person wants to take a day trip to the Rhein. A cruise is hardly an appropriate recommendation in this case. Your post looks more like an unsolicited promotion and a violation of the Guidelines
@N Chan, if one just wanted to have a ticket in hand before they got there, one could "book" tickets in advance by manipulating the Bahn website to get a regional train to Mainz and an IC or ICE from there to Frankfurt, and the fare could be as low as 19€, but that would not include a seat reservation on the IC/ICE (4,50€ more) and, as already mentioned, there are no reservations on the regional train, so it would be only a ticket. Also, you would be committed to a specific train from Mainz to Frankfurt, and the trip would take longer (1h53m) than the all regional connection (change in Oberwesel, 1h29m).
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Hi,
I have been to Rüdesheim a couple of times, I would choose that place, don't know the other choice. As pointed out, go to Rüdesheim from Frankfurt on a regional train.
Posted by
OP
Hong Kong
31 posts
Thank you for all replies.
Did the day trip by going from Frankfurt to Rudesheim, took the cruise from there to St Goar. From St Goar, took train back to Frankfurt. There was a 20% discount on cruise by showing the train ticket. If I had more time, I would have tried the open lift to the hill top, too.