Mainz to Düsseldorf

[Richyg]

Well after much advice from this forum me and my son are booked up ( to a point) . We are getting the ferry from North Shields to Amsterdam, train to Mainz then cycling up the Rhine to Düsseldorf, train from Düsseldorf to Amsterdam then home again. The plan is to get to Mainz on the 28th June spend the night there then try and get to Düsseldorf for the grand depart on the 1st July. There are no campsites with availability anywhere near Düsseldorf to commute in so we are thinking about getting to cologne on the 30th then commuting to Düsseldorf on the 1st and back again to cologne. The plan is to cycle into Düsseldorf on the 2nd then tea time train to Amsterdam. On paper this sounds like a plan and the distance doesn't look to bad i.e. Mainz to cologne in two days but would still like some feedback on the route i.e. Are we doing it too quick ? Any suggestions for half decent (and cheap) hotels cologne and campsites from Mainz to cologne would be really appreciated , cheers Richy

[foxyrider]

Not used them myself but there's a site at Koblenz just across the Mosel from the Deutches Ecke and another, The Goldenne Mile at Remagen which is supposed to be good.

Hotels in central Köln aren't the cheapest, I've used a couple within easy walking of the Hauptbahnhof, The Europäischer Hof - very basic no food available and the A&O Köln Hauptbahnhof - more expensive but you do get a reasonable breakfast. I use Booking.com.

You can get a day ticket on the train to cover both of you (@ €40) which will include all rail modes and buses in the NRW - you can buy from the ticket machines at the station. There are plenty of trains between Köln and Düsseldorf and they run late into the evening too. If you are taking bikes up you will need a Fahrrad day ticket for each bike (€9)

The road up the eastern side of the river is quieter than the west traffic wise, in places the cycle route shares the road, in others it's right at the river bank and often subject to flooding this time of year so watch out for local diversions.

I take you are aware that the ferry doesn't actually go right into Amsterdam - there is a short ride from the port to the centre.

Hope you have a good trip, wish I could be there - I'd been planning on it for 2 years, it's so frustrating not being able to travel.

Hope this is some help

[Richyg]

Thanks , we are both looking forward to it and hopefully it will ignite some adventure into what is becoming a constant shrugging of the shoulders 13 yr old. Ideally I would like to do it longer but it's been a bit last minute (I got the idea off another recent post on here) the hotels in cologne don't seem too bad when compared with Düsseldorf!!! But if we found a nice campsite in or around cologne we may even give that a go

[Cyril Haearn]

There are hotels in Koenigswinter, Bad Bressingham, Bonn, Remagen etc etc on either side of the river. Plenty of trains too on either side

[psmiffy]

The campsite at Koln is a good un - not far from the centre along the river

Good campsite at Mainz on the Wiesbaden side of the river - need to go over the main river - then go south and look for the foot/cyclebridge over an inllet to get to it

Remagen and Koblenz as mentioned above ditto - you cannot really go wrong with any of the proper campsites along the river - they will be busy - and German prices

[Cyril Haearn]

There are hotels in Koenigswinter, Bad Bresig, Bonn, Remagen etc etc on either side of the river. Plenty of trains too on either side

[psmiffy]

There are hotels in Koenigswinter, Bad Bresig, Bonn, Remagen etc etc on either side of the river. Plenty of trains too on either side

and ??????

[Cyril Haearn]

Sorry I wanted to write Bad Bresig but the clever keyboard substituted Bressingham, then I tried to correct it but quoted myself instead

Mind, there are so many Bad - places (where one may take the waters) in Germany it is *easy* to get confused

In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield is a good book about Bad Woerishofen!

[ossie]

Plenty of decent 2 bed accommodation on airbnb for the night before the Grande Depart from £35 onwards around dusseldorf ...just looking now. Also many pubs have rooms, when I did EV15 word of mouth got me some cracking rooms for not much...not alot of camping, anyone under the age of 30 will speak English just ask around.

[yutkoxpo]

Hi!
That's a lovely route! But expect it to be busy! There'll be a lot of activity along the river.

I'm going to answer one of your questions.... I think you're doing it too fast!
You can do it in 2 days.... but probably better in 3 or 4.
How much gear are you carrying?
Are you ready for the warm temperatures?
Temps in the high 20's are not unusual at that time of the year. And traffic on the route will slow you down at the weekend.
Take your time. Enjoy the fine food....and beer!

There are quite a few campsites along the river from Mainz to Cologne. I can recommend the campsite at Cologne. In fact, I'd skip cycling to Dusseldorf altogether and finish in Cologne. Catch the train from there to Amsterdam (via Dusseldorf if needs must). I think Cologne is far more interesting than Dusseldorf.

Enjoy!

[foxyrider]

Hi!
That's a lovely route! But expect it to be busy! There'll be a lot of activity along the river.

I'm going to answer one of your questions.... I think you're doing it too fast!
You can do it in 2 days.... but probably better in 3 or 4.
How much gear are you carrying?
Are you ready for the warm temperatures?
Temps in the high 20's are not unusual at that time of the year. And traffic on the route will slow you down at the weekend.
Take your time. Enjoy the fine food....and beer!

There are quite a few campsites along the river from Mainz to Cologne. I can recommend the campsite at Cologne. In fact, I'd skip cycling to Dusseldorf altogether and finish in Cologne. Catch the train from there to Amsterdam (via Dusseldorf if needs must). I think Cologne is far more interesting than Dusseldorf.

Enjoy!

Think you missed the point of the trip - the OP is going to see the start of the TdF which this year is in Düsseldorf!

[Richyg]

Thanks for the advice , yes I've been to Düsseldorf before and although nice I'm only going back for the mayhem of the Tdf, the train from Düsseldorf is booked so we'll see where I end up prior , if the boy don't want to rush it or he hasn't got the legs I'll just take it easy and get there for the Sunday stage

[Slowroad]

I've just come back from doing that part of the Rhine - temperatures in the 30s! Subsisted on ice cream during the day! I did the west side of the river mostly, and between Koblenz and Bacharach it is squeezed between the river and the road and was very hot. If I was going again I'd try the east side (or even take a boat!) Mainly good cycle tracks and very popular particularly at weekends.
I youth hostelled, which was great, massive breakfast and often a dorm to myself. Stayed in a couple of lovely (and cool) castles. But hostels and castles do often seem to be at the top of a hill...

[Richyg]

Thanks slow road , do you have accommodation list you stayed at , I like the sound of the castles !

[Slowroad]

All the places I stayed at were DJH youth hostels www.jugendherberge.de/en
I stayed at Cologne Rhiel, Bonn, Koblenz, Bacharach (those two both castles/fortresses), Weisbaden (because Mainz was booked), Zwingenburg (because Worms was booked), Mannheim and Speyer.
They can book up early as they are mainly used by school groups - or uni groups and conferences in the big cities - but are cost-effective and often characterful places to stay!