Mount Pilatus private tours put your own guide with you from your hotel door to the summit and back. Nobody else joins, you choose the pace, and one day adds Rigi across the lake.
Hotel pickup in Lucerne and a guide for up to 7. You ride up one side and down the other, with three stops on the mountain, then cross the lake on the upper deck. The full loop runs from mid-May to mid-October.
From $693 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
From your Zurich address by Mercedes with a driver-guide who stays all day. Up from Kriens by gondola and cableway, down by cogwheel, then the lake and time in Lucerne before the drive back.
From $678 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
First-class train from Basel with your own guide for up to 7, collected at your hotel. About three and three quarter hours on the mountain and a first-class boat. Marked wheelchair accessible by its operator.
From $751 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Meet your guide under the arch outside Lucerne station. Pilatus comes first, by cogwheel, then a boat to Vitznau and the climb up Rigi. Six people at most, and a long day, so start rested.
From $974 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A guide and driver for three days, with pickup at your Lucerne hotel each morning. Pilatus is the last day, after the passes and the Bernese valleys. Book your own rooms; refunds in full end 6 days before.
From $2,097 per person
Full refund up to 6 days before; 50% refund 2-6 days before; no refund under 2 days
Your own guide for up to 7, about three and a half hours on the mountain, and the lake in first class. $693 a person.
Check availabilityIt is the same mountain with nobody else in your party. A guide meets you at your hotel in Lucerne, Zurich or Basel, or under the arch outside Lucerne station, and stays with you all day. You ride up one side and down the other, stop where you want, and spend longer on the summit than a group day allows.
The fares are high because the guide is yours. Each card shows the listing's price per person, so enter your own group size when you check availability and compare the total.
The Lucerne, Zurich and Basel days start at your hotel. No meeting point, no waiting for other guests.
The private days give you about three and a half to four hours on the mountain. The coach half-day gives you about 90 minutes.
Only a private day pairs Pilatus with Rigi, crossing the lake to Vitznau in between. The three-day trip adds mountain lakes, waterfalls and two Alpine passes before the summit.
Stop at the middle stations, walk to a viewpoint, or sit over lunch. The guide waits for you.
The main alternative is a small-group day from Lucerne at a fraction of the price. Here is the difference, from each day's own details.
| A private day | The small group from Lucerne | |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | Your hotel, or the station arch | Platform 7 at Lucerne station |
| Group | Only your party, up to 6 to 12 | Up to 15 |
| Time on the mountain | About 3.5 to 4 hours | About 3 hours |
| The boat | First class on the Lucerne and Basel days | In the fare |
| Wheelchair users | Lucerne and Basel days marked accessible | Marked accessible by its operator |
| Fare | $678 to $974 a person | $271 a person |
For one or two travellers the private premium is large. For a family or a group of friends, compare your real total with the small-group fare times your party. The small group still gives you a guide and three hours on the mountain.
About four hours on Pilatus, a boat to Vitznau and the cogwheel up Rigi, with your own guide for up to 6. $974 a person.
Check availabilityTravelling with children? Mount Pilatus with children covers fares, pushchairs and what to do up there.
Solo travellers on a budget. A group day costs a fraction of the price and still has a guide. A Mount Pilatus tour from Lucerne starts at $154.
Anyone who wants the mountain alone, not a guide. The railway's own ticket gives you the whole loop at your pace for $144. See the railway's own loop from Lucerne.
Anyone in Zurich on a tight budget. The Mount Pilatus tour from Zurich by coach costs a fraction of the private car.
Wheelchair users on the Zurich or Rigi days. Neither is marked accessible. Book the Lucerne or Basel private day instead.
Private days, group days and the railway's own tickets sit side by side on Mount Pilatus Tours.