It's easy to visit the major wine regions of Germany from Britain, and you can usually get by pretty well with little or no knowledge of German.

Getting There
From Europe
By plane, Ryanair run several flights a day from Stansted near London to Hahn airport (which they call Frankfurt-Hahn, despite the fact it's a long way from Frankfurt....), and although this is a rather poor airline with unsavoury business practices, and not exactly cheap, it can be very convenient, especially for the Middle Mosel. There are also flights from Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, as well as flights from many other European countries, and also a few non-European countries. See Ryanair's wesbsite for up-to-date details. A few other airlines also use this airport - see the airport website. Unfortunately, this is my recommended method of getting there from Europe for visiting the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, and for the Rheingau, Nahe, Rheinhessen, and Rheinpfalz you have a choice of Hahn or Frankfurt airports (see below), with Köln-Bonn a better alternative for the Ahr. There are fairly regular coaches from Hahn to get you to most major destinations except the middle-Mosel, which is close enough to do by taxi, though hardly cheap. There also used to be a few mini-buses daily between Bernkastel and Hahn, but these do not seem to run any more. See the airport website at www.hahn-airport.de for details of coaches and taxis, though note that Bingen and Bad Kreuznach are both served by an onward coach from Simmern. Similarly, Worms is a stop on the route to Heidelberg. For Trier, you can try Luxembourg airport, which is closer than Hahn, and there's a mini-bus service to get you from the airport to the city, though I haven't yet tried this route. For Würzberg (Franconia) you can get a coach from Hahn, but this is a long journey, and you might prefer to use Frankfurt Airport, which has an ICE train connection to the city.I can't really offer advice on getting there by car as I've never done it, but since the major wine regions are in the west of Germany, it shouldn't be too difficult provided you're confident about driving in Europe. However, do remember that Germany is very strict on drink-driving. As in most European countries, the blood - alcohol limit is also lower in Germany than it is in Britain.

From America and the rest of the world
For travellers from America and other countries that do not fly to Hahn airport, Frankfurt airport isn't too far away, and has good train connections to Wiesbaden (Rheingau), Mainz and Bingen (Rheinhessen), Würzburg (Franconia), Koblenz (Rhein and Mosel, with onward train and bus connections to Zeltingen, Wehlen and Bernkastel via Wittlich Hbf), Boppard (Mittelrhein) and Bad Kreuznach (Nahe).. The Deutsche Bahn website can be very useful for planning onward journeys from Frankfurt or Köln-Bonn airports, or see here. My main criticism of the Deutsche Bahn website is that it tries too hard, in fact: it will willingly give you very precise information about trains and connecting buses, but it wants you to specify exactly which bus stop in Bernkastel or Zeltingen you want!

Visas and Passports
Citizens of the European Union countries, and also Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United States are exempt from visa requirements for tourism visits to Germany of up to 90 days in any six-month period at present. However, your passport must be valid for at least six months after the date of arrival. For a full list of those countries that are exempt, and those that are not click here for a page from the German Foreign Ministry, available in several different languages.

Currency Exchange
I have always found that I get a far better exchange rate from the small banks on the Mosel than here in Britain, especially at the airport. The savings can be very significant, as much as 4-5%. However, the rate at airports in Germany is often no better than at airports in Britain, and I've never been able to find out in advance what the rates on offer on the Mosel are. If you can afford to wait until you reach the Mosel before exchanging the bulk of your currency I'd suggest you do so, but I can't guarantee what rate you'll get, and remember that the banks are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. 'Hole-in-the-wall' type machines are rare on the Mosel, so most banks have an out of hours system where you swipe your card through a reader by the door, which then opens to let you use the machines inside.

Accomodation - and wine village websites
You rarely need to book a hotel in advance unless you want to stay in one of the main tourist villages such as Bernkastel in high season - there are many guest-houses available to passing visitors in most of the wine villages, most of them with a small winery attached. This makes it very possible to spend a day or two in each of several villages, making up your itinerary as you go. If you really want to book in advance, however, virtually every wine village has a website. Just type in www.piesport.de, or www.zeltingen-rachtig.de, or www.bernkastel-kues.de, www.traben-trabach.de et al. These websites are usually run by the local tourist office, and you can sometimes book hotels directly from these websites, or they will provide a list of hotel websites or email addresses. However remember that where a German word uses an umlaut (two dots above a letter) that letter usually has an 'e' added after it in web addresses. Kröv thus becomes www.kroev.de. If traveling in a group of four or more, you may like to stay in what they call a 'Fereinhaus', which is basically a self-catering flat or house, and which many wineries offer. These probably need to be booked in advance, especially in high season. Of course, if you want 3-star or better accomodation then you should always book in advance. If you should get stuck without accomodation, however, just visit the local tourist office who are always very helpful. If you can't speak German you can always count the number of nights you need on the fingers of your hand.... Here's a list of all the tourist offices on the Mosel that I know of. If you want to visit the Rheingau, click here for a website with lots of info on all the towns and villages and links to most of their websites.

