How many bridges are there between Mainz and Koblenz?

None. You cross only by ferry, and the route uses four: Rüdesheim–Bingen, Engelsburg–Kaub, St. Goarshausen–St. Goar and Boppard–Filsen.

Do the Rhine ferries take campers?

All four take campers. You pay on board, and the rates vary with vehicle length — check each ferry's own table rather than assuming the car rate.

Which castle is worth the entrance ticket?

The Marksburg at Braubach — the only hill castle on the Rhine that was never destroyed, and the only one whose interior shows how a river customs post actually worked. Guided tours only, at set times.

Are the campsites on the Rhine bank quiet?

Not entirely. The railway runs on both banks, hard against the river, and freight trains run at night. On the Middle Rhine there is no campsite without a train.

Campervan route · the Middle Rhine · Germany

The Rhine Road

The castles that taxed the river, from Rüdesheim to Koblenz

Rüdesheim to Koblenz · ~70 km of river · 5–7 days

The Middle Rhine gorge from Rüdesheim to Koblenz, with its four ferries and twenty-two castles.

For six hundred years a ship going down the Rhine from Mainz to Koblenz stopped some thirty times to pay. Every castle on these banks was a barrier: a chain across the water, a boat with soldiers, a toll. The castles remained — forty in sixty-five kilometres, the densest cluster in Europe. The tolls did not. This route passes all of them, from both banks, with four ferries and not one bridge, and ends where the gorge opens and a bronze Kaiser stands with his back to two rivers.

The route in brief

River covered: ~70 km
Distance driven: ~120 km
Driving time: ~3 h in all, without stops or waiting for ferries
Recommended time: 5–7 days
Stage stops: 8
Ferry crossings: 4
Direction: south → north, with the current
Best months: May–Jun · Sep

Documentary check: September 2026.

Good to know before you leave

There is no bridge between Mainz and Koblenz: the route changes banks with four ferries, which take campers, with no booking; the fare varies with length.
From November to March many castles close, and the ferries run rarely, some pausing altogether.
In summer, at weekends, the riverside campsites are full and there are queues at the ferries.

Download the route PDF · A4 · 6 pages · map and practical guide Stops for your navigation app GPX · the stops in order; your app works out the road

The eight stages

South to north, with the current, changing bank at the ferries

RÜDESHEIM AM RHEIN

Rheingau — the gate, from the vineyard bank

The castle

The Brömserburg, down in the town, is one of the oldest castles on the Rhine, tenth century, and it was a customs post before it was a wine museum. Above the vines stands the Niederwalddenkmal, the 38-metre bronze Germania raised in 1883 after the war with France. Between the two, the Drosselgasse: a hundred and forty-four metres of lane, the most visited street in Germany.

The camper

CampsiteCampingplatz am Rhein, Kastanienallee 4GPS 49.97798, 7.94017 · Open on the map →

Campsite right on the bank at the edge of town. This is the last place where the Rhine is wide and calm — from the next ferry on, the river tightens between rock. Mind the access: from the B42 down to the bank you pass under a 2.80 m underpass.

From documentary sources · September 2026Official data: Rheingau-Taunus Kultur und Tourismus · read on 8 October 2026

Free

The vineyards above the town are walked on foot, and the monument costs nothing — only the cable car over the vines has a ticket. The Drosselgasse is worth seeing once, in the morning, before it fills.

OnwardThe Rüdesheim–Bingen ferry, a few minutes, camper on deck. It is the first of four crossings: from here to Koblenz there is not a single bridge.

Rüdesheim – Bingen ferry · official rateread on 5 October 2026details

Camper

Paid per metre of length; above 2.5 m wide, the rate is higher.

Passengers

Passengers in the camper pay separately; children under 6 travel free with an adult.

The tariff does not say explicitly whether the driver is included for campers; for cars he is.

Good to know

From 21 April 2026 an energy surcharge (Energiezuschlag) applies, reviewed monthly; the amount is in the official list.

You pay on board, in euros, before leaving the camper; with the exact amount where possible.

The official tariff list: bingen-ruedesheimer.de/fahrpreise.

