Cochem · Moselle Valley, Germany
A half-timbered wine town on the Moselle, under a castle rebuilt on a rock high above the river. Glide past the Reichsburg and steep slate vineyards, rise through the Fankel lock to Beilstein, and raise a glass of Riesling on deck.
Boat trips
In the centre, the lock cruise to Beilstein, the trip most worth your time. Either side, the two one-hour loops past the castle: KD with English commentary, Kolb with a stop in Ernst. Every card opens a full trip page.
Most reviewed
★ 4.41 hourFree cancellationA one-hour loop with KD past the half-timbered riverfront and under the Reichsburg. The commentary comes over the loudspeaker in German and English.
Through the lock
★ 4.62.5 hoursFree cancellationSail upriver through the bends to Beilstein, rising several metres in the Fankel lock on the way. Stay in the village and ride a later boat back.
Hop off in Ernst
★ 4.41 hourSee termsThe same hour on the river with Kolb, upriver past the Brauselay cliff to the wine village of Ernst. Get off there for a tasting and take a later boat back.
After dark
★ 4.12 hours
Wine day
★ 4.26.5 hours
Castle + boat
★ 3.86 hours
Boat + wagon
★ 4.24.5 hours
On foot
★ 4.05 hoursCompare
Three questions sort it out. Do you have one hour or half a day? Do you want the lock and Beilstein, or just the castle from the water? And do you want wine, food or a guide bundled in?
| Trip | Route | Lock | Best for | Length | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lock Cruise from Cochem to Beilstein | Cochem to Beilstein and back, Fankel lock | Yes, Fankel | Beilstein and the lock, at your own pace | 2.5 hours | $28 | Book |
| KD Panoramic Cruise on the Moselle | Cochem riverfront loop, KD pier | No | A first look, with English commentary | 1 hour | $16 | Book |
| Kolb Panorama Round Trip with Ernst Option | Cochem old bridge to Ernst and back | No | A loop with a wine stop in Ernst | 1 hour | $16 | Book |
| KD Evening Lounge Cruise | KD pier, Moselpromenade | No | Two hours on deck with a DJ and the castle lit up at dusk | 2 hours | $30 | Book |
| Boat to Beilstein with Wine & Flammkuchen | Cochem and Beilstein | Yes, Fankel | Boat both ways, three wines in a Beilstein cellar, liqueurs in Cochem | 6.5 hours | $100 | Book |
| Reichsburg, Boat & Wine Day | Reichsburg Cochem and the riverfront | No | Castle tour, a boat trip and four wines in one ticket | 6 hours | $84 | Book |
| Boat Cruise & Covered Wagon Ride | Cochem and a nearby Moselle village | No | A boat trip and a covered-wagon ride through the vines | 4.5 hours | $111 | Book |
| Wine Adventure Hike with Boat | Vineyard paths near Cochem | No | Walk the vineyard slopes, taste on the way, ride the boat back | 5 hours | $100 | Book |
Tickets also sell at the kiosks on the Moselpromenade: KD's one-hour loop was 14 euros for adults in 2026. Children under 7 ride free with KD; Kolb charges half price from 4 to 14.
Before you book
Every boat in Cochem leaves from the same stretch of promenade, and from the bank they all look alike. They are not. The one-hour loop heads a little way downstream, turns, and runs back up past the Reichsburg, the Brauselay cliff and the vineyards toward Ernst. Two companies sell it, KD and Kolb, from piers a few minutes apart, for about the same money.
The lock cruise keeps going. It winds upriver through the bends to the Fankel lock, where the boat sits in a concrete chamber while the water lifts it several metres, then on to Beilstein, a tiny village of steep lanes under a ruined castle. Then there are the boat days: the same boats with a wine cellar, a castle tour, a hike or a covered wagon bolted on. Read what is bundled, not just the photo.
Kilometres of tight river bends between Bremm and Cochem, the Moselkrampen. The best of it starts right above the town, which is why the upriver trips are the scenic ones.
