Hi, My family and I plan to take a day trip from Koln (by train to 1. Bingen, Rhine on either 3 or 4 June 2012. 2. Take the KD cruise from Bingen to Braubach. 3. Stops in Bacharach, St. Goar or St. Goarhausen, Boppard 4. Dinner in Braubach 5. Take the train from Cologne to Braubach I would like to know if I should do this cruise on a Sunday (3 June) or Monday (4 June). Will the towns in St Boar, Braubach, Boppard be opened on a Sunday? If I go on a Sunday, I can save on the train tickets by buying the Happy Weekend ticket. Thanks in advance for your help! Rgds. Elaine
Malaysia
Posted by
Paradise
6941 posts
Stores in these towns are closed on Sundays. But you can of course visit these towns on Sundays - restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. will be open to server you. 3. It will not be convenient or even possible to make all those stops using the boat before you reach Braubach. See the boat schedule at www.k-d.de Can you get to Bingen by 10:30? The 10:30 boat gets you to Bacharach at 11:15. Spend one hour there, then get on the 12:15 boat to St. Goar (arrive 12:55.) To reach Braubach, cross the river by ferry (it runs all day long) to St. Goarshausen and take the train north (about 20 min. to Braubach) at 14:31. You should be able to catch the 16:00 tour (usually in English) of Marksburg Castle: http://www.marksburg.de Then have dinner and go back to Cologne by train via Koblenz. The Happy Weekend ticket will be cheap, but you can't use the fast (IC, ICE, EC) trains from Cologne. Check schedules on the regional trains at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en by selecting "only local transport" under "means of transport"; the 7:32 train will get you to Bingen at 9:43. Same thing for the evening train back to Cologne.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
The Rhine area hosts a lot of visitors. In June, there will be enough places open to satisfy any need you have.
Posted by
OP
Kuala Lumpur
6 posts
My itinerary is as follows :- 1. Take the train from Koln at 7:32, reaching Bacharach at 9:45am. 2. Take the KD cruise from Bacharach which starts at 10:15am 3. Stops in St Goar, Boppard and get down at Braubach at 16:30. 4. Take train from Braubach to Koln after dinner I put in Koln - Bacharach in bahn.de for Mon 4 June 2012 and the fares are very expensive. more then euro100. If I put key in the route for Sun 3 June 2012, its Euro 40 for 4 adults 1 child.
Is this the Happy Weekend ticket that I can use for my way back from Braubach to Koln too? Another question, do I need to buy my KD cruise tickets ahead of time in Koln or can I just buy it in Bacharach? How much is the cruise from Bacharach to Braubach ? Thanks again!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19238 posts
The website for the K_D boats is www.k-d.com. Here are the prices. It looks like the trip from Bacharach to Braubach is €24,50 per adult. Yes, that is the Happy Weekend (Schönes-Wochenende-) Ticket
Posted by
Paradise
6941 posts
Elaine: your plan to travel north ONLY by cruise boat means that your stopover times are inflexible - you'll have only one hour in St. Goar and 3+ hours in Boppard. Maybe that's how you want it, or maybe not, but it does seem a bit short in St. Goar if you intend to see Rheinfels Castle. Why would you want to skip one of the most scenic sections of the river valley - the southern part between Bingen and Bacharach? You will not see either the Mäuseturm or Pfalzgrafenstein, both small fortifications built on islands in the river, Burg Rheinstein, Sooneck, or several other castles. The southern part is considerably better for cruising than the Boppard-Braubach section. If you are traveling by Happy Weekend ticket anyway, it will not cost a cent more to use the train to Bingen instead of Bacharach, or for St. Goar-Boppard, or Boppard-Braubach, instead of the boat.