Cologne and Bacharach

Melissa, for that particular route, you'll have to decide whether you want more changes and a shorter trip, or less changes but slightly longer trip. ¶ The easiest route for you would probably be a train that departs Amsterdam at 08:02, arriving Köln at 10:45; the connecting train then departs Köln at 10:56, arriving Bacharach at 13:30 (total time 5H:28M, reservations compulsory on Amsterdam/Köln leg). ¶ The trip from Köln to Bacharach is very easy, but one point to mention. The station in Bacharach is unmanned, and looks a bit "neglected". If you're at the expected arrival time and the train stops, get off! The only option for buying rail tickets in Bacharach is the ticket machine, so be sure to keep some cash on hand. ¶ Which Hotel are you planning to stay at in Bacharach? It's an easy walk from the station to the Hotels in town. ¶ It's very easy to take KD (or other) river cruises from Bacharach. KD has a small booth and a dock just across the tracks from town (there's a small riverside park there). Another cruise company also operates from that area, but I can't recall the name of the firm. If you just want a short cruise, the one from Bacharach to St. Goar is a good option. You can either travel via boat both ways, or go to St. Goar by boat and return to Bacharach by train (your choice). I was just there in July, so the details are still "fresh" in my mind. Happy travels!

My suggestion would be to take the train to Koblenz (should be an easy connection from Cologne/Koln) and do the cruise from there.

Trains to Bacharach run like this: A'dam, Cologne, Koblenz, Bacharach. Use this page to find connections: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en The cruise is not efficient transportation. It's for slow-paced sightseeing. Once in Bacharach, take a short cruise up to Braubach to see the best part of the Rhine Valley. In Braubach, take a tour of Marksburg Castle: www.marksburg.de Cruise boat schedules: www.k-d.com/englisch/schiffstouren/fahrplan-rhein.html

There should be an ICE from Amsterdam to Köln where you could change to an IC or RE to Koblenz. Koblenz to Bacharach would have to be by RB (a milk run train). Although it would require three trains, you could do it on one ticket, an Europa-Spezial Niederlande ticket for German Rail, available online for as low as €39 per person all the way. Use the website mentioned by Russ, put in Amsterdam to Bacharach and a date more than three days in advance the further in advance, the better). The fare will show up under savings fares. You can purchase it online and print it out at home. If you want to spend a few hours in Köln, put it on the 'via' line and put in the time you want to stay over, 200 for 2 hrs. . . . . . . . ¶ I agree with Russ, you don't want to try an entire river cruise, from Köln to Bacharach. There is only one K-D boat per day leaving Köln (at 9:30) and only going as far as Linz (14:50), and there are no other K-D boats going up the river from there that day. The best you can do is from Bonn (7:30) to Bacharach (18:30), 11 hours with a 1 hr change of boats in Koblenz.

Lee mentions Linz - it's a gorgeous village worth a stop if you have time to venture up that way, maybe more attractive than the already very attractive Bacharach.

If you want to use the Europa-Spezial Niederlande ticket from Amsterdam to Bacharach, set it up like this. If a connection that you like comes up that is ICE to Köln, then either RE/RB or RB from Köln to Bacharach, take it. If there's no regional (RE or RB) leg from Köln to Koblenz, pick Köln as a via (time = 0:00), then go into mode of transport and uncheck ICE, IC/EC, and IR from the modes for the second leg (Köln to Bacharach). This will give you a ticket by ICE to Köln and by regional train from there to Bacharach. The Europa-Spezial tickets are train specific as far as the trains of the Bahn (ICE/IC/EC/IR) are concerned, but a little known clause in the conditions of carriage allow you to use ANY regional trains to get from your last Bahn train to your destination (as long as you complete your travel by 10 AM the following morning). This is called "Vor- und Nachlauf" (before and after travel, you are not restricted to the specified regional trains like you are to the express trains). So, if you set the ticket up this way, you can spend as much time as you like in Köln, then go by RE or RB (but not IC) to Koblenz, spend as much time as you like there, then go on by RB to Bacharach. . . . . . ¶ Of course, if you can limit you time in Köln, and commit to a specific IC from Köln to Koblenz, ticket it that way. It would be faster.