Guest cards in Switzerland: the free public transport your guests are entitled to

A card the host gives to every guest who spends the night in the region. According to Switzerland Tourism, most Swiss destinations offer one from a single night's stay, and almost all of them include free public transport, along with discounts on sights and activities.

In most cases it can't be bought: you get it because you're staying there. In Basel, for example, the BaselCard is no longer on sale, it's reserved for people spending the night in the canton of Basel-Stadt.

Free for the guest, funded by the tourist tax

The guest pays nothing extra: the card is funded by the tourist tax they already pay. Basel puts it plainly, every visitor who stays overnight in the canton receives a BaselCard in return for paying the city tax. Residents of the canton, who don't pay that tax, aren't entitled to it.

A perk many guests discover too late

A guest who doesn't know about the card buys a ticket at the station, pays for the bus to your place, and sometimes only finds out when they leave. That's money wasted for them, and a missed chance for you to show you think about these details.

The major cities, except Zurich, and most tourist regions. The table lists the main cards, based on the tourist office websites as checked in October 2026. Conditions change: always check with your tourist office before telling your guests.

Elsewhere, regional cards are plentiful. The Interlaken Guest Card, the Jura Pass, the carte Explore in the Nyon region, the Chur guest card and the Lower Engadine guest card also include public transport from the first night. In Arosa, the guest card even covers the cable cars and mountain railways.

Some cards are summer only, like the Gstaad Card or the Carte Bienvenue in Villars. Others require a longer stay: the Appenzell Holiday Card starts at three nights.

Not necessarily: it depends on the region and the type of accommodation. It's the first question to ask, before you promise anything to your guests.

• Yes, whatever the accommodation: in Basel, the BaselCard also covers Airbnb stays. In Bern, every host in the city must issue the Bern Ticket. In the canton of Neuchâtel, holiday apartments and houses are included.
• Yes, once registered: in Geneva, hosts have to register with Geneva Tourism to be able to issue the digital card.
• No for private rentals: in Lausanne, flats and rooms let by private individuals don't qualify for the Lausanne Transport Card, unlike hotels and serviced apartments.
• Depending on partnership: in Ticino, the Ticino Ticket is issued by partner accommodation, mostly hotels, youth hostels and campsites. For a holiday apartment, ask your regional tourism organisation.

Who to contact

Your local or regional tourist office: it runs the card, and often the tourist tax too. Ask three things: whether your rental qualifies, how to register, and how the card reaches the guest.

Directly: the tourist tax funds the card, and the guest gets the card because they pay the tax. In Geneva, guests pay the tax and receive the digital transport card in return.

That link has a consequence for you: the card isn't a perk you can drop to lower your price. In Bern, waiving the Bern Ticket in exchange for a reduced tourism tax is explicitly not allowed.

When Airbnb collects the tax

In several cantons and municipalities, Airbnb collects the tourist tax on your behalf and pays it over directly. That doesn't settle the card question: in Geneva, Airbnb collects the tax, but it's still the host's job to provide the transport card. Check with your tourist office what remains your responsibility.

Each region has its own system, but most now go digital: a link, a code or a web app rather than a cardboard card.

• Basel: the BaselCard is issued at check-in and can be added to the phone as a web app. The booking confirmation works as a ticket from the station or the airport.
• Bern: you pass on an activation code, and the guest activates their Bern Ticket on the Bern Welcome website, with no account needed. On arrival day, the booking confirmation is a valid ticket to the accommodation.
• Geneva: three days before arrival, the guest receives an email with a link to load the card onto their phone.
• Neuchâtel: a few days before arrival, the guest receives an email to fill in their details, then finds the card on their phone or as a PDF to print.

The card is usually personal: in a ticket check, the guest shows it with an ID. Children under 6 travel free on Swiss public transport anyway.

Tell them before they arrive

The right moment is the message you send before arrival, not on the day itself: guests need to know before they buy a ticket at the station. One or two sentences are enough.

It widens the radius. A guest who rides the bus for free goes further than one who hesitates to buy a ticket: it's a chance to recommend places a few stops away, not just within walking distance.

• Say how to get there in a place's description: "the tram to the end of the line, then the funicular, all included with your card".
• Point out the discounts worth having: in Basel, 25% off museums, the zoo and the theatre; in Neuchâtel, around forty activities included.
• Warn guests when a place is outside the zone: in Basel, the card doesn't cover the trip to the Vitra Design Museum or into France.
• Remind them how to activate the card, in the same place as your recommendations, so they find it again on the spot.

In HerePicks, every place shows the travel time from your accommodation and directions in one tap: guests see straight away that a place is ten minutes away by bus. The tourist office fits in the Practical category, with a line about the guest card and how to activate it.

To choose the places themselves, see our guide on the best local spots to recommend, and for the rest of the useful information, the one on the digital welcome book. If you host in Switzerland, the page on the digital welcome book made in Switzerland explains how the guide handles your guests' four languages.

Give your guests what they need to pay as little as possible. In Zurich, for example, the Zurich Card has to be bought: suggest it mainly to guests planning lots of trips and museums on the same day.

• The SBB app, to buy tickets on the phone without queuing at the counter.
• Day passes for the local zone, often better value after a few journeys.
• The Swiss Travel Pass, for international guests visiting several regions.
• Free travel for children under 6, which many families don't know about.

For everything else an international guest should know on arrival, from shops closed on Sundays to emergency numbers, see the practical information to give your guests in Switzerland.