Flying in Early for River Cruise

[AF-1]

Hi my cruise starts in Basel and ends in Amsterdam.  So I will be making a multi stop air reservation. If we fly into Zurich does anyone know how long the drive from Zurich to Basel is?  also do you have any recommendations for ground transportation?  Thanks.  I am also looking into flying into Basel; which would require an extra stop on way over.  Pricing for Zurich and Basel are not that much different.

[hoosier2017]

If you fly into Zurich it is very easy to take the train to Basel.  Our cruise ended in Basel last year and we spent an extra night there before taking the train to Zurich and spending a few days there before flying back.  

[TMLAalum]

Here are options from the Rome2Rio website from Zurich to Basel, with the train probably the best choice followed by taxi to where your river boat docks. Flying into Basel with an extra connection gives more opportunity for things to go wrong! We plan on flying out of Zurich when we leave Switzerland post our Rhine River cruise next year!

Zürich to Basel (rome2rio.com)

[AF-1]

Thanks to TMLAalum and hossier2017 for your tips.  I appreciate you help.

[MDPastor]

We are flying into Zurich a day early for our river cruise from Basel in a couple of weeks.

With air travel so messed up, we decided to fly into Zurich rather than Basel because we didn't want to chance a connection - we could get a direct flight there as opposed to having to transfer somewhere to get to Basel.

Trains run every hour from Zurich to Basel so getting to the cruise the next day shouldn't be a hassle.

We're looking forward to having a day to explore Zurich and recover some from the time change. The Zurich Airport has both trains and trolleys  that run into the city. 

Edited July 23, 2022 by MDPastor

[*Miss G*]

The train from ZRH is super easy to use.  It is in the lower level of the airport; just follow the signs.  There are ticket kiosks on the level above the trains but we bought ours from the train station office where they were super helpful with lots of information.  You can also download their app.  Link to Swiss Train Information

[texasstar]

Another suggestion, take the train to Lucerne, stay a few days, then take the train to Basel.  Lucerne is a beautiful place and the train station is a short walk to  some hotels.

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, texasstar said:

Another suggestion, take the train to Lucerne, stay a few days, then take the train to Basel.  Lucerne is a beautiful place and the train station is a short walk to  some hotels.

 

Lucerne is beautiful.  We took the train from ZRH to Lucerne and walked to our hotel (Marriott) from the station.  Stayed a few nights then took the train to Lake Como.  If the OP can swing it, Lucerne is a great suggestion.

[*Miss G*]

I had to share this video.  We were treated to an amazing display by the Swiss Air Force Aerobatic Team while in Lucerne.  This is only a small portion of their performance.  It was fantastic.

 

 

 

[Canal archive]

WOW and they’re props not jets! Thank you.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Canal archive

[*Miss G*]

6 hours ago, Canal archive said:

WOW and they’re props not jets! Thank you.

 

When they were doing their individual displays (amazing suicide drops, etc) they got so close I could see the pilots.  This one was cool.  Apologies for the photography.

 

 

 

[WisRiver]

In October, 2022 we took the Viking River cruise from Basel to Amsterdam.  We chose to fly into Paris, spend a week in an AirBNB, and then took a nonstop train from Paris to Basel.  We took a 25 Euro taxi from the train station to the Hotel Basel (which we highly recommend).    We spent three nights in Basel before boarding the ship.  Basel is a great city.  Interesting museums, good food and great walking.   The week in Paris allowed us to recover from jet lag.  

[AF-1]

6 hours ago, WisRiver said:

In October, 2022 we took the Viking River cruise from Basel to Amsterdam.  We chose to fly into Paris, spend a week in an AirBNB, and then took a nonstop train from Paris to Basel.  We took a 25 Euro taxi from the train station to the Hotel Basel (which we highly recommend).    We spent three nights in Basel before boarding the ship.  Basel is a great city.  Interesting museums, good food and great walking.   The week in Paris allowed us to recover from jet lag.  

John, you had a great plan

[need2travel1]

For our Rhine cruise (2019) we flew into Zurich as it was a direct flight for us rather than a connection for Basel.  We stayed the night before the cruise in Basel so I had the Hotel we were staying at arrange for a car service to meet us at the Zurich airport & bring us to our hotel.  It was a bit pricey but so worth it!  The driver took our luggage & led us to the car.  We arrived at our hotel about 45 min later-I even grabbed a short nap in the car.  Easy peasy!