Towns to Stay in Rhine and Mosel Valleys

Rick recommends Bacharach, but in my opinion, Boppard is a much better choice. For one thing, by staying there you will receive a VRM transport ticket for the length of your stay. Then you can pretty much leave the car in the parking lot, as you have free use of regional trains and buses in the region. That goes up the Rhine as far as Oberwesel (but not as far as Bacharach), down river past Koblenz, and up the Mosel river past Cochem.

What is your family make-up? With a car, you could stay at a Weingut or other BnB type place along the Mosel for very low cost. We did that a few years ago and it was the most memorable stop in Germany as well as the cheapest.

"Please keep in mind that we will have a car, so getting around will not be a problem and we will not be dependent upon public transportation."

With a car, you'll be able to rent a place in the hinterlands if you wish to do so and if you don't mind driving everywhere you need to go.

On the downside, the towns are typically filled with visitors during the high-tourist season, parking isn't always free or available, and the roads are often slower than the trains. The journey from Cochem to Bullay is just 8 minutes by train, 30 by car, for example. It is exceptionally easy to get from place to place by train in this area. You will need to use the train when you do your cruise, at a minimum.

Boppard is a good Rhine base town for many reasons, including the waterfront hotels that provide nice views of the river and proximity to everything. St Goar has waterfront hotels and great views too. There are also suburbs on the clifftops here and there where rentals can be found as which provide a completely different perspective. You'd want a car for those, as the trains stay by the riverbanks.

Having a car a Castle Hotel might be an option
Here Schönburg Castle Hotel above Oberwesel (next village down the river from Bacharach)
or
Nice Hotel in Bacharach

or
A much cheaper option might be a Farmstay above Bacharach and a Holiday Home on the Farm
Check their website for vacancies

There are so many options

My friend and I stayed in a great AirBnB in Enkirch, which is a very quiet town on the Mosel that had, as far as I could tell, no other Americans and very few tourists of any nationality. I had wanted to stay up above in Starkenburg, but my friend is afraid of heights. That's the beauty of a car. You can stay anywhere that suits your needs and budget. Set the map wide on whatever booking site you prefer.

Hello Sam

Thanks for your quick response. I have noticed that a lot of people recommend Boppard as the place to stay in the Rhine Valley but it seems some distance from Bacharach which is a town we definitely want to visit. We have heard a lot about it in many places apart from the RS guidebooks. For example, Travel and Leisure magazine recently listed it as one of the 20 most beautiful places to visit in Europe! But I suppose we could stay somewhere else and drive to Bacharach. I am wondering if St. Goar can be a good compromise since it appears to be between Boppard and Bacharach.

I do not want to say that we have an unlimited budget, but we do not want to skimp on staying in a hotel with a great view of the Rhine (and castles if possible). We may not go back to this part of Germany so we are willing to pay a little extra to indulge ourselves! So that precludes staying in a town in the hinterland with no view of the river, even if it a lot less expensive.

Thanks again for your help.

Penn

Hi All

I do recognize that driving a car will take a lot longer than taking a train, but having a car gives us options to stop wherever we want, take side trips to explore places that we find interesting, and otherwise give us freedom of movement. We will definitely plan on taking the train on the day we do a river cruise. Go one way on a river cruise boat and return to our starting point by train.

Some of you have said that you stayed at BnB's but did not give names. It would be great if you remember the names of the places you stayed at so that I can reach out to them.

Thanks again to all of you for your quick responses. I find them all very interesting and useful.

Penn

Bacharach: Bacharach has some of the Rhine's most attractive old-world buildings and the glossy photos aren't lying. You definitely should visit. But it's on the same side of the river ands quite close to Boppard (20 minutes by train) and from St Goar (only 10 minutes by train - sorry, I don't think car-time!) and thus is one of the closest possible destination-towns you could drive to from these towns.

...we do not want to skimp on staying in a hotel with a great view of
the Rhine (and castles if possible).

