Rhine Valley & Mountain Railway All-Inclusive

This morning you meet your dedicated Tour Manager and the rest of your group at London St Pancras to join the Eurostar to Brussels. From here we travel by rail to Cologne, then continue to Koblenz where we change trains for the last short stretch of our journey to Boppard. Arriving late afternoon, we walk to our hotel - in the heart of Boppard, just opposite the station, with a garden overlooking the Rhine - and check in for the next six nights. After a welcome drink, enjoy your first dinner together with your group.

Tonight and every evening of our stay we enjoy a three-course dinner with a drinks package, served from 7 to 9pm, which includes soft drinks, house beer, wine, tea and coffee.

• Dinner

After breakfast this morning we visit the medieval Boppard Castle and its museum, a short walk from our hotel. We use our included VRM Travel Cards for free entry here. Standing directly on the Rhine, the castle was originally built - by the Archbishop and Elector of Trier - as a fortification, and as a stronghold of the Boppard nobles. It later became a toll house for collecting payment from the many ships which passed through Boppard, and the building now houses the town's museum.

Your afternoon is free to explore your new surroundings. The town is set between the picturesque Rhine and the green Hunsrück hills, with pretty squares, churches and parks to explore. You could enjoy your picnic lunch in the town, or maybe on a walk along the promenade with its shady trees and flower-filled path. This evening, enjoy dinner with selected drinks at your hotel.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today we enjoy a highlight of our tour, setting off with a packed lunch we take a boat excursion from Boppard, passing the legendary Lorelei Rock as we approach St Goar. This massive rock has inspired a number of myths, poetry and legends, based on the sound created by the currents around it and a special echo. Most of the stories involve a mermaid, water spirit or siren who would lure sailors to their watery deaths. Following bends in the river on a route marked by castles and tall forests, this is the most scenic part of the Rhine Gorge and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On arrival at St Goar there's time at leisure to look around here, and you may like to visit the Rheinfels Castle, one of the largest castle and fortress ruins in the Rhine Valley. There's a shuttle which leaves from the town hall up to the castle every half hour. In the afternoon we cruise back to Boppard where you have some time to relax before dinner with drinks at our hotel.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast you have a full day at leisure to explore Boppard and discover the surrounding area. Locally, you could take a chairlift over Boppard to a mountain station which offers fantastic views of the largest loop of the Rhine (payable locally). From here you have spectacular views across the valley to Boppard, 'the Pearl of the Rhine'. A great place to enjoy your picnic lunch!

Your VRM Travel card gives you free rail access around the area and it's possible to travel by train to the charming medieval town of Rüdesheim, a popular tourist destination which is renowned for its Riesling wines, the characterful alley of Drosselgasse, and 'Siegfried's Museum of Mechanical Music' in the Old Town.

If you'd like to head out to explore the local vineyards, the Boppard tourist office offers a guided tour of the area. We dine once again at our hotel this evening.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today's excursion starts from the railway station, an easy walk from our hotel. Using our VRM tourist pass we board the Hunsrück Mountain Railway - one of Germany's steepest railways - which takes us from Boppard to Emmelshausen, across two stunning viaducts and through five tunnels, with fantastic views of the lush Boppard forests. On arrival in the small town of Emmelshausen we have free time to look around and enjoy our packed lunch.

After this exciting excursion, we return to Boppard by rail and the rest of your afternoon is at leisure, to relax before dinner with drinks at our hotel. You may like to revisit a favourite spot in town or, if you haven't already discovered them, the ruins of an impressive Roman fort in the centre of Boppard.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today we set out by rail to the city of Koblenz. Arriving there late morning, you are free to discover the Old Town or surrounding areas at your own pace, then make your own way back to Boppard whenever you like. With your VRM pass, your train journey is included. Koblenz was first established by the Romans at the 'confluence' of the Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and from these historic roots, and a mixture of French and German influences, the city has developed its own personality. The Deutsches Eck, or German Corner, is the name of the headland at the confluence of the rivers and one of the city's most familiar sights.

The Old Town is where you'll find the Four Towers - four Baroque houses - and Münzplatz is the main square. The city has two historical churches, flower-filled gardens and a scenic promenade along the river, where you could enjoy lunch with a view. Alternatively, you could hike up through the woods to the fabulous Stolzenfelz Castle, around 15 minutes on foot, or take a cable car up to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. When you're ready, rail back from Koblenz to Boppard where tonight we enjoy our last dinner and drinks at the hotel.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After our final breakfast together, we trace our route back by rail, travelling to Koblenz and Cologne - following the Rhine River along the way - before arriving in Brussels where we join the Eurostar to London St Pancras. On arrival this evening, you say goodbye to your fellow travellers and Tour Manager with whom you have shared these unforgettable experiences.

• Breakfast