Mt Pilatus Self-Guided Round Trip from Lucerne

Mt Pilatus Silver unguided tour

We found the experience delightful. Getting to go through express was so nice. We lucked out and had a beautiful day.

Wonderful experience

Wonderful experience even though our view was obscured by clouds. Hiking through tunnels in the mountain was fun, unfortunately we have inclement weather so I must return to the mountain another time.

Family of 10 - great experience!

Enjoyed the different modes of transportation. Just need a little more specific direction regarding the return bus stop 1 in Kreins.

Mt pilatus a must visit if you're in lucerne!

This was the first thing we did once we landed in luceren. Recommended to us by our hotel host, since we had some time before our check-in. You take the bus number 1 from the city center and get off at Mt Pilatus stop and then take a cable car ride to the top of the mountain..it costs about 53 euros with a discount voucher if you're staying in a hotel in lucerne. You can then go all the way to the top and spend some time... We had a lovely experience and got some great views since the sun was out as well. For our first time experience of snow, it was incredible!

Unforgettable

Friendly, helpful staff plus beautiful weather made for an unforgettable experience. Would recommend this trip to anyone visiting Lucerne!

Self-Guided your best option, but buy tickets from actual Pilatus website.

Self-Guided tour was wonderful with no pressure from a tour group or feeling rushed! Receiving the actual tickets to Mt Pilatus was chaotic, disorganized & a lot of wasted time waiting in line. It is recommended to purchase tickets via Mt. Pilatus Website where tickets will be electronic with a QR code. Having a QR code, will avoid the long, chaotic line of receiving hard paper tickets and can “jump” ahead of those who have to wait in line for tickets. If going on a beautiful sunny day, get to Mt. Pilates at opening (8:30 am) to avoid the massive lines and people who will show up around 10:00 am! Arriving early, will prevent waiting in long lines for hard paper tickets and get up the mountain before the 10 am rush. Would absolutely do the self-guided tour again, but hindsight being 20/20, would purchase online tickets ahead of time from the website.

Poor communication, total lack of planning or foresight.

Booking makes no sense. Inadequate confusing information. Leave Lucerne by train but pick up the tickets at the OTHER end because the email you get is not a ticket? Or take a bus - with no ticket - then collect your tickets up there? That's nonsensical. This is a half-baked plan by someone who didn't think it through or cannot communicate. Cancelled the tickets entirely and I'll do exactly the same 'tour' for half the price booking direct.

Poor redemption process

The redemption of the tickets was bad experience. We redempted the tickets at Pilatus Railway when the counter only given us one ticket for all. Then we walked back to the counter and asked for the correct tickets. Ended up again we found out the bus and train tickets was not given to us when we need to travel back railway to get out car. We had no choice but to rebuy the bus and train ticket to get out car back. Its was extremely annoying experience when we found out the tickets were incomplete.

Superb and breath-taking experience

Absolutely stunning scenery and fantastic way to check out Mt Pilatus with a family. The cable car was exciting and view up at the top was breathtaking. We were lucky enough to have some snow, although the train was unfortunately closed on the way down :( Still, we could not fault this experience as the day was sunny and wind-free! Directions were easy to follow and reviews helped us to make the decision and find the bus stop. The company we booked with also returned a portion of the tickets, given the train was closed! How amazing is that!

A Day in the Alps

This was a wonderful experience. The cog railway was the best way to get up to the top of Mt Pilatus. Once at the top there are plenty of things to do. Hiking, enjoying the scenery, along with a park where you can zip line, climb ropes, etc. One of the most fun things to do was the toboggan. There is an extra fee for this but it is reasonable. The best part is you don't have to walk back up!! Food at the top was good and there is plenty of seating to enjoy your meal. Two gift shops provide lots of opportunity to shop for gifts. We also got to listen to a group of alphorn players. Overall great day and the trip down was fun Try to go up on a sunny day, if you go up with clouds you won't be able to see much. There was some confusion about taking the train up to the Cog Railway it states that you must exchange your voucher for tickets...do this once you get off the train. We ended up paying for the train ride twice. Your ticket includes the train ride even though it is not clear.

Poorly timed and description is misleading.

The description of this tour is not what you experience. You spend only 25 minutes at Interlaken which doesn’t allow you to see anything. Then you are dropped off at Kleine Scheidegg for over three hours. It was very cold and snowing. The tiny town had only one restaurant and a very small gif shop open. Nothing else to do. The tour is organized with two other group types being dropped off at multiple locations. We had to wait by ourselves until the tour came back to pick us up.

