Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [429]
Getting There & Away
Koblenz (for transport details, Click here) and Mainz are good starting points for touring the region.
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Getting Around
BOAT
River travel is a relaxing and very romantic way to see the castles, vineyards and villages of the Romantic Rhine.
Because of fast currents, shallows, narrow channels and the many passing barges (the Rhine is still an important trade artery), manoeuvring a passenger ferry is a very tricky business – and a fascinating one to see up close. Vessels zipping downriver have priority over those steaming slowly upriver.
From about Easter to October (winter services are very limited), 13 boats run by Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD; 0221-2088 318; www.k-d.com) link villages such as Bingen, St Goar and Boppard on a set timetable. You can travel to the next village or all the way from Mainz to Koblenz (€46.50, downstream/upstream 6/8½ hours). Within the segment you’ve paid for (for example, Boppard–Rüdesheim, which costs €21.20 return), you can get on and off as many times as you like, but make sure to ask for a free stopover ticket each time you disembark.
Many rail passes (such as Eurail) get you a free ride on normal KD services. However, you still need to obtain a ticket. Children up to the age of four travel for free, while those up to age 13 are charged a flat fee of €5. Students under 27 get a 50% discount. From Monday to Friday, seniors (over 60) also get a 50% discount. Travel on your birthday is free. Return tickets usually cost only slightly more than one-way. To bring along a bicycle/dog, there’s a supplement of €2.50/3.50.
Several smaller companies, including Bingen-Rüdesheimer ( 06721-14140; www.bingen-ruedesheimer.com) and Rössler Linie ( 06722-2353; www.roesslerlinie.de), also run passenger boats up and down the river.
BUS & TRAIN
Bus and train travel, perhaps combined with minicruises by boat and car ferry, are a convenient way to go village hopping along the Rhine, to get to a trail head, or to return to your lodgings at the end of a hike or bike ride.
Villages on the Rhine’s left bank (eg Bingen, Boppard and St Goar) are served hourly by local trains on the Koblenz–Mainz run, inaugurated in 1859. Right-bank villages such as Rüdesheim, Assmannshausen and St Goarshausen are linked every hour or two by Koblenz–Wiesbaden services. It takes about 1½ hours to travel by train from Koblenz to either Mainz or Wiesbaden.
CAR FERRY
Since there are no bridges over the Rhine between Koblenz and Mainz (though there are controversial plans to build one near St Goar, possibly endangering the area’s Unesco World Heritage status), the only way to cross the river along this stretch is by Autofähre (car ferry). The following services operate (from north to south) every 15 or 20 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes early in the morning and late at night:
Bingen–Rüdesheim (www.bingen-ruedesheimer.com/rheinfaehren; to 9.45pm Nov-Apr, to midnight or later May-Oct)
Boppard–Filsen (www.faehre-boppard.de, in German; to 8pm Oct-Mar, to 9pm Apr, May & Sep, to 10pm Jun-Aug)
Niederheimbach–Lorch ( to 6.50pm Nov-Mar, to 7.50pm Apr-Oct)
Oberwesel–Kaub (www.faehre-kaub.de, in German; to 6.50pm Oct-Mar, to 7.50pm Apr-Sep)
St Goar–St Goarshausen (www.faehre-loreley.de; to 9pm Oct-Apr, to 11pm May-Sep)
Prices vary slightly but you can figure on paying about €3.50 per car, including the driver; €1 per car passenger; €1.50 per pedestrian (€0.70 for a child); and €2 for a bicycle, including the rider. This being well-organised Germany, the fare tables take into account the possibility, however remote, that you might want to bring along a horse or head of cattle (€3 or €4) or a horse-drawn cart (€4.50, including the driver).
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KOBLENZ
0261 / pop 106,000
Koblenz is a modern town with roots that go all the way back to the Romans, who founded a military stronghold here around 10 BC. They called it, quite appropriately, Confluentes for its supremely strategic value – it lies at the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine.
Today,