Germany - Walking holiday along the Rhine - Castles and Vineyards
- Rhinegau & Middle-Rhine valley -
Mountain chains with legendary views onto the river Rhine, vineyards as far as the eye can reach, countless castels and palaces, enchanting half-timber: all of this and more will you discover during the walking holiday between Mainz and Coblenz. The Rheingau-region with its idyllic wine locations and numerous wine taverns called ‘Straußenwirtschaften’ invite you to sample the delicious Riesling-wine. In the UNESCO-World Cultural Heritage region of the ‘Mittelrheingau’ you walk past a number of majestic strongholds situated on ledges along the tracks of pure Rhine romanticism, which already inspired Heinrich Heine to create his Loreley-song. Incredible scenic beauty and culture – it is not for nothing that the Rheinsteig-path was nominated Germany’s most beautiful hiking route. Simply hiking ‘on a high level, in the truest sense of the word!
About the route
Wine-grower paths, solitary walking paths and old bridle paths ensure varied walking. Basic fitness and sure footedness is required for uphill/downhill sections on the mountain ridges of Middle-Rhine valley. Walking times of up to 6 hrs. And distances of up to 24 km are to be reckoned.
Walking with a dog
On this particular walking tour you have the option of bringing your 'four-legged friend'. When booking, simply let us know the breed and size of your dog. Possible additional costs are payable locally on site.
Highlights on this tour
- Walking along Germany’s most famous major river
- Vineyards, Rhine-Riesling & quaint wine taverns
- Idyllic villages with half-timber houses
- Impressive castles and palaces
- UNESCO-World Heritage region
Itinerary See all daysClose all days
You arrive to your first hotel in Rüdesheim. After getting your room you can explore your surroundings.
Hotel (example): Central
Today you tackle (by cable car) the mountain chains to the Middle Rhine Valley and enjoy a breathtakingly beautiful panorama and view onto the Nahe-estuary. Past the hunting lodge Niederwald you hike to Assmanshausen, renowned for its exquisite red wines and the stunning half-timbered houses. In your Day Finish Lorch again lots of half-timber awaits you and on top of that excellent wine.
Walking: approx. 5½ hours
Distance: 21km
+660m / -680m
Hotel (example): Im Schulhaus
On diverse paths and along mountain chains with a fantastic panorama over the Rhine valley the route leads into the historic shipping town Kaub or via the mountain chains to Dörscheid. Castle ruin Nollig, Gutenfels castle and as a highlight the impressive toll-castle Pfalzgrafenstein, situated directly on an island on the Rhine, transform today’s tour into a true experience.
Walking: approx. 4½ hours
Distance: 13km
+460m / -460m
Hotel (example): Loreleyhotel Fetz
The heart of the Middle Rhine Valley awaits with serpentine-tracks, fabulous views and legendary castles. The best-known rock on the Rhine, the Loreley-Rock, is also part of your itinerary, as well as the three-castle-view onto Katz castle, Maus castle and Rheinfels castle. A crowning finale to today’s tour before you reach St. Goarshausen.
Walking: approx. 6 hours
Distance: 19km
+590m / -620m
Hotel (example): Christian
Today you walk along unspoilt tracks, fantastic scenery and past defiant castles whilst crossing the Filsener Lay, one of the most beautiful nature reserves of the region. Liebenstein castle and Sterrenberg, the so-called ‚hostile brothers‘ accompany you along the way into the wine-growing parish.
Walking: approx. 6 hours
Distance: 21km
+690m / -700m
Hotel (example): Rheingraf
Along the route to Braubach you come across Liebeneck castle, the Dinkelhold Mills and the impressive castle ‚Marksburg‘. We highly recommend you take time to visit this complete extant castle. The wine-growing village of Braubach welcomes you with its town wall and numerous half-timbered buildings.
Walking: approx. 5½ hours
Distance: 17km
+620m / -620m
Hotel (example): Maass
During the final stage again several highlights await: castles, nature reserves, woodland and the blooming Bienhorn-valley. The tour offers long-distance views, amazing nature as well as an adventurous section through the Ruppertsklamm-ravine, a genuine highlight! You cross the Rhine via the impressive bridge ‚Pfaffendorfer Brücke‘, before you finally end your week of hiking at the ,Deutsches Eck‘ in Koblenz.
Walking: approx. 5½ hours
Distance: 20km
+690m / -680m
Hotel (example): Brenner
This tour is now over. During the morning you check out from the hotel. It is possible to book extra nights after the tour if you prefer.
Price includes
- 7 nights in 2-star and 3-star hotels
- Breakfast every day
- Luggage transfer between hotels
- Wine tasting
- Detailed travel information (route maps or overview maps, route description, tourist attractions, important telephone numbers)
- GPS-data is available
- Access to the route in our GPS-app which works offline while you walk
- 24-hour local and international service hotline for the duration of the tour
- This is a packaged holiday and is therefore covered by The Travel Guarantee Fund - See which benefits this means for you - click here
- Transportation to/from Germany
- Tourist tax (if due)
- Handling fee (EUR 20)
Practical info
The price is based upon two people sharing. It is also possible travel alone in a single room. Simply choose "single room" in the booking form and it will automatically add the single room surcharge. If you travel alone it is necessary to select single room.
