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Mt Pilatus and Lake Lucerne Adventure
4.5
206 Ratings
Kriens
Discover Mt. Pilatus with a boat trip, cogwheel railway, and cable car. Enjoy breathtaking views of Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps.
Discover Mt. Pilatus with a boat trip, cogwheel railway, and cable car. Enjoy breathtaking views of Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Pilatus Luzern - From Lucerne’s train station, take bus no. 1 heading towards Kriens/Obernau. After an 11-minute bus ride to the “Kriens, Zentrum Pilatus” stop and a brief walk, you’ll arrive at the valley station in Kriens. The Panorama Gondolas will take you to the Fräkmüntegg middle station in 30 minutes, where you can try the rope park or the…
- Pilatus Luzern - From Lucerne’s train station, take bus no. 1 heading towards Kriens/Obernau. After an 11-minute bus ride to the “Kriens, Zentrum Pilatus” stop and a brief walk, you’ll arrive at the valley station in Kriens. The Panorama Gondolas will take you to the Fräkmüntegg middle station in 30 minutes, where you can try the rope park or the Dragon Glider (additional costs apply). Switch to the “Dragon Ride” aerial cableway for a 5-minute ride to the summit. At Pilatus Kulm, you can enjoy panoramic views of Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps, relax in the panoramic gallery, unwind on the terrace, climb one of the peaks, or savor a local specialty at one of the restaurants (additional costs apply). The world’s steepest cogwheel railway will take you back down to Alpnachstad in 35 minutes. From the valley station, board a boat cruise on Lake Lucerne, which will bring you back to Lucerne, near the train station, in 1-1.5 hours. You can also start the trip in the opposite direction, beginning with the boat ride from Lucerne. Be sure to check the timetable before your visit.
- Pilatus-Bahnen AG - If you choose to depart from the Kriens valley station, take the Panorama Gondolas and the “Dragon Ride” aerial cableway to the summit.
- Pilatus Railway - If you choose to depart from Alpnach, take the cogwheel railway to the summit.
What's Included
- Panorama gondola between Kriens and Fräkmüntegg (or vice versa)
- Aerial cableway ‘Dragon Ride’ between Fräkmüntegg and Pilatus Kulm (or vice versa)
- Public bus between Lucerne main station and Kriens (or vice versa)
- Lake cruise (2nd class) between Alpnachstad and Lucerne (or vice versa) on Lake Lucerne
- Steepest cogwheel railway in the world between Pilatus Kulm and Alpnachstad (or vice versa)
- Panorama gondola between Kriens and Fräkmüntegg (or vice versa)
- Aerial cableway ‘Dragon Ride’ between Fräkmüntegg and Pilatus Kulm (or vice versa)
- Public bus between Lucerne main station and Kriens (or vice versa)
- Lake cruise (2nd class) between Alpnachstad and Lucerne (or vice versa) on Lake Lucerne
- Steepest cogwheel railway in the world between Pilatus Kulm and Alpnachstad (or vice versa)
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Tour guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Additional activities (rope park, Dragon Glider, toboggan run, etc.)
- Other personal expenses
- Seat reservation for the cogwheel train
- Food and drinks
- Tour guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Additional activities (rope park, Dragon Glider, toboggan run, etc.)
- Other personal expenses
- Seat reservation for the cogwheel train
Additional Information
Visit Lake Lucerne and Mt. Pilatus on a half-day tour by boat, steepest cogwheel railway in the world, aerial 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 cruise on Lake Lucerne World’s steepest cogwheel railway…
Visit Lake Lucerne and Mt. Pilatus on a half-day tour by boat, steepest cogwheel railway in the world, aerial 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 cruise on Lake Lucerne 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 This is not a guided tour and there is no meeting point. Please check the timetable carefully, especially for the boat connections (2 - 5 boat departures per day). The Round Trip can be taken in both directions
- Check the timetable carefully, especially for the boat cruise (2-5 departures per day)
- This is an unguided individual tour
- Operates in almost all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Cableways are not in operation in case of storm
- Starting direction 1: Take the cruise ship at the railway station in Lucerne (Quai 2 in front of the train station)
- Starting direction 2: Take bus number 1 at the railway station in Lucerne to Kriens, Zentrum Pilatus
- Round trip can be taken in both directions
- Prior reservation mandatory for wheelchairs
- Strollers must be folded during transport
- To avoid long waiting times for the cogwheel train between Alpnachstad and Pilatus Kulm (or vice versa), we highly recommend to make a reservation under www.pilatus.ch/reservation
Location
Pilatus Luzern
Schlossweg 1
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
4.5
(206 Ratings)
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Leanne_m
Jul 20, 2025
Must do - This is definitely a must do if you visit Switzerland! Smooth transfers and easy walks. Absolutely recommend getting the package with gondola cable car and rail finishing with the cruise!
