2 nights in St. Goar - where else can I go ?

We stayed in Bacharach last year, and we found the area to shut down around 7PM and there is not much night life, but there are a few little pubs that might or might not be open.

Reinfels Castle was awesome though. You should check it out if you are there. We had a blast checking out all the corridors and tunnels.

Thanks, Jon. Maybe I should take it easy around St. Goar, as I would still have jet lag then.

Yes you could use the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket to go elsewhere for dinner, but why? There ARE restaurants in St. Goar. If you have to go somewhere else, there are a number of restaurants around the market square in Boppard.

Rheinfels is indeed a ruins, but you can still see the complexity of the defenses. I found it interesting.

Although the first leg of the trip from St. Goar to Bacharach is somewhat expensive, the return trip is dirt cheap, but why spend another 40 minutes seeing the same scenery twice. The train from Bacharach to St. Goar cost 3,10 and take 10 min, the boat back costs 2,30 but takes 40 min. Better yet, take the train from St. Goar to Bacharach (10 min) and come back on the boat (40 min).

If you are interested in night life, stay in California. That's not why I go to Germany. Usually I am up at 6 AM (I never do that at home), and in my room, getting ready for bed by 9 PM).

Just wanted to see more places with my limited time. I'll read on Boppard. I'm just concerned if there are trains to take me back to St. Goar at night.

With my schedule, going to bed at 9pm sure is the right idea. Thanks!

And welcome back from your latest Bavarian trip!

I stayed in St. Goar as well when I was visiting the Rhine.

One evening, I remember it was around 5pm and too early for dinner, so we took the train to Bacharach for a walk around the town. It was very picturesque with steps upwards for a view of the river, and a nice way to spend a leisurely 2 hours. Then, we took the train back and had a late dinner.

I did find the Rheinfels Castle interesting. There is no nightlife in the area. Just keep track of the latest train back to St. Goar if you are exploring some of the towns well into the evening, especially from further away places like Koblenz or Bingen.

Thanks, Russ and all! Excellent tips! I got kinda stuck with Rick's suggestion to cruise back and forth Bacharach and St. Goar.

I'll probably take it easy around St. Goar the first night due to jet lag, then explore the Northern part next day. Up to Marksburg castle!

On your first day, you could easily take the train up to Boppard for the evening. The evenings there aren't what I'd call full of nightlife, but there's a bit more going on. HOWEVER, there's a pretty good chance you'll be jet-lagged if it's your first day and flying in from CA!

Day 2: Don't waste time taking the boat both directions. Take the train to Bacharach in the morning. A 10:15 boat heads north from Bacharach (downsteam, faster.) I would ride it past St. Goar to Braubach, where you arrive at 12:20 - 2 hours is just right, and this is a great stretch of scenery - and proceeed to Marksburg Castle, a must-see in this area, for the 1:00 tour. When you're done, have some lunch, then take the train south to St. Goarshausen and take the ferry (runs every 10-15 minutes) across to St. Goar for your visit to Rheinfels.

Boat schedules:

http://www.k-d.com/englisch/schiffstouren/fahrplan-rhein-peak.html

Train schedules:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

There is one regional train per hour through St. Goar in either direction (from Koblenz, Boppard, or from Mainz, Bacharach). The one from Boppard takes 11 min and arrives in St. Goar at 20 past the hour. The latest train appears to arrive at 2320.

Marksburg Castle isn't far. I vote for Marksburg, although they close at 5:00 thru October, and 4:00 thru March, making a late afternoon tour somewhat possible. Here's their website: http://www.marksburg.de/default.htm