Good trip

Had a nice time at the pilatus .. the day was cloudy and very cold but still enjoyed the ride on the steep rail ..... Views r good from the top

Amazing

The trip was great. Wouldn’t worry about the train section. More detail needed on bus and train connections.

This was everything I hoped it would be!

We caught the bus in Luzern and took it to Pilatus. Then we boarded the tram. The views were spectacular. We enjoyed the self guided tour, as we could stay as long as we wanted. There are 4 or 5 trails to walk, once you are at the top. Restaurant is there. That is about $20.00 per person. Take snacks if you like. The Cog Train down was fun. I highly recommend this excursion.

My. Pilatus

The cable car lift ride allowed beautiful vistas to be seen and/or photographed. Once at the top, the views of the glacier covered Alps were spectacular.

Mount Pilatus: Spectacular Views and the Steepest Cogwheel Train Ride

My friend and I were a little concerned reading some reviews that said the directions were inaccurate and this was difficult to find. Truly the directions are quite specific for taking the #1 bus from Lucerne and getting off at Kriens. Once off the bus, we crossed the street and walked up the hill (along the right side of the church). The walk was about 8-10 minutes and there are signs along the way to the gondola. The are exceptional views at Mt Pilatus with the opportunity to climb multiple stairs for higher vantage points. The cogwheel train down was quite a experience, with amazing views throughout the ride. The views are not the best from the front seats if you are looking forward, but every seat has a great view to the side. I would highly recommend this excursion.

Fun Day in the Alps

This was a great excursion. We were blessed with great weather and we could see for miles. The activities at the top of Mt Pilatus were plentiful and we enjoyed the day. However, you need to know that the toboggan ride was not included in the price. Also, there was some confusion as to where you exchange your voucher for the tickets to ride up to the top of the mountain on the COG Railway. We actually bought train tickets to get to the Pilatus Railway Station to exchange our tickets This was suppose to be included in the price, very disappointing to have to pay double for a train ticket. Overall, the day was great but Viator needs to make their instructions clearer as to how to exchange your voucher for the actual tickets.

Excellent value, beautiful views

Perfect way to spend the day, cog railway, views from the top and easy hikes were the highlight. Make sure to go on a clear day

Mount Pilatus : Must Visit in Lucerne

It’s a great experience. Those adventurous may opt for paragliding. If one really likes trekking, time permitting do a small trek at the summit . The ascent by the train is great , one may opt out to get down at the nearest station near the summit and hike up to the summit. The cable car both phases is great and one can capture the scenic view in their camera’s. Over all it’s value for money.

Excellent adventure

We very much enjoyed our trip to Pilatus. The cog railway was a fun way to start the day. The Dragon Ride was a short but very fun way to start the journey back down the mountain. Even though the weather was not the best, the sights from the top were great. Many different venues for pictures plus there was plenty of snow still remaining. We'll definitely repeat visiting Pilatus when back in the area.

Awesome❤️

From Lucerne my daughter and I took the #1 bus to Kriens. You can then just pretty much follow the signs. We saved 40€ by using our Eurail pass. It was a dreary day and could not see the mountains through the cloud cover. After multiple gondola rides we arrived at 9am. Very serene and quite and the views were amazing! We wondered through the Burroughs hotel building. Found a short moving on the mountain, construction and legend. We decided to have lunch at the hotel Restaurant .....an El Tovar type place. We ordered soup, French Onion and a Barley vegetable, both very good. Neither of us had ever had fondue so we ordered the “Classic” it came with bread and potatoes......I guess this is where the language barrier come in we asked if it was considered an entree and were told yes. The cost per the menu was 32 Swiss franc with a 12 supplement. We ate only about half of it as it was rich and heavy but very good! When the bill arrived we were charge 32x2.....while we thought we were sharing...an expensive lesson After lunch weather had improved and we continued to explore.....3pm down the hill.....great day and worth every dime!

fun trip

took the train, then took the multiple tram rides up the mountain. played on the ropes course, drank some beer and wine. Was very affordable..Had some pork sausages cooked outdoors. Yummy. hiked thru a cave. Great day...

Great day out

Up the mountain by cog wheel railway and back down by cable cars. Great views from the top, can explore a little more by foot . A good half day trip, well worth it.

Great Experience

We took the bus to Kleins didn't realise we had to walk quite a way to Gondola. Amazing ride. Returned on the Cog Railway walked straight to a train back to Lucerne. If you do Railway both ways not a problem. We are older and the walk was uphill. As tour was self guided we had plenty of time to enjoy the view and amenities. Great Day !!!