Hotel Rheinfels or the Rheinhotel St Goar are solid choices and right next to each other. See photos below for views from St Goar across the Rhine:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Sankt_Goarshausen_Burg_Katz_2012.jpg

View from Rheinhotel St Goar; note proximity of the KD boat dock, which makes cruising super-simple...
https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/18/9e/0f/df/rheinhotel-st-goar.jpg?w=1400&h=-1&s=1

Bacharach has no such hotels since the town is set well back from the riverfront behind the main railway; see view from above town:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Bacharach_Luftbild_01.jpg

In Boppard, the Hotel Bellevue is a popular choice for riverfront rooms. The view is more bucolic and less dramatic than from the St Goar hotels, however.

Oberwesel's Hotel Auf Schönburg is high atop the cliffs outside of town and has great views from certain rooms. It's a castle-hotel, the finest in the area and a huge splurge of course. I like in-town locations, myself.

https://www.loreleyvalley.com/oberwesel-rhine/00372-oberwesel-rhein-778_01.jpg

I stay in Bacharach, 5 times since 2011 and another stay coming up in fall. I think it is a great place to stay. Plenty of places to eat if staying 4 days. I stay in a 3 room b&b with the sweetest landlady. However no parking. I would look at Pension Im Malerwinkel. Nice location - at the area of Bacharach known as the .Malerwinkel ( painter’s corner ) and plenty of parking. Wide variety of room types. www.im-malerwinkel.de. click on the Union Jack for English.

One of my favorite ‘hidden gems’ is just up the road from the Im Malerwinkel - Burgruine Stahlberg. It’s a very nice ruin with a small moat, towers and you will probably be the only ones there.

Not ‘hidden’ at all, but a favorite activity is the chairlift in Boppard. The view coming down is my favorite Rhine view.

Seeing as you have a car, stick to one base. I'm in the minority and prefer the Mosel, so I'd rent an apartment for a week in or around Cochem. Use Traum-ferienwohnungen,VRBO, Booking etc. Or browse the tourist office websites for Cochem, Ernst (many choices) and Treis-Karden. Filter for 2 bedrooms (only 1 bedroom in the apartment we used in Cochem). Some hosts offer local transport passes.

Main destinations easily reachable: Cochem (castle), Bernkastel-Kues (castle ruin converted into a restaurant, book a table by the window), Zell, Beilstein, Burg Eltz, Koblenz. Trier is a bit further.

There are many varied hiking trails. The steepest vineyard in the world, the Bremmer Calmont, has a trail between Ediger-Eller to Bremm, and trails leading to the peak. Good photo opportunity. Bremm is a nice spot for lunch.

Quiet, rolling countryside to the west of Cochem in the Vulkan Eifel region. Pleasant, fairly easy walks between Daun and Schalkenmehrener.

Little visited but worth it: Schloss Bürresheim, pretty Monreal, and Maria Laach (abbey and lake).

From Cochem, St Goar (great ruin), Boppard, Bacharach and Marksburg Castle can all be reached within an hour or so. If I stayed on the Rhine, Eltville or Bacharach would be my preference; the former may be too far south for your itinerary.

"Hidden Gems" on the Rhine

Oberwesel (in between St Goar and Bacharach) is home to the Günderodehaus - a special place in a special location high on the vineclad cliffs just outside of town. I have only hiked up there from town - but driving is possible, though parking may be limited... Stop in for refreshments on the terrace and take in the view.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g198501-d1886472-Reviews-Gunderodehaus_Filmhaus_Heimat_3-Oberwesel_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Another thing Rick Steves fans aren't told about is Oberwesel's old town wall/towers - take a scenic walk there:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198501-d2189241-Reviews-City_Fortifications-Oberwesel_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Using the car/pedestrian ferry from St Goar or the ferry from Boppard, cross the river and drive north along the riverbank to Osterspai. Take a walk through this most attractive tourist-free residential town and you'll see why people live here. Small family-run inns exist here, mostly to provide simple lodging for the hikers who frequent the Rheinsteig hiking trail on this side of the river.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4E5FyzrK98

Continue north to Braubach, which is largely overlooked by tourists but competes favorably with Bacharach for the title of most beautiful Rhine town. Take a long walk through this small town. Most visitors in Braubach are there for MARKSBURG CASTLE, the very best of all the Rhine Castles for touring (don't miss it... the car is handy for driving up the steep hillside, English tours at 11 and 4.)