On this tour you will be on your own supplied with maps, route descriptions and luggage transfers. That means that your time is your own and you have plenty of time to enjoy the stages in your own pace.
Notice: If you open the booking form, fill it out and go to page two, you can save your quote and have it sent to your email as a pdf. This way you can easily send it to others who can then see the price and exactly what is included. When you have saved the quote you can easily restart the booking and you will not need to enter all the information again.
The flights to/from Frankfurt (closest airport) are not included in the price. You can easily find a suitable flight via a flight booking engine such as Momondo or Skyscanner.
Notice: we recommend that you book with us and wait for the confirmation before you book your flights.
It works like this:
- You book your chosen holiday with us
- We confirm your holiday (usually within 48 hours)
- You arrange your transportation
Book a quote
If you prefer that we handle your flight, then we would be happy to arrange this for you. You simply book a quote below the map on this page and we will return with a quote as soon as possible (usually within 48 working hours). Please note that we add a handling fee of 45 euro to each flight and this means that the flight will be cheaper if you book it yourself.
Luggage transfer is included on this tour. Upon arrival at the first hotel you will be given luggage tags along with the rest of the welcome package. You fill out the luggage tags and put them on your bags where they will remain for the duration of the tour.
Your luggage is picked up from the hotel lobby around 9am every morning and will arrive at your next hotel at 6pm at the latest (often long before that). If there are any special exceptions to the luggage transfer you will be notified upon arrival.
Luggage transfer includes one bag per guest and the bags can weigh 20kg each.
On this tour you will be accommodated in 2-star and 3-star hotels with breakfast included.
In the itinerary you can see some examples of the hotels we use on this tour. Notice that the hotels are examples and you may end up staying in different hotels. It depends on availability when you book the tour.
Breakfast is included every day. It is easy to find lunch in the small villages before the walks and you will have plenty of choices for dinner in the many restaurants.
This tour has difficulty grade 2-3. Which means that most days are difficulty 2 and some days are difficulty 3.
Grade 2
Easier walking at reasonable good paths. The walking time will be 4-6 hours usually in hilly terrain. Every one in good health and a normal physical fitness can participate. Luggage is mostly transported and you only go with a lighter backpack. Requires good footwear such as trekking shoes or hiking boots.
Grade 3
Walking in hilly or mountainous terrain, with longer ascents and descents. You will walk 5-7 hours a day. Requires good fitness and good health, but no technical experience. Requires good footwear such as trekking or hiking boots.
Read more about our Grading System
Here you can get an overview of the entire route and the elevation profile for each day. The data shows the data from the GPX-files related to the tour. Notice that the routes are sometimes updated, which means that there might be small variations.
Colors
Blue routes: The route as normal
Red routes: Variations/options (such as shortened or extended routes)
You will recieve the following documentation
Upon booking
You recieve practical information about the tour in a digital format
One month before arrival
You recieve your hotel list and your voucher (hotel list is often supplied upon booking)
Upon arrival
You recieve the welcome package which contains the printed version of the road book, luggage tags, local specific vouchers and if you have rented bikes then they will also be delivered and fitted at the first hotel.
On this trip there is a discount for children and people sharing a room with "two fully paying adults". The discount depends on the child’s age, as follows:
Children under 5.99 years: free of charge
Children between 6 and 11.99 years: 50% discount
Children between 12 - 14.99 years: 25% discount
People from 15 years and up: 10% discount
Example 1
2 adults and 1 child. In this case it’s very easy because you are staying in the same room. The child will receive a discount in relation to the above prices.
Example 2
2 adults and 2 children (age 5 and 13 years old): in this case you have two options. If you want to stay in two double rooms, then we apply the full price for all participants. If you want to sleep in the same room (eg. a family room), both children will receive a discount (respectively free or 25%)
Example 3
2 adults and 3 children (age: 7, 13 and 15 years). Here you will probably need two double rooms, where the youngest child is sleeping with the parents. Therefore, there will only be a discount for the youngest child of 7 years who will receive a 50% discount.
Example 4
3 adults who want to sleep in the same double room. Then extra adult will receive a 10% discount.
Notice
On our booking form you can only choose "adults" because our website cannot calculate children's discount by itself. Therefore, you should simply enter the details of the children's age, date of birth and, if desired, the room distribution in the notification area when you book the trip. Then we arrange and adjust the price later after.
It is important that you understand that it is your own responsibility when you choose to bring your children on the trips. You should check the difficulty levels descriptions and from there, consider whether the specific trip is suitable for your child. In general, we do not recommend that children under the age of 15 participate in trips where the difficulty is over 2.
It can be hard to plan your trip according to the weather, but to give an idea of the local climate, you can see the data below:
The statistics are from yr.no.
We are members of the Travel Guarantee Fund (nr. 2529) and have all available insurances. Read more about that here.
Call our experts on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Phone: +44 20 3936 1208
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