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Golden Roundtrip: Basel to Mount Pilatus Adventure
4.8
24 Ratings
Basel
Join an exclusive small-group tour from Basel to Mount Pilatus. Experience train rides, lake cruises, and alpine splendor. Limited spots available.
Join an exclusive small-group tour from Basel to Mount Pilatus. Experience train rides, lake cruises, and alpine splendor. Limited spots available.
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Basel SBB Station - Begin the journey with a one-hour train ride from Basel to Lucerne.
- Lake Lucerne - Continue with a one-hour boat transfer from Lucerne to Alpnachstad. As the boat departs Lucerne’s bay, it cruises along the shores of Hergiswil and Stansstad to reach Alpnach bay, offering views of the surrounding mountains throughout the…
- Basel SBB Station - Begin the journey with a one-hour train ride from Basel to Lucerne.
- Lake Lucerne - Continue with a one-hour boat transfer from Lucerne to Alpnachstad. As the boat departs Lucerne’s bay, it cruises along the shores of Hergiswil and Stansstad to reach Alpnach bay, offering views of the surrounding mountains throughout the trip.
- Alpnachstad - This is the transfer point between the lake boat and the world’s steepest cogwheel train. In just 35 minutes, the train ascends along the ridge, passing alpine meadows to reach Pilatus Kulm.
- Pilatus Luzern - Arrive at Pilatus Kulm, the mountain station of the Pilatusbahn, featuring a viewing terrace, a panorama gallery, and two mountain hotels on this picturesque local mountain. Explore attractions like the dragon gallery, the viewpoint, scenic terraces, and a multimedia presentation at Mt. Pilatus.
- Fräkmüntegg - Home to Central Switzerland’s largest rope park, tree tents, a toboggan run, hiking trails, and excellent barbecue spots, Fräkmüntegg is perfect for relaxation.
- Krienseregg - Ideal for families, Krienseregg offers a diverse local recreation area with marked circular hikes and spacious picnic areas.
- Kriens - Kriens is the third largest municipality and the second largest city in the Swiss canton of Lucerne, located at the base of Mount Pilatus and adjacent to Lucerne to the east. Here, disembark from the aerial cableway and take a 10-minute walk to the bus stop to catch the local bus to Lucerne.
- Luzern - Travel back from Kriens to Lucerne in just 10 minutes by local bus.
- Basel SBB Station - Conclude the tour with a return trip from Lucerne to Basel.
What's Included
- Golden round trip by boat, cogwheel train, and gondola
- Intercity train Basel-Luzern and return
- English-speaking Swiss tour guide
- All necessary tickets included (no additional costs)
- Seat reservation for guaranteed departure on cogwheel train
- Golden round trip by boat, cogwheel train, and gondola
- Intercity train Basel-Luzern and return
- English-speaking Swiss tour guide
- All necessary tickets included (no additional costs)
- Seat reservation for guaranteed departure on cogwheel train
What's Not Included
- Food or drinks (lunch break at one of various restaurants)
- Gratuities
- Food or drinks (lunch break at one of various restaurants)
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Embark on an exclusive small-group journey, “The Golden Roundtrip,” starting in Basel and seamlessly connecting to Luzern by train. From Luzern, cruise across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, setting the stage for an unforgettable ascent on the cogwheel train to Mount Pilatus. Enjoy leisurely free time atop Pilatus, surrounded by alpine splendor. The return…
Embark on an exclusive small-group journey, “The Golden Roundtrip,” starting in Basel and seamlessly connecting to Luzern by train. From Luzern, cruise across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, setting the stage for an unforgettable ascent on the cogwheel train to Mount Pilatus. Enjoy leisurely free time atop Pilatus, surrounded by alpine splendor. The return journey unfolds with a cableway descent via Kriens, offering scenic vistas and a thrilling conclusion. Limited to a select few, this personalized tour ensures an intimate exploration of Switzerland’s natural wonders and historic landmarks.
