Suggestions for which towns to backtrack and visit on Rhine River day cruise between

In 1996, I stayed in Bacharach. Two things recommend it: Bicycles can be rented in Bacharach, allowing you to enjoy a ride along the river, though there are probably rental agencies in other towns. Also, I loved the Altes Haus restaurant, and Rick recommends it by name, too.

Your daughters (and you) might enjoy seeing Burg Stahleck (https://www.castlesworld.com/castles/stahleck-castle.php), a 12th century castle in Bacharach. The castle has housed a youth hostel for most of the 20th-21st centuries. When I was in Bacharach almost 30 years ago, I stayed in the youth hostel and thought it was the coolest experience to spend the night in an authentic medieval castle. Since your daughters are college age, maybe they'd like to travel again at some future date and stay in youth hostels.

If you go to Bacharach, make sure to enjoy the wines at the local restaurants. I'm a beer guy, but I drank wine when I was there. You'll see the vineyards on the hills overlooking the town.

Aside from Bacharach, all the towns mentioned are said to be beautiful.

The boat schedules are a constraint that makes a long day trip from Cologne very tricky for the plans you have. You may not be able to catch a boat out of Rüdesheim until around 14:00 if the idea is to start from Cologne and visit Rüdesheim beforehand - and that boat would mean arrival in St Goar after 16:00. The sorts of things Craig was able to do are usually made possible by staying overnight. Unfortunately, I don't see you backtracking to Bacharach and hiking, or riding bicycles, touring castles, or doing much else. Adding to the trickiness is the fact that trains here often run late and making connections is not always predictable. Also, some boats do not operate daily, and the number of boats per day varies by the season.

With some unusual flexibility in the early morning and in the evening, perhaps a more rewarding day could be possible. Can you please indicate which dates you have available for this trip, how early you are willing to leave Cologne, and how late you are willing to get back to Cologne in the evening? With that information, maybe something can be worked out.

I just did the KD Cruise from my base in Rüdesheim to St. Goar last year. Having visited both Oberwesel and Bacharach on the way back to Rudesheim, I would recommend Bacharach over Oberwesel. Nothing against Oberwesel...we found a nice little joint to have a drink, but it seemed like a smaller version of Bacharach. In hindsight, I would've spent more time in Bacharach (or, in your case, visisted another town) and skipped Oberwesel.

Can you please indicate which dates you have available for this trip, how early you are willing to leave Cologne, and how late you are willing to get back to Cologne in the evening?

The current plan is to check into our hotel in Cologne on Wednesday, July 16 And then do a day cruise on Thursday, July 17. We would probably leave Cologne 10 or 11 AM and get back maybe about 8 PM.

It is possible for us to spend Wednesday night, July 16 in Rüdesheim (or anywhere along the Rhine) so that we could get an earlier start. But then we would have to travel with our luggage to Cologne. We are traveling relatively light (1 carryon & day pack each). However, from what I’ve read traveling with luggage on a Rhine day cruise does not seem like a good option. But i’m completely open to ideas.

I would visit Burg Rheinfels in St. Goar. If you are looking for a good place to get souvenirs, check out the shop in town with the big cuckoo clock.

I would just stop in Boppard and take the chairlift. The view coming down is my favorite Rhine view.

For trains, where there is a choice, take the RE rather than the RB which make more stops.

Here's how your current plans might pan out based on the train schedules and your personal schedule limitations.

Lv Cologne 9:56 (25 min. layover in Koblenz, walk to dock)
Ar R'heim KD dock 12:52

Lv R'heim 14:15 (cruise)
Ar St Goar 16:10

Lv St Goar 16:56 (direct train)
Ar Bacharach 17:05

Lv Bacharach 17:50 (direct train)
Ar Cologne 20:02

R'heim: maybe 60 minutes in town
St Goar: 45 minutes from train platform > town > train platform
Bacharach: 45 minutes from train platform > town > train platform

The train schedules are "theoretical" - today, the train to R'heim arrived 18 minutes late (13:10.) Also today: the two most recent trains leaving Bacharach for Cologne this afternoon departed 6 and 8 minutes late, respectively. I don't see time for a meal anywhere. As things are with the trains these days, it's unrealistic to expect to have the trains running exactly as scheduled, which will further shortchange your experience. So overnighting in the area looks like the reasonable move. You can take light baggage on the cruise boats - and if you don't want to, there are other workarounds.

I don't know what your preferred sightsseeing experiences would be in this area; it might help to identify a few priorities and then we can look into fitting them into a more accommodating 2-day schedule.

