Mount Pilatus Summit from Lucerne With Lake Cruise

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Meet your guide in central Lucerne in the early afternoon.

   Passes by

2. Hop aboard your comfortable coach for the short journey to Kriens, at the foot of the imposing Mt Pilatus. On arrival, begin your ascent to the mountain’s lofty summit with a 30-minute panoramic gondola ride to the Fräkmüntegg terminus. Enjoy beautiful views over the rolling hills and lush pine forests below. At Fräkmüntegg, hop aboard the aerial tramway — a spacious and modern cabin with panoramic windows designed to give the feeling of flight. Continue your climb to the summit at a dizzying altitude of 7,000 feet, and take in spectacular views over the Alpine peaks and lakes from your vantage point on the mountain. During your free time atop Mt Pilatus, perhaps sit down to a high-altitude lunch among the peaks (own expense) or relax on the expansive sun terrace. Venture down the Dragon's Path and take a short hike around the summit to enjoy the amazing views.

   3 hAdmission included

3. Take the world's steepest cogwheel train down to Alpnachstad, descending past trickling mountain streams and sheer rock faces toward the verdant, green meadows below.

   Passes by

4. Conclude your tour with a picturesque 1-hour boat ride across lovely Lake Lucerne and enjoy the spectacular scenery from an entirely different angle.

   1 hAdmission included

5. At the end of the cruise, your tour ends back in Lucerne.

   Passes by

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 1,475 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 1Buyer Beware: Save your money and buy the self-guided round trip instead

  The listing promises a "fully guided tour by a professional guide," and that is the reason I paid the premium over booking the Golden Round Trip myself. In my experience, there was no real guiding. Our guide simply told us where to go and when to be there. We got no history, no background, and no explanation of anything we were seeing. Everything on the trip is so well marked that you can easily navigate it on your own, which made the guide essentially useless. To start, we were also only given about 5 minutes at the first stop before being quickly ushered onto the second gondola up to Pilatus. We were never told how to access the toboggan ride, which we had been looking forward to, and since we needed to stay with the group, we missed it entirely. On Mount Pilatus, the guide pointed to a map, told us he would be in the cafeteria if we had any questions, and said to meet back in 2 hours to take the cogwheel down. We expected free time at the top, but a guide’s job is to give first timers something to take with them: the history, the fun facts, the stories behind what they are seeing. That is what makes a trip memorable and helps travelers connect with the local culture, and we got none of it. When I asked for some history, I was told it would be shared on the boat, but it never was. The only thing offered was a question to me individually at the end, asking if I had any questions. A guide should be proactive in telling tourists about interesting facts, history, and background. The attractions themselves are beautiful, but you can enjoy all of them with the self-guided ticket for much less. If you are paying extra for a guide who brings the places to life, be aware that your experience may not match the glowing reviews. We were significantly disappointed and cannot recommend this tour.

  M_WOctober 2026via Viator

• 5Amazing views

  It was a wonderful experience! Really enjoyed the variety of travel arrangements from the boat ride to the top of the mountain. It was not as cold as we thought it would be. Beautiful views and I would highly recommend it.

  Margie_DOctober 2026via Viator

• 5Must Do Experience in Luzern!

  This was a fantastic tour/experience. The views from Mt. Pilatus were stunning. We were lucky enough to have good weather to be able to see down to the lake. The gondola ride up was quite quick for as high as we ascended. The two hrs at the top gave enough time if you wanted to hike around or eat/drink and relax. We had a nice lunch at the hotel but there are a few other quick and cheaper options. The train ride down was longer but beautiful scenery to take in. The lake cruise was the icing on top; we rode a good portion of the lake so we were able to see a lot of small villages. Our tour guide was very sweet, he took the time to engage with all the guests and his instructions throughout the day were good and easy to follow.

  896elizabethmOctober 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Amazing views and fantastic guide!

  I would highly recommend this trip! A great way to see the heights and relax on the lake. Views were spectacular and our guide was great in helping us navigate and get the most out of our experiences! Thanks so much!

  Nancy_DOctober 2026via Viator

• 5Great Day!

  Excellent day. Our guide Milton was great. We all thought it was the highlight of our vacation.

  mercymoi2October 2026via Tripadvisor

• 4Plenty of time on Mt...

  Plenty of time on Mt Pilatus to explore . The host was very friendly . Plenty of choices for food. We had a great day

  Karen_DOctober 2026via Viator

Know before you go

How it compares in Lucerne

• Its from-price is 53% below the median of the 129 day trips we list in Lucerne.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 1 of 129.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Lucerne

Lucerne is a compact Swiss lake city with a covered wooden bridge, a medieval wall and a ring of mountains, in the heart of Switzerland.

Lucerne sits at the northern end of Lake Lucerne, where the Reuss River flows out under two old wooden bridges. The Chapel Bridge, with its stone water tower and painted roof panels, dates from the fourteenth century, although it was partly rebuilt after a fire in 1993. The old town has painted house fronts, squares and the twin-spired Jesuit church, and the Museggmauer, a wall with nine towers, closes it to the north.

Top-ranked sights in Lucerne: Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee), Lucerne Old Town, Mt. Pilatus.

See all 343 experiences in Lucerne