Only on the Beilstein trip. The one-hour loop has none.
Daily from late April to October, weekends in November, a few December dates.
KD's commentary is in German and English. Kolb's is in German.
Turn up for the loops. Book ahead for evenings, wine days and summer weekends.
On the water
About two and a half hours from Cochem to Beilstein and back, longer if you stay ashore. This is the shape of it.
Show your ticket at the pier on the Moselpromenade and head for the sun deck before it fills.
10 minutes beforeThe boat slides past the Reichsburg, the Brauselay cliff and the wine villages of Valwig, Ernst and Bruttig.
About 40 minutesThe gates close behind you and the boat rises in the chamber. Stand at the rail for this part.
10 to 15 minutesClimb the lanes to the monastery steps, have a glass, and take the same boat or a later one down.
30 minutes or morePlan your trip
Season, prices, timetables and getting to the pier: one tab each.
Where it happens
Moselpromenade, 56812 Cochem, between the old bridge and the KD ticket office
All day boats leave from the left bank, the old-town side, along the riverside promenade. Kolb's round trips use the yellow pier with the "Rundfahrten" sign below the old Moselle bridge. KD boards in front of its red, white and blue ticket office a short walk away. Packaged wine days swap vouchers at the kiosks by the bridge.
Around your trip
Timing, what regulars do, what to see nearby and the fine print.
Moselle Valley
Pick the boat, then pick your hour.
Check availabilityGuest reviews
★★★★★what an amazing activity! The boat was very clean and the staff was very helpful. Definitely would recommend!!
★★★★★The boat trip was very pleasant; the selection of drinks and food was really very good.
★★★★★Such an amazing and relaxing experience. The staff were friendly and the audio guide was interesting.
★★★★★Castle visit with the best guided tour!!! Very nice cruise and perfect wine tasting with a very friendly consultant!
★★★★★The cruise was very enjoyable. The views of Cochem and the Moselle River were beautiful
★★★★★The tour on the Moselle was simply beautiful and relaxing in great weather.
★★★★★It was wonderful! The staff were friendly and attentive. Boat was clean and ample space on the deck
★★★★★It was a really fun day! Lots of different activities and a great finale at the winery.
★★★★★This was a fun way to see the valley from a different viewpoint
Off the boat
From the deck you see the slopes. A morning with a winemaker takes you up them, then pours what grows there.
The boat shows you the slopes. This takes you up them: a two-hour walk through the vines above Ediger-Eller with a local winemaker, then a tasting of the wines grown on the hillside you just climbed.
With a winemakerTasting includedSmall group
The guide
Cochem has more boats per hour than anywhere else on the lower Moselle, and the kiosks along the promenade all shout the same word: Rundfahrt. Here is how to tell the trips apart.
This is the trip most people take, and for good reason. For the price of a lunch you get the Reichsburg from below, the riverfront of slate roofs and timber frames, and a stretch of the Moselkrampen, the 24 km of tight bends that make this part of the valley famous. KD and Kolb both run it from the Moselpromenade. KD's boat, the Moselprinz, plays its commentary in German and English; Kolb talks in German, sails more often late in the year, and lets you get off at the wine village of Ernst and wander back on a later boat.
What it is not: a lock trip. The loop turns before the Fankel lock, so if a listing for a one-hour cruise promises a lock, read it twice.
Give the river two and a half hours and it gives you more. Above Cochem the valley narrows, the vineyards get steeper and the villages smaller: Valwig, Ernst, Bruttig. Then comes the Fankel lock, a concrete chamber where the gates close and the boat rises with the water. Beilstein, at the end, is one of the smallest towns on the Moselle, a few lanes of old houses under a ruined castle and a Carmelite church at the top of a long stair.
Most people stay ashore longer than the half hour the round trip allows. Return boats leave Beilstein at 12:00, 13:30, 15:00 and 17:30, so an early start and a long lunch work well.