The views from the clifftops are wonderful. How about a chairlift ride?
https://fewoboppard.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Sessellift.jpg
https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/14/37/be/f9/dsc-0008-largejpg.jpg

Tour an intact medieval castle? Maybe with food or refreshments?
https://www.deutschland-luftaufnahmen.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Marksburg.jpg

https://www.marksburg-schaenke.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/marksburg_schaenke_terrasse_grillevent_2000x1224.jpg

Walking some old-town fortifications?
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198501-d2189241-Reviews-City_Fortifications-Oberwesel_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Wine is the big industry here. A little time in a Weingarten?
https://www.deutschlandgourmet.info/bilder/gross/5710-Restaurant-Weinhaus-Heilig-Grab-Boppard.jpg

Hikiing and biking are options as well (and of course take a bit more time.)

Wow! Thank you all so much. This looks like our kind of day.

RE: I don't see time for a meal anywhere.

I did a Rhine day cruise 20 years ago. We purchased lunch on the boat. Simple but tasty. Do the boats still offer meals.

This looks like our kind of day.

Which option do you mean? The day that begins in Cologne?

Or the day you might have after waking up in a Rhine town (R'heim or wherever)? Only this second option will provide time for any of the suggestions stephen and I have made.

Personally, I like Bingen more than Rudeshiem or Oberwesel. And you can rent bikes in Bingen, right by the river, and ride along if that's a thing for you. You can also take them on the train and go further downstream. But, I really don't think you're going to have time to take the train and go anywhere. The trains run about every half hour, it takes about 10 minutes town to town, and you want to have an hour or so to see any of the places on your list, minimum.

** Which option do you mean? The day that begins in Cologne?**

Yes, we often do days like this.

OK, guess that thought of staying over was more a fleeting notion than a possibility. It's your trip.

Since threads like this one will be re-read many times by future travelers, some general planning tips for those folks:

• Cologne and Frankfurt are both weak travel bases for an independent tour of the Rhine Gorge if you are looking for anything more than just a drive-by, been-there visit. The small Rhine towns offer the best scenery and atmosphere and, when used as overnight stops, make cruising, luggage, and the logistics much easier . But if it must be a city, make it Koblenz, which is much closer to everything - and stay near Koblenz Hbf for your train outings.

• The cruise isn't everything - maybe not even the most important thing. If you hope to cruise and also to see/do even a few of the many good land-based options listed here - biking, Rheinfels Castle, Marksburg Castle, Bacharach's old town, Oberwesel's town wall, Rüdesheim's cable car ride and other attractions, and Boppard's chairlift - a full day within the Gorge is insufficient. Plan on two.

Got, it. I see. Perhaps I can improve my plan. I have some flexibility. The Cologne Cathedral is a must see for daughter #1. Upper Middle Rhine River day cruise is a must for daughter #2. I would love to sprinkle in some beautiful quaint towns but truthfully I’m pretty flexible as long as we do the day cruise and Cathedral. This is part of a 35 day trip which includes Paris, Bruges, Lauterbrunnen Switzerland, Tuscany, & Rome. Generally, we love strolling around both urban & rural just taking in the sights that scream “We’re in [blank] country.” I don’t mind areas that are a bit touristy. If I were traveling by myself i could look at beautiful churches and intact castles all day long. We don’t have to do “activities” if that helps.

Our plan is to fly into Frankfurt and take the train to Köln. We’ll stay in Köln for 4 nights before traveling to Paris.
Day 1: Cologne Cathedral & Old Town
Day 2: Rhine River cruise & towns
Day 3: Bonn (?)
Day 4: Explore Cologne, Perfume museum…

I originally was going to spend 1 night on the Rhine but I was concerned about 1-night stays as they add extra travel days and use valuable time. Additionally, the feedback on using the Rhine as transportation seemed negative. But I’m willing to change things around to make it work better.

I didn’t want to bog anyone down with details but please, with this information if you could suggest alternatives I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Also, Germany is the only place with flexibility. After that all trains and hotels are booked.

Day 1: Cologne Cathedral & Old Town
Day 2: Rhine River cruise & towns
Day 3: Bonn (?)
Day 4: Explore Cologne, Perfume museum…

Any reason why your Cologne days are split? Not sure why you'd travel past all the Rhine towns to stay in Cologne only to come back down in a day or two. Like others have suggested, choosing a Rhine base, even if just for a night, might make more sense. Have the hotel hold your bags and explore a bit after you check out.