The Braubach photos on 3 pages below should convince you to take that long walk...
https://stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/index.php?thread/7322-braubach-am-rhein-und-marksburg-galerie/

I always try to stop in for a meal at the zum Goldenen Schlüssel on Braubach's market square for some traditional German food (which is harder and harder to find these days.) Open Friday - Tuesday.

They set up outdoors too:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4143/4751924826_98980aa49f_o.jpg

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g642094-d8452318-Reviews-Zum_Goldenen_Schluessel-Braubach_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Bigtyke has mentioned the Boppard Chairlift - don't miss it - but also, don't miss the terrace-cafe there at the top, Gedeonseck. Stunning views: https://s3-media1.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/T9oxNMwLvt_-r5nCsce-jg/o.jpg

Boppard has lots of eateries and places to stay. Try the Heilig Grab wine garden (in town.)
https://www.deutschlandgourmet.info/bilder/gross/5710-Restaurant-Weinhaus-Heilig-Grab-Boppard.jpg

Boppard info: https://www.boppard-tourismus.de/media/was-ist-wo-broschu__re_en_190219.pdf

Since you have a car, let me be contrary. Base out of Mainz and Trier. Mainz gives you the Rhine valley, with options to take opposite sides of the river on alternate days. It also puts you right by the Niederwalddenkmal, and you don't want to not visit this. https://www.niederwalddenkmal.de/

Mainz also is perfect to visit Bingen on July 4th, because at 2000 they will start the Rhine in Flames fireworks, which run 2 hours. And you don't want to drive back downstream after that. https://www.rheinhessen.de/en/e-rhein-in-flammen-bingen

Add to that the Mainz cathedral, the Chagall windows at St Stephans, the Isis Temple and Roman Ampitheater, and a lot of stuff going on after 1900 when the small towns roll up the streets.

You can easily see everything on the Rhine from Mainz with a car, and you'll have a better choice of hotels and places to eat.

Trier is excellent for a lot of the same reasons, only on the Mosel. Roman ruins, WWII sites, great cathedral, excellent old town, etc. and an easy drive to anyplace on the Mosel.

Don't get me wrong, those small towns are great to visit. I've probably spent more time in them than anyone on this forum, certainly over the past 3 years. But I drive, and I'd stay in the cities over any of those tourist towns. And I'd opt for 4 days in the Mosel and 3 in the Rhine. The Mosel is better.

Here are a couple suggestions for something not in Ricks books:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/better-than-burg-eltz

If you like old cars, 3 July will be cruise night at the Zylinderhaus: https://zylinderhaus.events/kues-cruise-night/

One of the best places to sit and watch the world go by while having a beer and something to eat: https://www.brauhaus-kloster-machern.de/

Just south of Bernkastle-Kues is the town of Morbach, and right near there you have Burgruine Baldenau, one of the most picturesque castle ruins anywhere, with a great hiking trail through the local woods, and the Roman Archeology Center https://belginum.de/

If that's not enough, I have more.

We enjoyed Saarburg on the Saar near the Mosel and we stayed at Hotel Villa Keller. Trier is nice as is Bernkastel-kues. In 2012 we stayed at B&B Haus Theis in Cochem and it was fine. At they time it was cash only. In 2023 we stayed at Altkolnischer Hof in Bacharach. It had free nearby parking.

Wow Everyone!

Thank you all very much for all your suggestions. Clearly I have a lot of additional reading and Google searches to do before we finalize our plans. KGC has given me lots of ideas of things to do around the 3-4th of July, but unfortunately we will not get to the Rhine until the 5th of July! :-(

I have sent E-Mail inquiries to many of the hotels you all have recommended and I hope I hear back from them tomorrow or later this week. I can tell that triple rooms are selling out so the sooner we book, the better we will be from a peace of mind point of view.

