LOTUS EATERS TRAVEL

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WALKING THE RHEINSTEIG: WHAT WE LIKED + DIDN’T LIKE.

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In August of 2024, we arrived in Bonn, Germany, ready to tackle The Rheinsteig. A 320km long-distance trail, which promised forests, vineyards and spectacular views. Did it live up to our expectation?

In this blog post you can find out what we liked about The Rheinsteig, and some of the aspects that we weren’t quite so enamored with.

Walking the Rheinsteig: What we liked

To help you decide if The Rheinsteig is a match for you – here’s everything that we enjoyed about walking the route.

INCREDIBLE SCENERY

The Rheinsteig constantly amazed us with its stunning views. Whether walking through lush forests, passing by rolling vineyards, or looking out over the dramatic cliffs above the Rhine River, every day offered something breathtaking. The ancient castles perched high above the river were an added bonus, making the scenery even more captivating.

RHINE TOWNS

One of the highlights of walking The Rheinsteig for us was exploring the charming Rhine towns along the way. Linz, St. Goar, and Rüdesheim (to name but a few) each had their own unique character, with half-timbered houses, cozy cafes, and welcoming wine taverns. Taking a break in these picturesque towns felt like stepping back in time, and we thoroughly enjoyed soaking in the local culture.

EXPLORING CITIES

The trail starts in Bonn, and ends close to the vibrant city of Mainz. This presents walkers a chance to explore at least two cities. Bonn has quite a conservative feel, boasting historic sites dedicated to the composer Ludwig van Beethoven who was born in the city. In contrast, Mainz has an eclectic and welcoming vibe, with hipster bars and student hangouts around the city.

Along the route you will also find the charming and lively city of Koblenz. We would really recommend an overnight stay if you can time your daily stages to end in the city. Spend time exploring the Old Town and marvelling at the Deutsches Eck, the point where the Moselle meets the Rhine.

SUMMER FESTIVALS

We were very lucky to have timed our Rheinsteig walk with the Koblenz summer festival. This is a three day event with live music across multiple stages, as well as pop up food stalls and beer gardens. Arriving to Koblenz on the first Friday of the event was special, and we were able to party with locals (as late as our tired legs would allow us.)

The highlight of the three day festival is the famous Rhine in Flames event. A spectacular celebration of the river, with fireworks set off along the Rhine, and a boat parade. We watched this from Braubach, 10km from Koblenz and it was a most memorable experience.

All along the Rhine there are various beer and wine festivals in the summer, as well as live music events. So, if you do walk in the summer, look out for local happenings.

PLENTY OF TRAIL

For anyone who hates walking on road or pavement, The Rheinsteig will be ideal. There is so much opportunity to walk on trail, in fact the vast majority seems to be woodland trail, or footpaths in the countryside, with very little on flat and hard ground.

SHADED FORESTS

Hiking in August meant dealing with some pretty intense heat, with temperatures reaching up to 34°C. Thankfully, much of the trail wound through shaded forests, providing a cool respite from the scorching sun. The woodland trails were not only beautiful but also essential for keeping our energy up during the hotter parts of the day.

IMPECCABLE TRAIL MARKINGS

The Rheinsteig organisers boast that there are around 1000 sign posts along the trail and that it is “impossible to get lost.” I can confirm that this is very much the case.

We never worried about getting lost on the Rheinsteig, thanks to the impeccable trail markings. The blue and white signs were easy to follow, allowing us to focus on enjoying the hike rather than constantly checking our maps. Once or twice we might check our All Trails Map, but more often than not this was because we hadn’t been paying attention at had missed a sign post.

VARIED ACCOMMODATION

If you like to change things up when it comes to accommodation, The Rheinsteig will not disappoint. There are quaint guesthouses in small towns to more luxurious hotels in larger cities. You can also find a handful of campsites.

And, whilst accommodation was rarely cheap, we always found a comfortable place to rest at the end of the day.

VINEYARDS AND WINE HUTS

One of the only things that we knew about The Rhine before we walked this route, is that it rhymed with wine.

I can’t resist a drop of Riesling (who can) and The Rheinsteig route takes you to the heart of where this wine is produced. Specifically, the Rheingau region. Red wine lovers will also not be disappointed, as you can also enjoy Pinot Noir towards the end of the hike.

Visiting wineries does require a little forward planning however. The trail goes through a number of vineyards, but often the wineries aren’t located near to the Rheinsteig. Instead, you’ll have to come off the trail to find wineries or wine houses/ tavernas to try their produce.

That said, we were absolutely tickled pink when we stumbled upon small wine huts directly on the trail. These rustic stops offered a chance to sample local wines and take in the views, making our breaks feel indulgent and well-deserved.

VISITING CASTLES

The Rheinsteig is a castle-lover’s dream. We lost count of how many we visited, each with its own unique history and stunning views of the Rhine. Exploring these ancient fortresses added a sense of adventure to our hike.

