Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Consider biking one-way and taking the bike back on the riverboat, or designing a circu-
lar trip using the fun and frequent shuttle ferries. A good target might be Kaub (where a tiny
boat shuttles sightseers to the better-from-a-distance castle on the island).
By Train: Hourly milk-run trains hit every town along the Rhine (St. Goar-Bacharach,
10 minutes, €3.40; Bacharach-Mainz, 1 hour; Mainz-Koblenz, 1.5 hours). Express trains
speed past the small towns, taking only 50 minutes non-stop between Mainz and Koblenz.
Some train schedules list St. Goar but not Bacharach as a stop, but any schedule listing St.
Goar also stops at Bacharach. Tiny stations are not staffed—buy tickets at the platform ma-
chines (user-friendly, take paper money, may not accept US credit cards).
The Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket day pass covers travel on milk-run trains to anywhere in
this chapter (1 person-€21, up to 4 additional people-€4/each, buy from station ticket ma-
chines, good after 9:00 Mon-Fri and all day Sat-Sun, valid on trains labeled RB, RE, and
MRB ).
Self-Guided Tour
▲▲▲ Rhine Blitz Tour by Train or Boat
(See “The Best of the Rhine” map, here .)
One of Europe's great train thrills is zipping along the Rhine enjoying this blitz tour. Or,
even better, do it relaxing on the deck of a Rhine steamer, surrounded by the wonders of this
romantic and historic gorge. This quick and easy tour (you can cut in anywhere) skips most
ofthesyrupymythsfillingnormalRhineguides.Youcanfollowalongonatrain,boat,bike,
or car. By train or boat, sit on the left (river) side going south from Koblenz. While nearly
all the castles listed are viewed from this side, train travelers need to clear a path to the right
window for the times I yell, “Cross over!”
You'll notice large black-and-white kilometer markers along the riverbank. I erected
theseyearsagotomakethistoureasiertofollow.TheytellthedistancefromtheRhineFalls,
where the Rhine leaves Switzerland and becomes navigable. (Today, river-barge pilots also
use these markers to navigate.) We're tackling just 36 miles (58 km) of the 820-mile-long
(1,320-km)Rhine.YourRhineBlitz TourstartsatKoblenzandheadsupstreamtoBingen.If
you're going the other direction, it still works. Just hold the topic upside-down.
You can download a free Rick Steves audio tour of this Rhine sightseeing jaunt—it
works in either direction (see here ) .
Km 590—Koblenz: This Rhine blitz starts with Romantic Rhine thrills, at Koblenz.
Koblenz is not a nice city (it was hit hard in World War II), but its place as the historic
Deutsches Eck (German corner)—the tip of land where the Mosel River joins the
Rhine—gives it a certain charm. Koblenz, from the Latin for “confluence,” has Roman ori-
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