Please keep all the recommendations coming! I love them!

Penn

Strongly disagree with the idea of using Mainz as a base town for visiting the Rhine and Mosel Rivers.

I used to live in Mainz, a nice city with some interesting sights. But as I understand it, you are interested in finding lodging in Bacharach or something similar, a village-like place with old-world atmosphere and nice scenery surrounded by castles, etc. Mainz is nothing like this. Mainz is on a very flat part of the Rhine River has 220,000 inhabitants and was heavily bombed in WW II. And Mainz is no closer to Bingen than St. Goar - and it puts you much further from the other Rhine towns to the north and the Mosel River as well.

If you want to VISIT Mainz, I encourage that idea, if it has what you are looking for. Check it out.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187393-Activities-oa0-Mainz_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Cochem sounds like a good base town. Large and interesting enough to have evening activity and relatively central between Trier and Koblenz. The castle (Reichsburg) above Cochem was fun, even if rebuilt and reimagined in the 19th Century.

We cycled from Trier to Koblenz with stays in Trittenheim, Zeltingen, Zell, Treis Karden and Koblenz. We turned the corner on the Rhine to head to Boppard and Marksburg Castle and back to Koblenz for a second night.

For us, highlights included the excellent Rheinesches Landesmuseum in Trier, Burg Eltz and Marksburg Castle, a memorable dinner in Zeltingen at Zeltingen Hof, and lunch with a view at Burg Landshut, above Bernkastel.

KGC mentions Mainz, which you may well want to include, as well. We spent about 4 hours in Mainz - which we reached by train - mostly to see both the Chagall windows at St. Stephen’s and the Gutenberg Museum, now in a temporary home in the Natural History Museum. Time well spent.

Koblenz is a lovely city - with a nice old town, beautiful parkland along both rivers, and more.

Depending on your family interests, ages and activity level, consider a cycle day if you can arrange it. Cycling the riverfront trails, past the campgrounds along the shores and with a stop for lunch or a glass of wine or beer on the riverfront along the way offers a great perspective. All very flat (except if you cycle up to a castle), with very protected bike paths other than in the city of Koblenz away from the riverfront parks and south of Koblenz on east side (right bank) of the Rhine.

Hi,
We stayed in Boppard last October and would highly recommend it.
The Bellevue Hotel was very nice. The staff at both the front desk and the bar/restaurant were very friendly. I would get a room with a balcony. I enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching the river traffic.
A short distance from the hotel, 15 minute walk, is a chair lift, Sesselbahn, that takes you up, about 20 minute ride,to great views of the Rhine.
The KD line boats stop in front of the hotel. We found taking the train down to Bingen and then the boat back up to Boppard was the preferred route.
There is plenty to do and see in the area. Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar, Marksburg Castle in Braubach just to name a few.
We all, 5 adults, agreed that the decision to base in Boppard was a good one but I’m sure wherever you choose will be great. Enjoy.

No one has mentioned a visit to Eltville, which is on the right side of the Rhein. Beautiful town filled with half-timbered houses and a lovely, ancient church. The dry moat is filled with flowers and the promonade along the river is lovely.
Since you have a car, from Eltville you could drive up to Eberbach Monastery, one of the highlights of the Rhein. Stunning basilica!
Pop into Kiedrich and visit the church of St. Valentine, then head towards the Hildegard von Bingen Abby, just a short distance away. Close to Rüdesheim.
In Rüdesheim, you can take the gondola over the vineyards for a fabulous view and visit the Niederwald Denkmal. I usually recommend a visit to Siegfrieds Musical Cabinet, one of the most unique places around. For everyone who isn't driving, you might want to visit Rhein Wein Welt in Rüdesheim. For 12 €, you get 10 "coins" to use for wine tasting. They have about 120 wines, all from the Rheingau region, and set up in about 8 rooms. This is in the old Asbach factory and again, quite unique.

Mainz is having a beer fest from 3-7 July, so you might want to be there for that.

