Mt Pilatus Self-Guided Round Trip from Lucerne
Recommended by 91% of travelers
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Lucerne, Switzerland
- 3 to 6 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
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Overview
Visit Mt. Pilatus and take a train ride on the world's steepest cogwheel railway on a self-guided tour from Lucerne. A ride on the aerial cableway, the Dragon Ride, is included, as well as a panoramic gondola ride. Admire the views over the Alps All transportation is included, so you don’t need to worry about making your own bookings, and you are free to explore on your own once there.
- Explore Mt. Pilatus at 6,994 feet (2,132 meters) altitude
- Convenient public transport connections included
- Be amazed by the views of Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps
- Ideal for independent travelers who like to explore without a group
What's Included
- Public train between Luzern and Alpnachstad or vice versa (2nd class)
- 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 Kriens and Lucerne main station (or vice versa)
- 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
Meeting and Pickup
Operating hours
- 05/12/2026 - 10/18/2026
Monday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
- 05/10/2027 - 10/17/2027
Monday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Departure Point
- Pilatus-Bahnen AG, Schlossweg 1, 6010 Kriens, Switzerland
What To Expect
1
Pilatus-Bahnen AG
Admission Ticket Included
2
Pilatus Luzern
Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Check the timetable carefully: https://pilatus.ch/en/railway-cableways/timetable
- Round trip can be done in both directions
- Operates in almost all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Cableways are not in operation in the case of storms
- A maximum of 9 people per booking
- Prior reservation mandatory for wheelchairs
- Strollers must be folded during transport
- A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
- To avoid long waiting times for the cogwheel train between Alpnachstad and Pilatus Kulm (or vice versa), we highly recommend to make a cogwheel train reservation
- Don't miss the last transportation down to the valley (17:30 cable car/18:04 cogwheel)
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 9 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 96 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
This was an incredible experience! The views from the summit were breathtaking and the journey there was super fun.
We loved the cogwheel back down to the train station and easily returned to Lucern with no complications. I HIGHLY recommend this experience 🏔️
Everything went according to plan. We went train, cogwheel, cable car, gondola the bus. A little hard to find number 1 bus back to Lucerne. Signs are small and limited but we found it.
Worth every penny! This has been the best experience I've had so far going to a mountain. Did not disappoint.
It was easy to navigate, staff was friendly, views were impeccable! This was my second time to Pilatus, my husband's first, and it did not disappoint!
Easy to follow instructions and the views were amazing. The provider was able to answer my questions fairly quickly.
We went up in the rain. By the time we got to the top the clouds had lifted. We had amazing views of the alps and possibly into France and Germany. It was breathtaking.
The trip is fantastic - but the ticket does not include the boat (as other commenters suggested) and you can get the same tickets for cheaper directly from Mt Pilatus website.
Go early so you can spend a lot of time at the top. Lines are long but they are worth the wait! Both the train and the cable car rides are spectacular!
Do not do it unless accompanied by a guide. Had to find the correct bus then got off at the wrong stop—walked a mile to the location to take the tram up—an hour long wait in the sun. Did NOT need passports.
Boarded the tram and got to the top (not clear that the first landing is NOT the top.) Walked around and had a very mediocre expensive lunch.
Bought a round trip cog wheel ticket as recommended—which did not need. Took the cog wheel train down —hot and crowded and took a long time.
Had to find the train across the street and get back to Lucerne.
We have used Viator for years all over the world—this was the worst as far as explanation, complex travel all over with signs in a different language, and not the same as directions.
Highly do NOT recommend.
The trip to the top of the mountain is well worth with a couple different options to get there and back. I recommend going up once and going back down a different way. Also, if the weather is good, there are great hiking options.
There was some challenge getting from Zurich to Lucerne , but after we figure out the rail system, we enjoyed the trip very much. The tickets were easy to use and give us access to everything that we needed.
Nice combo of city bus, cable car, gondola, mountaintop, cog railroad and boat ride. Tickets worked flawlessly.
Being on our own and without a guide even added a sense of adventure. World explorers!
We had a very foggy day so not much visibility. Still worth it !! The tram and gondola and tram ride were wonderful.
Everything was as advertised. The only problem was the mountain top was fogged in. It is worth the time.
Worthwhile trip. The views were spectacular! We did the gondola, cog train, train and bus. Train/ Bus station was confusing so perhaps a little more info about how find bus number 1.
This entire experience was 10/10. the ticket was so easy to use for all the activities. This was our favorite excursion we did!
Good self guided tour. It covers 2 different routes of travel ( bus and then cabel car; cogwheel train and then train). So got to cover varied scenery. Unfortunately it was very cloudy at top of pilatus so couldn't njoy much. But the trip was good.
Amazing and something you won’t forget!! The self guided tour instructions made it easy and you have one ticket for EVERYTHING, from the bus, train, gondola, cogway tram and back to the train back to Lucerne! So convenient, thank you!
Great experience to enjoy the beautiful mountains and the scenery. No guides, but everything was perfectly arranged. There was no hassle in getting access to any listed activities.
Definitely be prepared for a whole day of action and requires lot of walking. Highly suggest to plan extra time to explore the various activities in the park at the top. It can get pretty busy in the afternoon and wait for the slide ride was about 1hr, but was a good experience.
Incredible views. This was simply easy to follow and you cannot miss this opportunity. Take your time and explore up top.
Seamless experience, tickets were all in place for the cable car, gondola and cogwheel and we could go about the whole tour at our own pace, Great experience
A very convenient trip. It was very easy to navigate. And the view at the top was amazing! Next time, i’ll stay longer at the top and wait for the sunset
Great experience.worth the money
Three types of rides . Cable car, train all are best.the view from top was scintillating
We had a wonderful, sunny day - the previous day it was closed due to snow/ice. The directions and all signs were easy to follow... we started with the train ride to the cogwheel train. The views from the top were amazing! There was a fun tobaggan run (Frakigaudi) between the gondola and the cable cars. It was quite a lot of fun.
Great value. Got us to and up the mountain as well as back to our hotel. Enjoyed all the different modes of transportation. If you haven’t already done the boat tour of Lake Lucerne, I would recommend including this on your tour. We had done that the day before or tour, so enjoyed the train ride back to the city. The views were amazing on the way up and down. It was very cloudy the day we went, so the views from the end of the gondola ride weren’t as good as a sunny day would have been, but still beautiful. We didn’t walk all the way to the top because it was so cloudy. Well worth the trip up, and had no problem “guiding” ourselves.
This was an easy to follow but yet independent way to see Mt Pilatus. I would suggest that you do the cog train first to avoid the crowds and go down by the cable car.
The views from the top were breathtaking. The gondola and cogwheel were a little scary but fun. But we are also a afraid of heights!
Incredible experience with spectacular views of the Alps and Lake Lucerne. Enjoyed everything but Pilatus’ website and service. As per their recommendation I reserved seats for the cogwheel train at an additional cost. They in turn sent a QR code for vouchers that didn’t indicate the reservation time and said they couldn’t access QR codes at the site. Lost money.
An amazing all day experience. So many different walks or longer hikes to choose from depending on your fitness levels. Pity the low cloud blocked some of our views but that’s just the chance you take when you have pre-booked and in Luzern for a short time. Highly recommend wearing good shoes and having your phones fully charged for taking lots of stunning photo’s and video’s.
Our tickets got us to everything without waiting in lines. It was a great experience from start to finish. Amazing views!
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