Bacharach Hostels

Bacharach, Germany, is part of the romantic Rhine region; the town is a fairy-tale delight with flowers in the window boxes, cobblestones on the streets, and traditional half-timbered buildings, some charmingly lopsided with age. As you stroll the historic center, look for buildings proudly displaying the year they were built, among the colored timbers.

Transportation is easy. Frequent trains run along the river in both directions. You can rent a bike in town and pedal the paved bicycle path that skirts the water all up and down this region. Especially during summer, pleasure ferries ply the river. The most picturesque stretch lies between Bacharach and St. Goar to the north, but the trip from Bacharach south to Rudesheim is also full of hillside vineyards, colorful architecture, onion domes, and other sights. If you take the whole trip, you'll see more than a dozen castles. You can also buy a ticket just from one town to another, get off, explore, and take the train or a later boat back. Hiking trails abound, many linking the towns along the Rhine.

Eating on a budget will probably consist mostly of kebabs and groceries from the small stores in town, or food you bought at a bigger grocery store outside the center or in neighboring Oberwesel. Ice cream and people-watching on the river promenade is a good way to relax.

Your options for hostels in Bacharach could place you in the castle that towers over town -- when else are you going to get a chance to sleep in a castle? Bacharach is touristy, but deservedly so, and the region is one of Germany's most pleasant places to travel.