Which Rhine Castles can I visit while traveling by Train?

My favorite castle on the Rhein is Burg Rheinfels, in St. Goar. It is so very massive, and I love the great hall. I even get a kick out of the WC there. If you have time, go on one of their tours, as they take you down into the tunnels, which are very, very cool.

Ride the KD ship from Bingen to St. Goar. Ride the train back, or take the ferry to Sankt Goarshausen and take the train up to Braubach and visit the Marksburg.

While in St. Goar you can walk, take a bus or taxi up to the Rheinfels Castle.

Thank you Ms Jo and Mary Pat I definitely plan on seeing the sights and castle at St. Goar and I will take the tour.
Do you know if the tour is available on Mondays?

Thanks
Ken

I just found Burg Rheinfels website.
Beginning Oct 1 it is closed Monday - Thursday.
I could not find a schedule for the last week of April.

Does anyone know when the winter schedule ends or if it is ever open Monday - Tuesday?
Thanks
Ken

According to the Rheinfels website: https://burg-rheinfels.com/en/visit/. Scroll down then click on the > symbol where it says: What are the opening times at Rheinfels Castle that says the castle is open daily in April.

https://www.marksburg.de/en/

The Marksburg Castle is in Braubach on the east bank of the Rhine somewhat south of St Goar. You can cross the river by ferry at St. Goar if you want. Train travel to both north and south is available on both banks. The Marksburg is virtually untouched since the 15th Century and has the headquarters of the German Castle Association.

Marksburg is tops. Don't skip it. You can see it only with a guided tour. Traditionally, English tours have been at 1 & 4 pm. Check before you go.

From a St. Goar base, the most direct route to Braubach is to first use the ferry crossing to St. Goarshausen, then walk north a couple of blocks to the station. Board a train there - but make sure it's a NORTHBUOUND train - Braubach, home of the Marksburg, is 22 minutes NORTH of St. Goar and St. Goarshausen. See train lines and St. Goar Ferry crossing on this map:

http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/walking-hiking.php

Be sure to time your ferry crossing so that you have time to walk north and meet the train. All train schedules are at the DB website.
https://int.bahn.de/en

Ferry schedule: https://faehre-loreley.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Fahrplan_2024.pdf

It is a little simpler to just take the train to Koblenz then transfer to a train to Braubach. But it takes a little more time.

3) Any suggestions on which Cruise I should take from Bingen to St. Goar?

Pretty straightforward. Board in Bingen (or Rüdesheim, opposite Bingen on the other side of the Rhine.) Cruise north to St. Goar (about 1.5 hrs.) or to Bopppard (about 2.3 hrs.) 2024 K-D schedules aren't out yet. Expect 4 or more boats per day from Bingen. Bingen-Rüdesheimer operates on the same route as far as St. Goar with 2 boats per day.

https://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/linienfahrten/linie/loreley-cruise

I like Burg Rheinfels, especially if you can visit the tunnels. My brother and Imwent in them without any light 50 years ago. fun.

Pfalzgrafenstein, the small one in the Rhine can be explored, but it is not much. If you want to go to a ruin and probably be the only one there, go to Burg Stahlberg, above Steeg, just inland from Bacharach

I want to thank everyone for your help and replies.

Burg Rheinfels It looks like Burg Rheinfels Tours are only available on Saturday & Sunday @ 11:00, 13:00, 15:00. Does anyone know which of these times have Tours in English? I will be traveling from Cologne to Mannheim on a Sunday and I would like to get off the train in St. Goar and take the Tour.
I will have 2 Aircraft Carry On sized bags with me. Does anyone know if St. Goar Train Station has lockers for these 2 bags?
How much time should I allow in St. Goar to get off train, get to castle, take tour and get back to train for trip to Mannheim?

Marksburg Castle is now officially on my list for Monday after the river cruise.

Any other Castles or sights in the area that I can see on Monday/Tuesday while using train for my mode of transportation?

Thanks again for your help
Ken

There are no lockers in St. Goar. The TI office holds bags but is not open Sundays. Koblenz has lockers but you'd have to get off there, then do a round-trip to St. Goar and back to fetch bags. Your idea of getting either an English or German tour of Rheinfels, if your tour information is correct, is perhaps not achievable on this day. Contact the castle office to ask about your specific travel date, and ask them also about tours in English.

