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Tour to Mt Pilatus in Lucerne

We’re spending a couple days in Lucerne with a river cruise that starts here before getting on the ship. The extra excursion they offer goes to Mt Pilatus for 4 hrs using their bus to the gondola, which takes you to the cable car to the top; but then goes back down the same way in order to take their bus back to our hotel.

Being a Rick Steve’s traveler for yrs, I researched and don’t like they’re charging the most, but they’re not giving us the opportunity to take the cogwheel train down, followed by a boat cruise on the lake back to Lucerne. I thought we could do this ourselves for less and do the whole “golden ticket pkg” (as they call it). I read you can buy the tickets for this at the bus station that’s next to the train station.

My question has anyone done this themselves and how easy is it. There’s also a “Get Your Guide” tour that we could buy for ourselves, and be part of a group that does the whole pkg for a little less than our river cruise offers.

Would love to hear people’s feelings that have done the Mt Pilatus tour from Lucerne. Thank you!

Posted by
32350 posts

Linda,

When will your trip be taking place? According to the website, the Pilatusbahn cogwheel railway runs from 5 June 2023 until 19 November 2023.

If the cogwheel railway is not operating, the only option is the cable cars which depart from Kriens. That trip is actually two different cable cars..... the first segment is via small telecabines which accommodate four people (as I recall). You'll transfer at a mid point station to the larger gondola which takes you to the top.

Happy travels!

Posted by
8879 posts

I did the golden ticket circuit and it couldn’t be easier. Absolutely can do independently. My hotel even sold the ticket at the front desk.

Posted by
400 posts

Thank you Rocket, Ken & Carol! I guess from all your responses, we’ll be doing our own tour. We’re be there middle of Sept. so the cogwheel should be working, along with the boat cruise. Unfortunately, we have an included walking tour of Lucerne that morning which I do want to do. But as soon as the 2 hr (I assume) tour is finished, we’ll head to the local bus to Kriens. Seeing we have no choice to the time we’ll be going, I can only hope the afternoon doesn’t get cloudy. Should we still go if it is cloudy? I don’t think the cost is that bad if we do it ourselves, right?

Posted by
2493 posts

You can buy the Golden Round Trip ticket at the main Luzern station ticket offices, and at the Boat ticket office as well. And since it is valid all day you could buy it before you go on your walk around Luzern. Then when the walk is over take the bus to Kriens from wherever the walk ends and start your trip.
Or take the boat to Alpnachstadt and start your trip that way.

Posted by
1880 posts

Or take the boat to Alpnachstadt and start your trip that way.

I prefer this route as well. Boat to Alpnachstadt, cogwheel train up and gondola down, then a short 10 minute walk to the bus stop (Kriens) back to the central bus area in Lucerne near where the boat departed.

Posted by
17 posts

My family and I did the route last summer suggested by Threadwear. Buying the tickets was easy, but due to the crowds, we ended up having to wait 2+ hours for the cogwheel train after getting off the boat! That was not fun because it was a very hot day and there isn't much to do or see near the cogwheel station. The wait for the cogwheel train to go down the mountain was also quite long, so going the other way with the golden ticket wasn't the better option. The gondolas are able to take many people up and down the mountain faster than the cogwheel, so the wait for the gondolas is nothing compared to the cogwheel train. I strongly suggesting catching the earliest boat of the day if you end up purchasing the golden ticket. Or, you can go up and down using the gondolas and take a separate boat tour of the lake, skipping the cogwheel train.

Posted by
8965 posts

We took this trip on our own, using the Silver Route as described, except a train to the cogwheel stop at Alpnachstad; back down via gondola; then the local bus back to the town center. Ticket bought at the tourist office in the rail station. Small discount (for the bus) since we had the free local transport card from the hotel. The only hard part for us was getting down from the gondola station in Kriens to the bus stop area which was a long walk down the hill. We had to ask for directions a few times. But overall it was easy. I would hate to be on a four hour clock for a "guided" excursion. You dont need a guide on top.

Posted by
5604 posts

There's also Mt Rigi- the wonderful one hour boat is timed to meet the cogwheel train. Both are beautiful! And yes, very easy to do on your own. The Swiss transportation system is efficient and user-friendly. Safe travels!