The Rhine River Valley is one of those places that make you feel like you've walked straight into a fairytale with the most adorable half-timbered houses, ancient hilltop castles, and vineyards stretching as far as the eye can see. While this region is often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor, the Mosel, we actually think the Rhine is far superior (and with far fewer tourists!). And within the Rhine, the tiny town of Bacharach is our absolute favorite - it may even be the cutest town we've ever visited in all of Europe. So get ready to sample endless glasses of riesling (if you're not a riesling fan yet, you will be after this trip), stroll along cobblestone streets, and take way too may photos. And added bonus: no car needed for this trip!
Top 3 Must-Do’s for a Trip to Germany's Rhine Valley
Explore the picture-perfect fairytale town of Bacharach
Ride bikes along the Rhine to Bingen and Rüdesheim
Take a boat cruise up the Rhine to Loreley
Duration: 4 nights
Typical Daily Cost for two people: $304 (excludes any required transportation to/from Frankfurt)
Best Time to Go: June through October
Table of Contents
Changes from our Original Trip
This 4-night Rhine Valley itinerary was actually part of a larger road trip we took through southwest Germany that included Heidelberg, the German Wine Route, and a few towns along the Mosel River. After taking that trip, we both agreed that the time we spent in the Rhine was by far and away the best part of the trip and if we were to do it again, we'd only go to the Rhine! Here are the other places we went on our original trip and why we aren't recommending them as part of this itinerary:
Heidelberg: We actually loved Heidelberg - this quaint university city was the first stop on our trip and we fully enjoyed the beautiful architecture and charming streets in the Old Town. But honestly, the towns along the Rhine put Heidelberg to shame, so in our opinion, you can skip this one and just head straight to the Rhine!
German Wine Route: Interestingly enough, the German Wine Route is what inspired us to do a Southwest Germany roadtrip in the first place - it's a single road stretching 85km that passes through some seriously adorable small towns (our favorites were Deidesheim & Bad Dürkheim) and countless vineyards. If you're in the area, it's totally worth a day trip, but it requires a car and is a bit far out of the way.
Mosel Towns (Cochem & Beilstein): We did a day trip to the Mosel during our stay in the Rhine to visit the towns of Cochem and Beilstein. Cochem is one of the most famous towns in the Mosel and as you may expect, it was incredibly touristy! All the river cruises stop here and it just felt a bit overrun with tourism. Beilstein is a teeny tiny town along the Mosel that we loved, but we don't think it's worth making the trek for just this town (it's also only accessible by car).
Rhine Itinerary at a Glance
Day | Activities |
Day 1 | Arrive at Frankfurt airport in the morning and take the direct train to Bacharach. Spend the afternoon exploring this fairytale town. |
Day 2 | Take a bike ride along the Rhine River to the towns of Bingen and Rüdesheim. Walk to the observation tower in the vineyards overlooking Bacharach for sunset. |
Day 3 | Take a boat trip down the Rhine River, passing by all the beautiful hilltop castles and storybook towns. Hike up to the castle overlooking Bacharach in the afternoon. |
Day 4 | Take the train to Boppard to explore this adorable riverside town. |
Day 5 | Take the train back to Frankfurt and head off to your next adventure. |
Just the Facts
Stay
No questions asked, stay in the most adorable town of Bacharach at the Rhein Hotel Bacharach. Let's start with the town - Bacharach is the most perfect fairytale town we've ever been to with virtually no tourists (this is because the river cruises don't stop here)! It exceeded all our expectations, so much so that it ruined all the places we went to before because they just couldn't compare to the perfection that is Bacharach.
Now let's talk about the hotel - the Rhein Hotel is just as perfect as the town. The hotel has an incredible 5-day package (booked directly through the hotel's website) that includes a 4-night stay in the hotel, dinner 3 nights (the food here was so good!), a boat tour along the Rhine, and free bike rentals. The rooms were lovely, and even though the hotel is next to the train tracks, we never had any issues with noise.
Eat
Stübers Restaurant (Bacharach): This is the restaurant at the Rhein Hotel where you'll have dinner 3 nights if you book the package. The food here was delicious and so creative! They also have an extensive wine list with some great rieslings.
Weinstube ,,Zum Grünen Baum” (Bacharach): Come here for lunch or dinner, sit on their back patio, and order a glass of riesling and a classic flammkuchen (typical German flatbread pizza).
Ratsstube (Rüdesheim): Traditional German food, nice outdoor patio, good for lunch.
Weingut Lill (Rüdesheim): Outdoor wine garden with lighter fare, good for a casual lunch (with a glass of dry riesling, of course).
Historischer Karmeliterhof (Boppard): Traditional German food with outdoor seating just next to the river
Drink
Kurpfälzische Münze (Bacharach): Our favorite bar/tavern in Bacharach. The owner is super friendly, there's live music many nights, and tons of locals come here. They have good bar snacks here as well (pretzels, flammkuchen, cheese boards).
Weingut Toni Jost (Bacharach): This was our favorite riesling we had of the trip, and lucky for us, it's right down the street from the hotel in Bacharach!
Weinhaus Heilig grave (Boppard): Wine garden with great rieslings, opens at 3pm.