CHALLENGING HIKING

The Rheinsteig isn’t a walk in the park, and that’s one of the things we loved about it. The trail offered plenty of challenging sections, with steep climbs and descents that tested our endurance. But every tough stretch was rewarded with incredible views (often accompanied by a comfortable seat to take a rest) or the satisfaction of conquering the trail.

ACHIEVABLE DISTANCE

The total distance of The Rheinsteig hike is 320km. One thing we loved is that this felt like an achievable distance that didn’t require a huge time commitment compared to other long-distance hikes in Europe. We walked the trail in 12 days, which felt a little rushed at times, but it could be more comfortably walked over a 14 day vacation.

Walking the Rheinsteig: What we didn’t like so much

We thoroughly enjoyed walking The Rheinsteig – but here are a few things that we didn’t like quite so much about the hike.

TRAIL LOGISTICS

I’ll be totally honest, whilst we love hiking, I wouldn’t necessarily consider us to be total “trail monkeys.” We favour long-distance walks that allow us to explore a region or country, one village or town at a time. As opposed to walks that involve pure trail walking.

One simple reason for this, is that we are “travellers” before “walkers.” We want to see places, not just trees. Another is that we love a glass of wine and a good meal at the end of the day. But the main reason that we try to avoid trails in the wilderness, is that we hate thinking about trail logistics. By this, I mean focusing on how much water we need to carry, or when we might next see a shop.

There are days on The Rheinsteig when the trail does not go into any towns or villages and there are no facilities. We found that every day on The Rheinsteig we had to think a bit about trail logistics, and once or twice, we nearly ran out of water – despite carrying around 6 litres between us.

LIMITED CAMPING SITES

We walked the Rheinsteig with our tent and camping equipment hoping to camp the entire route. In the end, we camped around 60% of the route and had to opt for hotels for the remaining nights. We noticed that there were far more campsites to the left side of the Rhine than the right, where we had walked. But the logistics of crossing the river to return to the Rheinsteig, prohibited us from staying at sites on the other side of the river.

It is not technically legal to wild camp in Germany, but we can see that it would have been possible to do so. That said, for those preferring the comfort of campsites – do note that they are not available at every stage of the way.

PRICE OF ACCOMMODATION

There are hotels and B&Bs on and close to the route, as well as in towns on the Rhine. These are varied and interesting, but rarely inexpensive. The Rhine is a popular tourist destination and prices reflect this.

As we were walking as a couple, we could justify a few hotel rooms, but with prices averaging 80 to 150 Euros, this could be quite an expensive trip for a solo hiker. We were able to find a few “low key” hotels for around 50 Euros, but these were rare and certainly not available in remote areas of the trail.

In addition, campsites near to the Rheinsteig tended to be a little pricey. To give you an idea, we often paid in excess of 25 Euros per night, 35 Euros on one night. In comparison, when we walked The Pieterpad in The Netherlands (a month prior to the Rheinsteig), we paid closer to 20 Euros on most nights.

OPENING HOURS OF CAFES/ RESTAURANTS

We walked the Rheinsteig in August, which we had assumed would be “peak tourist season” on the Rhine. It is true that we saw plenty of tourists, particularly those taking river cruises and staying on the river. But despite this, we noted quite restricted opening hours of cafes and restaurants in the Rhine towns.

As hikers, we would often be up early looking for coffee or something to eat. Whilst some supermarkets opened early, cafes frequently did not open until 10:00 or 11:00, or offered limited outdoor seating in the morning. We found that bakeries were much more reliable, tending to open at around 08:00 – but not every town had one.

Even more surprising was that many restaurants opened only on the weekends – often Thursday to Sunday. We did always tend to find a hotel with a restaurant open on other days, which may not have been our first choice but was sufficient.

It is also worth noting if you walk the Rheinsteig that supermarkets in this area do not open at all on Sundays. So you’ll need to stock up on provisions in advance.

BITING INSECTS

We walked in the summer, which we would recommend as the best time to tackle this route. Yet there is one thing to consider if you do walk during the warmer months – biting insects. Mosquitos and nibbling flies seemed to be rife on the route, especially in woodland area.

We recommend packing bug spray, wearing long sleeves and trousers if you can and avoiding lingering too long in the forest.

Walking the Rheinsteig: Our Review

So, after all that, what’s our verdict on The Rheinsteig?

TRAIL MARKINGS + NAVIGATION: 10/10 – trail markings on the route were absolutely perfect. There are way markings as well as directional sign posts and distance markers.

DIFFICULTY: 8/10 – at times we wondered if we would make it to the end of the day, or even to the top of the hill. This hike is challenging, with significant elevation. But, oh so worth it.

ACCOMMODATION + AMENITIES: 7/10 – amenities are often found off the trail, as is accommodation. We were felt there was a lack of budget accommodation options.

VARIETY + LANDSCAPE: 8/10 – the route has incredible scenery. But ultimately, The Rheinsteig does not cover a large geographical area so there isn’t significant variety.

PLEASURE + LEISURE: 9/10 – there are interesting towns and cities on route and did we mention vineyards?

Looking for a daily stages guide?

You can find our daily stages guide to the Rheinsteig here.

Written by Emma

Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.

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