Mt. Pilatus Golden Roundtrip Small Group Day Tour from Basel
Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
Embark on an exclusive small-group journey, "The Golden Roundtrip," starting in Basel and seamlessly connecting to Luzern by train. From Luzern, cruise across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, setting the stage for an unforgettable ascent on the cogwheel train to Mount Pilatus. Enjoy leisurely free time atop Pilatus, surrounded by alpine splendor. The return journey unfolds with a cableway descent via Kriens, offering scenic vistas and a thrilling conclusion. Limited to a select few, this personalized tour ensures an intimate exploration of Switzerland's natural wonders and historic landmarks.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
What To Expect
Basel SBB Station
Your tour starts with the one hour train ride from Basel to Luzern.
Lake Lucerne
Continue your tour with the one hour lake boat transfer from Luzern to Alpnachstad. After leaving the bay of Luzern, the boat glides along the shore of Hergiswil and Stansstad to the bay of Alpnach. On the entire boat tour you have the surrounding mountains in sight.
Options
Pilatus golden tour
What‘s Included
typical "golden round trip" by boat, cogwheel train, gondola
Intercity train Basel-Luzern and vv.
English speaking Swiss tourguide
all necessary tickets (no aditional costs)
seat reservation for guaranteed departure on cogwheel train
Food or drinks (lunch break at one of various restaurants)
Gratuities
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
25 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
A perfectly amazing day!
David B,May 31, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00It was an amazing day. We saw so much and experienced a train ride, a boat ride around Lake Lucerne with the most beautiful views, a cog wheel ride up the mountain and a gondola ride down after time at the summit and a lovely walking tour of Lucerne. Our guide, Feyssal Gharbi, was informative, funny and made sure we were comfortable and the very best views of everything there was to see. It was one of the best tours we have ever taken.
Pilatus
Melanie K,Sep 3, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Joelle 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.
Fun and stress free, Switzerland in one day
Charlie T,Jul 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My husband and I, from New Zealand thought this was the best way to capture the beauty and uniqueness of Switzerland in one day and our personal guide, Michael made it fun and stress free.
Highly recommend
Christine F,Jul 4, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00A great day with a great guide. Very organized and informative. Beautiful country seen by bus, train, boat, cogwheel, aerial tram, and gondola. Highly recommended.
Great Guide made up for rain and snow on Pilatus!
Ronald T,May 6, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00In spite of no visibility, rain and snow atop Pilatus, the trip to Pilatus was great because of our Guide, Faisel...
Awesome day at Lake Lucerne and atop Mt Pilatus
Phillip P,Aug 15, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Our guide Emil was fabulous, he did a wonderful job of guiding us on our memory making day. He was very insightful and helpful us to explore this beautiful country
A must do day!!
Kim S,May 22, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Our day was fantastic from beginning to end. Our guide, Vasel (sp?) was just delightful. He had everything under control, we just followed his lead. He was knowledgeable on many subjects that we were interested in. It was our first time to Basel and Lucerne was at the top of our list for a day trip. We all agreed that we will be back!!!
White glove service, perfect day
Lynn R,Oct 13, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I came here to rave about our guide, Anisha. She took excellent care of us and thought of everything to make our day flow perfectly. She took the train from her home in Lucerne to meet us in Basel and take us back to Lucerne for the day. She is charming and speaks English like a native. She went out of her way to make sure we had the best experience. Forging ahead to save us the best seats on the boat, etc. The tour itself is well worth it; the boat ride, cogwheel train, and gondola provide amazing scenery and of course on top of the mountain the vistas are breathtaking. Anisha guided us every step of the way and provided interesting facts about everything we saw. When the tour was over she stayed with us to show us around Lucerne a bit and even offered to escort us back to Basel, but we assured her that with her perfect instructions about getting on the right train, we would be fine! One caveat about the trains: make sure you have your ID with you. One of our party didn’t have theirs and the train conductor on the trip home refused to let them ride without purchasing another ticket. I note here that the instructions from TripAdvisor for this tour DID say to bring your ID but our one person didn’t notice the instructions. Other than that, an absolutely perfect day and once again, thank you Anisha for being so accommodating and thinking of absolutely everythjng!
Swiss wonderland
Judith S,Sep 1, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00Our guide, Mike, couldn’t have been any better. He was so knowledgeable, friendly and attentive. I’d give him 10 stars if I could! The city of Luzern is beautiful. Like walking into a fairytale land. I could imagine Heidi calling “Grandfather, Grandfather”. The waters of the Rhone River and Lake Luzern were crystal clear and beautiful. The ride up the 48 degree cog railway to the top of Mount Pilatus was a nice experience. Unfortunately it was an overcast day so our view from the mountain wasn’t fantastic, but we did get wonderful views from the cable car. Do expect a lot of walking and a long day but it was well worth it. A thoroughly enjoyable experience
Rainy day tour
Bryant H,Aug 30, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00Our guide, Ueli, was exceptional. We had a rainy day and could not see anything from Mt. Pilatus, so we did not stay on the mountain very long. He offered a personal tour of Lucerne with the extra time. Ueli is very knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating and made what could have been a day spoiled by rain into a great tour.
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