Switzerland / Lucerne / Golden Round Trip

Simone There are two similarly named tourist trains from Luzern, slightly different from the name you used. Do mean the run from Luzern to Interlaken over the Brunig Pass, then down via Spiez through Zweisimmen down the hill to Montreux? Or do you mean the boat trip down the Vierwaldstaettersee to Fluelen then bus to Lugano and train to Luzern? Both are really good trips.

Hello Nigel I mean the excursion to Mount Pilatus that involves taking a boat from Lucerne across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, going up on the cogwheel railway, coming down on the aerial cableways and panorama gondolas, and taking a bus back to Lucerne.

Ah, Simone, I hadn't heard of that name attached to that combination, and haven't yet done Pilatus. There are others here who are much more familiar with Pilatus so perhaps they will chime in. From what I have heard it is a great excursion if the weather cooperates.

You will LOVE it!!!Swiss is a little pricy,half-fare card will discount this trip 50%. RS describes this well in his RS guidebook. There are several ways to do this trip, the one Nigel mentioned is the course we took. If your budget will allow, get a Hotel on the waterfront near the bridge. The take-off point for the ferry is close to the RR station. Go early if the weather is good. Alphorn players at summit of Mt. Pilatus as well as restaurants. At the ferry station, there booklet describing this journey and the different routes calls it "the golden round trip" and Rick may have described it as such. Wish I were going!!

Simone, We did not go the route of Nigel, we did the route YOU described.

I did the Mt. Pilatus Golden Round trip last fall and it was great. I took the cog train up and the gondola down. On the top there was some construction work going on, but it was a minor inconvenience. There are some trails/paths to hike and restaurants to get coffee or food. You do take two types of gondolas down...the large 50 person one takes you from Pilatus to the first stop. You change to a four person one at that point. There is also a recreation area there with a cafe and a summer toboggan run ride and a zip line. At the bottom of the gondola, you do have to walk a little ways to get to the bus to go back to Lucerne. That route was not as well marked as it could be. Also, read the directions on the bus ticket machine at the bus stop. I was surprised at the number of people who seemed confused about how to buy a ticket. Last year I had a half price swiss rail card. Works on boats, trains and on the Pilatus trip. Last year the Pilatus trip was 64 franc....so the card saved me some money. This year the card costs more and it does not make a lot of sense to buy one unless you plan on using it a lot....just something to consider. Enjoy your time there.

I did the Golden Round trip in Sept of 2009....if you have a nice day weather wise, I can assure you that you will love that trip...ferry boat from Lucerne to Alpnachstad, cog railway to the top of Mt Pilatus, then gondola back down into Lucerne. If someone told me they had two days to spend in Lucerne ( a beautiful city ), I would suggest a day strolling the city, and a day for the Golden Round Trip.

Just got back - get the Half Price card from Lausanne area to Luzern. In Luzern - do Pilatus - the full package with gondola, steep train and boat back!
also saturday has a great farmers market along the river!

If you have a Swiss pass how much of the Golden Round Trip is covered by it?

If you have a Swiss Pass the boat ride (or train ride, if you were to do a Silver Round Trip) to Alpnachstad is covered, and the bus ride from Kriens to Luzern is covered, and you get 50% off the cogwheel train and cable car / gondola to and from the summit. My mom and I did a Silver Round Trip in June 2011. We must have gotten some kind of promotional combo because we paid a few francs more than I expected; I haven't found the fare we paid on Pilatus' website or any other but we got two CHF 10 vouchers good in the restaurants at the top so it was all good in the end. Some people recommend going up via Kriens and the gondola / cable car and then down to Alpnachstad via the cogwheel train as there can be more waiting for the train in the uphill direction. We had to wait 15 minutes or so but they just kept bring trains to the correct side of the track until everyone was aboard. Plus, there is a ropes park and summer luge run at Frakmuntegg where you switch between the cable car and the gondola, and I'm pretty sure there was more activity there midday on our way down than there would have been in the morning on our way up. It was fun to watch the kids (by which I mean teenagers and young adults!) going through the ropes park.

Hi everyone!
I'm heading to Luzern next month and hope to do the Golden Round trip. Can I buy tickets when I Arrive, or do I need to book in advance? Thanks!

This "package" deal of train/cogwheel/boat/ gondola. Is just all a normal part of the wonderful Swiss Transport System. You don't need a package - unless of course you just want it. All you have to do is go to any SBB ticket counter and tell them where you want to go. They'll sell you the ticket and you're on your way.

It was CRAZY SIMPLE! and great! If you'd like to see my pictures, send me a PM and I will send you the link :)

I will be going Lucerne in 1+wk time! haha.... What time should I start on Golden Round Trip? How long is the whole journey?

Depends on how long you want to stay at the summit. I think about 4 - 5 hours total is reasonable to expect. The cruise is long and the line-up to the Pilatus Bahn is long too.