Location
Centralbahnstrasse 10
Centralbahnstrasse
Basel SBB train station, your tourguide awaits you in the departure hall:
in front of the ticket office and the official meeting point.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(24 Ratings)
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Melanie_k
Sep 3, 2025
Pilatus - Joelle was a fantastic tour guide! She gave us the time we needed at each location. If she didn’t know the answers to any questions, she quickly looked it up and got the information for us.
Review provided by Viator
Charlie
Jul 17, 2025
Fun and stress free, Switzerland in one day - My husband and I, from New Zealand thought this was the best way to capture the beauty and uniqueness of Switzerland in one day and our personal guide, Michael made it fun and stress free.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christine_f
Jul 4, 2025
Highly recommend - A great day with a great guide. Very organized and informative. Beautiful country seen by bus, train, boat, cogwheel, aerial tram, and gondola. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Viator
Ronald_t
May 6, 2025
Great Guide made up for rain and snow on Pilatus! - In spite of no visibility, rain and snow atop Pilatus, the trip to Pilatus was great because of our Guide, Faisel...
Review provided by Viator
Phillip_p
Aug 15, 2024
Awesome day at Lake Lucerne and atop Mt Pilatus - Our guide Emil was fabulous, he did a wonderful job of guiding us on our memory making day. He was very insightful and helpful us to explore this beautiful country
Review provided by Viator
Kim_s
May 22, 2024
A must do day!! - Our day was fantastic from beginning to end. Our guide, Vasel (sp?) was just delightful. He had everything under control, we just followed his lead. He was knowledgeable on many subjects that we were interested in. It was our first time to Basel and Lucerne was at the top of our list for a day trip. We all agreed that we will be back!!!
Review provided by Viator
Lynn
Oct 13, 2023
White glove service, perfect day - I came here to rave about our guide, Anisha. She took excellent care of us and thought of everything to make our day flow perfectly. She took the train from her home in Lucerne to meet us in Basel and take us back to Lucerne for the day. She is charming and speaks English like a native. She went out of her way to make sure we had the best experience. Forging ahead to save us the best seats on the boat, etc.
The tour itself is well worth it; the boat ride, cogwheel train, and gondola provide amazing scenery and of course on top of the mountain the vistas are breathtaking. Anisha guided us every step of the way and provided interesting facts about everything we saw. When the tour was over she stayed with us to show us around Lucerne a bit and even offered to escort us back to Basel, but we assured her that with her perfect instructions about getting on the right train, we would be fine!
One caveat about the trains: make sure you have your ID with you. One of our party didn’t have theirs and the train conductor on the trip home refused to let them ride without purchasing another ticket. I note here that the instructions from TripAdvisor for this tour DID say to bring your ID but our one person didn’t notice the instructions.
Other than that, an absolutely perfect day and once again, thank you Anisha for being so accommodating and thinking of absolutely everythjng!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Judith_s
Sep 1, 2023
Swiss wonderland - Our guide, Mike, couldn’t have been any better. He was so knowledgeable, friendly and attentive. I’d give him 10 stars if I could! The city of Luzern is beautiful. Like walking into a fairytale land. I could imagine Heidi calling “Grandfather, Grandfather”. The waters of the Rhone River and Lake Luzern were crystal clear and beautiful. The ride up the 48 degree cog railway to the top of Mount Pilatus was a nice experience. Unfortunately it was an overcast day so our view from the mountain wasn’t fantastic, but we did get wonderful views from the cable car. Do expect a lot of walking and a long day but it was well worth it. A thoroughly enjoyable experience
Review provided by Viator
Bryant_h
Aug 30, 2023
Rainy day tour - Our guide, Ueli, was exceptional. We had a rainy day and could not see anything from Mt. Pilatus, so we did not stay on the mountain very long. He offered a personal tour of Lucerne with the extra time. Ueli is very knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating and made what could have been a day spoiled by rain into a great tour.
Review provided by Viator
Ralph_e
Aug 20, 2023
Extraordinary Experience - It was just the three of us: Our guide, my wife, and I. We felt spoiled, particularly to have reservations for the cog railway which meant passing the long line of souls who did not.
Review provided by Viator