Great day but it is figure it out on your own

It ended up being a great tour but there is no guidance. What you see on the advertisement page is all you will have so print it if you don't have a smart phone with you or you will be lost. We took bus and weren't sure where to go when we got off. The advertisement mentions Kriens Valley Station but Google Maps doesn't find that --and bus leaves you in middle of nowhere so we were confused. Bus driver was not interested in answering any questions or trying to. --Searched on Kriens and found a few options -- we did find our way to gondolas. They then gave us tickets and all was good. Beautiful day and highly recommend. Five star day but four stars is for lack of communication. (Had even less communication with another tour in Lucerne. We have done tours all over Europe --both situations in Lucerne were very odd. --But beautiful country!)

Excellent

Great experience, stunning views and highly recommended. Well organised transport, can be taken either direction up or down.

This was absolutely amazing

This was one amazing tour, which we received as part of our tour package. There was a series of cab cars and larger trams that took us up (and then down) the mountain. We were amazed at the amount of development that they've done over the years to make these places accessible. There was also enough information available at the different stops so we knew where we were going and how to get around. The scenery up there is just phenomenal. This is a "must-do" trip if you have more than one or two days in Lucerne.

Beautiful

I booked the self guided round trip tour. I have one issue. There needs to be better communication. Printed the voucher and went to train station in Lucerne. I went to the info desk and was sent to a few other desks. she advised me to get on a bus to Kriens and pointed to A. Did arrive at stop and followed signs uphill to a gondola. Once there I handed my voucher and after a confused look and explaining that I purchased this trip online, I was handed a ticket. From there we had an amazing time.

Great fun

Obviously pick a cloudless day but going up Mt Pliatus was amazing all the same, Go up one way and come down the other, some walking especially to the viewing platform, It is cool at the top so bring layers, and water. Food is pricey. The cogwheel is rather cool and the gondolas so peaceful Remember to stop off at the Tobogans on the way up ( do the gondola trip up to access this). The best fun ever

Mt. Pilatus is a must see for...

<p>Mt. Pilatus is a must see for visitors to the Lucerne area. It was extremely disappointing to learn that the gondola portion of the trip was under a two week regularly scheduled maintenance during our visit. I do think when purchasing this trip it could have been highlighted more prominently in the description that that feature was not available. I even spoke to someone live on the phone who made no mention that it was not an option. This trip can be purchased a la carte at each of the transportation stations. Disappointed in the organization of this.</p>

Une vue exceptionnelle

Montée en randonnée jusqu'à la station de Kriesenregg (1h30 de marche) puis en téléphérique jusqu'au sommet. La vue est incroyable, c'est magnifique !

bel giro completo con trenino a cremagliera e funivia + gondole

avevo chiesto per mail che tipo di biglietto avrei dovuto acquistare e se potevo farlo direttamente allo sportello il giorno del viaggio (il tempo cambiava spesso) e mi era stato consigliato il tour d'argento con partenza da Alpnaschstad con il trenino a cremagliera e discesa con funivia e gondole a Kriens, bus per Lucerna e treno di ritorno per Alpnaschstad. In teoria doveva esserere tutto compreso ma alla stazione di partenza ci hanno avvertiti che in Stazione a Lucerna avremmo dovuto acquistare il biglietto del treno. Qualcuno quindi ha sbagliato a comunicarci la cosa. A parte questo il tour è stato spettacolare e stupendo calcolando che quando siamo arrivati alla stazione di partenza pioveva si è poi aperto tutto e la giornata è stata magnifica.

minpuntje voor SLECHTE informatie

Er wordt alom reclame gemaakt voor deze tocht, maar kaartjes zijn NIET te krijgen in het hotel, en NIET aan de Pilatusbahn, maar UITSLUITEND op het station in Luzern. En dat staat dus nergens. Wij konden deze tour vanuit het startpunt van de Pilatusbahn in Alpnachstadt dus niet boeken. We hadden nu met de interrailpas de tocht met de Pilatus, de Seilbahn en de Gondel tot Krienz. We moesten 30 SFR betalen. De bus in Krienz was toch gratis, want de chauffeur vond het wel goed zo, maar de trein Luzern - Alpnachstadt moesten we zelf betalen. De hele tocht is overigens grandioos. Zie de vele andere reviews.

Wspaniała atrakcja

Wjazd na Pilatus był niesamowity. Mam lęk wysokości, ale podczas podróży kolejką nie odczuwa się go. Wyjazd trwa 30 minut. Czasami trzeba poczekać na wejście w Alpnachsztad, ale można poczekać w restauracji albo pospacerować po okolicy. Zjazd gondolami do Kriens to już 40 minut. Na Pilatusie można spędzić i pół dnia.