KD's evening lounge cruise puts a DJ on deck for two hours while the castle lights come on. The packaged boat days are a different thing: the same scheduled boats, sold together with a cellar tasting in Beilstein, a guided castle tour, a vineyard hike or a covered-wagon ride. They save organising, not money. Ratings for these sit lower than for the plain cruises, mostly because of voucher swaps and timing, so read each trip page before you book.
May, June and September are the sweet spot: warm enough for the open deck, without the August crowds. October brings the harvest and gold on the slopes, but KD stops in mid October and Kolb at the end of the month. In winter only a handful of weekend loops run, and from January to Easter the piers are quiet.
Guides
In-depth guides to the questions people ask most before booking. See all guides.
Prices & faresWhat each boat costs, kiosk against online.
Cochem to BeilsteinThe lock cruise, the timetable and how long to stay.
KD vs KolbTwo companies, two piers, one river. How to choose.
Wine cruisesBoat-and-tasting days, and how to build your own.
Long boat tripsTraben-Trarbach, Zell, Treis and Koblenz by boat.
One day in CochemA timed plan: castle, boat and old town.From the blog
Timetables, season dates and what is new on the river. All posts.
FAQ
Straight answers to what people ask most about boat trips in Cochem.
A one-hour round trip costs about 14 euros at the KD kiosk (2026 adult fare), and from $16 online for either the KD or the Kolb loop. The lock cruise to Beilstein and back is from $28 online; Kolb lists it at 20 euros at the pier. Boat days with wine, food or a castle tour run $84 to $111. The price guide breaks it down.
A little under an hour upriver, through the Fankel lock, and a bit less on the way back. The round trip takes about 2.5 hours with roughly half an hour ashore, or you stay longer and catch a later boat. Details in Cochem to Beilstein by boat.
No. The one-hour loop turns around before any lock. Only the Beilstein trip passes the Fankel lock, where the boat is raised several metres in a concrete chamber. If the lock is the point, book the lock cruise.
For a one-hour loop they are close: similar route, similar price, piers a few minutes apart. KD gives the commentary in German and English; Kolb speaks German but lets you hop off in Ernst and runs later into the year. Kolb also runs the Beilstein, Traben-Trarbach and Zell trips. See KD or Kolb.
Kolb sails daily from late April to 31 October, at weekends in April and November, and on a few December dates. KD ran from 28 March to 18 October in 2026 and has announced 27 March to 17 October 2027. From May to September boats leave every hour or so. More in this winter's sailings.
Not for the one-hour loop: you can buy at the kiosk and board the next boat. Booking ahead makes sense for the evening cruise, the wine and castle days, and summer weekends, when a fixed time and free cancellation are worth the small online mark-up.
On the KD panorama cruise, yes: the loudspeaker commentary runs in German and English. Kolb's commentary is in German. Nobody needs words to enjoy the castle from the water, but if you want the stories, pick the KD loop.
Not in 2026: Kolb's own page says its Cochem to Koblenz day trip did not run this season, though it has sailed on summer Fridays before. The long routes that did run go upriver, to Zell and Traben-Trarbach. The train covers Cochem to Koblenz in under an hour. More in the long-trip guide.
From the Moselpromenade on the town side of the river. KD boards in front of its own ticket office; Kolb's round trip leaves from the yellow pier below the old Moselle bridge. Both are 10 minutes' walk from the station.
Dogs are welcome on both lines; KD charges a small fee per dog, while Kolb usually lets them ride free. Bikes go on most Kolb routes for a few euros, but space is limited on summer weekends.
For an hour and the price of a cocktail, yes: the Reichsburg looks best from the water, and the river is the only way to see Cochem without the crowds on the promenade. If you have a half day, the Beilstein lock cruise is the better trip. Plan the rest in one day in Cochem.
Ready to book
From a one-hour loop under the castle to a half day through the lock, with free cancellation on most trips.
More: the evening cruise · a wine day in Beilstein · castle, boat and wine
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