rhine valley

You're going in September, right? What happened to your place in St. Goarshausen? That or St. Goar is a good place to end a cruise and strategically located for using the ferry to see towns the other side of the river (no matter which side you're on.) Rheinfels Castle is right there as well.

Boppard is also good, and also good for ending a day cruise from Bingen; but to cross the river by ferry there requires a longer walk to the train station (in Filsen,) a crossing you'll probably want to make if you will be seeing towns on the east bank from a Boppard base. Boppard is the most fully-developed, fairly normal small town in this area, so you'll have lots of dining and lodging choices. You haven't said what you're looking for in lodging. I typically stay on the budget end and have found both the Sonnenhof and the Hubertus, both near the center, to be clean and pleasant small places with good breakfasts, and at a good price - but the church bells are more than noticeable at the Hubertus. You haven't provided dates either... Boppard (or St. Goar, or maybe Bingen) would be good if you'll be in the area on a weekend since there are wine fests on that side of the river in the evening. Boppard also puts you closer than the other towns do to the Mosel River towns of Cochem, Winningen and others (nice train outing.)

The town of Bingen is OK - a fantastic view of the river awaits you from the river promenade, where the NH Hotel is. But the town itself is somewhat less charming than the others.

Ruedesheim is fun but very commercial and touristy. I'd rather visit than stay there.

Of your 3 offerings I'd opt for Boppard.

Boppard is a pretty town with a row of nice hotels facing the river across a tree lined, park-like road. You can sit there on a bench and watch the barges on the Rhein. Virtually every train along the left bank of the river stops in Boppard.

the rhine is our first stop after landing in frankfurt on sept 6. Based upon previous trip and reading, would like to show my travel friend the rhine by cruise and stop at bacharach to walk around. I thought about a change from sankgoarshen due to previous comments that made the trips from bingen or boppard as more interesting. cruise on rhine is seen as relaxing after flight then onto aachen and the rest of the tour.

thks

If you start in Bingen, make sure you understand that there are two stations in Bingen, Bingen Stadt and Bingen Hbf. Bingen Stadt will be the first station you come to as you come from FRA, and it's close to the K-D dock. Bingen Hbf is farther away and would require a bus or a walk along a highway.

Bingen to Boppard will take 2h20min and cost 26,40€/adult. Boats leave Bingen at 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 14:30 (2:30 PM), and 16:30.

This page has contact information for the hotels in Boppard. Rheinallee is the street with all the hotels facing the river. You can find other accommodations in Boppard here.

"Bingen Hbf is farther away and would require a bus or a walk along a highway."

Don't be scared off here... it is often more convenient to reach Bingen Hbf, which is served by more trains per day than Bingen Rhein Stadt. Many (all?) of the RE trains that leave Frankfurt and travel direct to Bingen Hbf don't even stop in Bingen Rhein Stadt.

IME (and I've done this on foot many times) this is an easy and not unpleasant walk, just longer than the walk from Bingen Rhein Stadt station. You proceed along the lengthy entrance to the station along a paved sidewalk, then continue over the Nahe River Bridge on a city street with sidewalks, then down some stairs and through an underground passage below a busy intersection, and then you're at the grounds of the NH Bingen Hotel, where the river promenade begins and you are well-separated from road traffic. Follow the promenade to the KD dock. All told it might be a 15-minute walk.

Some trains heading south along the Rhine pause in Bingen Hbf for about 12 minutes before moving on. If that's the direction you should be going, and if you get off at the Hbf and walk to the dock, you will likely get there well before the passengers who wait in Bingen on the train, then ride past the KD kiosk to Bingen Rhein Stadt station, and then backtrack on foot to and along the river promenade to the kiosk.

I am one of a very small number of contributors to this forum who really enjoy spending time in Rudesheim. I know it is touristy but so what - we actually are tourists, aren't we? The town just has an enjoyable, fun loving "feel" about it. The ride up to the Germania Monument (Watch on the Rhine") through the vineyards is beautyful and the views of the Rhine from here are breathtaking. Early Fall is a wonderful time to be there. And, on top of all that, what better place in Germany is there to partake of a Rudesheimer Kaffee that an outdoor terrace of a local café on a warm Autumn day ...

I guess a lot of this depends on whether you want to spend a night, then take the Rhein trip, or take the Rhein trip, then spend the night. For the former, Rüdesheim would be a good choice, although the boats leave 15 minutes earlier from Rüdesheim and just go across the river to Bingen. If you want to take the boat first, then spend the night, I would recommend Boppard.

Although Rudesheim would not be my selection for lodging, it would be my first choice for dining on a Friday or Saturday night. Many of the restaurants feature live Schlager music (an aquire taste for some, I admit). Also, as the night goes on, stag and bachelorette parties from the surrounding cities start to filter in, which makes for a lively but not overly rowdy festive scene. It's a lot of fun.

We just returned from vacationing in the Rhine valley for three days, and we really enjoyed staying in Bacharach. The village was very quiet and relaxed and looked just like a postcard! In particular, we stayed at Gästehaus Ströter. It was clean and cheery, and the views from the outdoor deck area were absolutely stunning! The village has several small restaurants and wine gardens, and it was easy to get around the Rhine area from there.