From the river to way up high

Pick your starting point

Flexible offers are, as it were, a kind of two-edged sword: On the one hand you can make your own plans, but on the other you’re spoiled for choice. That’s how it is when you want to take advantage of the attractive KD combined tickets on offer for Koblenz. The ticket price includes a boat trip, a ride on the Rhine cable car in Koblenz and entrance to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress – all in all a well-thought-out and attractive offer, just right for a lovely family outing. Then you’re faced with a difficult decision: Which boat trip should you take? The KD offer is available for the routes from Koblenz to Braubach, Koblenz to Boppard, and Koblenz to St. Goar – as well as in the opposite direction – because it is entirely up to you whether you start your excursion from the city where the Moselle flows into the Rhine or bring your day to an end there.

Mountains, castles, Boppard

You can, for example, schedule your day to include visits to Koblenz and Boppard and cover the distance in between by boat. The journey upstream takes two hours, downstream only about one and a half. During this time the ship glides past everything which makes the Middle Rhine Valley so unique and attractive to the countless foreign tourists who travel there: sheer, rugged cliffs that line the banks, marvellous vineyards, picturesque villages nestled between the river and rock face, and hilltop castles which tower majestically above the surrounding countryside. Since 2002, this unique cultural landscape has quite rightly been included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Stepping ashore in Boppard provides a good opportunity to enjoy some of the romance of the Rhine and at the same time to get to know a little about the history and specialities of this region. Thanks to the numerous travellers on the Rhine, this town, which has around 15,000 inhabitants, is very lively, and sampling a glass of local wine in a wonderful way to relax on the river bank.

Koblenz from above

A fortress has guarded the point where the River Moselle meets the Rhine since the 16th century. The current fortress, called Ehrenbreitstein, dates from the first decades of the 19th century and formed part of the Prussian fortification system on the Middle Rhine. Today this imposing building high above the city houses not only a youth hostel but also the Landesmuseum Koblenz. Its grounds were redesigned for the National Garden Exhibition (Bundesgartenschau, or BUGA) in 2011 and are now a popular destination for excursions. It can be reached so conveniently using the Rhine cable car which has also existed since the BUGA and is far more than just a means of getting from A to B. Indeed, it has become one of the city’s main attractions, offering a superb view of Koblenz, the Deutsches Eck (“German Corner”) with the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial, and the start of the beautiful Middle Rhine Valley.

Clear plan

If you want to travel by ship in both directions beginning in Koblenz, the KD timetable will take some of the decisions off your hands. The first stop in your itinerary should definitely be the ride on the BUGA cable car to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress before you board ship at 2.00 pm. In Boppard you will have enough time to explore the town if you sail on the last ship back to Koblenz.

For nostalgia fans

If you choose this option, you will be rewarded with a special treat, because every day the last trip downriver is made by the paddle steamer GOETHE. She is the veteran of the KD fleet and truly crowns an unforgettable day in the Middle Rhine Valley. Inside, the vessel has been carefully restored to the original condition of 1913, thus providing an insight into a different era.