Hej,
My wife and I are in Heidelberg soon and would like to travel by boat to Frankfurt. My Google search shows many tours going this way and that, but none that dead-head in Frankfurt. Any suggestions? We think this would be a lovely way to take in the views at a nice pace.
Have a nice and safe Oktoberfest,
Kevin
The trouble is Frankfurt-am-Main (to give the city its full name) is not on the Rhine, it is on the Main, a tributary. That is why you can't find a one cruise that does this route. The boats either go up the Main, or continue up the Rhine.
The nearest place on the Rhine to Frankfurt is Mainz (where the Main joins the Rhine). From there it is simple to get a local train to Frankfurt.
Neither is Heidelberg on the Rhine, it is about 10Km from Mannheim and Ludwigshafen-am-Rhein.
This section is not the most picturesque section of the Rhine, that is the section downstream of Mainz, from Mainz to Koblenz.
I'm not aware of any excursion that travel downstream on the Neckar (the river by Heidelberg) to the junction with the Rhine. The tour boats go UPSTREAM through the gorgeous Neckar river valley. Consider this is an alternative to the Rhine, since you'll be right there in Heidelberg anyway. Downstream of Heidelberg on the Neckar to Mannheim and onto the Rhine is mostly industrial and not particularly scenic.
There is at least one tour company that goes from Mannheim to the Mittelrhein, but none that I know of that take a detour up the Main to Frankfurt.
"many tours going this way and that, but none that dead-head in Frankfurt."
There is a reason for this. There are parts of the Rhein that are particularly scenic, but Mannheim to Mainz is not one of them. Just take the train to Frankfurt.
The route would be from Heidelberg down the Neckar river to Mannheim (totally boring part, flat, industrial) and then the Rhine river down to Mainz (also rather boring; only sight: The Worms cathedral and a few vinyards further down the route). From Mainz it would be up the Main river (purely industrial on that stretch; it only starts to get interesting shortly before Frankfurt).
However, from Heidelberg the Neckar up towards Neckargemünd or Neckarsteinach it MOST SCENIC. Plenty of medieval castles and the river is winding up gorge after gorge.
It's easy to book day trips on that stretch, even one-way by boat and back by train.
Thank you, All!
Appears that the train serves better than any boat: Heidelberg to Frankfurt-am-Main. We appreciate your accounts of the Neckar as a wonderfully scenic river for cruising and hope to enjoy these cruises.
