We are staying in Heidelberg and would like to take a day trip via train to Bingen (or somewhere else that makes sense)and then take KD boat north for a while concluding with a visit to Marksburg castle and Braubach. Is Bingen the best place to start the KD cruise? Would it be better to drive from Heidelberg? Is it too much for a one day trip? Would we be better off with a Neckar boat ride/day tour? Thanks in advance.
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%26gt; Is Bingen the best place to start the KD cruise?
Yes.
%26gt; Would it be better to drive from Heidelberg?
No. This is not really practical in combination with a boat trip.
%26gt; Is it too much for a one day trip?
No. But it%26#39;s not a short day trip either.
%26gt; Would we be better off with a Neckar boat ride/day tour?
Also nice. But the valleys and rivers are quite different.
2 Persons? After 1st August 2009?
On which day of the week?
On a Saturday or Sunday you could use the Happy-Weekend-Ticket (EUR 37,00) for this trip.
A valid train ticket will give you a 20% discount on the KD boat fare.
DB timetable
reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?
From: Heidelberg
To: Bingen Stadt
.
From: Braubach
To: Heidelberg
and select as means of transport %26quot;only local transport%26quot;
e.g.
Heidelberg Hbf dep 07:28 (with 2 change of trains)
Bingen Stadt arr 10:03
.
Bingen KD dep 10:30 (boat)
Braubach KD arr 13:20
.
Braubach dep 16:08 (with 2 change of trains)
Heidelberg arr 19:39
- - -
On the Neckar you could travel by boat to Neckarsteinach, the small town with 4 castles.
Visit Burg Schadeck and the Hinterburg ruins and return by S-Bahn to Heidelberg.
www.burgenstrasse.de/showpage.php…
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It would be better IMO to stay on the Rhine so that you have a bit more time in the area. It%26#39;s possible to see Heidelberg in a daytrip, but the Rhine%26#39;s charms are a bit more time consuming and spread out.
Riding from Bacharach to Braubach (Marksburg) is just about right - 2 hours. It%26#39;s pretty beginning in Bingen, but it makes the boat ride another 45 minutes longer.
But I think you%26#39;d want to check out some other towns here as well. Boppard is delightful. A nice chairlift ride to the Vierseenblick lookout, nice river promenade, good outdoor cafes. Bacharach is full of half-timbered buildings, very attractive. The falconry show at Burg Maus (north of St. Goar, other side of river) is good too. St. Goar%26#39;s Rheinfels castle is worth a look too.
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First, thanks for your response! I guess I should have qualified a few things before asking the question. I will be traveling with my wife 50, son 22, and meeting my daughter,20 at Frankfort Airport the day after the 3 of us arrive in Frankfurt. That is why I selected Heidleberg...also, we head to Switzerland next after only 3 nights in Heidelberg. Originally, I looked at staying at the Castle Hotel Auf Schoenburg but felt that is was more a romantic setting that might not appeal to my 2 kids. And, the multiple cafes, restaurants in Heidelberg. That plus the fact that we%26#39;d have another hour each way to pick up my daughter at the Frankfurt airport. Not sure if this would change your thinking but should you have any more input please let me know. Thanks again!
PS I just kind of threw this trip together for my daughter as she is studying in Dublin this fall semester. Originally, I had purchased ticktets to Dublin and planned on visiting Ireland but was informed by my daughter that she would like to visit somewhere else in Europe as she could see Ireland during her semester. Hence, the short stay and I needed to switch on AA and Frankfurt was a relatively cheap alternative. Sorry to be so long-winded.
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The dates of the trip are August 23-31 with German portion August 23-27. Thanks.
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Very nice that you%26#39;re able to get together as a family and do some exploring!
Okay, well, here%26#39;s a suggestion based on this new information.
Your daytrip to the Rhine Gorge will be easier if you stay closer to it than Heidelberg. A good trade for Heidelberg would be Mainz, only 20 minutes west of FRA on the Rhine by S-Bahn:
mainz.de/WGAPublisher/…home
For daytrips: from Mainz it%26#39;s only 20 minutes to Bingen on the RE train, about 1 hour to Heidelberg on the fast trains (IC).
Mainz is a great place. Like Heidelberg, it%26#39;s a university town. It has a very nice old town area along Augustinerstrasse to the south of the Marktplatz where the Dom (cathedral) is - it%26#39;s a pedestrians-only zone here, with lots of outdoor cafes, wine bars, shops, and little cobblestoned streets, with more modern shopping to the north. The Dome is a remarkable Romanesque effort. The Gutenberg museum is interesting as well. There%26#39;s a farmer%26#39;s market around the Dom on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. South of the old town there%26#39;s a very nice city park (Stadtpark) and rose garden that overlooks the Rhine. Also, your timing is good; the annual wine market takes place on August 27; it might be worth staying a day longer.
And when you head to Switzerland, you aren%26#39;t much further than you%26#39;d be from Heidelberg - about 30 minutes longer.
That%26#39;s the way I%26#39;d structure this trip, anyway. Hope this is helpful.
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I am partial to Heidelberg, and would not miss it. On the other hand, you do seem interested in castles (Heidelberg, of course, has one too). But I wonder, unless that is your specific theme, that 3 or 4 castles may be plenty and there is no need to do Bingen and Marksburg and Braubach and the Neckar castles (6 or 7 around Heidelberg). I do think the Rhine scenery and the feeling of a nice boat ride are wonderful but if time is limited, you might want to restrict it. Personally, i encourage you to, yes, see Heidelberg, esp. its baroque (%26quot;romantic%26quot;) flavor.
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