St. Goar OR Bacharach???

I've only been to St. Goar, but that was years ago in 2007 and as part of a tour group. What I recall is that it is quite small and quaint and very manageable.

If you're traveling by train, I'd choose St. Goar or Boppard. St. Goar has a ferry that allows you to cross at will and use the trains on the opposite river bank (for vising Marksburg Castle in Braubach, for example.) Boppard does too (but it's a longer walk to the station.) In St. Goar Rheinfels castle is right there, so you needn't schedule a visit - just stop by whenever it's convenient. Bacharach is cute and you should visit but there's no castle you can tour (just the castle-hostel) and overall there's less to do... Boppard has a chairlift ride, some Roman ruins, a really nice river promenade, and more dining, wining and lodging options than any other Rhine town. And either Boppard or St. Goar would be a little more convenient than Bacharach for doing the cruise from Bingen (where you should start to see the best part, the Bingen-St. Goar segment.)

We too stay in St Goar, but in 2012. Our room in the Rheinhotel B&B was right on the water and we had a balcony so you can't beat that. I think it's a matter for you of finding the hotel or B&B that appeals to you the most and to be honest, one or the other really makes little difference IMO. They are both well served by the boats that ply the Rhine waters and you should plan to visit both during your time there.

Bacharach is a lovely, charming place, but you can walk from one end to the other in 15 minutes. If you're going to go up & down the Rhine, St Goar has better transportation access.

We stayed in both in 2009. I liked St. Goar better as our hotel had a river view, which made for interesting afternoon breaks as I sipped my wine and watched the intricate maneuvers of the crossing ferries, the river cruise boats and the working barges. It must take a bit of talent to be a ships captain on the Rhine. I also like the walks along the Rhine at St. Goar with views across the river of two additional castles.

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Germany-2009/Sankt-Goar-2009/

Bacharach is nice as well and the Hotel Malerwinkel was itself very scenic. You can not go too wrong with either.

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Germany-2009/Bacharach-2009/

In 2004 I stayed in Boppard, mainly because I found a Privatzimmer for less than any accommodation I could find in St. Goar or Bacharach. In retrospect, I'm glad I did because Boppard is a nice town to use as a hub for exploring that area.

Neither Bacharach nor St. Goar has enough to be a destination in itself. You are going to want to spend time in both towns and others in the area. Several things to consider:

1. Bacharach is just outside the Verkehrsverbund-Rhein-Mosel, the metro district that extends from Oberwesel to the border with NordRhein-Westfalen and up the Mosel beyond Cochem, to Bullay. The VRM includes just about everything people want to see in this area (Bacharach, Koblenz, Burg Eltz, Beilstein, Cochem, Zell of Zeller Schwarzkatz fame) and has some very good group day tickets which are valid only for the district but don't include Bacharach.

2. The best part of the Rhein to tour on a K-D boat is between Bacharach and St. Goar, and the trip from St. Goar to Bacharach, against the current is excruciatingly slow. If you take a train to a K-D starting point, you can get a 20% discount on the boat fare. So if you stay in Bacharach and take the train to St. Goar for the discount, then have to take the slow way back to Bacharach, but if you stay in St. Goar, you can take the train to Bacharach and get the discount on the faster way back to St. Goar.

3. St. Goar is better situated to visit other towns in the area. There is a ferry there to the right bank of the Rhein and rail access to Braubach (Marksburg). You have to go through St. Goar to get to Koblenz and the Mosel.

"...if you stay in St. Goar, you can take the train to Bacharach and get the discount on the faster way back to St. Goar."

I agree w/ cruising from north to south as Lee suggests, also with taking the train south first to the cruise dock. But that suggested cruise segment - Bacharach-St. Goar - is only 13 km and 45 minutes long. If you are in a rush for some reason, I guess it's possible that you'd want a cruise that short, but IMO it's much wiser to spend the additional 40 minutes to cover the 15-km segment from Bingen to Bacharach as well (just stay on the boat all the way to St. Goar.) As you can see on THIS MAP, there are numerous castles between Bingen and Bacharach that you would miss if you boarded in Bacharach. Burg Rheinstein (just north of Bingen but missing from the map!) is just one. (For the additional 40 minutes, you will spend only about €5 more than you would for the shorter cruise.)

Idi: A few years ago we stayed in Bacharach and enjoyed it. However, the comments of other posters are accurate. Bacharach is quite small and can be covered in a very short period of time while St. Goar is larger with a greater variety of hotels, restaurants, and other activities. Honestly, either location is fine.

St. Goar has a few good hotels and is maybe the most scenic location on the river, but is actually VERY small - it's huddled between the cliffs and the river and is only a few blocks long - it's the narrow settlement on the left side of the river that you see in THIS PHOTO. The town across the river is St. Goarshausen. The one on the far left is Biebernheim, a residential area.

Boppard is substantially larger - see PHOTO - and feels a bit less touristy.

Another Boppard photo: http://www.wliw.org/21pressroom/files/2010/11/Boppard.jpg
And another of St. Goar: http://www.seereisenmagazin.de/jahrgang2013/ausgabe-4-2013/13423-EG-Ruine-Burg-Rheinfels-St-Goar-04965.jpg

Bacharach is actually a little larger than St. Goar. THIS PHOTO gives you an idea but it also hides that part of Bacharach that extends up the Blücher valley (the narrow valley between the castle and the vineyard-clad slope in the background.) The Blücher valley is a good location to look into if you stay there - it puts you a little further from the rail station but it shelters you from most of the train noise (a problem that plagues Bacharach more than the other towns.) Some Bacharach inns are just TOO close!

I stayed in Bacharach and visited St Goar and Boppard. I was only there for one night so it didn't really make that much difference where I stayed as I didn't spend that much time in that town. If I was to go back and spend more than one night I think I would stay in Boppard. It's a bit larger, with more hotels and restaurants, and I agree with whoever said it that it's a little less touristy. All are nice and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Russ, great photos! I'd forgotten what a beautiful area that is.

ld,

I've only stayed in Bacharach, but have visited the other towns. Boppard seems nice and I'd consider that on a future trip, but I found St. Goar too "busy" and packed with tourists. Aside from going there to visit the Castle, it doesn't appeal to me.

I quite enjoyed my time in Bacharach and even staying in the Kranenturm (which is right next to the tracks), I didn't find the noise of the trains to be a problem (Kranenturm is an old castle and has stone walls about a foot thick). Of course, you could also stay a bit further from the tracks and Pension Lettie or Hotel-Pension Im Malerwinkel would be good choices. If you don't mind a hike, you could also stay in the HI Hostel Burg Stahleck which is on a hill above town (incredible views of the river and valley).