During winter, pleasure boat cruises and sightseeing excursions on the Rhine River in Germany are limited but still possible. The best Rhine cruise options for winter day trips are during the Christmas market period in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Mainz, and Frankfurt, or all winter from Rüdesheim via the Loreley Valley to St Goar.
Pleasure boat day-trip cruises on the Rhine River in Germany are popular year-round. During winter, the Rhine Valley can be hauntingly beautiful but with few visitors, riverboat cruises are also much reduced. However, with sufficient demand, KD cruise lines operate Rhine River day cruises most days in the Loreley Valley from Rüdesheim and St Goarshausen / St Goar. During the Christmas market period (late November to a few days before Christmas) Rhine River panorama cruises are often possible from Düsseldorf, Cologne, Rüdesheim / Bingen, Mainz, Koblenz, and Frankfurt (on the Main River). Special New Year’s Eve party boats liven up the Rhein from Cologne, Düsseldorf, Koblenz, and Mainz, and on the Main River from Frankfurt.
2024 / 2025: KD’s Rhine River day cruise winter program operates from 21 October 2024 to 4 April 2025.
Winter Day-Trip Sightseeing Cruises on the Rhine River 2024
Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) operates boat trips even on winter days on the Middle Rhine in Germany if demand is sufficient. These boats usually depart from Rüdesheim / Bingen with stops in St Goar, St Goarshausen (Loreley Rock), and Kaub.
The cruise times downriver is 1h40 while the return boat trip upstream to Rüdesheim takes three hours. The best way is to cruise return but returning by train is also an option.
This is also the best Rhine River cruise in the high season for travelers with limited time, as it passes through the most romantic Rhine Valley. Although the beautiful vineyards are harder to appreciate in winter, the boats still cruise by medieval towns with half-timbered houses and many castles, including Mouse Tower, Pfalzgrafenstein, Burg Reichenstein, and Rheinfels Castle.
How to Book Winter KD Rhine River Day Cruises
Reservations for KD boats (tel 0221/2088-318) are essential for the winter schedule, as boats only cruise if there is sufficient demand. If sufficient bookings are already confirmed, online ticket purchases are often possible for such cruise boats.
A day trip is easy to arrange as trains from Cologne, Frankfurt, Frankfurt Airport, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Koblenz, and further afield are frequent to the small towns in the beautiful Rhine River Valley. The train station in Rüdesheim is only a short walk from the boat landing and railway to boat transfers are similarly easy in St Goarshausen and St Goar. Regional trains run on either bank of the Rhine.
Rüdesheim is often the best departure point for Rhine River cruising. See Day-Trip Boat Cruises from Rüdesheim for more information on transportation and train schedules, or Rüdesheim Christmas Market Cruises on winter excursions.
KD’s Rhine River pleasure boat cruise winter schedule operates from late October to a few days before Christmas and from early January to early April, usually depending on the date of Easter Weekend (Ostern).
In 2024 / 25, the winter season for KD Rhine cruises is from 21 October 2024 to 4 April 2025. From 22 December 2024 to 1 January 2025, no KD sightseeing boats operate at all on the Rhine or Main, except for special Advent and New Year’s Eve party cruises from Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Mainz, and Koblenz.
Christmas Market Sightseeing Cruises on the Rhine River 2024
During the Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) period, sightseeing pleasure cruises are available mostly over weekends on the Rhine from Cologne (Köln), Düsseldorf, Rüdesheim / Bingen, or Mainz, and on the Main River from Frankfurt.
The Christmas market pleasure cruises last from an hour to three hours and often include live music, especially in Cologne. Food and drink are available but usually optional and not compulsory, except for all-inclusive cruises which usually include dinner.
These Christmas market period cruises are mostly panorama cruises near cities so expect city landscapes: Cologne Cathedral and the Mainzer Dom are both beautiful from the water while modern buildings dominate the skylines of both Düsseldorf and Frankfurt.
Short cruises on the Rhine River itself are most likely from Bingen or Rüdesheim on the Bingen-Rüdesheimer line that runs the car ferry service but also cruises to Assmannshausen and Burg Rheinstein mostly during the Advent period. Burg Rheinstein transforms into a “Christmas Castle” with cruises possible from Rüdesheim on most advent weekends.
New Year’s Eve Party Cruises on the Rhine River in 2024 / 2025
KD operates special Silvester party cruises from Cologne, Düsseldorf, Koblenz, Mainz, and Frankfurt to welcome the New Year on a boat on the Rhine, Main, or Moselle rivers. These all-inclusive party boats depart mostly around 8 pm on December 31 and return around 1 am on New Year’s Day.
Prices for the all-inclusive party boats range from around €140 to €220. The cheaper boats only include beer and soft drinks with DJ music while the more expensive boats feature live music, gala buffet dinners, and unlimited drinks. All boats serve Sekt at midnight.
The largest number of boats with the widest variety depart from Cologne but boats also welcome the New Year from Düsseldorf, Koblenz, Mainz, and Frankfurt am Main. Reservations are essential and best made well in advance — in recent years, the Bingen-Rüdesheimer line Silvester cruises for 31 December were already booked out by mid-October.
For more details on wintertime, Christmas Market, and New Year’s party cruises see departures from Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, and the Middle Rhine (Rüdesheim to St Goarshausen via the Loreley).
More on the Rhine River in Germany
Day-Trip Excursions and Pleasure Cruises on the Rhine River:
- Middle Rhine (Loreley Valley) — UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed Area and the best part of the Rhine River for short and all-day boat cruises:
- cruise from Rüdesheim (cruise lines), Koblenz (cruise lines), winter & Christmas
- from Frankfurt — fast trains to the Rhine, or slow boat to the Rhine
- from Mainz and Wiesbaden
- Savings Tips, Best Cruise Lines
- Lower Rhine — Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn to Linz
- Special events: Cruises to Rhine in Flames Fireworks, Christmas and New Year’s Cruises in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and Rüdesheim
- Moselle River Cruises (Cochem, Bernkastel-Kues, Trier, Koblenz, Burg Eltz)
- Cruises on the Main River in Frankfurt (or better By Train from Frankfurt to the Best Rhine Cruises)
- Cruises from Worms, Mannheim, Heidelberg (on the Neckar River)
- Cruises from Speyer
- Rhinefalls (Rhine Waterfalls, Schaffhausen, Stein am Rhein, Kreuzlingen) in Switzerland
Tips and Savings on Day-Trip Rhine Cruises
- The best part of the Rhine for day-trip excursion cruises in the Middle Rhine between Rüdesheim / Bingen and Koblenz. See Savings Tips and the Best Cruise Lines cruising in the Loreley Valley.
- Check train times for Germany (and most of Europe) at German Railways.