Map
Detailed Rhine Valley Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive at the Frankfurt Airport in the late morning and take the RE2 train (towards Koblenz) directly to Bacharach station. You can purchase tickets directly at the train station and the trip should take just under an hour. When you get to Bacharach station, simply walk 5-10 minutes to the Rhein Hotel Bacharach.
We absolutely LOVED this hotel and the town of Bacharach. Be sure to purchase the 5-day package on the hotel's website which includes dinner 3 nights (the food here was the best we had the whole trip), a boat trip, and bike rentals. Do take note, you must arrive on a Sunday for this hotel package.
Once you've settled in, we recommend exploring Bacharach for the rest of the afternoon. Bacharach was by far our favorite town we visited on this trip (and one of the cutest towns we've ever been to in Europe) - it really feels like you've walked straight into a fairytale with the half timbered houses and stunning vertical vineyards in the background. Be sure to stop by this viewpoint next to the Malerwinkel hotel to see what we're talking about!
Dinner tonight will be at the Stüber's Restaurant in the hotel - the food here is incredible! We personally don't love German food, but the chef here is so creative and the dinners were one of the highlights of our trip. Either before of after dinner, we recommend stopping by Kurpfälzische Münze - it's a small local bar in town that has live music some nights, a super friendly owner, and overall just cozy vibes.
Day 2
It's time to explore some more towns along the Rhine River, and we think a great way to do this is by taking a bike ride along the river bank down to Bingen and Rüdesheim (the hotel provides bikes at no extra cost). It's about a 15km bike ride along a beautiful flat bike path from Bacharach to Bingen and should take around an hour.
Once you get to Bingen, stop by the ferry terminal to check when the next ferry departs for Rüdesheim. If you have some spare time before the ferry, feel free to wander around Bingen for a bit.
The ferry from Bingen to Rüdesheim will only take a few minutes (you're just crossing to the other side of the river) and you should arrive just in time for lunch. Rüdesheim is another super cute fairytale town and the best way to explore it is to just walk around (it is much more touristy than Bacharach). For lunch, we recommend you head over to either Ratsstube for some traditional German food on their outdoor patio, or Weingut Lill for some lighter fare enjoyed in their outdoor wine garden with a glass of their dry riesling.
Once you've finished exploring Rüdesheim, take the ferry back across the river and ride back along the bike path the Bacharach. In the late afternoon, just before sunset, we recommend taking a short walk up to our favorite viewpoint in all of Bacharach - the Postenturm observation deck - its a tower right in the middle of the vineyards that has the most beautiful view overlooking the town and the river.
For dinner tonight, since the hotel restaurant is closed on Mondays, we recommend going to a local wine bar just in town called Weinstube ,,Zum Grünen Baum”.
Day 3
For today's main activity, book a boat tour to Loreley (the opposite direction of Bingen and Rüdesheim) to get a different perspective of the Rhine from the river itself. The boat tour is included in your hotel price so you just need arrange a time to go with the front desk. The boat tour takes about 2 hours and you'll pass by some adorable towns, see countless hilltop castles, and do it all while enjoying a glass of riesling on the top deck of the boat.
When you return from the boat trip, we recommend having a casual lunch in Bacharach (perhaps share a flammkuchen?!) and then put your sneakers on and get ready for a hike up to the castle overlooking Bacharach (don't worry, it's a pretty easy hike)! We don't love hiking, but we will do it it the payoff is worth it.
From town, walk past the Stadt Bacharach am Rhein government building and take your first right onto the path called "Zum Burg Stahleck". Follow this path up the hill, stopping at Sonnenturm for a beautiful view of the river. Continue walking about 15 minutes up to the main lookout point, Aussichtspunkt Burg Stahleck. You'll find the castle here as well, which has actually been converted into a hostel. Feel free to wander around the grounds and grab a drink at the cafe. Take the walking path on the other side of the castle down to Wernerkapelle - there will be plenty of views of the town and vineyards on the walk that will lead you back into town.
Dinner tonight will be back at Stübers restaurant at the hotel.
Day 4
For your final day in the Rhine Valley, enjoy a casual morning in Bacharach either exploring more of the town, walking along the river, and wandering around the vineyards.
In the afternoon, we recommend taking the train about 20 minutes to the town of Boppard. Once you arrive in Boppard, enjoy a lunch outside right on the riverside at Historischer Karmeliterhof. Wander around the Old Town after lunch and then anytime after 3pm, walk over to Weinhaus Heilig grave to enjoy some incredible rieslings in their wine garden.
Take the train back to Bacharach in the late afternoon, and have dinner at Stüber's restaurant at the hotel tonight.
Day 5
That's it for the Rhine Valley! Catch the train back to Frankfurt in the morning and head off to your next adventure!
Cost Breakdown (2 people for 4 nights)
Hotel Package (4 nights, 3 dinners, boat trip, bike rental) | $700 |
Train Tickets | $140 |
4 Lunches | $180 |
1 Dinner (2 entrees, 1 app, bottle of wine) | $75 |
Drinks (1-2 extra drinks per person per day) | $120 |
Total | $1,215 |
Daily Cost for 2 people | $304 |
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