Biking Germany's Mosel River Valley

Germany by Bike, Why?

You're not a biker? And you don't want to be part of a tour group? Why would you want to do this? I had the same questions when considering this Mosel biking idea.

My sister, who admittedly is in much better shape than I, wanted an active adventure to precede a more sedentary planned Rhine River Cruise. My criteria were clear: flat, paved, easy with off-road scenery for the non-athlete. Logic dictated that we choose something in a country close to our point of departure, and a bit of research promised all the above if we chose a biking tour through the Mosel River Valley on the famed Bike Path.

The Mosel river (Moselle in France) is the best known of the 13 German wine-growing regions and flows north joining the Rhine in Koblenz. We chose to bike the lower course as the river twists and turns its way along one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys. The region was cultivated by the Romans, and there is plenty of history and wine to explore along the way. Today, its hillsides are covered by steep terraced vineyards where some of the best Rieslings grow. Picturesque castle ruins sit on the hilltops above the charming wine villages along the riverside. 

Map and more wine information at https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/mosel-valley-wine-guide/

​Click on any image below to view larger ⌄

Müden, view from our window

Expect a bit of rain along the way!

Burg Eltz

The forest trail back from Burg Eltz

Bielstein

Our Hotel in Trittenheim

Roman "milestone" (league marker)

High water markers show historic floods

Bernkastel-Kues

Stopping in a village along the way

Trier

A MOSEL BIKING PRIMER
​You can start and stop anywhere along the bike path heading in either direction and it is relatively flat terrain along the riverbanks. For the most part the route is paved and off road, but there are sections where you ride in a bike lane along the highway. Fear not, Germans are very courteous drivers to bikers. There are a few climbs up to a bridge or through some of the vineyards nestled in the hillsides, but when I could not ride any faster than I could walk in first-gear, that’s exactly what I did. 

Biking is very common in this area and you will see every variety of biker along the route. And as the river also accommodates holiday caravans and campers, there are no shortage of places to stop. In every village there are bike shops, grocery stores and cafes to help you rest, resupply or repair should you need to.

We started in Müden* ​near Cochem making our way to Trier in late May 2024. We opted for inexpensive Gites and Inn’s recommended and linked below, but believe me there are much swankier-digs along the route should you choose a more posh stay. You can search "Mosel spa resorts" and find many, but the one I drooled over was Moselschlösschen where we just enjoyed a coffee on their riverfront terrace in Traben-Trarbach.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO WARNINGS !
Sundays took us by complete surprise. Why? In Germany, Sundays are sacred. The country has a word for it - Ruhetag. Germans take the practice so seriously that Sundays are protected by their Constitution. This means the Lidl supermarket will not be open to purchase sunscreen, that small shop you planned to return to will be dark, and only hotels/inns are allowed to have food service. So prepare accordingly! Visit a park, look for a festival, visit a museum or other cultural spot on Sunday.

Do not expect elevators in these small inns. We just had our meager riding necessities in the bike saddlebags (panniers) so it was not a problem. 
​

OUR MOSEL BIKE ITINERARY
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DAY 1    
We flew into Frankfurt Airport (FRA) on Condor Airlines (Nonstops from SFO and LAX - highly recommend their business class option! If you're not traveling at peak-season buy the least expensive ticket and then bid on BoostSeat app to upgrade to a lay-flat seat - Huzzah!)

German trains are easy, and most connecting stations (Hbf) have ticket windows to help you. Recommend you try to sprichst ein wenig Deutsch, but they speak English! We took the ICE 228 Train From Frankfurt Airport to Koblenz* Hbf, (Direction  Dortmund) - 1 hour 13 min. We transferred to the local RB81 Koblenz/Trier train to arrive at the Müden-Mosel stop. A 3 min down-hill walk took us directly to our first 2 nights at the charming family run,
                 Hotel Sewenig (dinner recommended!)

*We skipped Koblenz on this bit of the Mosel Path because we would spend time there on our Rhine Cruise. We also heard that the "scenic part of the ride" started near Cochem.  I'd recommend Koblenz for a visit, but start a bike ride further south. 

