Start your Rhine tour in Rudesheim - Middle-Rhine cruise - a trip along the Rhine by boat and on foot

From Mainz to Frankfurt city or from Mainz to Frankfurt airport there are no boat day cruises. If you are coming from Frankfurt airport and if you are travelling by railroad, take the train from Frankfurt via Mainz to the Rhine River.

The interesting part for a Rhine cruise is from Rudesheim / Bingen to Boppard
or vice-versa from Boppard to Rudesheim / Bingen.

Rhine River gorge map with boat landing stations

Start your Rhine cruise in Rudesheim or Bingen (going north) to St. Goar and Castle Rheinfels with the Bingen-Ruedesheimer cruise boat company

or start your Rhine cruise in Boppard (going south) to St. Goar and Castle Rheinfels with the Loreley-Linie Weinand cruise boat company

Cologne /Koln / Köln and Mainz are about 170 km apart. The average cruise boat travels upstream (Cologne /Koln / Köln - Mainz) at about 13 to 15 kmph. The upstream journey can therefore take between 11,5 and 13 hours.

Along the 60 km of the Middle Rhine between Koblenz and Rudesheim / Bingen there about 30 castles, fortresses and ruins.

Here is a short desription of just some of the "must-see" sights between Boppard and Rudesheim:

The castle "Kurtrierische Burg" in Boppard and its museum.

Castle Liebenstein in Kamp-Bornhofen, which also houses a small, inexpensive 2- or 3-star hotel restaurant.

Castle Rheinfels in St. Goar – the largest fortress ruin in Western Germany – the museum is well worth seeing and the restaurant offers a panoramic view from its terrace.

Castle Schonburg in Oberwesel – this small 4-star castle hotel restaurant has a cosy, familiar atmosphere.

Castle Reichenstein in Trechtingshausen, with a museum and an inexpensive 2- or 3-star hotel restaurant.

The stretch between Rudesheim / Bingen to Wiesbaden / Mainz, belonging to Rhinegau and Rhinehesse, is much flatter than the Middle Rhine. There are no castles or fortresses to be seen from the cruise boats along this route.

2, 3, 4, 6, 8 day vacation packages in different hotels with different one day Rhine River cruises along the castles

Rhine River cruise questions and answers

Planning a Rhine River cruise and want to see the most castles along the Rhine in one or two days?
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If you are coming from one of the airports in Cologne, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, Luxembourg or Paris: start your River cruise in Boppard on the Rhine ...

Stay a while in Boppard before embarking. It is full of medieval charm and worth seeing for its beautiful old buildings and attractions like the steepest german railway into the Hunsruck mountains, vineyards and much more.

Part 1: Half day Rhine River cruise from Boppard along the enemy brothers castles Sterrenberg and Liebenstein also castles Maus (mouse) and Katz (cat) to St. Goar and Fortress Rheinfels.

From Boat landing stages in St. Goar every 15 minutes with a miniature street railway to Castle Rheinfels on Rhine hills and back down the hill to St. Goar.

Part 2: Half day Rhine River cruise from St. Goar along Lorelei cliff, Oberwesel, castle Schonburg, Kaub, castle Gutenfels, water castle Pfalz (Palatinate) to Bacharach and Castle Stahleck.

part 3

part 4