Mount Pilatus: The 14 Best Golden Round Trips

1.Mt. Pilatus Cable Car, Cogwheel Train & Lake Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 2,338 reviews · 5.5 hours · from $212Our pick

Cable car to Mt. Pilatus, easy alpine hike, steep cogwheel descent, and a Lucerne lake cruise in one 5.5-hour guided day.

“The tour guide was great. even though we had a lot of clouds and couldn't see much the trip was still fun. the combo of bus, lift, train and boat was lovely. We had around 1hr 45 min at the top to do whatever we wanted and we didn't feel rushed at any point. We would do this trip again in the future hoping for no clouds.”

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2.Lucerne & Mount Pilatus Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 1,110 reviews · 10 hours · from $238

Zurich to Lucerne and Mount Pilatus in one day, with gondolas, a steep cogwheel train, and Lake Lucerne cruise views plus expert bilingual guiding.

“Such an incredible day trip! Our guide Lars was super knowledgeable and very helpful. I highly suggest taking this tour!”

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3.Kriens: Mt. Pilatus by Panoramic Gondola and Aerial Cableway

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 612 reviews · 1 day · from $78Best value

Panoramic gondola and Dragon Ride from Kriens to Mt. Pilatus at 2132m, with Lake Lucerne and Alpine views.

“Not exactly cheap, but fantastically well worth it. On departure it was low cloud, and we wondered whether we were actually going to see anything at all. But as we climbed, it was like a visual orchestra of snow and mist, the sun slowly giving an ethereal glow through cloud - and then gradually emerging through this stunning winter wonderland into the brilliance of breathtaking mountain scenery!”

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4.Mt. Pilatus & Lake Lucerne Cruise Small Group Tour | From Basel

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 99 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $463

Small-group day trip from Basel to Mount Pilatus by the dragon cable cart, then Lake Lucerne cruise, with 360 views and local guide.

“Boat tour of Lake Lucerne was the highlight. Views from the funicular were spectacular. The top of the mountain was in the clouds this day so unfortunately we did not get the views from the very top.”

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5.Mt. Pilatus & Lake Lucerne Small Group Tour | From Lucerne

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 71 reviews · 5 hours · from $273

Small group Mt Pilatus and Lake Lucerne tour with Golden Route cogwheel train, dragon aerial cable car, and a 1.5-hour lake cruise from Lucerne.

“What was best about the tour was the guide. I believe her name was Sasha, she also went by Rose. Her skills was above board. She loves talking and working with a group of people. She gave me an email at the end of the tour and wanted my evaluation but I lost the email. Please give her my regards, I have never had a better guide anywhere. She was caring and showed great knowledge. The main problem with the tour is that it rained all day, but she made it the best she could do.”

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6.Mt. Pilatus Golden Roundtrip Small Group Day Trip from Basel

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 24 reviews · 7 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $640Top rated

Basel to Mount Pilatus in one day with train, lake boat, steep cogwheel ascent, and rope-park fun, all handled by an English guide.

“Joelle was a fantastic tour guide! She gave us the time we needed at each location. If she didn’t know the answers to any questions, she quickly looked it up and got the information for us.”

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7.Mt. Pilatus & Lake Lucerne Small Group Tour | From Basel

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 22 reviews · 8 hours · from $463

Mt. Pilatus and Lucerne lake cruise from Basel, featuring the Golden Route in summer, cogwheel train, and the dragon cable car.

“We had a fantastic day despite the weather closing in which meant no view from the top of the mountain. Everything was managed so well and everthing went like clockwork. Our guide was so knowledgable doing her utmost to make it an exciting day for us.”

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8.Mt. Pilatus Golden Roundtrip Private Day Trip from Basel

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $743

Private Basel to Mt. Pilatus day trip with Lake Lucerne cruise, cogwheel ascent, gondola rides, and time in Lucerne old town.

“Boat cruise was great and the view from the top of Mt Pilatus was amazing! Excellent tour guide who gave very personal service.”

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9.Lucerne City, Mount Pilatus, Cruise in Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 8 reviews · 7 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $770

Private small-group day trip from Basel to Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus with a Lake cruise, steep cogwheel ride, and Lucerne sightseeing.

“The guide we were assigned to was was sweet, but she was brand new on the job and she should have had a seasoned guide helping her to learn the ropes. Her english was a bit broken and at times hard to understand.”

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10.Mt.Pilatus Golden Roundtrip Small Group Day Trip from Luzern

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 7 reviews · 2 hours · from $509

Small-group Mt. Pilatus Golden Roundtrip from Lucerne: lake cruise, steep cogwheel ascent, Dragon Ride, summit center, cableway descent.

“Nós tivemos muita sorte, pois o Monte Pilatus estava cheio de nuvens, porém, quando chegamos no topo, as nuvens deram uma trégua para nós. Passeio maravilhoso e o guia muito simpático. É uma pena não termos tempo para explorar mais a montanha. Mas vale muito a pena esse passeio.”

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11.Small group tour to Mount Pilatus, Ride the Dragon

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 6 reviews · 6 hours · from $183

6-hour Lucerne day trip to Mount Pilatus. Ride the Dragon cable car for panoramic peaks, plus optional cogwheel train and lake cruise.

“Although it is stated as a "small group tour" (which suggests a small group guided tour) it is NOT a guided tour, which we only found out on the day of the trip. Driver was caught off guard when we turned up at the meeting point although we much appreciated his initiative to seek clarification from his tour office and managed to trnasfer us to and back from the starting point of the trip at Kriengegg and getting us the tickets for the cable car and gondola ride up and down the mountain. Please note that this is NOT a guided tour. What you will get is a transfer to…”

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12.Mt. Pilatus Golden Roundtrip Private Day Trip from Luzern

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 6 reviews · 6 hours · from $613

Private Mt. Pilatus day trip from Luzern with Lake Lucerne boat, steep cogwheel climb, cable cars, Dragon Ride, and summit visitor views.

“It was wonderful. Our guide Anne was lovely and knowledgeable and very charming. We had a great day, even though the top of the mountain was shrouded in clouds!”

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13.Mt. Pilatus and Mt. Titlis 2-Day Tour from Zurich

★★★★★★★★★★3.3 · 4 reviews · 2 days · from $761

Two days from Zurich with guided Mt Pilatus and Mt Titlis, a Lucerne overnight, cable cars, cogwheel rail, and ice cave sights.

“Mount pilatus was nice but Titilus was a nightmare. Strong winds prevented us reaching the summit and we only found out from the tour guide in the morning. Because it was an overnight tour we were either stuck in Lucerne to find our own way back to Zurich, or to continue the tour but just stay at the base town. The base town was pretty average and not worth the high cost of the tour. I recomended doing day tours from zurich to both of these places separately as the accommodation in lucerne was also average. If you do a day trip and in the morning theres bad weather, you…”

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14.Private Trip From Zurich to Mt. Pilatus Through Lucerne

★★★★★★★★★★2.1 · 3 reviews · 8 hours · from $1,620

Private Zurich to Lucerne day trip to see old town sights and ride the Dragon Ride cable car to Mt. Pilatus for sky-high views.

“The town of Lucerne was uniquely quaint while still providing a city feel. The landscape from the town was breathtaking and the views from Mt. Pilatus left us speechless. We lucked out with a beautiful warm and clear day making the experience even more majestic.”

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