DAY 2    
We took a taxi (there is also a bus) to Burg Eltz ++*, which was an amazing excursion into the forest above Müden. We walked/skipped back down through the forest trail which has a "Snow White vibe" after visiting the castle. We had arranged to have our (carry-on!) suitcases picked up at the hotel today and our bike rentals dropped off. We did not rent e-bikes as the buses along the route won’t allow them, and we wanted the option in case we were faced with rain or other complications en route.  We packed small wet packs for the journey by bike to Trier approximately 110 km away. Cost for luggage transport and bike rentals was $340.

DAY 3      Korkenzieher Restaurant Apartment
We rode 26 km to Briedel along the lovely bike path through Cochem, Bielstein and Zell stopping along the way to eat and visit. We encountered a very muddy patch traveling through the forest park. In hindsight, we were really lucky we didn’t have e-bikes because the added weight would have made the journey impossible as we had to climb a hill to get around the swamp. Cochem is lovely, but bus-busy and I'm glad we didn't stay there. Bielstein was adorable but with few services, and Breidel right outside of Zell had a perfect well outfitted apartment above a good restaurant.

Day 4        Christina’s Wein & Art
We had a big ride today to Bernkastel-Kues @ 35 km away heading through Traben-Trarbach which is a delightful village worth visiting! Recommend stopping for a drink at the Moselschlösschen riverfront terrace. Bernkastel was wonderful. Christina's Hotel on Kues side was very nice, but maybe better for a car visit. I would prefer to stay on the old-town side of the river +$$ if I had it to do again. 

Day 5       Gastehaus Moselkloster
Our ride today to Trittenheim was @ 30 km. Really loved seeing Piesport along the way. Worth mentioning, there are plenty of gites between Piesport and Trittenheim. Look closely at the map and you'll see Neumagen-Drohn "the beautiful and oldest wine town in Germany." Want to stay at a winery? Check out the Klimek Winery and guest houses.

Day 6&7         Nells Park Hotel 
Today we planned to ride 42 km to Trier, a city on the banks of the Moselle near the border with Luxembourg. Founded by the Romans in the late 1st century BC as Augusta Treverorum ("The City of Augustus among the Treveri"), Trier is considered Germany's oldest city.

However, the Roman gods had other plans for us with a torrential downpour and high water on the bike path forcing us to reconsider after about 35 km. With stations all along the way, we hopped on the next train and were in Trier in 10 minutes! GepaeckTransport Mosel brought our luggage to our Hotel and picked up our bikes in the hotel bike rack. We spent 2 nights at a quiet spa hotel out of the hustle bustle of the City in Nells Park. Close enough to walk or bus back into Old Town to tour the Roman ruins, Porta Nigra and the cathedral.

​We found Trier a wonderful place to end our bike adventures before heading by train to Cologne (Koln) to board our Rhine river cruise. Would I do it by bike again? Absolutely!

RESOURCES

Luggage Transport and Bike Rental - $340 2pp bag storage + bikes ++*

1. https://www.gepaecktransportmosel.de/en/index.php  ++*

Biking Maps and More

1. https://en.visitmosel.de/cycling/mosel-cycle-path
2. https://www.rlp-tourismus.com/en/tour/tour/mosel-radweg-gesamtstrecke-von-perl-bis-koblenz/tour.html
3. https://www.tourenplaner-rheinland-pfalz.de/en/tour/long-distance-cycling/mosel-cycle-path-in-full-from-perl-to-koblenz/3371404/#dm=1
4. https://burg-bike.de/en/mosel-bike-tour/

Wine Guides

1. https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/mosel-valley-wine-guide/​

++* Special THANK YOU and mention for Chris at GepaeckTransport Mosel and Sonja at Berg Eltz here! At the beginning of the trip I lost my wallet at Burg Eltz. We called with little hope to see it again. But it was found with cash and credit cards in tact! Meanwhile, we were on our way peddling to Cochem. Sonja connected with Chris Teuber from Gepäcktransport who picked it up from a Burg Eltz employee returning home. Amazeballs, beyond the call of duty and saved my trip! 

Have questions? Drop a note below. Always happy to help.