Trip to Koblenz

There actually a lot to see in Bacharach and St. Goar. We really liked a visit to the Rheinfals Castle above St. Goar. I think that it would be full day.

Regards, Gary

Thank you Gary.

Andrea, I lived in this area for 3 yrs. and have re-visited several times. I do not consider these towns to be on the same route. If you want to do all the towns you listed, here is how you could do it in 2 days. I am assuming you are staying in Koblenz each night at the end of each day.

First, take a round trip boat ride from Bacharach to St. Goar. If you want to go to Rudesheim that same evening (when the only tourist street in the town is bustling), then I would park the car at Bacharach and go on the round trip boat ride to St. Goar. After the boat ride, take a car ferry across the Rhine to Rudesheim. I don't remember what town it leaves from but I believe it's close to Bacharach. Or, you drive thru Mainz, go across the Rhine river to Rudesheim. The ferry would be faster.

The next day, I would drive to Rothenburg and spend the day there seeing and experiencing the town. On the way back to Koblenz, if you have time, I would stop at Heidelberg. For me, the castle was the only site I wanted to see there.

Personally, if I only had two days, I would do the boat ride one day. After the boat ride, I would spend time in Bacharach. It's a lovely quaint town with great restaurants, stores and wine. I would not go to Rudesheim. There is only one street there and it's very touristy. The next day I would only go to Rothenburg and eliminate Heidelberg. After all, you are talking about driving almost 6 hours round trip from Koblenz to Rothenburg. That doesn't leave you much time to walk around the town. In Heidelberg, the castle is the only site that interested me.

Have a great trip and don't try to do too much that you don't enjoy these few towns.

Denise, thank you very much for your advice! You are right about narrow it down. sometimes I tend to try to do too many things at once. I think I will skip a couple of towns like Rudesheim and Heidelberg.
Andrea

My other day trip is going to be to: Burg Eltz(to see the castle), then Cochem, and maybe Bellstein and Trier. Is this a nice itinerary?

Your day trip to Burg Eltz, Cochem and Bielstein sounds like enough for one day. I would save Trier for your trip from Koblenz to Paris. Trier would be a good stop for a few hours. Are you flying out of Paris or going there as part of your tour? Are you driving into the city?

I too, think Ruedesheim is a complete waste of time and I dislike going there. The only thing worth doing there is going to the top of the vineyards with the chair lift for the wonderful view of the Rhein river.

I do like Heidelberg though and am a little disappointed that RS says not to bother with it. I doubt that it is much more touristy then Rothenburg. If you hear or see a lot of Americans there it may be because there are two bases near-by, one in Heidelberg and one in Mannheim. It is pretty, the castle is really cool, & the view from the top is outstanding. Perhaps while I so enjoy Mark Twains writing about Heidelberg, it makes the town that much more attractive to me.

Riding a boat up and down the Rhein river may get tiring, riding the slow train will give you the same views, but be a bit faster.

As far as the boat between Bacharach and St. Goar, we recently parked in St. Goar, took the train to Bacharach, and then the boat back to St. Goar. It worked fine, but I think it would work in either direction, or you could take the boat each way. Unless you have worked out the boat and train schedule very carefully, it might take longer than you think because you may have to wait for both the train and the boat.

I agree that your other day is too busy. It could be almost a two hour drive one way from Berg Eltz to Trier. I agree to leave Trier for later and go as far as Cochem.

Andrea, having just driven the area in May, my one reservation about your itinerary is Koblenz to Rothenburg and back. If there is no traffic, it may be doable, although I would say that Rothenburg deserves more time. When we drove from Koblenz to Rothenburg, the traffic was HORRENDOUS from Mainz to Wurzburg. It was rush hour and it was more stop and go than go the entire way. Very frustrating and time consuming.

Thank you David, Kathy, Jo and Denise. Your comments are all very valuable to me and I will take them into consideration.

Some of you advise me to leave the visit to Trier for the day I am going back to Paris. (I am going straight to the airport in Paris) What about Luxembourg? Any of you have been there? Is it too large of a place to make a stop for luch or coffee before heading to Paris?

Thank you to all!

Hi eveyone again. I just realize that some of you tell me that Rothenburg is like 6 hours away!! I don´t know if I am mistaken. I googled Rothenburg and found (Rothenburg ob der tauber). It seems really pretty, and it is less than 3 hours away from Koblenz. Now I am not sure if the ine I found is the famous one for Christmas ornaments and cute stuff and town. Anybody????

I personally found Luxembourg to be about the same size as a Koblenz. Driving was definitely managed with a GPS. It was nice to walk around quickly and see the sites