Mosel base town

Many nice towns, lots of excellent choices. There are many vacation rentals (Ferienwohnungen) available here and there; most have 3-4-night minimums.

Cochem (very busy, streets packed with tourists) is a lovely town. Can't recommend a place at the moment as my favorite B&Bs have closed.

Beilstein is adorable and has become very popular, but it's just too small for a multi-night stay IMHO.

Bernkastel is a stunning town way upstream near Trier. Do pay it a visit at least. Packed with restaurants ahd hotels like Cochem.

On the quieter side...

I've enjoyed stays in Bullay (very simple, sleepy riverfront town in a scenic spot) at the Hotel Mosella and at some B&B's that seem to have gone by the wayside. A bakery, a small handful of restaurants, a ferry crossing to the town of Alf, one grocery store, and a couple wineries... this is a relaxing place with near-zero tourists/souvenir shops. It's maybe 5 km to Zell, a town just a bit larger that lies upriver. Whether you want to visit places upstream or downstream, Bullay is right at the heart of the Mosel. This is a great town if you want to take walks in the countryside or ride bikes along the river without being shoulder-to-shoulder with visitors.

I see strong availability on the calendar from July 7-21 at this Ferienwohnung: Brautröckchen, 14 Bahnhofstrasse, Bullay. Has 2 bedrooms, 1 ba, kitchen, dining + outdoor terrace dining, and air conditioning (uncommon in the area.) Haven't stayed there, but it has very good reviews as well. Looks like just the kind of place I like to book for the 3 of us. €475/4nights/3adults seems pretty reasonable for the sample dates I used (July 14-18.) Look it up on booking.com to view it in English; German page below has the availability calendar:

https://www.traum-ferienwohnungen.de/783575/

Kröv is a nice, quiet riverfront wine town further upstream where we stayed most recently - also very quiet. We took a river cruise from there to Bernkastel (mentioned above.) We enjoyed our stay and breakfast at Der Weinladen (small B& B, also on booking.com.) Not sure about accommodations for 3...?

"...to see the place where the two rivers merge" That spot is called " Deutsches Eck. "

Where do you plan on seeing that? if you don't want to drive to reach Deutsches Eck, public transport is the answer. I would suggest seeing Deutsches Eck also from above.

That can be done overlooking the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel from the original Prussian fortress, Festung Ehrenbreitstein constructed soon after the defeat of Napoleon so that Prussia given the Rhineland could keep watch over this part of the Middle Rhine against the possibility of a resurgent France.

The bus #1 with Deutsches Eck as the terminus can be taken from the bus depot right outside of Koblenz Hbf.

If you want to see a pertinent historical little town close to Koblenz, I suggest also Bad Ems (very important) and Limburg an der Lahn. (somewhat further away) Depending on how much driving you're doing, how about Kaub am Rhein, this little historical town should you be interested in going after that.

If you like to plan nice evening events with good music, here a one sample for the river rhine area (most at very nice places)
https://www.rheingau-musik-festival.de/startseite

and here a sample for the river mosel area
https://mosel-reisefuehrer.de/index.php/aktivitaeten/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungen-nach-datum

Hello Again Everyone

Wow and Wow! I am so grateful to all of you for taking the time to post suggestions and recommendations in response to my questions. Based upon your suggestions, we have changed our decision to stay in Bacharach and are now planning to stay in St. Goar while we are in the Rhine Valley. I have written to three of the hotels that were recommended in St. Goar and I am waiting for responses from them. As Russ stated, we are looking to stay in a smaller town with more of the "old world atmosphere", so we hope that we can find that in St. Goar.

One of my family was very intrigued by the thought of doing a short bike ride as Fred had suggested, especially if the terrain is relative flat. We will definitely look into it. As we will with many of the ideas that all of you have given us. I want to print out this entire thread and take it with us to Germany. You have given us so many great ideas that we will have to figure out how many of them we can do in the 4 days that we have in the Rhine Valley!

Please keep more ideas and suggestions coming!

Penn