Getting Around
Mosel
Travelling by car, or hiring a car in Germany certainly has it's benefits, enabling you to visit many towns and villages as you please, without having to use public transport, though I'll again remind you that Germany is very strict on drink-driving. That said, public transport is mostly pretty good in Germany, and it appears that even the lovely village of Ürzig now has a reasonable bus service. However, should you have trouble getting there, it's within walking distance of Zeltingen and Erden, though it's a fairly long but mostly very pleasant walk of around 45 minutes each way from Zeltingen, the exception being part of the way where there is little or no pavement, but it's mostly not too bad, and the scenery is often stunning. One aspect of buses on the Mosel that you need to know, however, is that although they run to a timetable they're often 5-20 minutes late. If a scheduled bus doesn't turn up on time just wait; I've never had one not arrive at all. I've put all the information I have about buses on the Mosel on a separate page here, including links to bus timetables which give info on buses through Ürzig. If you are unable to get a bus to Ürzig, it's probably easier to walk from Erden than Zeltingen - I've done both several times.
If travelling from Trier to Zeltingen, Wehlen or Bernkastel, it's considerably easier, quicker and cheaper to go by train and bus, rather than by bus alone. The train goes to Wittlich Hbf (Hauptbahnhof, or main train-station), from where there is a connecting bus to those villages.
In general, the region from Trier to Traben-Trarbach seems to be fairly well served by buses, and the part from Bernkastel to Traben-Trarbach also has a good river-boat service (summer only) that offers stunning views of the river and vineyards. The boats also routinely stop at Zeltingen, and sometimes also other villages such as Graach, Wehlen, and the first boat company listed below also stops at Ürzig, but they only seem to stop at these villages on request. There are also a number of other river-boat services operating on routes such as Bernkastel to Trier, but some of these are only once a week. Check the websites listed below for details
Finally, anyone considering a visit to the Middle-Mosel, and in particular the villages of Ürzig and Rachtig need not worry - yet - about building work on the massive new bridge that is planned. Major construction has not yet started in these villages, and apparently is not planned to start this year, 2010. If you want to see these villages in their full unspoilt glory, now is the time to do it. I will post updates as they become available.

Rhein and Nahe
For details of buses in the Nahe and Rheinhessen regions click here. Type in the name of a town or village. There are many services, but possibly the most useful ones from a wine tourism viewpoint are: 251 Bad Kreuznach to Bad Münster, Norheim, Traisen, and Schlossböckelheim, and the 233 Bingen to Bad Kreuznach, but there are many more interesting routes. There are also many riverboat services that operate on the Rhein, and probably also on other rivers such as the Main, Nahe, etc.
For details of trains, buses and boats in the Rheingau region click here. Particularly useful information on Bus 171, which runs all the way from Wiesbaden to Lorchhausen, stopping at many famous villages, Bus 172, from Eltville to Keidrich and Kloster Eberbach, Bus 181, from Geisenheim, to Johannisberg, Oestrich-Winkel, Hattenheim and Hallgarten, and 173, Eltville to Rauenthal. There is also a train service that runs from Frankfurt Main all the way along the Rheingau, stopping at many of the towns and villages.

Things To Do
Many of the wine villages have a least one wine festival each year, and most also have an 'open cellar day', when visitors are welcomed into the cellars of various winemakers. I happened to be in Zeltingen on one of these days, and it was very enjoyable indeed. For details of festivals and open cellar days visit the town or village website, which you can find here. There are also many opportunities for wine tasting. Sometimes you have to pay a small amount, often nothing, though it's polite to buy at least one or two bottles. At the vinothek in Bernkastel you can taste around 150 wines for about €10.

Another activity on the Mosel that you might like is walking through the vineyards, which is not as foolhardy as it sounds. Many of the best vinyards are steep, and some are exceptionally steep, so over the years the German Govt. has improved conditions for those who work on these slopes by cutting small roads into the hillsides, and of course visitors are welcome to use them too, gaining safe and easy access to beautiful sights that were formerly only available to very sure-footed climbers. Although almost invisible from the riverside, some of these little roads can be seen in a few of the pictures on this website - see here. Most of the winemakers will offer advice on safe, interesting, and fairly easy walks through the vineyards, or if you see a small road leading off into a vineyard just try it, making sure you can remember the way back, of course - some of them are dead-ends, with no exit other than the way you came in. One thing I would advise if walking through the vineyards, however, is taking an umbrella with you, as the weather on the Mosel can be rather changeable at times, and it may take quite a while to get back to a village. As well as the roads, there are also many tiny paths, some of which can only be recommended to those with good hiking shoes, a head for heights and a good sense of balance. One such path built in 2008 connects Ürziger Würzgarten to Erdener Prälat and Erdener Treppchen, and it even has it's own website which warns quite clearly that only experienced sure-footed hikers who do not suffer from vertigo should use it.... And if that isn't challenging enough for you, you can walk up Europe's steepest vineyard, the Calmont near Bremm. The path is only two miles long, yet despite being mostly fairly flat takes two hours, and involves several ladders, ropes and climbing aids - see here, or here. Highly detailed maps of the Mosel are available from Mosellandtouristik, but since every time I visit, the earth-movers are still working buiding new roads, the most up-to-date maps are probably the satellite views on Google maps.
There are also many cycle paths along the river which walkers can also use, but do try to give the cyclists plenty of room - there are many groups of cyclists in summer, and the cyclists have right-of-way. It is possible to hire cycles in some wine villages if you wish - ask at the local tourism office, or at your hotel. Watersports are also available in some wine villages, including kayaking, waterskiing, etc. In St. Aldegund you can go hot-air ballooning, and in Traben-Trarbach and a few other villages you can hire a powered glider or light aircraft.

