Specific questions about a Rhine stay

I have stayed several times in Mainz before catching my flight home. Its a nice town certainly worth a bit of time wandering around. The Dom is very impressive. That being said, I have stayed in both Bacharach and St Goar and enjoyed them very much. The ride to the airport from Mainz is quick and easy. Its a bit longer from Bacharach of course.

If staying in Bacharach I thoroughly recommend Pension Malerwinkel. It is very quiet - not by the train tracks but not a far walk from the train station. Young couple that own the facility will gladly pick you up and take you to the train station. Rooms are very clean and breakfast is great. I would personally want to be closer to Frankfurt to catch an 11am flight than staying out further. Since you leave on a Saturday morning you may be able to find some very inexpensive hotels not far from Frankfurt airport that has free shuttle to and from airport. You could take train the night before from Bacharach to Frankfurt Flughafen and have hotel shuttle you from airport to hotel then back to airport on Sept. 10 for your flight. Most hotels have very low rates when it comes to weekend - Friday night.

I would second the suggestion of Pension Malerwinkel. I first saw it in 2004 and was impressed with the location. Beautiful park-like setting against the inside of the town wall, well away from the train tracks. As for taking the train from a river town into FRA in the morning, I once came all the way in from Boppard for a somewhat later departure. From Bacharach the trip is just over an hour. I see a 7:30 MRB departure from Bacharach with a change of trains in Bingen to an RE, arriving at the Regional Bahnhof at 8:34. If you do decide to get closer, last time I flew out of FRA, I stayed at Hotel Königshof in Mainz. It's directly across the square from the Mainz Hbf and the S-Bahn into FRA. Great breakfast buffet and they speak English.

You haven't mentioned seeing Frankfurt at all, so you might consider visiting one of Germany's important and historic cities. I certainly would not stay out near the airport, waiting around on a shuttle, as those hotels are truly in the boonies. If you stay in the city, you can have your choice between lovely B'B'S, or modern hotels, and the trains from the city center only take 11 min. Faster than a shuttle from an "airport" hotel. There is a wine fest along the Fressgasse 31 Aug.- 9 Sept. This is located right next to the beautiful Alte Oper. 30 vineyards from the Rhine area present about 600 wines. Lots of good food and music to go along with it. Huge Farmers Market with local produce is also held on Fridays near the Stock Market on Schiller Str. There is a ton of stuff to see in Frankfurt too, like the Election and Coronation cathedral, medieval churches built between 850-1309 in original condition, the Jewish Holocaust Memorial Wall, the Klein Markt Halle, and dozens of musuems covering a multitude of interests.

I'll second what Jo said about the hotels with the shuttles being out in the booneys. We stayed in one since my husband got a work discount there. Took 20 minutes to get there by bus (and the buses only run once per hour). It was in a residential neighborhood, had a couple of grocery stores in the area (and a GREAT schnitzel place), but, other than that, nothing but an S-bahn stop. Stay in town by the train station.

I get nervous about flights too. Staying in Mainz (NOT a "nothing" place!) would give you some peace of mind, not only because it's close to FRA, but also because there will be multiple train options on the morning of your departure; if you're late for whatever reason and you miss the intended train in Bacharach, you'll have to wait ANOTHER HOUR. From Mainz Hbf to FRA, there are SEVEN trains between 6:59 and 7:59, just for example. I'd probably stay one night in Bacharach (or St. Goar, or Boppard) and one in Mainz at the end. Mainz is great for walking around, shopping, having an outdoor meal, etc. on your last day. Be sure to check out the area around the Dom and Marktplatz, especially south of there along Augustinerstrasse, where the pre-war old town lies. Bingen: not a bad place to visit on your way to Mainz - there's a wine festival there from 2.9 to 12.9; stow your bags in a locker at Bingen Hbf. and have a look around for an hour or two.

Thank you all. Your information helped us formulate a plan that works well for us. Love this forum!

Chris, On my trip last year, I travelled from Bacharach to Frankfurt Airport the day of my flight, with no problems at all. The trip was only about one hour. Some of the trains on that route have one change, some are direct (my change was in Bingen). If you took the 07:30 train, you'd be at the airport at 08:34. There's only a ticket Kiosk at the Bacharach station, so I might consider buying the ticket on the day prior to travel, just to save time. Happy travels!

If you are changing trains in Bingen, there is one thing you need to know. There are no station plans for Bingen Hbf, so it took a while for me to figure this out using satellite views, etc. There are six tracks in the Bingen Hbf. The station building sits on an island, with three tracks on each side. Tracks 101 and 201 are on either side of the island (platform) directly accessible from it. Tracks 102 and 103 are next to track 101, on a separate platform. Same thing on the other side. So when you see on the Bahn website that the train arrives on track ( Gleis) 201 and the connecting train leaves on track 101, know that you have to walk across that wide island platform to get to your train.