Tailor-made KD programmes for day-trippers

“We’re delighted to share our insider tips with guests”

“Our goal is to not abandon German and international guests to their own devices, but instead to offer them recommendations for hikes, sights or places to stop for refreshments that are particularly worthwhile,” says Marketing Director Nicole Becker outlining the KD philo­sophy, adding: “KD knows the Rhine Valley like almost nobody else. So we have lots of insider tips that we’re delighted to share with our guests.” Ideally, KD customers benefit from price savings and exclusive services. There are three bookable programmes in the Siebengebirge mountains and the Middle Rhine to choose from.

From the boat to the rack railway

The Drachenfels Combination Ticket takes you to Königswinter by KD boat. A few hundred metres’ walk from the jetty is the lower station of Germany’s oldest operational rack railway. This carries guests directly to the modern Drachenfels viewing plateau. For children, the boat trip including the ride up and down the mountain with the Drachenfelsbahn railway costs a fixed children’s price of € 11.

Float up to the rock plateau by cable car

With the flexible “Cable Car & Fortress” Combi­nation Ticket, guests can combine their boat cruise – for example from Koblenz to Boppard or from St. Goar to Koblenz – with a cable car ride and a visit to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. The cable car built as part of the Federal Garden Show (BUGA) 2011 takes you up to the rock plateau in around seven minutes. Here, visitors will find a spacious fortress park with a viewing platform and adventure climbing garden for children. Admission to the fortress is also included in the combination ticket.

Tour around Rüdesheim

The KD Ring Ticket opens the gateway to the spellbinding landscape around Rüdesheim. During a relaxed day trip, guests can enjoy picture-perfect views from the cable car, chairlift and from aboard the KD boats, combined with a walk full of variety through the Niederwald Landscape Park. Guests can choose to start in Rüdesheim, Assmannshausen or Bingen.

Newly designed “Schiffer- und Lotsenmuseum” in Bingen

In the town of Bingen, the gateway to the Middle Rhine, the small yet informative “Schiffer- & Lotsenmuseum” (mariner & mari-time pilot museum) on the “Kulturufer” or “cultural riverside” is well worth a visit. The exhibits, picture boards, models, specialist literature and photos find space in the pavilion of just 15 square metres, which was built in 1948 by the maritime pilots of the time. The museum is run by Bingen Mariners Association (Schifferverein). To mark the 75th anniversary of the museum, the building was renovated and the exhibition redesigned. Visitors can enjoy a modern, well-stocked, carefully and lovingly compiled and clearly organised exhibition focusing on the “Binger Loch” (narrow strait of the river close to Bingen), the everyday life of a maritime pilot, the river police, tugboat navigation and passenger shipping. Short films from the world of inland navigation run without sound in a continuous loop across two screens. The active members of the Mariners Association, especially chairman Ferdinand Engelhart and secretary Dr. Jürgen Kirsten, were responsible for the new museum concept and the renovation.

Virtual journey of a maritime pilot

One particular eye-catcher is the 4.5 m-wide triptych behind acrylic glass on the west wall of the pavilion. It is called “Gebirge”, or “Mountains”, and shows the Upper Middle Rhine Valley pilotage waters in impressive fashion. It depicts all the important danger zones on the section of the Rhine from Bingen to St. Goarshausen, framed by explanatory texts and expressive photos. A stone’s throw from the museum, the new “Lotsenbank” bench invites visitors to stay a while. The solid round bench hugging a magnificent beech tree fits perfectly into the picture.

The “Schiffer- und Lotsenmuseum” is open from the beginning of April to the beginning of October on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and for groups by appointment.

Fun for the kids on board

Families are very important to KD. This is reflected in the affordable fares, such as the fixed children’s price of € 8 for girls and boys from 4 to 13 years old on all panoramic and scheduled services (children under 4 travel for free). A fun-filled children’s riverboat cruise is a great way to fill your free time in the summer and autumn holidays. On four dates, the MS RheinEnergie will depart from Cologne with a fantastic programme for kids. Families and groups are also welcome on board the KD boats outside of the school holidays. There are great value family and group tickets available. KD also offers special meals and snacks for its young guests. Families can save even more money on Wednesdays, which are Family Day throughout the KD route network.