Mt Pilatus Self-Guided Round Trip from Lucerne
Description
Visit Mt. Pilatus on a half-day tour by a scenic train ride, steepest cogwheel railway in the world, aerail cableway "Dragon Ride" and panorama gondola. Enjoy a mountain experience at 2132 meters above sea level Incredible view from Mount Pilatus over the Lake Lucerne and Swiss Alps Scenic train ride between Lucerne and Alpnachstad World's steepest cogwheel railway between Alpnachstad and Pilatus Kulm See the mountains and valleys from the panorama gondola and aerial cableway "Dragon Ride" between Kriens and Pilatus Kulm
Tour Options
Itinerary
Take bus no. 1 (direction Kriens/Obernau) from Lucerne’s train station. After an 11-min. bus ride to the station "Kriens, Zentrum Pilatus" and a short walk, you reach the valley station in Kriens. The Panorama Gondolas take you to the middle station Fräkmüntegg in 30 min. where you can try the rope park or the Dragon Glider (own expenses). Change to the aerial cableway "Dragon Ride" to the top (5 min.).
From Pilatus Kulm, enjoy the panoramic views over Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps and either stay inside the panoramic gallery, relax on the terrace, climb one of the peaks or enjoy a local specialty in our restaurants (own expenses). The world's steepest cogwheel railway brings you back down to Alpnachstad in 35 min. Next to the valley station you take the public train back to Lucerne (20 min). The trip can also be done in the opposite direction, starting by train from Lucerne. In any case, check the timetable before your visit.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Check the timetable carefully
- Round trip can be done in both directions
- Operates in almost all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Cableways are not in operation in the case of storms
- A maximum of 9 people per booking
- Prior reservation mandatory for wheelchairs
- Strollers must be folded during transport
- A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
- To avoid long waiting times for the cogwheel train between Alpnachstad and Pilatus Kulm (or vice versa), we highly recommend to make a cogwheel train reservation
Reviews(84)
Excellent day out visiting My Pilatus. Move at your own pace. Travelling was easy and forms the basis of the day - specially the cog railway. Cable car and aerial tramway also a great experience. We started our journey taking the train from Lucerne and then the bus back at the end. Glad we did it this way round as it was a 10 minute walk all downhill to find the No1 bus - if you started with the bus it isn’t obvious where to go and all uphill to the starting base. Overall a great day and the views from My Pilatus are amazing.
The Round Trip Pilatus trip should not be missed. A truly great way to spend the day. We did the trip in clockwise - started with the boat, then the cogwheel up to the top, then the tram / gondola down to Kriens, finishing with a bus back to Lucerne. Start early and get up there for lunch, and then do a few of the short hikes. Really amazing views. The finish is pretty disappointing, however. When getting off the gondola in Kriens, it is pretty confusing how to get back to Lucern. There are signs, but I found no detailed directions in the email with our reservation. It’s a city bus back to town, which was fine, but the company could do a much better job explaining how to get back. Felt more like a Almost Round Trip tour, but still well worth it.
A truly wonderful experience. My son hiked up to pilatus kulm from the lake, the rest of us took train to the top. The most breathtaking vista and short trail systems, enough to keep us busy until he showed up 3 hours later after hiking over 5280 feet up. Gondola ride, then longest toboggan ride in Switzerland (so much fun), and ski lift out. Felt like a full day and back in Lucerne by 3pm. Definitely one of the things to do with good weather in Lucerne.
We did this tour from Lucerne on a Saturday. Via first the panorama track done, then the cable car and back down with the cogwheel track. We really enjoyed this trip. We were lucky the weather was nice. But because it was the weekend, it was very busy, with ern long line for the panorama track; so starting early is advisable. Tip 1: buy a reservation for the cog railway. This can be done above, CHF 5 pp. Tip 2: back to Lucerne can also take a fe boat to Lucerne from the train; a must in good weather. Tickets are available on the boat; the "Swiss half fare Card" is valid.
The trip is fantastic - but the ticket does not include the boat (as other commenters suggested) and you can get the same tickets for cheaper directly from Mt Pilatus website.
Go early so you can spend a lot of time at the top. Lines are long but they are worth the wait! Both the train and the cable car rides are spectacular!
Do not do it unless accompanied by a guide. Had to find the correct bus then got off at the wrong stop—walked a mile to the location to take the tram up—an hour long wait in the sun. Did NOT need passports. Boarded the tram and got to the top (not clear that the first landing is NOT the top.) Walked around and had a very mediocre expensive lunch. Bought a round trip cog wheel ticket as recommended—which did not need. Took the cog wheel train down —hot and crowded and took a long time. Had to find the train across the street and get back to Lucerne. We have used Viator for years all over the world—this was the worst as far as explanation, complex travel all over with signs in a different language, and not the same as directions. Highly do NOT recommend.
The trip to the top of the mountain is well worth with a couple different options to get there and back. I recommend going up once and going back down a different way. Also, if the weather is good, there are great hiking options.
There was some challenge getting from Zurich to Lucerne , but after we figure out the rail system, we enjoyed the trip very much. The tickets were easy to use and give us access to everything that we needed.
Nice combo of city bus, cable car, gondola, mountaintop, cog railroad and boat ride. Tickets worked flawlessly. Being on our own and without a guide even added a sense of adventure. World explorers!
