b&b or appartment contacts near frankfurt nov 25 for 9 people

I've used a variety of sites to find houses or apartments, and as you said the majority are in German (fortunately, I'm fluent). I have used the following site - in English - and found the houses I've rented to be excellent: www.vacation-apartments.com. Just follow the prompts to get to Germany. Once on that page, click on Rheinland-Pfalz or Rheinland-Palatinate since that's the area in which you're interested. You should be able to find something pretty reasonable, although having a party of nine may limit the selections. By the way, I think the area in the Rheinland-Pfalz/Palatinate in which you're probably interested is the mittel Rhein or is it Rhein Mittel, can't remember. If that doesn't work check out Idar-Oberstein (the semiprecious stone capitol of Germany or areas around Kaiserslautern since both are within spitting distance of Baumholder. The advantage of something along the midlle-Rhein area is that train service is at your doorstep, so to speak. Have a great time.

NICK, SOUNDS GOOD, THANKS FOR THE INFO....ANY IDEAS THAT POP INTO YUOR HEAD GIVE ME A POST. US ARMY SON AND HIS MATE ARE TRAINING IT TO FRANKFURT...WE MEET FAMILY FROM IRELAND ON THE 26TH, SO ITS GOING TO BE A BIT NUTTY!!

Near Frankfurt: Mainz is a nice city good for strolling and shopping with a Christmas market that dominates the town square near the cathedral. Good train connections would allow for a visit to the Rhine villages, including Bacharach, Rüdesheim (terrific Christmas market) and Braubach (home of Marksburg Castle - take a tour - www.marksburg.de .)

This might sound like an odd suggestion to you, but you might look into hostels. The German hostels have been remodeled in recent years to accommodate families and have rooms with private baths for 4-6 people. Prices include a hearty breakfast. At that time of year, a family of 5 can get a special online deal in the Rheinland-Pfalz hostels - 39-69 Euros for all 5 for a two-night stay, including breakfast and one evening meal on the night you arrive. It would be worth it to hire a German-speaker to handle the online-reservation for you, which seems to be in German only:

www.diejugendherbergen.de/online-vorzugspreise

The most it could cost would be 138 Euros for all nine people for two nights.

I've stayed at the Mainz hostel (south of the old town area and the city park) with my family and we loved it. You could also book a stay in one of two castle-hostels; both Bacharach's castle-hostel and the one in Diez (east of Koblenz) participate in the online winter promotion. Bacharach would be less remote. My family did the Diez winter promotion a couple of years ago and we had the place to ourselves (it was just after New Year's day, I believe.)

thanks so much. hostels sound worth looking into although i am realy hesitant on the idea of a hostel. i've picked up rick steeves travel book and he says not to bother with mainz and rudesheim as they are too big/famous and not worth you time. what's your opinion? also any ideas of getting there, im looking for car travel, but renting a van to get us there is over $1000 for a couple nights. would love to contact a travel person or private tour guide as we only have a short time an dont want to run into any issues.

I checked your dates and found rooms for 4 on the winter online deal for Mainz, Bacharach, and Diez. Bacharach has 5-bed rooms as well. Each hostel has a limited quantity of these room specials. But even if you only got one room at the special price and had to pay regular prices for the others, you'd be saving a lot. Maybe spend two nights in Mainz and one in Bacharach, or vice-versa, and make a stop in Rüdesheim to see the Christmas market.

Unlike the regional website I gave you, the national hostel site has English pages where you can book (but not the winter deal.)

www.jugendherberge.de/en/

My opinion is that there are more interesting summer destinations in Germany and in the area than Mainz, but in winter, when you can't hike or bike along the river valleys or sit outside somewhere sipping a glass of wine, it's a terrific place to be. The Christmas market there is terrific. You might find the Gutenberg Museum and the Chagall windows in the Stephanskirche (Stevens Church) interesting to visit. Mainz' old town is a small but lively place with cafes and wine bars.

I would agree with Rick that Rüdesheim is touristy but at Christmas, it's pure magic. Don't miss it.

It's not so easy to find apartments in cities like Mainz, but you might luck out. The smaller villages like St. Goar tend to have a good supply; St. Goar's is in English:

http://www.st-goar.de/586-1-fewos.html

I'd gladly return to the hostels I've patronized in the past. I haven't stayed at the Bacharach hostel in years, but people rave about it. The hostel rooms in Mainz and Diezare quite nice and modern, much more like budget hotel rooms; the dining area of the Mainz hostel includes a buffet set-up, table-clothed tables and flowers. Very nice. The only really glitsch is if a school group happens to have booked while you're there and has landed on your floor. They tend to be noisy.

Transportation: daypasses by train ("Rheinland-Pfalz Tickets") will run you 28 Euros per day for a group of 5 people if you want to travel from Mainz up to Braubach, Rüdesheim, and Bacharach, or from one of those towns to the others. You can buy them from any DB ticket machine on the tracks.

thanks so much for your time and tips.
will let you know how things work out!!