Report an error →

BINGEN AM RHEIN

Rhineland-Palatinate — the tower in the water

The castle

The Mäuseturm stands on an island at the mouth of the gorge, and the legend of Bishop Hatto eaten by mice is a sixteenth-century story. The truth is drier: the tower collected the toll together with Ehrenfels, the castle opposite, and no ship passed both without paying. This was the Binger Loch, the reef that made the Rhine unnavigable until it was blasted.

The camper

Stellplatz · city camper parkingWohnmobilstellplatz Mainzer StraßeGPS 49.97037, 7.93044 (±30 m) · Open on the map →

City camper parking (a Stellplatz), right on the riverbank and very close to the promenade (1.4 km): an easy walk on foot. There are only ten places, so come early. From here the B9 starts, the west-bank road you stay on to Bacharach.

Checked on the ground by Calin Muntean · 4 October 2026

Free

The promenade, with the tower and Ehrenfels in front of you, is where the whole route makes sense: two customs posts, one on each bank, at the narrowest passage. Above the town, the Hildegard of Bingen trail.

Checked on the ground by Calin Muntean4 October 2026details

Where do I stay?

Stellplatz · city camper parkingWohnmobilstellplatz Mainzer StraßeGPS 49.97037, 7.93044 (±30 m) · Open on the map →

Paid at the machine, per 24 hours or per 7 days.

You pay at the machine, every day, round the clock, Sundays and public holidays included.

No services.

The machine gives no change: bring 50-cent, 1- or 2-euro coins, or pay by contactless card (the machine shows the girocard logo).

The ticket goes visibly behind the windscreen.

Where do I eat?

On our Bingen list: Papa Rhein, Riverside, Zollamt Restaurant.

What do I explore?

The promenade — long, very beautiful, with plenty of restaurants — is worth walking end to end.

Boards in German and English tell the story of the Rhine and the Binger Loch.

Special at the location

The town's events: dein-bingen.de.

Boats also leave from Bingen for Rüdesheim and Assmannshausen, and the Loreleyfahrt goes up to St. Goar and St. Goarshausen: bingen-ruedesheimer.de.

OnwardBingen → Trechtingshausen → Bacharach, 15 km on the B9. Rheinstein, Reichenstein and Sooneck stand above the road one after another, three kilometres apart.

Report an error →

BACHARACH

Rhineland-Palatinate — the town Hugo liked

The castle

Victor Hugo passed through in 1840 and wrote that it was the prettiest place he had seen on the Rhine. Above stands Stahleck, the Palatine customs castle, now a youth hostel: you can sleep in a toll castle for the price of a dormitory bed. In town, the ruin of the Werner chapel, the walls with their towers, and the half-timbered houses.

The camper

CampsiteCamping Sonnenstrand, Strandbadweg 9GPS 50.05342, 7.77295 · Open on the map →

Campsite on the bank south of town, one of the best-placed on the route. The railway runs past — on the Middle Rhine it runs past all of them.

From documentary sources · September 2026

Free

The walk on the walls, the climb to Stahleck for the terrace — the castle is a hostel, but the courtyard and the view are open — and the Rheinburgenweg, the path linking the castles of the west bank.

Onward6 km to the Engelsburg ferry, which takes you across to Kaub. The second crossing.

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KAUB

Rhineland-Palatinate — the castle in the middle of the water

The castle

Pfalzgrafenstein was built in 1327 on an island with a single purpose: to collect. A chain across the river, a barrier, a boat with soldiers. It was never taken and never destroyed, and it is the most photographed castle on the Rhine. Above it, Gutenfels guarded the rear. And on New Year's night 1813, Blücher crossed the Rhine here on Napoleon's heels.

The camper

Kaub is small. Parking by the ferry on the east bank, and from here you stay on the B42 to St. Goarshausen.

From documentary sources · September 2026

Free

The castle is seen whole from the bank, from the best angle, without a ticket. The passenger boat to the island costs a few euros, and there is less inside than outside. Across the water, Oberwesel with the sixteen towers of its walls.

