Cochem to Beilstein by Boat 2026: Times, Lock & Tips

Booking choice: The lock cruise to Beilstein, from $28 per person. Check dates Tour details

Kolb runs the boat from Cochem to Beilstein, upriver through the tight bends of the Moselkrampen and the lock at Fankel. The trip takes about an hour out and 50 minutes back. Sold as a round trip, it lasts about 2.5 hours with roughly 30 minutes ashore, but you can stay longer and take a later boat home.

Times below come from Kolb's printed 2026 Cochem timetable and its ticket partner. They shift with lock waits and the weather, so treat them as a pattern.

The quick answer

Boats leave the old Moselle bridge in Cochem at 10:30, 12:00, 13:30, 15:00 and 16:15 in the main season and reach Beilstein about an hour later. Return boats leave Beilstein at 12:00, 13:30, 15:00 and 17:30. Adults pay €20 return at the kiosk or from $28 online. For a proper visit, go out at 10:30 and come back on the 15:00.

Illustration of a passenger boat rising inside a Moselle lock chamber between wet concrete walls — The Fankel lock, between Bruttig and Beilstein. The online listing gives the lift as about 7 metres.

How long is the boat from Cochem to Beilstein?

About an hour upriver and 50 minutes back. The round trip with a short stop takes about 2.5 hours.

The boat calls at Ernst and Bruttig on the way, then passes the Fankel lock before tying up at Beilstein. Downstream, with the current, the return is a little faster. Lock waits add minutes at busy times; Kolb's timetable warns that times can move for weather, passenger numbers and lock delays.

By car the same distance takes about 15 minutes. Nobody takes the boat to save time.

Illustration of the Moselle riverfront seen from a moving boat, vineyards rising behind houses — Upriver from Cochem the valley narrows into the Moselkrampen bends.

What is the Cochem to Beilstein boat timetable?

Five boats a day leave Cochem in the main season (10:30 to 16:15) and four return from Beilstein (12:00 to 17:30).

From Kolb's 2026 timetable. In late October the ticket partner listed only the 10:30, 12:00, 13:30 and 16:15 departures, so check the day's board at the kiosk.

Leaves Cochem	Arrives Beilstein	Leaves Beilstein	Back in Cochem
10:30	11:30	12:00	12:50
12:00	13:00	13:30	14:20
13:30	14:30	15:00	15:50
15:00	15:50	17:30	18:20
16:15	17:15	17:30	18:20

Read the 15:00 row carefully. There is no boat back until 17:30, which gives you a long Beilstein afternoon whether you wanted one or not. A mirror of the online listing notes that the 13:30 return does not run on Mondays.

Fix your date for a summer weekend, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Check dates for the lock cruise to Beilstein

How much time do you get in Beilstein?

About 30 minutes on the standard round trip. Tell the crew you want a later boat and you can stay three hours or more.

The ticket partner describes the round trip as about 2.5 hours including roughly 30 minutes ashore, and adds that a later return can be arranged on board. Half an hour gets you up the main lane and back. It doesn't get you to the castle ruin.

Our pick: the 10:30 out, lunch in the village, the walk up to the ruin, then the 15:00 back to Cochem at 15:50. You'll have about three and a half hours ashore and still catch the castle tour or the chairlift in Cochem afterwards. Skip the 16:15 departure unless you are happy with 15 minutes in Beilstein.

What is the Fankel lock?

A river lock between Bruttig and Beilstein that lifts the boat to the next level of the Moselle. It is the only lock on a short trip from Cochem.

The Moselle is a canalised river, stepped by weirs and locks. Fankel got a second chamber in 2013. The boat glides into the chamber, the gates close behind it, and the water level rises; the lock-cruise listing gives the lift as about 7 metres. It takes a few minutes and is the part children remember.

The one-hour loops from Cochem, KD and Kolb, don't pass a lock. If the lock is on your list, this is the trip.

Illustration of a white passenger boat inside a lock chamber with the gates closing behind — Inside the chamber the walls rise beside the deck, then fall away as the boat comes up.

What is there to do in Beilstein?

Walk the lanes to the market square, climb to the Metternich castle ruin, and visit the Carmelite church with its Black Madonna. An hour covers the village; add one for the ruin.

Burg Metternich: the ruin above the village. The keep dates from about 1200; French troops destroyed the castle in 1689 (Wikipedia). A short, steep path climbs through the vines; there is a small entry fee.
Carmelite church of St Joseph: built 1691 to 1783, home of the "Miraculous Black Madonna", a statue of Spanish origin.
The Zehnthaus on the market square, the old tithe house from 1537.
The Jewish cemetery above the castle, with 104 gravestones, and the former synagogue in the Weingasse.

Beilstein had 132 residents at the end of 2025. Its nickname, the Sleeping Beauty of the Moselle, fits on a weekday morning; at 14:00 on an August Sunday it is wide awake. Several inns and wine bars line the lanes, and some close for parts of the winter.

Can you go to Beilstein by boat and come back by bus or on foot?

Yes. Bus 716 links Beilstein's ferry stop with Cochem station, and the Moselsteig trail stage from Beilstein to Cochem is 13.8 km, about four hours on foot.

Bus 716: runs between Beilstein (ferry stop) and Cochem station, irregularly and less often at weekends and in school holidays (visitmosel.de). Check the times on vrminfo.de before you rely on it.
On foot: Moselsteig stage 18 runs 13.8 km from Beilstein to Cochem, rated medium, with rocky slope paths below the Brauselay cliff. Boat out, walk back is a classic day.
Bike: the riverside cycle path is flat. Bikes go on Kolb boats for €2 to €4 if there is space.

One trap for drivers and route planners: there are several Beilsteins in Germany. Use the postcode 56814, or you may be routed to Baden-Württemberg.

Boat to Beilstein with Wine & Flammkuchen

Boat both ways plus three wines and Flammkuchen in a historic Beilstein cellar, then liqueurs back in Cochem.

★ 4.2 · 6.5 hours · from $100

Explore the Beilstein wine day Tour details

When does the boat to Beilstein run?

In 2026: daily over Easter, weekends in April, then daily from 1 May to 31 October. There is no Beilstein boat in winter.

That is the pattern on Kolb's Beilstein page, and it has been stable from year to year. The 2027 timetable isn't out yet; expect the same shape, starting around Easter (28 March 2027). In November and December only the one-hour loop sails from Cochem, and not every day.

Planning ahead? The 2027 season post tracks dates as they are published.