If visiting Trier I strongly recommend a visit to the Trier Landesmuseum, which has a stunning collection of Roman artefacts, including the Roman wineship gravestone, the Diatretglas, a glass which is surrounded by delicate glass netting, a vast collection of mosaics, and the largest collection of Roman gold coins anywhere. This is said to be the finest collection of Roman artefacts north of the Alps, which I can readily believe. Trier also has many large-scale Roman ruins, such as the Kaiserthermen, a hot baths; a Roman amphitheatre where unfortunate Christians often met their end; and the Porta Nigra, a Roman city gate built in AD 180. Trier is also omly a short bus ride away from the great vineyards of the Ruwer (No. 86), and not too far from the Saar.

If you only want to buy wine in Bernkastel, it's easily possible to just make a day-trip from London, and you can spend six or eight hours there if you wish. I have done this on many occasions, though recent restrictions on hand-luggage mean that this is not all that viable an option - Ryanair has a miserly 15 KG luggage limit, and excess baggage charges are high. You can also reach nearby villages such as Piesport, Graach, Wehlen, and Zeltingen by public transport, but if you want to meet any wine-makers it's obviously best to make an appointment in advance. While I am not very keen on the Gault-Millau 'Guide to German Wines' book (available from Amazon), it has the details for numerous fine German wine estates, including web addresses, email, etc.

Bringing Wine Home
It's both disheartening and very messy if you have a bottle break in your luggage, so IF BRINGING WINE BACK HOME BY AIR I MUST RECOMMEND USING LOTS OF BUBBLE-WRAP! Preferably also use several large soft towels as further cushioning. Obviously I recommend suitcases on wheels if this is what you're planning, and preferably strong ones at that. Of course, since most winekmakers are happy to send wine to Britain, you can ask them to send you a case or two.

Further information
Many of the staff in the tourist offices - especially the larger ones - speak English and will be happy to give further advice. There are also many tourist offices in wine regions other than the Mosel - try typing in www. then the name of a town, city or village, followed by .de into an browser window, or try Google. I'll also be happy to offer further advice if I can. Email me here.

Translation Request
If you can translate this page into another language, please contact me here. This page is viewed by people from all over the world, including even such countries as Saudi Arabia, The Yemen, and Iraq. Thanks.

Here's some links to websites you may find useful.
Ryanair
Lufthansa
Hahn Airport
Hahn Airport tourist info
Frankfurt Airport
Deutsche Bahn (Trains, and also some buses; this website has an English section)
AirportLiner to Trier
Riverboats 1
Riverboats 2
Riverboats 3
A list of all the tourist offices I know of on the Mosel
Trier information
Trier Landesmuseum
Region Trier - tourist information
Mosellandtouristik (Books, maps, tourist info, organised tours, etc.)
Mosella (online info for almost all the villages on the Mosel, including many tourist offices)
Die-Mosel Another website with information on many villages, including much in English.
Rieslinghäus - a small wine shop in Bernkastel that stocks wine from many of the most famous Mosel winemakers - they also send wine to Britain and other countries.
Nightfly Project - many beautiful pictures of Piesport by Jörg Kinn, an exceptionally talented photographer. The slideshows under 'Terroir' are the most interesting from a wine perspective.
Moselbahn (Buses). Particularly useful information on route 333, which runs in sections from Trier right the way through to Bullay. Click on 'Fahrplan'.
RMV. Another bus company, this one runs the route 300, from Wittlich train station to Bernkastel via Zeltingen and Wehlen, and the 301 which goes via Osann-Monzel. Click on 'Fahrplandownload' on the right-hand side and type in either Zeltingen, Wehlen, or Bernkastel.
ORN. Another bus company, this one operates many services in the Rhein and Nahe regions.
RTV. Another bus and train company, this one runs services in the Rheingau region.
Rheingau information