I will be arriving Koln by train at noon on the 25th, March. Want to go straight to Bacharach and do the Best of the Rhine self guided tour. But not sure how to find out the train schedule from Koln to Bacharach and when will I arrive there. Sounds like the KD cruise line won't be open till April. Should I be doing the tour by bike, or better by train. Which town is better to spend one night? St. Goar (so we can easily visit the Burg) or Bacharach?
Thanks in advancse for your valuable answers
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
St. Goar is more central to the Rhine destinations and a bit more scenic - 3 castles can be seen from town - and there's a ferry across the Rhine to St. Goarshausen, which has a train station for exploring that side of the river, an advantage if you want to tour the best castle on the Rhine, Marksburg, in Braubach: http://www.marksburg.de Traveling both sides of the river allows for a different perspective on the castles and river scenery Bacharach is easy to reach from St. Goar in a few minutes. So are Oberwesel and Boppard. Train schedules: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
To go from Köln to Bacharach, you will have to change trains in Koblenz to a milk run train (MRB) up the Rhein (13:53-14:30). Depending on your ticket type (p2p or pass) you might want to take the RE leaving Köln at 12:32 or the IC leaving Köln 12:53. If you are buying p2p tickets, you might want to get a VRS ticket to Bonn and a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket (day pass for regional trains in that state). You can get the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket from a touch screen Bahn automat at the Köln Hbf.
Posted by
OP
houston, Tx, USA
2 posts
thanks guys for the advise. Lee, what is a VRS ticket?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
VRS (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg, www.vrsinfo.de) is the transit district in that area of NordRhein-Westfalen. It encompasses Köln and the area around it, including Bonn. An adult VRS ticket from Köln Hbf to Bonn Hbf costs €6,80. Although it is outside Rheinland-Pfalz, Bonn is considered a border station for the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket, so once you get to Bonn, you can start using the RL-P-Ticket from there to Bacharach and then locally around Bacharach for the rest of the day. And I agree with Russ, St. Goar over Bacharach because of the transportation options. There aren't many ferries, and no bridges, across the Rhein in that area. St. Goar has a ferry to St. Goarshausen. There's another one at Boppard, but the landing on the other side is in the middle of nowhere and a 1 km walk to the nearest station.