Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ach. Sit on the boat's top deck with your handy Rhine map-guide (or the kilometer-keyed
tour in this chapter) and enjoy the parade of castles, towns, boats, and vineyards.
TwoboatcompaniestaketravelersalongthisstretchoftheRhine.Boatsrundailyinboth
directions from early April through October, with no boats off-season.
Most travelers sail on the bigger, more expensive, and romantic
Köln-Düsseldorfer (K-
D) Line
(free with German railpass or any Eurailpass that covers Germany, but starts the
use of a day of any flexipass; recommended Bacharach-St. Goar trip: €12.50 one-way, €15
round-trip, bikes-€2.80/day, €2 extra if paying with credit card; discounts: 30 percent if over
60; 20 percent if you present a connecting train ticket; 50 percent on your birthday; Tue and
Thu—2 bicyclists travel for the price of 1; tel. 06741/1634 in St. Goar, tel. 06743/1322 in
Bacharach,
www.k-d.com
)
. Complete, up-to-date schedules are posted at any Rhineland sta-
tion, hotel, TI, and
www.k-d.com
.
Purchase tickets at the dock up to five minutes before
departure. (Confirm times at your hotel the night before.) The boat is never full. Romantics
will enjoy the old-time paddle-wheeler
Goethe,
which sails each direction once a day (noted
on schedule, confirm time locally).
The smaller
Bingen-Rüdesheimer Line
is slightly cheaper than the K-D, isn't covered
by railpasses, and makes three trips in each direction daily (St. Goar to Bacharach: €12 one-
way,€14round-trip,buyticketsonboat;departsSt.Goarat11:00,14:10,and16:10;departs
Bacharach at 10:10, 12:00, and 15:00; no morning departures last two weeks of Oct; tel.
06721/14140,
www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de
)
.
By Car:
Drivers have these options: 1) skip the boat; 2) take a round-trip cruise from St.
Goar or Bacharach; 3) draw pretzels and let the loser drive, prepare the picnic, and meet the
boat;4)rentabike,bringitontheboatfor€2.80,andbikeback;or5)taketheboatone-way
and return by train. When exploring by car, don't hesitate to pop onto one of the many little
ferries that shuttle across the bridgeless-around-here river.
By Ferry:
While there are no bridges between Koblenz and Mainz, you'll see car-
and-passenger ferries (usually family-run for generations) about every three miles. Bingen-
Rüdesheim, Lorch-Niederheimbach, Engelsburg-Kaub, and St. Goar-St. Goarshausen are
some ofthe most useful routes (times vary; St. Goar-St. Goarshausen ferry departs each side
every 15-20 minutes, Mon-Sat 5:30-24:00, Sun 6:30-24:00; one-way fares: adult-€1.50, car
and driver-€4, pay on the boat;
www.faehre-loreley.de
). For a fun little jaunt, take a quick
round-trip with some time to explore the other side.
ByBike:
YoucanbikeoneithersideoftheRhine,butforadesignatedbikepath,stayon
the west side, where a 35-mile path runs between Koblenz and Bingen. The six-mile stretch
betweenSt.GoarandBacharachissmoothandscenic,butmostlyalongthehighway.Thebit
from Bacharach to Bingen hugs the riverside and is road-free. Either way, biking is a great
way to explore the valley. Many hotels provide free or cheap bikes to guests; in Bacharach,
