Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Rhine river cruise

Are you staying the night in Mainz? If so, that might be a good place to drop the car.

I wouldn't start from Mainz; the river is not that interesting up there. Some people think it's worth the time to cruise from Rüdesheim to Bingen (I've seen the river up there from the train, and I didn't think it was worth the extra time). If you want to save time, start in Bacharach. If you start in Bacharach, you can check into your hotel and leave you luggage, and not have o take it on the boat. Bacharach to St. Goar goes by the Pfalzgrafenstein and the Lorelei.

If you take the train to the start, they'll give you a 20% discount on the boat ticket when you show them your rail ticket. I'm not familiar with the Rüdesheim side, but the boat dock is pretty close to the Bingen Stadt Bahnhof (not the Bingen Hauptbahnhof!).

BTW, although it's up on the map, Bingen to St. Goar is down the river, with the current. St. Goar to Bacharach is up the river, against the current and takse half an hour longer. Unless you see something between Bacharach and St. Goar that you just have to see again, I wouldn't spend the time going back to Bacharach, 70 minutes, on the boat. The train makes the trip hourly in just 10 minutes.

We were thinking we'd go to St. Goar, have a look around, and then double back to Bacharach (staying the night there). Planning on buying a 3 day train pass, and as I understand it, the KD line is covered by that pass. We're staying the night in Rothenburg, so the real question is where to drop off the car

Rüdesheim is directly across the river from Bingen, so the only reason for choosing one of of these departure docks over the other is the access to them, whether by train or car. There is nothing to see between them except for the Rhine river.

I don't drive, so I can't help you with your choice really, though I know there is a lot of parking in Rüdesheim and many people enjoy the town itself as a sightseeing spot, whereas Bingen doesn't have a whole lot of sightseeing possibilities. Rüdesheim has a chair lift that goes up to the Niederwald Denkmal that is fun.

So, drop your car off in Rüdesheim, cruise on the ship to St. Goar. Explore Burg Rhinefels and take the train back to Bingen. Ride the ferry across the river to Rüdesheim and pick up your car.

I need to clarify, I'm looking for a spot to drop of the car (not going to pick it back up again).

I was afraid of that.

Driving from Rothenburg to Mainz, dropping off a car, taking the train to Bingen, taking the boat to St. Goar and "looking around", then taking the boat and hour and 10 min back to Bacharach is trying to put an awful lot in a day. Due to the train schedules and the walking time from the station to the dock, Rüdesheim is almost out of the question.

If you can get up early enough, drive 2h 15m to Mainz, drop off the car, and get to the station to catch the 10:32 train to Bingen Stadtbhf at 10:59, then you can walk 10 min to the KD dock and catch the boat to St. Goar at 11:30. That boat gets to St. Goar at 12:55, giving you 2 hr 25 min to look around before catching the 15:20 (3:20 PM) boat to Bacharach, which gets in at a reasonable 16:30 (4:30 PM). But can you get up early enough to drive to Mainz and drop off the car? I have never dropped a car in Germany, so I couldn't speculate as to how long that might take. And 2h 25m is hardly enough time to get to/from the castle and spend much time seeing it.

On the other hand, you would have plenty of time to drive to Mainz and drop of the car to catch the 13:32 train to Bingen. It gets to Bingen at 13:59, you walk 10 min, buy your ticket, and get on the 14:30 boat. That boat gets into St Goar at 15:55, giving you only 1h 25m to look around before catching the 17:20 boat back to Bacharach, which gets in at 18:30 (6:30 PM). In an hour 25 min you can't see much in St. Goar, maybe just look at the castle from town. Taking the train to Bacharach would give you an hour more time in St. Goar or get you into Bacharach an hour sooner.

Your plans are unclear, which makes a good response difficult.
My guess is you want to buy a 3-day German railpass to start using on cruise day, and that you want to drop the car off that same day, somewhere. I wonder what cruise time you prefer (and what that date is.) I also wonder about your plans for the railpass for the following 2 days, what your "we" is like (2 adults, 2 kids, ages of kids.) (A 3-day German railpass is a REALLY expensive choice if you plan to remain in that area and do little outings. There are better choices. Also, a 3-day railpass is NOT valid for cruise boat travel. It provides just a 20% discount, like a normal train ticket would.)

All that info would help us make some helpful suggestions.