Review provided by Viator
Anonymous
Jul 16, 2025
Breath taking experience! - Everyone should do this tour in Lucerne.
Don’t miss these avenues of maneuvering up and down Mt Pilatus.
Review provided by Viator
Compass51852342024
Jul 13, 2025
Experience of a life time - Expect a long day if you do the Toboggan ride but other than that worth every penny spent the cruise on the boat lovely and smooth cogwheel train ride up and experience in itself amazing are engineers who made this. the gondala and cable car back down was amazing and views unbeleiveable
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sheepygold
Jul 4, 2025
Excellent in clear weather. Stanserhorn is better though. - We were advised to come early and we paid a little extra to guarantee a seat on the cog railway. The journey up was very enjoyable with good views in all directions. The railway was busy but not uncomfortable. We spent over an hour walking around on the peak and having a cup of coffee. The day was clear so views were amazing. We took the cable car down which is actually in stages and we stopped off for a coffee. We took a number 1 bus back into Lucerne. It was a very enjoyable experience but you need good weather. Also whilst it was great I think the Stanserhorn was better as you get better views and you can do an amazing nature walk.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
107randalls
Jun 30, 2025
Fantastic Tour - Don't pass this one up it was well worth it. Great views of the lake from the boat with a well trained crew. The ride up the mountain in the cogwheel train was amazing considering how steep it was. The view at the top was breathtaking with many photo opportunities. Follow that with a gondola, tram and bus ride makes a large number of different transportation vehicles in one trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kendra_t
Jun 29, 2025
Excellent - Excellent adventure. Better than we hoped. Highly recommend. The views were breathtaking. The gondola and train and ferry combination was perfect. We felt like we experienced it all.
Review provided by Viator
Peggy_k
Jun 21, 2025
Great Day! - We appreciate that all the logistics were figured out for us. We took the boat part of the trip first and the bus last, which was good because the walk was downhill to the bus! The views at the top were amazing. There were several places to choose from for food. The rides up on the cogwheel tram and down on the gondola were smooth and easy.
Review provided by Viator
Beachboywantabe
Jun 21, 2025
Don’t miss this (and make sure you have a reserved time for the cog up) - This was our first time to Switzerland, and we wanted to get some taste of the Alps even though our time was limited. The Pilatus “Golden Trip” (boat ride on Lake Lucerne, cogwheel rail up the mountain, gondola down) was perfect. The view from the top was great, and the facilities up there (including a hotel) are such that you could spend lots of time up there. No time limit and no rush. But when you head out there, make sure you have a specific time reserved for the cog rail. That is where there is a line that sometimes gets backed up and people learn that a time slot is needed even if you have a ticket. BTW, there is a SBB train depot out there if you don’t care about the boat ride.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chris_c
Jul 21, 2025
That the ticket you buy... - That the ticket you buy here does not include a separate fee and a process for making a reservation on the vericular. The site to make the reservation was not that user friendly and failed despite getting a receipt of payment. I had to go to the ticket office the morning of the experience and luckily there was a reservation for the vernicular that matched the time we were getting off the boat. I thought this was the ticket for the entire “golden ticket”experience and it wasn’t. Could have been a very messy experience if I was stranded on the bottom of the mountain with no reservation to get up
Review provided by Viator
Wendy_p
Jul 1, 2025
Don’t pay for misinformation. - It was a very unorganized and uninformed tour. Our friend in Switzerland mapped out the tour itinerary based on your website. We payed for all three-boat, cog railway, and cable car experiences. We only got to ride the cable car. We also had to pay for an additional fee to reserve the cog railway, after the full price of the tour was paid. We were extremely disappointed and it impacted our day very negatively.
Review provided by Viator
