Rhine, Moselle & Saar 3-river tour in Germany

Check in: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM, Merlijn departs. We will pour you a welcome drink and introduce the crew. We will also inform you about the tour and the ship, and give you a safety briefing. After cruising the Rhine for a few hours we will drop anchor for a first relaxing night on board.

Enjoy your breakfast while the Merlijn continues further upstream on the river Rhine. Your bike tour will start in Bonn, the city of Beethoven. You will cycle along the Siebengebirge (lit. "seven mountains" in German), which is a range of hills to the East of the Rhine, south-east of Bonn, comprising over 40 mountains and hills. Your bike tour will end at Andernach, where you will meet the Merlijn again, which will be docked overnight. Our guide will take you on an after-dinner walk through this interesting city along the Rhine.

After breakfast, your bike tour will start from Andernach, and leads you to Koblenz. Here, the guide will show you around this magnificent city and take you on a ride with the cable car across the Rhine to Ehrenbreitstein Castle, from where you’ll have a fabulous view over the city of Koblenz and the ‘Deutsche Eck’, where the Moselle merges with the Rhine. Afterwards you will cycle on to Winningen, where the Merlijn awaits you for an overnight stay.

During breakfast, we will sail to Alken and pass one more lock of the Moselle. Here you will start biking into the Eltztal, where you will park the bikes and put your hiking shoes on. After a hike of approx. 40 minutes, you will reach the beautiful castle of Eltz. Romantically situated atop a cliff, the castle is one of only a few that has never suffered destruction throughout its long history. Afterwards, you’ll cycle to Cochem, where the Merlijn awaits. In Cochem, you might want to visit the famous Reichsburg, or stroll through the cosy streets of this romantic city.

In the morning, you will start biking from Cochem, with the small village of Beilstein as the first stop. It’s well worth a visit, so enjoy a stroll through this medieval village, which is still completely intact. Along the meandering Moselle River, you will cycle on to Zell, which is famous for its ‘Zeller Schwarze Katz’ (black cat) vineyard. From Zell we offer you 2 options:

• Board the Merlijn and together we will cruise on to Traben-Trarbach.
• Extend your bike tour and cycle on to Traben-Trarbach.

After dinner you will be offered a wine-tasting session at the Winery of Storck.

After a cruising breakfast, today’s cycling tour will start. You will bike along the Moselle, with a first stop in Bernkastel-Kues. Here you can walk through the town and visit Germany’s oldest marketplace. After your visit, you will cycle on to Neumagen, from where we offer you 2 options:

• Board the Merlijn and enjoy a relaxing cruising afternoon.
• Extend your bike tour and cycle on to Mehring.

Mehring is the spot where the Romans first set foot, travelling from the Rhine to the Moselle river. The Romans fell in love with this landscape more than 2000 years ago, and built splendid rural villas here. In Mehring, you will board the Merlijn again, and together we will cruise towards Trier. Tonight you will enjoy another delicious dinner on board.

Today we have a different day (than the average bike and barge day) in store for you. The Merlijn will stay docked in Trier for another full day and we offer several choices today. Those who came 100% for the cycling can get ready to enjoy one of the cycling highlights on this trip! Where most routes lead along the river, today's route is entirely through the mountains and free nature, and even then mostly downhill! To achieve this, you go in the morning, together with your bicycle, by bus into the mountains and then follow an old railroad line, which has recently been transformed into a bicycle path, towards the Mosel. This ride will take most of the day…
Those who also deserve some rest during this vacation, want to go shopping or see more culture, will also find something to their liking. Leave the bike onboard for the day and walk into Trier to enjoy everything this city has to offer. A rich history, nice stores and plenty of terraces. Our guide will be happy to help you with your plans for the day. Tonight’s dinner is at your own pace in one of the many restaurants.

In the morning, you can do some more exploring in Trier. We can arrange a local city guide to teach you all about this fascinating city, which was the capital of the Western Roman Empire, a Roman seat of government, and is well-known for its impressive city gate, the Porta Nigra. In the afternoon you will cycle to Saarburg.

The cityscape of Saarburg is characterised by narrow alleys, framework houses, and Baroque structures, as well as colourful fishing cottages and seafarers’ houses. The master architect of Berlin, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, already named the collection of romantic houses and small bridges on the Buttermarkt ‘Little Venice’ in the 19th century.

After breakfast, it is time to say goodbye and continue your European trip, or leave for the airport.