Day trip

From Zurich: Lucerne & Mount Pilatus Day Tour

Day trip

From Zurich: Lucerne & Mount Pilatus Day Tour

Activity provider: Best of Switzerland Tours

From US$ 178.24 per person

Enjoy a bus trip through the countryside from Zurich to Lucerne. Take the cable car up Mount Pilatus, the funicular down to Alpnachstad and the boat back across Lake Lucerne.

About this activity

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Duration 9.5 hours
Check availability to see starting times.
Live tour guide
English, Spanish

What customers loved

Experience

Highlights
  • Enjoy a beautiful ride through the countryside along Lake Lucerne
  • Visit Lucerne and take a short tour of the main sights
  • Discover the charming old town of Lucerne at your own pace
  • Scale Mount Pilatus on several cable cars and gondolas
  • Relax on an idyllic 1-hour boat ride back to Lucerne
Full description

Discover the beauty of Lucerne and Mt. Pilatus on a day trip from Zurich. Reach the summit via bus, cable car, boat, and cogwheel train. For the return journey, hop on a boat cruise across Lake Lucerne.

Leave from Zurich Main Station in the morning and enjoy the bus ride through the countryside along the Lake of the Four Cantons to Lucerne. Make a stop at the Lion Monument of Lake Lucerne (traffic permitting). 

Continue to Kriens and take a panoramic gondola and cable car to the summit of Mount Pilatus (2128 m above sea level). Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Swiss Alpine landscape and the surrounding lakes. Then, ride on one of the steepest funiculars down to Alpnachstad.

Afterward, relax on a tranquil boat trip across Lake Lucerne back to Lucerne. From there, get on a bus to Zurich.

Includes
  • Bilingual guide
  • Transportation in a comfortable bus
  • Panoramic gondolas and aerial cable car
  • Cogwheel train
  • 1-hour boat cruise (summer option)
  • Lunch voucher up to 20 CHF (autumn option)
  • Carbon-balanced operations certified by myclimate
  • Food and drinks
  • Personal expenses

Select participants and date

Participants

Date

Meeting point

Meeting point may vary depending on the option booked.

Important information

What to bring

  • Passport or ID card

Not allowed

  • Pets (assistance dogs allowed)
  • Food and drinks in the vehicle

Know before you go

  • From October 23rd to November 10th, 2023: the ascent and descent will be made by cogwheel train, due to the revision of the cable car
  • From November 11th - 19th, 2023: the ascent will be made by cable car, and the descent will be by cogwheel train
  • From October 23rd - November 19th, 2023, there will not be a boat ride so a lunch voucher will be included instead
Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.8 /5

based on 413 reviews

Review summary

  • Guide
    4.8/5
  • Transportation
    4.8/5
  • Service
    4.7/5
  • Organization
    4.6/5

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I had limited time in Zürich and decided to take this day tour from Zürich to Lucerne. It was a wonderful experience! The bus transportation was nice and comfortable; the guide, Ernesto, was wonderful and very enthusiastic; and the experience at Mt Pilatus was fantastic. Excellent tour!

March 25, 2023

Fue una experiencia muy agradable y la pudimos disfrutar mejor al haber tenido un día despejado. El teleférico y el tren fueron experiencias increíbles. El servicio de autobús también muy bien y nuestro guía brindó un excelente servicio, con mucha atención y disposición en todo momento. It is an excellent tour that we recommend to all.

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March 25, 2023

We are global travelers and this was one of the best tours we have ever taken. Bus, gondolas, funicular, boat — all excellent modes of transportation in such beautiful places. The only major downside of this excursion for me — and one that will render this tour unforgettable for me in a negative way — was that another member of our tour group (a complete stranger to me) vomited all over me as the second, 40-passenger gondola was reaching the station at the top of Mount Pilatus (which we consequently renamed Mount Pukatus). The tour guides, who were otherwise great at their jobs, did zero to help me in these circumstances. I had to purchase expensive new clothes in the Mount Pilatus gift shop to get through the remaining 5-1/2 hours of the tour.

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March 25, 2023

Product ID: 11974