My family did a day trip to Cologne from Dusseldorf last year. We did the cathedral, chocolate museum, lunch, shopped a little, then drank a few beers in Old Town prior to returning in the late afternoon. In other words, you can see a lot in "touristy" Cologne in one day.

We also did the cruise stuff in one day, but it was a very full day (caught first boat then did the Rudesheim chairlift early evening before it closed). That didn't include Rheinfels (which was closed) or any castle tours (we did Marksburg on the drive down the day before). Rhine in one day can be done, but 1.5-2 days makes more sense.

Day 3: Bonn (?)

I heard good things about Aachen, which is only an hour direct train ride from Cologne, if that is your 4 day base.

If 1-night stays are a problem , and you're willing to alter the 4-night Cologne stay, there'd be no 1-night stays with this simple solution:

• 2 days/nights in a Rhine Gorge town
• (train to Cologne, morning of Day 3)
• 2 days/nights in Cologne

If you are happy with 4 nights in Cologne and the Rhine cruise is your only objective, then do a Linz > Bonn cruise on one day. This is also a scenic area to cruise, a new one for you personally, and it's significantly closer to Cologne:

1) Train to Linz + 2) cruise boat to Bonn (Do your Bonn sightseeing while there) + 3) train back to Cologne

(There are some boats that continue to Cologne from Bonn, but don't expect high-level scenery.)

https://www.k-d.com/en/cruises/siebengebirge-mountains-tour
Boat schedules at the K-D site

"Additionally, the feedback on using the Rhine as transportation seemed negative."

??Not sure what this means. If you mean "using the Rhine Cruise boats" as transportation from Cologne to the Rhine Gorge and back to Cologne, that is totally impossible, something no one would seriously suggest. If you mean "using trains along the Rhine" for this same trip, that's of course doable - just time-eating for the average visitor if you have only one day.

Not sure what this means. If you mean "using the Rhine Cruise boats" as transportation from Cologne to the Rhine Gorge and back to Cologne, that is totally impossible

We arrive at Frankfurt Airport at 7:20am

One option was
Frankfurt Airport to Rüdesheim/Bingen
Cruise Rüdesheim/Bingen to St. Goar or Koblenz
Train to Cologne

Any reason why your Cologne days are split?
Day trips—jumping on a train and exploring a different town, takes a bit more energy. We get up early & get back late. Versus walking out of the hotel and strolling around the city, even returning to the hotel mid-day for a break if we feel like it. When possible I like to alternate these types of days.

If 1-night stays are a problem , and you're willing to alter the 4-night Cologne stay, there'd be no 1-night stays with this simple solution:
2 days/nights in a Rhine Gorge town
(train to Cologne, morning of Day 3)
2 days/nights in Cologne

Definitely going to explore this plan. My only concern is we still tend to lose part of a day—checking out of 1 hotel, moving, checking into another hotel tends to eat up a good portion of our day. The trade off for staying in 1 place 4 nights is we get 3 full un-interrupted days but I may have to travel farther for day trips. Usually 1.5 hr by car or 2hrs max by train each way is my cut off for a day trip. So if I do 4 nights in Cologne I’ll have a near 3 hr train ride to Rüdesheim. If I do 2 nights on the Rhine and 2 nights in Cologne. I have 1 less day of sight-seeing.

Side note: We have traveled extensively with our kids and so i was always playing mom, making sure everybody had everything. Thus we moved more slowly. This is our first trip with “adult-ish” very responsible daughters. We’re traveling light so hopefully we’ll be more mobile than the past.

Arrive FRA airport > train to Rhine > cruise to St Goar > train to Cologne. In one day, right?

You'd likely make the 9:00 or 9:24 departures for Bingen Rhein Stadt station from FRA Regionalbahnhof station at the airport - if your flight is on time. Travel time is one hour, one change of train. Cruise departs 11:15. Arrive 13:15 in St Goar. Leave Cologne 14:00 for Cologne, arrive 16:00.

You will likely find similar journeys via Rüdesheim.

Small bags are not a problem as long as you can carry them easily. But either way, it's a lot of moving around right after a transatlantic red-eye flight across multiple time zones. There's no time for anything at all in the Gorge except the cruise.

I might do as you've planned as far as St Goar, then check into a hotel there. See Rheinfels Castle and/or the town IF you feel up to it. A second night there will allow time for some combination of Bacharach, Rüdesheim, Marksburg, wine tasting, whatever you choose. Then see Bonn (the train station has lockers) on your way to Cologne in the morning of Day 3. Spend some pm time in Cologne on Day 3 and then all of Day 4 in Cologne.