OnwardKaub → St. Goarshausen, 10 km on the B42, beneath the Lorelei.

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ST. GOAR

Rhineland-Palatinate — the two banks and the rock

The castle

Rheinfels, above St. Goar, is the largest castle ruin on the Rhine. It was raised in 1245 to impose a new toll, and in 1255 an alliance of twenty-six towns besieged it for a year and failed. Opposite, Katz and Maus. And between them the Lorelei rock, 132 metres, at the narrowest and deepest point of the river. The legend of the singing girl is a poem from 1801, not folklore.

The camper

CampsiteCampingplatz Loreleyblick, An der Loreley 29, St. GoarGPS 50.14088, 7.72191 · Open on the map →

Campsite at St. Goar with the rock in front of you across the water, and another at St. Goarshausen. The ferry between the two towns runs all day, so the bank you sleep on does not matter.

From documentary sources · September 2026

Free

The Lorelei plateau is climbed on foot and is open; only the visitor centre has a ticket. Rheinfels charges, but the outer walls can be walked round for nothing. The ferry is the cheapest thing with an engine on the whole route.

OnwardSt. Goar → Boppard, 15 km on the B9, through the tightest part of the gorge.

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BOPPARD

Rhineland-Palatinate — the loop

The castle

There is no castle here, and that is the point. Boppard was a Roman fort, Bodobrica, with walls that still stand, and the toll was set by the river itself: the Bopparder Hamm is the biggest bend on the Rhine, and ships slowed so much that the customs post needed no chain. From above, at the Gedeonseck, the bend looks like four separate lakes — the Vierseenblick — because each turn hides the next.

The camper

CampsiteCampingpark Sonneneck, B9, BoppardGPS 50.24861, 7.62583 · Open on the map →

Campsite on the bank 4 km north of town, on the B9. Boppard is the largest town on the route, so this is where you stock up.

From documentary sources · September 2026

Free

The Vierseenblick is walked in an hour; the chairlift costs. The Roman walls and the promenade are open. It is the stop where you pay nobody anything.

OnwardThe Boppard–Filsen ferry, the fourth and last crossing. From here you stay on the east bank to Koblenz.

Report an error →

BRAUBACH

Rhineland-Palatinate — the only castle untouched

The castle

The Marksburg is the only hill castle on the Rhine that was never destroyed. All the others were blown up by the French in 1689 or left to fall. This one has been inhabited without interruption since 1231. So it is the only place on the route where you see what a Rhine customs post looked like when it worked, not what its ruin looks like.

The camper

Camper areaWohnmobilstellplatz Braubach, Rheinuferstraße (B42)GPS 50.27009, 7.64674 · Open on the map →

Camper place on the riverbank below the castle. From here it is 12 km to the end.

From documentary sources · September 2026

Free

The way up and the outer walls are open. Inside is by guided tour only, with a ticket — and it is the one castle on the route where we say without hesitation that the ticket is worth it.

OnwardBraubach → Lahnstein → Koblenz, 12 km on the B42. At the mouth of the Lahn, Lahneck and Stolzenfels face each other, one on each bank.

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KOBLENZ

Rhineland-Palatinate — where the Mosel enters the Rhine

The castle

The Deutsches Eck is the point of land between the two rivers, and on it sits Kaiser Wilhelm I on horseback, 37 metres with the plinth. Raised in 1897, destroyed in 1945, rebuilt in 1993. Across the Rhine, Ehrenbreitstein, the second-largest fortress in Europe, and the cable car that climbs to it straight over the water. From the top you see both valleys at once and understand why everything you have passed was built.

The camper

CampsiteKNAUS Campingpark Koblenz/Rhein-Mosel, Schartwiesenweg 6GPS 50.36624, 7.60330 · Open on the map →

Campingplatz Rhein-Mosel, exactly at the confluence, on the Mosel bank with the Deutsches Eck in front of you across the water. You sleep with the statue in your window. A passenger ferry takes you into town in minutes. It closes when the river floods.

From documentary sources · September 2026

Free

The Deutsches Eck, the quays, the Mosel bank — everything at water level is open. The cable car and the fortress share a ticket, and the route ends the way it began: with a customs post, except this time you pay to see it from above, not to pass beneath it.