Marksburg Castle is now officially on my list for Monday after the
river cruise.

While this could work for you, it is easier to combine a visit to Rheinfels in St. Goar with a cruise than it is to include Marksburg since the majority of the cruise boats that leave Bingen terminate in St. Goar, and Rheinfels is also in St. Goar. So without luggage (and without a guided tour, if your information is correct,) a Monday visit to Rheinfels would be a slam dunk.

Marksburg: If you stop for a castle tour on the way to Mannheim on SUNDAY, this is probably the best choice. Use Koblenz station lockers, then catch the train to Braubach (just 10 minutes) and walk up. English tours are at 1 pm traditionally but you should contact the castle administration to find out for sure if this is so on your date.
https://www.marksburg.de/en/visitor-information/#/

You can take ANY Marksburg tour and follow along with a written text in English distributed at the ticket office upon request. Maybe they still use this one:

https://www.marksburg.de/assets/uploads/Marksburg__Guided_Tour_in_Englisch_2021_.pdf

Any other Castles or sights in the area that I can see on
Monday/Tuesday while using train for my mode of transportation?

Yes. The most obviously-neglected castle in this area is BURG ELTZ, which everyone seems to like. You would travel by train to Koblenz, change there to a Mosel-River line train to Hatztzenport, then catch a connecting bus to the Castle. The DB site provides all these connections. Use "Burg Eltz, Wierschem" as your destination to search for travel schedules:

https://int.bahn.de/en

Also very popular - but apparently somewhat unpopular on this forum and with Rick Steves himself - is Reichsburg Castle in Cochem. To reach Cochem: again, train to Koblenz and change to a Mosel-River line train. Because they are fairly close to each other, Burg Eltz and Cochem are often visited on the same day - so Reichsburg and Burg Eltz should also be possible in just one day, if you wish (though I've not actually done this.) Reichsburg:

https://reichsburg-cochem.de/?lang=en
https://www.german-way.com/travel-and-tourism/germany-for-tourists/castles-and-palaces/cochem-castle/

I realize you're locked into a Mannheim base. But it may be worthwhile to spring for on hotel night in this area on Monday rather than making two round-trip visits from Mannheim to see these places. At least you'd be purchasing only one round-trip train ticket instead of two.

See your pm box for an alternative outing in the Neckar River Valley - Burg Guttenberg and other castles are just up the Neckar River from Mannheim, not terribly far away.

Only chiming in to say that Marksburg Castle was one of the best parts of my Rhine River visit. The walk up from the train station through the woods is lovely. I took a German tour with an English handout and only felt I missed out on the jokes the tour guide was telling. I visited Rheinfels castle following the RS guide book and it covered enough for my interest, so if you can't get there on a weekend I don't think all is lost.

Oh, and Russ and Ms. Jo (and Lee, if he weighs in) give spot on advice that I've followed many times, you can't go wrong with their sage wisdom on this area.

Thank you to everyone for your advice and help.

I have spent several hours online today looking DB website, Eurail Global Passes and interrail eurail going over routes and options.

On my trip from Cologne to Mannheim I will stop in Braubach and see Marksburg Castle. Marksburg certainly looks like a gem.

While looking at websites for different castles and sites, a few times I have noticed tours on holidays. I will be in Mannheim the week of May 1st. Isn't May 1st considered a holiday? I was in Munich in 2008 from the end of April until May 4th or 5th and it was certainly a week of celebration and free concerts @ Marienplatz and it even included a small riot when Russia beat Germany in a Football game.

I am really hoping that I can get a tour of Rhienfels castle on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday if May 1st is considered a Holiday.

Thanks again for all of your help
Ken

I am really hoping that I can get a tour of Rhienfels castle on
Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday if May 1st is considered a Holiday.

May 1 is indeed a holiday. Whether Rheinfels will have tours that day - or on Monday the 29th or Tuesday the 30th - is not clear to me.

I've sent you a private message with some suggestions for a May 1 outing from Mannheim which include a visit to Rheinfels.