Sankt Goar Transportation

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Whether driving, cycling or walking, you can cross the Rhein at St. Goar over to St. Goarhausen (or vice versa). On either side, follow the signs to the ferry and pull up in line until the ferry allows you to board. You will be directed where to line up on the ferry. Once the boat starts to cross, someone will come to your car and ask you to pay the fee based on what kind (if any) of vehicle and number of people.

The crossing only takes a few minutes. You can get out of your vehicle and go to the side of the ferry to take photos if you want.

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This is one of the main reasons you came to this area right? To ride the Rhein! Or was it to drink the wine?

The dock to board the ship can't be missed. Just make sure you look for the Koeln-Dusseldorfer sign. (KD) There are some private cruise lines, and you wouldn't want to pay extra!

The boat moves along slowly, chugging along castle by castle by castle. There is running commentary, but if you are on the top deck, you won't hear it. Bring along your own little guidebook. You can pick up one in town before boarding. There is a snack cafe on board, with outrageous prices, as only those desperate for a drink/snack will pay. If you're a snacker, you'd be better off bringing along your own.

It took about 3 hours (10.20 to 1.15) for us to go from St. Goar to Ruedesheim. After wining, dining, and visiting Ruedesheim, we opted for a much quicker ride home. We took the train from Rudesheim to St. Goarhausen and ferried across the Rhein to St. Goar.

Take "Castle-Express" (a miniature train) to go to the Rheinefels castle. Its an easy way. The "train" goes from Marktplatz - end of the main street and near the Rhine riverside - to Rheinfels Castle Carpark

There are miles and miles of bicycle paths along the Rhein. A large number of serious bicycling enthusiasts passed through St. Goar each day. What if you are not a serial cyclist, but would enjoy a little mosey by the Rhein? You can hire a bike for the day! Well, not in St. Goar, but in either neighboring Bacharach or Oberwesel, either of which you can reach in a few minutes train ride.

Information:

bicycle hire in Oberwesel:
Fahrradgeshaeft Hoehn
Liebfrauenstrasse 38
phone: 0 67 44/3 36

bicycle hire in Bacharach:
Zweirad Morr
Mainzstrasse 20
phone: 0 67 43/91 94 03

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If you want to get from one side of the Rhein to the other, you can get across by taking a car ferry. Just walk on board the pedestrian entrance. A one way fare when we were there, was 1 euro 30 cents. The ticket clerk will approach you as you get on board. To see the hours of operation,which vary with the season, visit the website I've listed below.

To see a more complete list of ferries, visit:
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=53&L=3

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The train station to catch the trains that will take you riding up and down the Rhein (this side) is located on Oberstrasse. The quiet Oberstrasse is one street over (away from river) from busy Heerstrasse. The station is small and holds no personal staff. Tickets can be bought on the train platform from a vending machine.

If you want to go to a town on the other side of the Rhein, first you will neet to take the ferryboat over to St. Goarhausen and go to that town's train station.

There's a ferry (for people and cars) between St Goar and St Goarshausen. Considering that there are no bridges in this area that allow you to cross the Rhein river (the next ones are in Koblenz or in Mainz/Wiesbaden), this is really helpfull! There are always discussions about building bridges there in the Rhein valley, but as this region is UNESCO world heritage this is not so easy.

The ferry drives between 6:00 and 21:00 (in summer until 23:00), on Sundays and holidays it starts only at 8:00. During this time of the year, the ferry goes every 20 minutes, maybe it's more often during peak times.
We paid 4 Euro for one car and two persons, pedestrians will have to pay 1,30 Euro for a single-trip. You pay on the ferry.
Please check their homepage for the current schedule and prices.

There are many ways to get to St. Goar first and the most convenient is by car, just because you have your own schedule, can move at your own pace, and stop anyway you want to take another picture for VT. The other way is by train. I’d do it moving from village to village along the valley, but if you’re going to cover a long distance then it may cost a lot of money, since German trains are not cheap. The third way is by boat, the most romantic and probably interesting, but I haven’t experience it, yet. I was in St. Goar in late October, not many tourists where visiting and therefore there was no parking problem. But I can imagine that on a hot summer weekend parking a car can become a nightmare.