Moselle, Rhine & Main by Boat and Bike: Cochem to Aschaffenburg – 8 Days Guided

Day 1 – Cochem | embarkation, 0 km
Board from 2 p.m. in Cochem. The captain, the crew and your tour leader welcome you, and there is time for a short test ride to get your bike set up. You stay moored in Cochem overnight.

Day 2 – Cochem to Karden, Karden to Koblenz | 38 km
Breakfast on board while the ship cruises to Karden. Today's ride takes you up to Burg Eltz, a castle that has never been damaged in war and has belonged to the same family for more than 800 years; the last stretch is on foot, and a guide shows you the armoury and the treasury. Back on the bikes you roll through Klotten, Pommern and Alken, small Moselle wine villages, and finish in Koblenz where the Moselle meets the Rhine.

Day 3 – Koblenz to St. Goar | 37 km
Past Stolzenfels castle and on to Boppard, where the Rhine turns almost 180 degrees. The town has the oldest Roman fort walls north of the Alps and one of the nicest promenades on the Middle Rhine. You end the day in St. Goar, facing the Loreley; a ferry and a bus take you up to the viewpoint over the narrowest part of the valley. Optional town walk after dinner.

Day 4 – St. Goar to Oberwesel, Oberwesel to Rüdesheim | 23 km (longer option 30 km)
The ship carries you through the most famous stretch of the gorge while you have breakfast. From Oberwesel you ride the bank to Rüdesheim, castles above you most of the way. Rüdesheim has been making wine since Roman times; the medieval old town, the Adlerturm and the Drosselgasse with its wine taverns are all there to explore. Optional town walk after dinner.

Day 5 – Rüdesheim to Mainz | 35 km (longer option 43 km)
Rolling vineyards and well-known wine villages. The Rhine widens here, up to 800 metres in places, and slips around small islands. Mainz sits where the Main flows into the Rhine: broad squares, restored half-timbered houses and baroque churches. Dinner tonight is in town, at your own account.

Day 6 – Mainz to Frankfurt am Main | 40 km
You leave the Rhine and follow the Main east through small villages to Frankfurt. The skyline is unusual for a European city, which is why Germans call it Mainhattan. Optional town walk after dinner.

Day 7 – Frankfurt am Main to Aschaffenburg | 50 km (longer option 54 km)
Past Philippsruhe castle to Hanau, where the Brothers Grimm were born, then across the river to Seligenstadt with its narrow lanes, wood-framed houses and basilica. You find the ship again in Aschaffenburg, below the red sandstone Johannisburg Palace; you visit the palace in the afternoon. Optional town walk after dinner.

Day 8 – Aschaffenburg | disembarkation, 0 km
Breakfast, goodbyes, and off the ship by 9.30 a.m.

Daily stages run from 23 to 50 km; on three days you can choose a longer route of 30 to 54 km.