Berlin Hostel
Hostel, homestay or tent, shared
Berlin — 4 days
Old Mule Routes
Runs this trip
8 Days · 7 Nights
Fully planned multi-day journey
Accommodation
Berlin Hostel
Fully guided
A guide travels with the group for the whole trip.
Walking / cultural tour
Eight days entirely by train and river boat
Low Intensity
Travelers can expect comfortable transfers and light walking
Group size on request
Ages 8+ Welcome
The operator's minimum age for this trip is 8
Where this operator goes
8 days · 14 stopsItinerary
8 days, planned by Old Mule Routes
Eight days: a city that spent forty years split in two, then the Rhine gorge.
BerlinHow the day runs
- 1 hrsThe airport express into Hauptbahnhof
- MealsDinner
- AccommodationBerlin Hostel
Included Activities
- Transfer
- Hotel night
- Rail pass for the week
LANDMARKS Brandenburg Gate Reichstag Museum Island Start point Berlin, Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) 00:00 - 23:59Bernauer Straße is the only place the wall system is preserved in depth — both walls, the strip between and a watchtower.
BerlinHow the day runs
- 4 hrs9:00 AM — Bernauer Straße, the Wall memorial and the death strip
- 3:00 PM — the Holocaust Memorial and the Topography of Terror
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationBerlin Hostel
Included Activities
- All entries
- Hotel night
LANDMARKS Berlin Wall Memorial Holocaust Memorial Topography of Terror Cecilienhof is where Truman, Stalin and Churchill divided post-war Europe, and the room is laid out as it was.
Berlin, PotsdamHow the day runs
- 9:00 AM — the Neues Museum and Nefertiti
- 1 hrs1:30 PM — Sanssouci and the Cecilienhof
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationBerlin Hostel
Included Activities
- Museum and palace entries
- Hotel night
LANDMARKS Neues Museum Nefertiti Sanssouci Cecilienhof The cathedral took 632 years and was the tallest building in the world when it was finished in 1880. The tower is 533 steps.
Berlin, CologneHow the day runs
- 4 hrs9:00 AM — the ICE west
- 3 hrs2:00 PM — the Dom, and the tower if the legs allow
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationCologne Hostel
Included Activities
- Rail
- Cathedral tower
- Hotel night
LANDMARKS Cologne Cathedral Roman-Germanic Museum Rhine promenade Forty castles in sixty-five kilometres, most built to tax river traffic. Pfalzgrafenstein sits on an island in the middle doing exactly that.
Cologne, Koblenz, BacharachHow the day runs
- 1 hrs9:00 AM — south to the Deutsches Eck
- 4 hrs11:30 AM — the boat through the gorge
- MealsBreakfast, Dinner
- AccommodationBacharach Hostel
Included Activities
- Boat pass
- Guesthouse in Bacharach
LANDMARKS Marksburg Loreley Pfalzgrafenstein Bacharach The slate terraces here are steep enough that the vines are worked by monorail, and the Riesling is the reason.
Bacharach, RudesheimHow the day runs
- 4 hrs9:00 AM — up onto the Rheinsteig and along the rim
- 1 hrs3:00 PM — down to Rüdesheim
- MealsBreakfast, Dinner
- AccommodationRudesheim Hostel
Included Activities
- Guesthouse night
- A Riesling tasting
LANDMARKS Rheinsteig Stahleck castle Riesling terraces Niederwald The monument was put up in 1883 to celebrate German unification, and the view from it covers most of the Rheingau.
Rudesheim, CologneHow the day runs
- 1 hrs9:00 AM — up to the Niederwald monument
- 2 hrs2:00 PM — north for the flight
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationCologne Hostel
Included Activities
- Cable car
- Hotel night
LANDMARKS Niederwalddenkmal Rüdesheim Rhine confluence Both Cologne-Bonn and Frankfurt are on the same fast line.
