Travel on the Rhine

No, and it's not a great idea anyway. You'd be cruising a lot of unscenic territory and paying a lot for the privilege.

If you are staying in Bacharach, just take the train there. Then cruise the most scenic part of the river that afternoon or the next day... use the train to reach the best cruise departure point and return to Bacharach...

1. Train to Bingen
2. Boat to St. Goar (Rheinfels Castle) a trip of 1.5 hours
3. Train to Bacharach

This cruise costs just €16 if you show your ticket at the KD dock in Bingen for a 20% discount. Cologne to Bacharach (which would require additional train travel as well and 2 days) is nearly €60.

See the 2018 K-D brochure with schedule at https://www.k-d.com/fileadmin/kataloge/KD_Timetable_intern_2018_web.pdf. Even starting from Koblenz to Bacharach takes 4.5 hours.

There are several problems with Köln to Bacharach by boat.

1. Although Köln to Bacharach is down on a map, the Rhein actually flows upward on a map, to the NW, and the current is strong. Köln to Bacharach is against the current. It would just take too long.
2. There is not even a continuous boat trip (at least not by K-D) from Köln to Bacharach. The only K-D boat that leaves Köln does so at 9:30 and stops at Linz at 14:30. The next boat up the river is the next morning at 9:30 and you would get to Bacharach at 6:30 PM with a change in Koblenz.

You could make the trip in a day if you started from Bonn (not Köln) at 7:30. You'd have the one hour change at Koblenz and get to Bacharach at 6:30 PM.

For Bacharach, check www.bacharach.de for a list of places to stay. Click on ‘gastgeber’ . I’ve stayed 3 times at Irmgard Orth’s - a small place with one room with en suite bathroom and two rooms with the bath across the hall. Great price, wonderful hostess. orth.irmgard@gmail.com

I watched one of Rick's travel shows and he went from St Goar to
Bacharach on the scenic boat

Just once I went form St. Goar to Bacharach by boat. That trip is against the current and is excruciatingly slow. By the time I got to Bacharach I was reay to get out and swim! Take the train from St. Goar to Bacharach. When you buy your boat ticket from Bacharach to St. Goar, you'll get a 20% discount by showing the (Bahn) train ticket.

That teeny short trip from Bacharach to St. Goar is almost sad and it makes me angry that Rick only recommends this. You miss 3/4ths of the castles by only riding this short cruise. Start farther on the river at either Bingen or Rüdesheim and ride to St. Goar.

I have gone the other direction on the ship and it truly is not as bad as some people make it out to be. Is it slower, yes, but it is so beautiful that you don't mind. People enjoy their wine, take lots of photos, watch the birds and the sun arranging shadows on the vineyards. It certainly isn't boring!

"I watched one of Rick's travel shows and he went from St Goar to Bacharach on the scenic boat."

The viewers who copy Rick's Rhine example will indeed be making a slower slog in that direction (it's 70 minutes, vs. 40 minutes if you start in Bacharach.)

"Just once I went form St. Goar to Bacharach by boat. That trip is against the current and is excruciatingly slow."

The current is very strong. But with no solid frame of reference, Rick's followers probably do not notice. And if they start in Bacharach as Lee suggests, they probably won't know that they're omitting some great scenery, either. I strongly suggest doing Bingen - St. Goar if at all possible. This map of the Rhine shows the towns and castles between Koblenz and Bingen. Locate the Bacharach - Bingen segment to see what a Bacharach-to-St. Goar cruise (or Rick's St. Goar-to-Bacharach cruise) omits.

Bingen - St. Goar = 85 minutes. If you make the mistake of starting in St. Goar, you will have to spend 2.7 hours to see the same scenery!

"Even starting from Koblenz to Bacharach takes 4.5 hours."

Yup. And SIX hours if you cruise the entire scenic segment and end in Bingen! Besides the current problem, Koblenz' boat dock is a healthy trek from the train station. There is almost never a good reason to start the cruise in Koblenz.