Anyway, what you MIGHT do... after leaving Rothenburg, drive the car to Wiesbaden (about 2.5 hours) to drop the car and take the train (12:33) to Rüdesheim (13:04.) The train ride is €15.80 for a family on a RMV group day ticket - buy from a ticket machine at the station.

Walk a few blocks into town. Have lunch, get tickets at the KD kiosk (show your train ticket for a discount) and board the 14:30 boat to St. Goar.

Then catch a train to Bacharach. It's a 10 minute ride and trains leave :19 after the hour every hour. Fare should be under €8 for 2 adults and 2 kids but it depends on you kids' ages.

The distances you will walk to the boat dock and in St. Goar and Bacharach are short and manageable with luggage.

If you have questions or want help with train stuff, ask, and provide as much relevant information as you can.

I see Lee has posted a plan for you to drop in Mainz and take the train to Bingen, which also works alright. I wouldn't spend another 1.5 hours using the boat to return to Bacharach, however. Stay in St. Goar for as long as you like and take the train. (If it's open, the St, Goar TI office will hold bags for you. No lockers.)

Thanks for the advice, and apologies... realized that you're not my spouse and don't read my mind...

We're staying 2 nights in Rothenburg, may drop that to one night and drive to a spot on the Rhine (Bacharach maybe) instead the prior evening, and allow my kids to sleep in. This would give us more time to explore.

The KD boats leave Rüdesheim at 15 past the hour (10, 11, 14), so the 13:33 train from Wiesbaden (gets into Rüdesheim at 14:04) would be too late to catch the 14:15 boat, so Russ is right, if you go to Wiesbaden, catch the 12:33 train.

Or you can go to Mainz and catch the 13:32 train (gives you an extra hour), get to Bingen Stadtbahnhof at 14:04 and catch the same boat at 14:30.

The 14:15 boat is the one that gets to St Goar at 15:55, leaving 2 hrs, 24 min until the 18:19 train that gets into Bacharach at 18:29. It takes some time to get from the boat dock in St. Goar to the castle and the castle closes at 6 PM.

Figured out that arriving the night prior, dropping off car & staying in Emmelshausen (just west of Sankt Goar) is the plan. From there we'll spend the morning in St Goar then at the end of the day head down to Bacharach. Thanks for all the help.

"Figured out that arriving the night prior, dropping off car & staying in Emmelshausen (just west of Sankt Goar) is the plan. From there we'll spend the morning in St Goar then at the end of the day head down to Bacharach."

OK, you found a nice place to drop the car. I don't quite get why you would stay in Emmelshausen, which means a change of hotel. Did you know that Emmelshausen is just 25 minutes from the Rhine? It's a direct train ride to the handsome town of Boppard, which is right on the river - and btw Boppard might be a better place for you than Bacharach anyway.

While you could travel all the way to Bacharach from Emmelshausen ( 1-2 hours depending on the time you leave and the layover in Boppard,) I would in fact advise you to keep it fairly simple that day - take just one short train ride and book a room in Boppard for two nights (or longer.) Boppard has more room and dining choices than other Rhine towns and more going on - it's a real town, a magnet for locals, not only a tourist village.

Cafes on Boppard's Market Square
Boppard has an extra nice river promenade
Popular Boppard restaurant in an ancient Roman structure
Boppard tea house
Half-timbered shop buildings in Boppard's pedestrian zone
Chairlift to lookout
Gedeonseck Cafe with view of Rhine and Boppard

I've had very good stays at the Hotel Sonnenhof and the Hotel Hubertus, both inexpensive places with a really nice breakfast buffet and only a few steps from the main square. There are also higher-end places, some on the waterfront. Boppard doesn't have the train noise problem that SOME PLACES in Bacharach do.

Boppard is only 10 minutes from St. Goar and 20 from Bacharach by direct train.

It is convenient to end the cruise where you're staying - and Boppard is a good place to end the cruise if you plan to see the most scenic part of the river. From Boppard you would take the direct train (30-35 minutes) to Bingen to start your cruise. Stop off on the way to visit St. Goar or Bacharach, or hop off the boat (if you can arrange that with the limited boat schedule.)

If you are going to FRA after your Rhine stay, you'll find that the same trains leaving Bacharach for FRA also pick up passengers in Boppard. There is also an early-morning IC (high speed) train from Boppard to FRA that do not stop in Bacharach.