The math you are using sounds odd to me.
 
The Day 3 transfer from St Goar to Cologne takes around 2 hours. How is this a full day lost? Can't imagine spending the rest of that day packing/unpacking. You'll have hours in the morning in the Rhine Gorge, or hours in the pm after you drop bags in Cologne.

The alternative - the day trip by train from Cologne to Rüdesheim (with the train trip back) is 5+ train hours.

The larger issue is which is better - more time in Cologne, or more in the Middle Rhine Valley? Somewhere along the way here you asked what I'd do myself. For me, Cologne is a half-day to a full-day undertaking, no more; I've sent you an alternative framework for the 4 days via pm from that perspective.

The other issue is the post-flight train ride... FRA > Cologne is a pricey ride - €100+ each for a flex ticket . Saver fare tickets at lower prices are available but a very bad risk - you lose the ticket if your flight is late and can't make the scheduled train. Then you are stuck buying additional tickets at that same price.

The FRA > Rhine town train ride is a REGIONAL train ride costing just €50-60 total for all 3 persons. You can buy this ticket on the spot if you wish, and it will be good on ANY regional trains that same day.

The math you are using sounds odd to me.

The whole dropping off the bags at the hotel and rushing back out the door for my family just never happens. But I’m okay with that. No sense in trying to rush everybody.

…post-flight train ride... FRA > Cologne is a pricey ride - €100+ each for a flex ticket .

There is currently FRA-Köln ticket for € 44.97 (total for the whole family). That’s such a good deal that if I have to eat that cost I’m okay and the train ride is only 51 minutes. Another possibility of the Quer-durchs-Land Ticket which I can get at any time and ride any time for a full day, but of course it’s not for the fast trains. However, it’s only €69.00 total for the whole family.

The alternative - the day trip by train from Cologne to Rüdesheim (with the train trip back) is 5+ train hours.

Yes, this one keeps me up at night. Continuing to carefully explore the 2 days on the Rhine & 2 days in Köln options.

Okay, I got it figured out. FRA-Bacharach for 2-nights. That’s enough time for the day cruise and to tour a couple of towns. Then 2-nights in Cologne/Köln. Found a good hotel. Gruppentageskarte 5 Pers train ticket €42.10 total for family can be purchased when we arrive. And only a hour and a half train ride from airport. Rest of our trip looks good but dang this leg was tough to work out. Thanks so much.

I am fine with whatever you are fine with. Just want to clarify what your choices actually are...

Yes - there are numerous € 44.97 saver fares for your date: With scheduled flight arrival at 7:20, the 8:30 departure at this fare is extremely iffy even if the flight is on time, no one needs to hit the restroom, etc.

The next such cheap fare at 9:54 is a safer bet as long as your flight gets in less than an hour late. Is that the one you planned to book? That said, the train does NOT arrive at the main Cologne train station; you will need to transfer at the Messe-Deutz station across the river, where your train dropped you, to get back to the main part of town.

The next such cheap fare at 9:57 gets you directly to the main station - at 12:06, a ride of 2+ hours.

Whichever you choose: forfeiture of the ticket €44.97 fare because of a delay leaves you at the airport and means either paying €100+ each to Cologne, OR getting the Quer durchs Land ticket at €69, as you point out, resulting in a €114 travel day. And also as you point out, it is not for the fast trains. So...

You missed that first 8:30 train? Next option for the slower regional trains on the QdL ticket - which leave from a different airport rail station - is at 9:24. This is not a direct trip - it's a 2-train sequence. So after stopping in Bacharach, Oberwesel and Boppard, your train terminates in Koblenz. There you change to the 2nd train after a 22-minute layover. Total travel time is 3+ hours, with arrival at 12:28, some 5+ hours after your scheduled landing time.

The alternative - heading straight to one of the MRV towns for a stay there:

The same 9:24 train is DIRECT to the MRV town you choose. Let's say it's Bacharach...which takes 56 minutes. Arrive there at 10:20.

There is no advance-sale ticket to pre-purchase or forfeit. There is no transfer to make on your way. There is no schedule to keep - no matter what time you get to the Regionalbahnhof at FRA, you can get a ticket and leave on the next train. You can use the QdL ticket at €69, but the wiser choice for this trip is the RMV Gruppentageskarte. Buy it on the spot at the station.