OnwardEnd of the route. Cologne is 90 km north, Frankfurt 120 east, and Luxembourg 150 west.

Report an error →

Practical guide

Ferries, trains, season and what is worth the ticket

When to go

Ideal: May–June when the vines are green, or September at harvest. That is also when Rhein in Flammen fireworks run, on several evenings over different stretches.
Workable: July–August, but on weekends the riverside campsites are full and the ferries queue.
Avoid: November–March. Many castles close, ferries run sparsely and the light sits low in the gorge.
A long weekend: Bacharach, Kaub, St. Goar and Koblenz fit into three days. The rest is added when there is time.

The four ferries

Between Mainz and Koblenz there is not a single bridge. You cross only by ferry, and the route uses four: Rüdesheim–Bingen, Engelsburg–Kaub, St. Goarshausen–St. Goar and Boppard–Filsen.
All four take campers. You pay on board, a few euros for the vehicle plus passengers, and the rates vary with length — check each ferry's table, do not assume.
They run from dawn to evening at intervals of minutes, without booking. In winter the timetable shortens and some pause.
The passenger boat to Pfalzgrafenstein and the one at Koblenz take no vehicles — they are for you, not the camper.

Where you sleep

The campsites sit right on the bank at Rüdesheim, Bacharach, St. Goar, Boppard and Koblenz, and the small towns have Stellplätze. No booking needed outside summer weekends.
What nobody tells you: the railway runs on both banks, hard against the river, and freight trains run at night. On the Middle Rhine there is no campsite without a train. Earplugs, or a pitch as far from the line as you can get.
Free overnighting is banned in Germany in the sense of camping, but one night in the camper in a car park, to recover, is tolerated. On this route there is no point: there is a campsite at every stop.
The B9 and B42 are narrow in places and have nowhere to stop between towns. Do not pull over on the road for photographs — every town has parking at the water.

The castles, one by one

Pfalzgrafenstein Visited by passenger boat from Kaub, small ticket. You see more from the bank than from inside, but walking onto the island is an experience in itself.

Rheinfels Entrance ticket, a huge ruin, a maze of tunnels to take with a torch. The outer walls can be walked round for free.

Marksburg Guided tours only, at set times, ticket. It is the only intact one, so the only one where the inside tells you anything. Worth it.

Stahleck It is a hostel. The courtyard and terrace are open, and you can sleep inside at hostel prices. Not a visit, a stay.

Ehrenbreitstein Combined ticket with the Koblenz cable car. The fortress is enormous, allow half a day. The museums inside are included.

The rest Rheinstein, Reichenstein, Sooneck, Stolzenfels and Lahneck charge and keep seasonal hours. Katz is private, Maus rarely opens, Schönburg is a hotel. All are seen from the road.

“On this river you paid at every bend, under threat of the chain.
The castles remained. The chains did not.
Today you see them all from the bank, and the only thing you pay for is the ferry.”
The rule of the road

Take the map with you PDF · A4 · 6 pages · map and practical guide

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they leave

How many bridges are there between Mainz and Koblenz?: None. You cross only by ferry, and the route uses four: Rüdesheim–Bingen, Engelsburg–Kaub, St. Goarshausen–St. Goar and Boppard–Filsen.
Do the Rhine ferries take campers?: All four take campers. You pay on board, and the rates vary with vehicle length — check each ferry's own table rather than assuming the car rate.
Which castle is worth the entrance ticket?: The Marksburg at Braubach — the only hill castle on the Rhine that was never destroyed, and the only one whose interior shows how a river customs post actually worked. Guided tours only, at set times.
Are the campsites on the Rhine bank quiet?: Not entirely. The railway runs on both banks, hard against the river, and freight trains run at night. On the Middle Rhine there is no campsite without a train.

Documentary check: September 2026. On the ground: 1 of 8 stops checked (Bingen, 4 October 2026). Next review: March 2027. Prices, timetables and restrictions change every season — check them before you leave. How we build a route →