Photo: Adobe Stock / LicensedPrices, reviews and availability from the operators' Viator listings · checked · Takumi Yamada
When a guide earns its money here
Three tests. If a day fails all three, walk it and keep the money.
The clock does not work
Anything more than about an hour from the berth eats a short call alive. A driver who knows the road is the difference between seeing it and seeing the car park.
The thing needs explaining
A shrine, a battlefield, a craft workshop. Without someone to tell you what you are looking at, you are looking at a building.
You cannot get in alone
Private homes, tea rooms, workshops, some festivals. A booking is the door, not a convenience.
Everything else in Beppu you can do on your own: the timed plans show how, and the DIY-or-book verdict says when a guide is worth the money here.
What Princess Cruises charges for its Beppu excursions
A ship’s excursion comes with one promise nothing else can make: the ship waits for its own bus. An independent booking does not, which is why every day on this site is cut to the call with an hour kept before all-aboard. What you get for the difference is usually a smaller group, a start at the pier rather than a coach queue, and free cancellation until the day before.
Princess Cruises prices as shown on its public Beppu excursion page on 25 October 2026, per person, before any sailing-specific change. Tour prices on this page are the operator’s current from price.
Every guided day from this berth
Short of time? The one to book →
Tours that fit the 8-hour call most ships make here come first. Then shared cars with a guide (what passengers actually book), private cars, and walks and workshops. Prices are the operator's "from" price and move with the season.
Private car · per personBeppu’s Hidden Gems & Highlights: Exclusive Private Minivan Tour
A private minivan half-day with the hells, a steam-cooked lunch in Kannawa and the Bamboo Crafts Center, with lunch and fees included.
US$291 each · US$582 for twoPickup at the pierneeds a 7-hour callfits 67% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h aheadNew listing · 6 reviewsWhy it is here
Private car · per group5h tourBeppu Guided Private City Tour with Transport
A private five-hour car tour of Beppu, where you choose three or four stops from the hells, the Takasakiyama monkeys, viewpoints and a private onsen.
US$275 per person for 2 · US$550 per carPickup at the pierneeds a 7-hour callfits 67% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h ahead5.0★ · 17 reviewsWhy it is here
Small group2h 30m tourBecome a Local! A Walking Tour of Arts, Crafts & Onsen Culture
A small-group walking tour of downtown Beppu's back streets by Space Beppu: local artists, a bamboo craft workshop and a century-old house with a gallery.
US$58 each · US$116 for twoTaxi ~10 min from the shipneeds a 5-hour callfits 100% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h ahead4.9★ · 40 reviewsWhy it is here
Small group3h tourSteam-filled Streets: A Scenic Stroll in Kannawa
A gentle three-hour guided stroll through the Kannawa hells district: Umi Jigoku, Oniishibozu Jigoku, a footbath and the steam-filled back lanes.
US$78 each · US$156 for twoTaxi ~10 min from the shipneeds a 6-hour callfits 100% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h aheadNew listing · 7 reviewsWhy it is here
Private1h tourBamboo Lantern Workshop
A one-hour private workshop at Space Beppu, a century-old house in downtown Beppu, making a souvenir from locally grown bamboo.
US$26 each · US$52 for twoTaxi ~10 min from the shipneeds a 3.5-hour callfits 100% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h ahead4.9★ · 30 reviewsWhy it is here
Private1h tourCalligraphy Class for Beginners in a Century-old Japanese House
A one-hour beginners' calligraphy class in a century-old house in downtown Beppu, writing words like onsen and jigoku.
US$32 each · US$64 for twoTaxi ~10 min from the shipneeds a 3.5-hour callfits 100% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h ahead5.0★ · 21 reviewsWhy it is here
Private1h 30m tourCooking Class: Make a Local Delicacy in a Japanese House
A 90-minute cooking class making dango-jiru, a hand-pulled dumpling noodle soup, in a century-old house in downtown Beppu.
US$62 each · US$124 for twoTaxi ~10 min from the shipneeds a 4-hour callfits 100% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h ahead5.0★ · 10 reviewsWhy it is here
Private2h tourPrivate Sound bath Meditation in ocean view house and Beppu onsen
A two-hour private sound bath and meditation with two local musicians in an ocean-view house, a quiet counterpoint to the hells.
US$83 each · US$166 for twoOcean-view house in Kamegawa, north Beppu; address after bookingneeds a 5-hour callfits 100% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h aheadNew listing · 8 reviewsWhy it is here
Private2h tourArt Workshop with a Local Painter in a Century-old Japanese House
A two-hour painting workshop with Tomoe Higashi, a Beppu artist who studied in Bath, making a cherry-blossom piece to take home.
US$78 each · US$156 for twoTaxi ~10 min from the shipneeds a 4.5-hour callfits 100% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h aheadNew listing · 6 reviewsWhy it is here
PrivateBeppu and Yufuin Scenic Private Tour
A private five-to-six-hour drive over the hills to Yufuin with the Mt. Tsurumi ropeway on the way, picking up at Beppu's cruise port.
US$283 per person for 2 · US$565 per carPickup at the pierneeds an 8-hour callfits 67% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h ahead5.0★ · 14 reviewsWhy it is hereBooking through these links costs you nothing extra and pays for this site. We do not take money to rank anything, and we leave out the ones we would not send a friend on.
The Beppu days we would book
Our own ten for this port already mark which ones we think are worth handing to a guide. Here is the reasoning.