Bacharach to Burg Eltz

It's doable as a day trip, but might be kind of long if you have young children. The best way to travel would be to get a Lander ticket -for €26, 5 of you can travel all day (After 9 AM) in the Rhineland-Palatinate region. Take the train to Koblenz, then transfer to Moselkern. The train should take 1.5 hours approx. From there, it's about an hour hike to the castle.

For more info on Lander Tkts see
http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/prices/germany/laender_tickets.shtml

Check out Burg Stahleck as a place to stay in Bacharach. It's a castle/hostel, but they have private family rooms with bath and it's very popular with families with children. I'm sure the kids would LOVE to stay in a castle on top of the town. Breakfast is provided, and there is a restaurant in the hostel as well.

http://www.hostelz.com/hostels/Germany/Rhineland-Palatinate-(Rheinland-Pfalz)/Bacharach

If you stay in St. Goar, you will be inside the transit district Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel. Then you can travel to Moselkern (train stop for Burg Eltz) on a VRM Minigruppenticket for €20. It is also valid for 5 people, but no 9 AM limit, and is good for all travel in the Verkehrsverbund as far down the Rhein as Linz or up the Mosel to Trauben-Trarbach.

As for me, if I had limited time, I would go to Braubach and visit the Marksburg instead. It is also one of the few castles in the area that was never destroyed, and it is easier to access without a car. There is a shuttle from the K-D dock to the castle.

Good advice from Lee. Having stayed in both towns, I would stay in St. Goar and daytrip to Bacharach myself. St. Goar has a more attractive Rhine Gorge setting and makes a somewhat better base to see the area from - you can ferry across the river there to St. Goarshausen, which has a train station for exploring the opposite side - and for getting to Marksburg in Braubach, which isn't as impressive as Burg Eltz but still quite impressive and is much easier to reach. The walk to Burg Eltz could be too long for your kids. In Braubach, a small choo-choo shuttle (Marksburg Express) will take you up to Marksburg for a few Euros.

Here's a good description of the walk to Eltz if you're game:

www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html

Also, there's a falconry show at Burg Maus castle north of St. Goarshausen several times per day. Taxi there or ride bikes along the river; our innkeeper in St. Goar had several.

Bacharach is nice too if you end up staying there.

Thanks for all the information. I'm going to check out St. Goar, and these other castles. My kids are 10 and 13, so I think we could manage the hike at Burg Eltz but not sure if time will allow. The falcon show sounds great. I'm definitely going to check into that. Thanks again.

I believe the Burg Maus falcons get a day off on Mondays.

LeAnne, I have done Burg Eltz as a day trip from Bacharach. We had plenty of time and really enjoyed it. We took the train to Moselkern as Rick recommends and hiked from there. Take along some water for the walk.

We stayed at Burg Stahlek. It's a castle turned into a hostel. It was a highlight for our kids, along with Rheinfels ruins. It's one of the few places I suggest reservations for. It's often full.

The hike to Burg Eltz isn't bad. It's uphill but runs along a stream through the woods so I think your kids would enjoy the walk. You will need directions from the station to the trail. I asked and was escorted by local kids.

Both Moselkern and St. Goar or Bacharach are reachable on the local trains. Look for the bahn tickets that cater to up to five on local trains. We used the Schoenes Wochende pass but might not cover Mosel Valley.

I would suggest also taking the Mosel Valley train to Trier. It has the most Roman ruins outside of Italy in case you aren't getting down there.

Finally pack light even with kids. Each of our kids is limited to one carry on, like us. My 8 year old used only a largish daypack that worked fine for her. You will be much happier not dragging extra stuff.

My wife and I stayed in Bacharach and visited Burg Eltz on the way to Cochem (used lockers in Koblenz to store luggage). We both liked Bacharach and Cochem, but if I had to pick, I would choose Cochem. And I would not miss Burg Eltz. For us the hike there and back was long, but it was the most amazing forest I have ever seen. The hike itself was better than the castle. We were there in mid to late October and the fall colors looked like this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2044/2255845058_9a2110e322_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2308/2255846304_0e1e6165ae_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/2255847852_80c7d4a00c_b.jpg

Have a great time!

I stayed last summer at Pension Lettie in Bacharach. We had two large connecting rooms with a bath for the four of us. She was very accomodating and spoke English. We took the ferry a short distance, then we traveled by train to Moselkern (and back by train all the way). We then hiked to Burg Eltz. I think your children will not have a problem with the hike and will probably enjoy it too. My kids are older (14, 18, 18) but we had a great day (although it was a long day) and it was nice to walk, then sit on the train later to enjoy the river views. Here is the info on the place we stayed: Pension Lettie, Kranenstrasse 6, 06743/2115, [email protected] 80 E/night

Lee (or anyone): You said that if you stay in St. Goar then you are in the transit district Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel. Does this mean that Bacharach is outside of the Rhein-Mosel district? If so, is the Laendes-Ticket a few euros more to get to Burg Eltz?