We are a party of 3 seniors. We are flying from Canada to embark a river cruise in Basel. Do you think I should book a hotel or an apartment in St. Louis for a couple of nights and taxi to embark the river cruise in Basel, or stay in a Basel hotel, then taxi to the criver cruise terminal ? I know its expensive to stay in Basel in terms of accommodation and food while its cheaper in St. Louis. What about the crossing border from Euroaiport Basel Mulhouse to Basel, is there any particular issue I should know ? Thank you guys !
Amelia
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Amelia,
First you need to find out WHICH location your boat is docking at. There are three different locations cruise boats dock at:
- St. Johann
- Klybeckquai
- Dreiländereck
Without this info you won't be able to find your boat!
I would not stay in St Louis for a couple of nights. St. Louis is a rather drab semi-industrial suburb of Basel. You would have nothing to do, except go into Basel. There is plenty to see and do in Basel, it is a lovely city.
For hotels, see the official Basel city tourist website: https://www.basel.com/en
The airport is shared between France and Switzerland, one half of the terminal is in France, the other half is leased to Switzerland. After you pick up your bags, there are two alternative exits through customs; on the left into France and on the right into Switzerland.
If you go through the "France" exit, you are in the French half of the terminal and can get a French taxi or bus to St Louis.
If you go through the "Switzerland" exit, you are in the Swiss half of the terminal and can get a Swiss bus or taxi to Basel.
Exiting the terminal into the wrong country can be very confusing!
Crossing the border by train, taxi, bus or on foot is no issue. There are no regular passport checks, just customs (because Switzerland is not in the EU). But they rarely stop private vehicles. Only commercial vehicles with goods being exported/imported must stop and have their paperwork stamped.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you Chris, very useful info. Do you have any idea how much taxi fare will be from the airport to Basel city center ?
Are those 3 cruise docks close by ? Thanks again Chris . Amelia
Posted by
not here anymore
631 posts
Second part first! Part of the airport ground-side is legally in Switzerland (leased from France). Switzerland is not part of the EU but is a member of the Schengen Agreement on open borders. If you arrive from another Schengen country you go straight to baggage reclaim. If from a non-Schengen country (including UK and Ireland) you go to French passport control and then baggage. Beyond the baggage belts you will see signs on the wall saying France or Switzerland, these corridors go through the respective customs controls where you will probably see no-one. If you manage to go through the wrong door you will be outside of security, just go to the departures level where you can recross the nominal border without going through security. If you want to go into Basel city, outside the Swiss exit are Swiss taxis and the Swiss bus which goes to the main station, for 3 seniors probably best to get a taxi direct to hotel. These run on a Swiss road which is in a fenced corridor until in real Switzerland.
If you can find a decent place in St. Louis at a much cheaper price than Basel then book it (and leave the baggage reclaim via teh French door). Travel from St Louis into Basel city is seemless, unless one of the police forces has a manhunt ongoing there is no border! Presumably on the middle day you'd want to visit Basel, without bags the local bus is simple, route 4 runs to a stop near the river in the old town at frequent intervals. http://www.distribus.com/horaires
If St. Louis turns out to be dire (it is really an industrial/port town) and Basel is expensive you can blow another border by trying one of the german towns north of Basel. The closest worth looking at is Lörrach, from the air this looks like a suburb of Basel and Swiss local trains run to it. Or you walk to the southern end of their main street and the Basel trams will be waiting at the disused border crossing.
If there is anything happening at the Basel Exhibition Centre (Messe) https://www.mch-group.com/en-US/exhibitions-events/exhibitions-events-basel.aspx then St. Louis and Lörrach could be as expensive as the city. In which case let me know and I'll tell you where to try next......
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Amelia, a Swiss taxi from the airport into Basel costs about CHF 50. Taxis in Basel are very expensive.
The bus runs ever 7½ minutes, and costs CHF 4.40 per person. That price includes connecting buses and trams to anywhere in Basel.
For the St Johann terminal, map here (yellow pin): http://www.stadtplan.bs.ch/geoviewer/index.php?language=en&cps=2611245.59,1268272.25,5000&srhl=LAYEROBJ_POI_VERKEHR_TAXI||7258&tooltip=on&nodefault&layers=stadtplan_farb_osm_5000,poi_verkehr_taxi
If you scroll down, where it says "BASEL" in the middle of the river, that is the city centre.
If you scroll up (north along the river) you will see Klybeckquai and Dreiländereck on the right bank of the river.
The thick green line is the border. Zoll = customs post.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you guys ! Very helpful hints.
Posted by
45 posts
We just did this and yes you'll need to find out where your ship/boat will be docked. Viking couldn't tell us, for sure, until the day before. We got to Basel a day early and stayed at Motel 1. A modern hotel but very reasonable and a fantastic location. When I emailed them about booking accommodations they gave very specific, easy to follow directions on taking the trams g including the specific tram number) to the hotel. From the hotel we took the tram to the boat the next day.