Basel Tour Prices and What Each Fare Includes

Basel tour prices run from $24 to $495 a person, and the difference is almost always what the fare carries. This guide sets every kind of fare side by side, says what each one buys, and names what none of them include. If you only want the list, the guided tours in Basel show every fare with its terms.

What does a tour in Basel cost?

In the city, a guided hour or two costs $24 to about $51. The Rhine cruise is $24, the city's own walk $31, the audio-guide bus $36 and the bike tour $51. The tasting walks cost $108 to $115, because the food is in the fare.

Private walks cost more: $58 to $233 a person, or $443 for a whole group. Out of the city, a day trip costs $108 to $495 a person. The Swiss Travel Pass starts at $351 for three days.

Every figure here is in US dollars, per person unless it says otherwise, and each is the fare the tour's own listing gives. Prices can move, so the one you see when you book is the one that counts.

Is there a ticket to buy?

Not for the city. Basel has no gate and no entry fee, so what you buy is a seat on a tour. Some fares carry a ticket inside them: the Rhine cruise, the St. Beatus Caves, the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle, a Jungfrau Region Pass, the Pilatus cogwheel railway. Most walks leave museum and cathedral entry to you.

So when you compare two fares, read what each includes before you read the price. A dearer fare may simply carry more.

What does a walk include?

A guide, and on most walks nothing else. The Minster, the museums, the trams and your food are yours to pay. Two kinds of walk carry more:

• The private walk with trams and ferries: the tram, bus and Rhine ferry fares between the stops, at $233 a person for two or more.
• The tasting walks: cheese and chocolate from the Kunstmuseum at $115, or chocolate at three shops from the Town Hall at $108.

The bike tour carries the bike, a helmet on request and two Basel tastings, at $51. The shared walks are compared on Basel walking tours.

What does a day trip include?

The transport and a guide or driver-guide, always. Most day trips also carry a ticket, and that is why they cost what they do:

• $495, the Jungfrau day: a railway pass and a Jungfrau Region Pass.
• $432, the Pilatus day: a rail pass, a cruise pass and the cogwheel railway, mid-May to mid-October.
• $435, the four-countries day: the Rhine Falls boat and a castle ticket.
• $410, the Thun day: trains, a lake boat and a cheese tasting.
• $391, the Lucerne day: a train pass and a panoramic seat.
• $330, the Alps van: the St. Beatus Caves ticket.
• $108, the Alsace minibus: the Haut-Koenigsbourg ticket.

The Black Forest van, at $286, carries no ticket. Every day trip is on day tours from Basel.

Per person or per group?

Almost every fare here is per person. Two are not. The private walk with a professional guide costs $443 for a group of up to 15, and the airport transfer $128 for a car carrying up to three.

A per-group fare gets cheaper the more of you there are. Eight people on the professional walk pay about $55 each, and fifteen about $30. For two, the shared walks cost far less.

Some private options are still priced per person. The custom private walk is $87 a person, and the private walk with ferry fares $233 a person, with two to book.

What do children pay?

Each listing sets its own age bands, and the child fare shows when you add children to a booking. So check the tour you want before you plan the budget.

Two rules are fixed. The Swiss Travel Pass lets children up to 15 travel free with a parent. The bike tour takes no one under 12. On the other tours, ask the operator if your child is very young.

For a family, the per-person fares add up quickly on a day trip. Price the whole party before you choose, and compare a rail day with the pass, where your children under 16 ride free with you.

What is never included?

• Lunch. No fare here includes it. The tastings are tastings, not a meal.
• Tips. Several listings name gratuities as extra.
• Museum and cathedral entry, on every walk.
• Drinks, apart from bottled water on the Colmar minivan and the airport car.
• Lunch on the mountain on the Jungfrau and Pilatus days.

Which are the cheapest tours, and what do they leave out?

The Rhine cruise, at $24, is the cheapest fare here and carries its own ticket. It has a phone audio guide, not a person, and you do not leave the boat. The city's own walk, at $31, is the cheapest with a live guide, for two hours in the Old Town.

The audio-guide bus, at $36, covers the most ground for the money, but you see most sights from the window. The Alsace minibus, at $108, is the cheapest whole day out, and it pays for the castle; what it leaves out is a walking guide, since a driver-guide runs the day.

Which are the dearest, and why?

The Jungfrau day, at $495, is the dearest per person. Its fare carries a railway pass and a Jungfrau Region Pass, and it climbs to Kleine Scheidegg. It does not go up to the Jungfraujoch.

The four-countries day, at $435, is the longest: 11 to 13 hours through four countries, with two tickets paid and eight people at most. The Pilatus day, at $432, carries three passes. The private professional walk, at $443, looks dear until you divide it by your group.

What are the refund rules, and the one exception?

Every tour here refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before it starts. So book early for the small groups: it costs you nothing.

The Swiss Travel Pass is the exception. Its booking panel offers free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, while its own terms allow cancellation only up to 48 hours before the start date. Read the terms at checkout and plan on the stricter one. A pass cannot be changed once it is issued.

How do you get the most for your money?

• Put your money where the ticket is. A day trip that carries a pass or an entry you would buy anyway costs you less than it looks. Add up what you would pay alone before you rule it out.
• Walk once, early. A two-hour walk on your first morning teaches you the city, and you can see the rest on your own with the free trams.
• Use the free hour. If you plan a museum, time it for the Kunstmuseum's free late hour, and spend the saving on a tasting walk.
• Split a group fare. If you travel as six or more, price the private professional walk per head before you book shared places.
• Book early, cancel free. Since you can cancel almost any tour up to 24 hours ahead, you lose nothing by securing the small groups first.

And budget for what you will pay on the day: lunch, drinks, tips and the doors a walk only shows you from outside.

How do the fares compare?

Here is every kind of fare in one table, from the cheapest up.

Choosing between the day trips? Our guide to choosing a day trip sorts them by where they go, how long they take and what they carry.

Frequently asked questions

Fares that carry the most

Mt. Pilatus & Lake Lucerne Cruise Small Group Tour | From Basel

An eight-hour day from the Basel station hall at 8:45am: the train to Lucerne, a lake cruise, the mountain by cable car and, from mid-May to mid-October, the cogwheel railway. Rail and cruise passes are in the fare; lunch is extra.

From $432 per person

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Lauterbrunnen, Jungfrau & Grindelwald Tour | From Basel

A ten-hour rail day from Basel at 9:30am to Lauterbrunnen, Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald, with a standard railway pass and a Jungfrau Region Pass in the fare. Lunch at the pass is yours to buy.

From $495 per person

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Basel Private Walking Tour with a Professional Guide

Two hours from the Tinguely Fountain for your own group of up to 15, at one price for the group. The guide changes the route on the spot; entrance fees are extra.

From $443 per group (up to 15)

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