Mt. Rigi

Use www.sbb.ch/en to see the public boat schedules. Use the advanced search button to deselect all transport modes except ships. Luzern to Vitznau.

But to your question about the timetable you cite, it is plain as day. Boats from Luzern to Vitznau at 8.12, and every hour at 12 past the hour until 17:12, and then another at 19:12. Each journey takes 57 minutes. You can buy tickets anytime.

The Rigibahn station is in front of you as you walk off the boat at Vitznau and you can buy tickets there as well.

Not all of the ferries are steamboats. If you truly want to ride on a steamboat, consult this schedule with the little “boat” symbol indicating the steamboats (but note that the legend says they are always guaranteed).

You can work through that website to the actual schedule:

https://www.lakelucerne.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Ihr_Schifffahrts-Erlebnis/Fahrplan_Preise/Fahrplan/Saisonaler_Fahrplan/Fahrplan_Sommer_25.05_08.09.2024_01.pdf

For the “Rigi roundtrip” you can either go clockwise from Weggis or anti-clockwise from Vitznau. The most usual way is the latter—-boat Luzern to Vitznau, then cogwheel train to the summit at Rigi Kulm, back down by train to Rigi Kaltbad, where you ride a large cablecar down to Weggis to catch a boat back to Luzern (or you can go by bus plus train).

When are you going? On June 17 we went to the TI in the train station the night before our trip. They planned it for us and told us to wait and buy the tickets the next morning to be sure the weather forecast was good. We went to the TI when they opened at 8:30 am. We were on the steamboat. I think it left at 9:10 am.

You can buy the full ticket at the TI.

Thank you Barbara
we are planning this activity for Sept 10th. This was also my thinking...I'd rather wait on buying ticket in order to check the weather. So it's good to know we should be able to buy the tickets once we are in Luzern.

but forgive my ignorance. what is Tl please?

Not all of the ferries are steamboats.

So true!!!! My recent boat ride, the first one out at 8:12, was not a steamboat. :-(

I asked the captain as I was boarding “Where’s the steamboat?” He said not til the next one.

I’m not sure what kind of boat I had, but it was little and it did not have an upper deck.

forgive my ignorance. what is Tl please?

That's the tourist information office. Lucerne has a big one in the train station. Upper level i believe. When you walk in, you'll take a number and wait for your number to appear on the board and that's what window you'll walk to. They are very helpful.

So helpful! Thank you all!

Yes, Tourist Information Office. It’s near the McDonalds on the same level as the platforms. I think near Platform 2. We never had to wait more than a minute or two.

I mixed up the tourist office with the ticket office. It’s the ticket office where you pick a number. And that’s up a level from the train platforms. The tourist office is near platform 3 on the level with the trains. At either place, you’ll get good help.

Like Barbara mentioned, the tourist office opens at 8:30 am M -F. 9 am on Sat and Sun.

https://www.luzern.com/en/information/on-site/tourist-information

The ticket office opens a little earlier, at 7 am.

Lots of options at the train station to grab a snack or sandwich for the boat ride. Bachmann’s bakery and Brezelkönig are two of my favorites. They both open super early in the morning.