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Viking Koblenz Walking Tour VS. Marksburg Castle


Cruiseoholic000
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Marksburg castle is perhaps they best and most completely preserved/restored castle you can experience.

IMHO, it is an absolute MUST see when cruising the middle Rhine.

(But it is a very rigorous tour, so practice your hill and stair climbing!)

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I agree with CILCIANRTQS regarding Marksburg Castle. While I’m sorta fit and in my early 50’s, I didn’t think it was too strenuous, but it is a haul up the hill. I think that the worst part is the uneven and rocky entrance at the beginning of the tour. Be sure to wear well-fitting shoes with a solid sole, use the wall as your guide and you should be fine. Once inside, it’s very easy to navigate.

 

Beautiful place with a spectacular view!

 

Jeff

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If Koblenz is just a normal walking tour I would certainly skip it for that price. Koblenz is so easy to walk around on your own and while the history and some buildings are nice the town cannot beat Marksburg castle in my opinion. It is a potentially strenuous walk if you are not used to uneven inclines, but well worth enduring: http://www.marksburg.de/en/circuit/

 

notamermaid

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I am a bit puzzled by this, CPTTrips, and can only imagine that this is an itinerary where the ship docks in Braubach - that is the port for Marksburg castle - from where they have to bus people to Koblenz. Even so, I find that the walking tour should be included in the cruise price. If the walk includes a ride up to Ehrenbreitstein fortress on the cable car the price would be justified, without it it seems too expensive. A normal guided tour one can book for 7 euros, the English one only runs on Saturdays but if you get 20 people in group together you can book one in English (they would probably accept fewer people if you are still willing to pay the base price for the group boooking) and the price works out at considerably less per person than $49.

 

notamermaid

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On our Rhine Getaway cruise with Viking last April, the ship docked in Koblenz and we traveled to Marksburg via coach from there. The optional Ehrenbreitstein excursion would have left from there, but was canceled since the cable car system was down. I gather that this is an optional offering for those that are concerned with being able to navigate Marksburg.

 

FYI, we reboarded the ship in Braubach after the Marksburg tour.

 

Jeff

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If Koblenz is just a normal walking tour I would certainly skip it for that price. Koblenz is so easy to walk around on your own and while the history and some buildings are nice the town cannot beat Marksburg castle in my opinion. It is a potentially strenuous walk if you are not used to uneven inclines, but well worth enduring: http://www.marksburg.de/en/circuit/

 

notamermaid

I'm lead to believe by Viking that on the Amsterdam to Basel cruise the ship makes a short stop in Koblenz to allow the morning tours to board coaches and then moves to Braubach to collect the people who went on the Marksburg and Ehrenbreitstein tours and those who went on the Koblenz walking tour who are bussed to Braubach after the tour. I've been told that if one elects to walk Koblenz on their own they may be able to get on the coach from Koblenz to Braubach but must check with the concierge to determine if there is room on the coach and where and at what time to meet the coach for the trip to Braubach.

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On our Rhine Getaway cruise with Viking last April, the ship docked in Koblenz and we traveled to Marksburg via coach from there. The optional Ehrenbreitstein excursion would have left from there, but was canceled since the cable car system was down. I gather that this is an optional offering for those that are concerned with being able to navigate Marksburg.

 

FYI, we reboarded the ship in Braubach after the Marksburg tour.

 

Jeff

 

Agree. If the Ehrenbreitstein excursion is not being offered, then the Koblenz tour is probably the alternate for those who find the Marksburg tour too challenging.

 

IMO Marksburg Castle is not to be missed. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On our Rhine Getaway cruise with Viking last April, the ship docked in Koblenz and we traveled to Marksburg via coach from there. The optional Ehrenbreitstein excursion would have left from there, but was canceled since the cable car system was down. I gather that this is an optional offering for those that are concerned with being able to navigate Marksburg.

 

FYI, we reboarded the ship in Braubach after the Marksburg tour.

 

Jeff

 

This was our experience on our Rhine Getaway in 2016. The ship docked briefly in Koblenz to let us off to board the buses, then continued on to Braubach where we met the ship after the Marksburg tour.

 

We had the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress optional available as well. I can only assume they were bused to Braubach as well. Some people just stayed on the ship for the ride.

 

We are doing the Grand European and will also stop for the Marksburg included tour, and have the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress tour as an optional. We are doing that one, since we already did Marksburg. There is also a Moselle Wine Tasting optional available.

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For those wondering about Marksburg Castle, I was just poking about on My Viking Journey and I found this video. It doesn't show the hill that you have to walk up from the bus, but it does show the tricky area just inside the entrance. It was very interesting as well.

 

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We did the Basel to Amsterdam last week. We docked in Koblenz just under the gondola lift to the fortress. We did not do Marksburg Castle as we were told the walk uphill was a strenuous 7/10 of a mile and then rough cobblestones and very steep stairs. We were also told that once inside the castle you could not leave the tour. We just walked around Koblenz on our own. Some in our group bought tickets on the gondola that did not include the fortress tour and they enjoyed the views.

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After the Marksburg castle tour in the morning does the ship sail all afternoon?

 

 

 

If you are doing Amsterdam to Basel, the ship sails the Middle Rhine wit all the castles after the ship picks you up in Braubach. It finishes up at Rudesheim where they do a walking tour and the optional German dinner.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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I have an underlying cardiac condition which makes hill climbing difficult so I pondered over this tour for a long time before deciding to do the Marksburg tour. While there is a series of switchbacks on the way up it was not as strenuous as advertised. The interior path did have lots of cobbles and irregularities but you were not speeding through, so just use some caution as you step. Unless you are really restricted you should be able to complete this tour. By the way it was quite interesting.

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If you are doing Amsterdam to Basel, the ship sails the Middle Rhine wit all the castles after the ship picks you up in Braubach. It finishes up at Rudesheim where they do a walking tour and the optional German dinner.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

 

Does anyone have a estimated time you get into Rusesheim?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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I thought they laid it on a bit thick about how strenuous the Marksburg trip is. To get from the bus to the castle you have a choice --- switchback steps or an uphilll paved road. My husband RUSHED me up the steps (huff-puff!) and then we lolled around on top for a good 20 minutes before our group departed. We easily could have taken our time.

 

The entrance is uneven but not as bad as they described. I'm 5'2" and he described the steps as being 2' tall -- they weren't. Our guide stopped to talk in that area - my advice is to not stand on the sloped side like I did; stay in the center of the uneven parts.

 

There are stairways on the tour but nothing abnormal. There is one narrow, twisty stairway that one rotund fellow on our tour couldn't navigate so he went around but the rest of us were fine (and I carry a big camera bag).

 

I recommend the tour; it is more strenouous than any other excursions but unless you have mobility issues or health limitations, you should be fine.

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I thought they laid it on a bit thick about how strenuous the Marksburg trip is.

 

I agree. The “slow walkers” group on our cruise were all able to do it. It was only slightly more difficult than the other excursions. I guess they have to exaggerate it or people will complain.

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