Bike and Barge Heidelberg to Koblenz, Neckar and Rhine 2025

Heidelberg, arrival

You are welcome to check in at around 1.30 pm, your cabins will be ready, and we will start with an introduction talk. We will do the bike fitting and we will take you on a city walk.

Heidelberg is certainly worthwhile to be visited for a bit longer, so please consider arriving earlier and booking a hotel so you can explore the city and its castles before the trip starts!

Heidelberg to Zwingenberg

Our first ride takes us further up the river Neckar. Our goal is to cycle to Zwingenberg. A lovely ride along the meandering Neckar, a town with a castle in the hills.

Zwingenberg loop

Today we can follow the Necker a bit further up stream, and return to Zwingenberg in the afternoon. Our goal is to visit the Margarethen Schlucht and the Binauer Höhe. Or you just relax in Zwingenberg and stay on board, before we “set sail” and have an afternoon/evening cruise back in the direction of Heidelberg

Heidelberg to Worms: cycling 45 k/28 ml

We drop you of in Heidelberg, and you cycle along the Neckar to one of the oldest cities of Northern Europe, the capital of the Kingdom of the Burgundians in the early fifth century! The Worms Cathedral is one of the finest examples of Romanesque Architecture. Not only Catholic, Worms is also known for its Jewish life in Europe during the Middle Ages, described on the UNESCO world heritage site, along with those in Speyer and Mainz.

Worms to Mainz

Today you follow the course of the Rhine River to Mainz, where the Rhine River and the Main River join. Founded by the Romans in the 1st century as a military fortress, Mainz became an important trading hub in the Holy Roman Empire. During the reign of Charlemagne (768-814), it held a central position in the vast Frankish Empire and played a significant role in the development of Christianity. Mainz is also renowned as the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the movable type printing press and produced the first books, including the Gutenberg Bible, in the city. Despite extensive damage during World War II, many of Mainz’s historic buildings have been reconstructed.

Mainz to Ruedesheim

Today bike paths pass by vineyards and reach Ruedesheim. The Romans already planted their vines here! Stroll through the “Drosselgasse”, famous for its entertaining music and taste some of the wines of this wine village. This tiny old “gasse” is only 144 meters long and has 37.508 paving stones. Visit the Asbach centre, home of Germans Brandy, produced locally since 1892. Are you not into brandy? They produce some great chocolate as well.

The old town, dating from the Middle Ages, and parts of the city’s fortifications like the Adlerturm (eagle tower) are maintained. Here you will find cosy traditional wine taverns in historic half-timbered houses.

Ruedesheim - St. Goar - Boppard - Koblenz

Our morning starts with a great sail downstream the Rhine, through the narrowest part, where the current is high!  Lights show us if ships are
coming down while our ship sails downstream. Lorelei, the siren of Germanic mythology, a beautiful creature, lured the sailors with her tempting songs, so they lost control of their vessel and put it aground. It is, in fact, a steep slate rock on the right bank of the Rhine in the Rhine Gorge. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The IRIS will drop us off at St. Goar; the bike ride first takes you to the ancient city of Boppard. Here the Rhine takes an amazing turn, nearly 180 degrees. Boppard has always been a visitors magnet with her precipitous vineyards, one of the nicest bank promenades on the Middle Rhine, and the oldest preserved Roman fort walls north of the Alps. Our tour ends in Koblenz, at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. Here we can stroll through the historical centre and have a beer at Deutsches Eck, where an enormous statue overlooks Rhine and Moselle.

Koblenz, time to depart

After breakfast, before 9. am,  it is time to say goodbye!

You can leave the luggage behind, to collect at 11.30 am at the latest.