CologneHow the day runs
- 0 hrsThe airport train
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationNot included — onward travel
Included Activities
- Transfer
- Day 1Day 1 · Arrive Berlin
- Day 2Day 2 · Divided Berlin
- Day 3Day 3 · Museum Island and Potsdam
- Day 4Day 4 · West to Cologne
- Day 5Day 5 · The Rhine gorge by boat
- Day 6Day 6 · Bacharach and the vineyards
- Day 7Day 7 · Rüdesheim, then Frankfurt
- Day 8Day 8 · Out of Cologne or Frankfurt
Pickup point
Day 1 · Fri, 18 Sept, 2026
Meet atBerlinBerlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)
Reporting time00:00 - 23:59
Loading pickup map…
Included in the price
You arrange yourself
Most of these can be added to your booking later — the operator confirms within a day.
Where you'll stay
Published by the operator. Nights on the ground can move with weather and permissions.
Cologne Hostel
Hostel, homestay or tent, shared
Bacharach Hostel
Hostel, homestay or tent, shared
Rudesheim Hostel
Hostel, homestay or tent, shared
What you'll eat
7 breakfasts and 3 dinners across 8 days, at camp. It opens with dinner on day 1 and closes with breakfast on day 8.
- DinnerServed on days 1, 5, 6
- BreakfastServed on days 2–8
10 meal services named in the itinerary. Vegetarian and vegan covered; Jain, gluten-free and allergies on notice at booking
Who runs this trip
Operated by
Old Mule RoutesVerified
“Self-guided European walking with route notes and luggage transfer”
Based in Porto Running treks since 2016
- Rating
- 4.2(15 reviews)
- Response time
- —
About Old Mule Routes
Route notes, GPX and a van that moves your bag. No leader on the hill, which suits some people and not others.
Cancellation policy: Full refund up to 14 days before departure
You might also like
Customer reviews
Overall rating
4.2/5
Based on 15 reviews
Review summary
Food3.7/5
Guide4.3/5
Itinerary4.0/5
Transport4.1/5
Accommodation3.9/5
Tour operator3.9/5
Sort by:Recommended
5
S
Sneha Kulkarni – Jaipur2026-03-25 · Verified booking
Berlin and Rhineland done well. The itinerary had room to breathe. Guides answered every question, including the daft ones. Solid operator.
Was this helpful?
5
A
Aditi Rao – Chennai2026-03-25 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found. Nothing fancy about the beds, and nothing wrong with them either. The team read the group well and adjusted without making a thing of it. No hesitation recommending them.
Was this helpful?
3
E
Elena Petrova – Stockholm2026-03-25 · Verified booking
Hotels were a step below what I expected for the price. Guides answered every question, including the daft ones.
Reply from Old Mule Routes
Appreciate the honest feedback; we're looking at the pacing on that section.
Was this helpful?
5
F
Farah Qureshi – Pune2026-03-25 · Verified booking
Berlin and Rhineland done well. The itinerary had room to breathe. Never went hungry, and the tea appeared exactly when it was needed. Solid operator.
Was this helpful?
3
L
Laura Whitfield – Toronto2026-03-25 · Verified booking
Too much time on the coach and not enough at the places we'd come for. Whoever planned the days knew what they were doing.
Reply from Old Mule Routes
Thank you. We've taken the point about the transfer and are reviewing it.
Was this helpful?
5
I
Ishita Ghosh – Nagpur2026-03-05 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found. Hostel nights are basic but clean, and that's what the price says. Guides answered every question, including the daft ones. Good value for what's included.
Reply from Old Mule Routes
Appreciate the honest feedback; we're looking at the pacing on that section.
Was this helpful?
3
A
Arjun Pillai – Jaipur2026-03-05 · Verified booking
Too much time on the coach and not enough at the places we'd come for. The lead was calm and knew when to slow the group down.
Reply from Old Mule Routes
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope to see you on another trip.
Was this helpful?
5
M
Marc Dubois – Amsterdam2026-03-05 · Verified booking
Everything was arranged properly — transfers, entries, all of it. Recommended.
Was this helpful?
Questions people ask
It is the fastest way between them and the alternative is a flight plus two airport transfers, which takes about as long and costs more. The ICE runs at 300 km/h with a restaurant car, and it is a pleasant morning.
One other operator runs this trip. See all 2 side by side →