Visit Mt Pilatus, Rigi and Titlis in two full days
A traveler named Marggy is planning a trip to Switzerland with her husband, intending to spend 2 full days in Lucerne visiting Mt Pilatus, Mt Rigi, and Mt Titlis. She's unsure about which two mountains to prioritize and seeks advice to make the most of their visit, as this might be their only trip to Switzerland.
- Consider visiting Mt Pilatus and Mt Rigi in one day if you start early; drop the boat leg of the Golden Round trip to save time.
- Allow a full day for Mt Titlis as it takes longer to explore; it's best experienced on its own.
- Always check the weather forecast and webcams before your trip, since conditions can change rapidly, especially in late May and early June.
AI-generated summary-
My husband and will be staying in Lucerne. We have allocated 2 full days to visit Mt Pilatus, Mt Rigi and Mt Titlus. We think trying to visit all 3 will be too much so am trying to decide which 2. At this stage I am thinking that we will visit Mt Pilatus and either Mt Rigi or Mt Titlus. I know these things come down to individual choice but would really appreciate thoughts on which ones would be best. This will probably be our one and only trip to Switzerland so we really want to make the best use of our time there. Thanks very much for your help.
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Hi Marggy,
Pilatus and Rigi are perfectly feasible in a day if you get an early start and drop the boat leg of the Golden Round trip to Pilatus (use the train to/from Alpnachstad). Get a train from Luzern to Arth-Goldhau and go up to Rigi from there. The down to Vitznau or Weggis and a leisurely boat ride back
Titlis is best left for a day trip on it’s own although you could squeeze in Stanserhorn if you were of a mind.
http://www.myswissalps.com/timetableHaving said all that I would say it is probably best to be flexible and let the weather make the decisions for you.
http://www.myswissalps.com/weatherIf you get two clear sunny days do them all. If you want to drop one, drop Rigi (dead set personal opinion so ignore at will).
Thunderstorms are not uncommon late afternoon late May, early June so watch that. Generally fairly heavy rain but for shortish duration.
http://www.myswissalps.com/besttimetovisit
Hello Marggy,
We have just done Pilatus, Rigi, and Titlis in 2 full days in November. As rockoyster mentioned, Pilatus and Rigi can be done in a day and this is what we did. We left Lucerne station with the 9am bus to Pilatus, in less than 1 hr you will reached the top at Pilatus Kulm. We spent 2hrs + at the top which was enough for us to take lots of pictures. Of course, you could start earlier, we initially planned to take the 8.40am bus from Lucerne, but was a little bit late. We left Pilatus Kulm before noon and reached back at Lucerne station at 12.40 enough time to buy take away lunch to eat at the boat (our boat departed at 13:12, pls check latest schedule). Or you can opt to buy lunch in the boat itself, but of course the price is more expensive. We had plenty of time at Rigi even though we went in late November and the sunset was pretty early, it started to get dark around 16:30 at that time, but we had a beautiful sunset when we went down.
Titils will take longer and we dedicated 1 full day for it. I also agree with rockoyster that if you need to drop, I’d drop Rigi. But all 3 offers different experience and we were very happy that we visited all 3.
Please check the webcam and weather forecast for latest weather forecast so you can swap your itinerary if necessary. We had sunny days for both days and it was really gorgeous.
You can look at my detail trip report below including some photos. Look at Day 6 and 7 for our trip details to Pilatus, Rigi, and Titlis.
http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/wonderful-switzerland-family-trip-in-nov
Nice one!
Hi Marggy -When? It could influence discussions about how to travel and what to do on the Rigi?
Slowpoke
Thanks so much for the replies. We will be travelling late May/early June. I will plan on doing all 3, assuming the weather is OK. Thanks again for your help.
From:
http://www.myswissalps.com/pilatus
\<<“You can reach Mount Pilatus all year round, but sometimes only one route
is operational. The cogwheel train from Alpnachstad to the top operates
from early or mid May to 15 November 2020. The cableway from Kriens to
the top does not operate from 19 October to 6 November 2020. Please
check again later for further dates.”>>
Slowpoke
<<“late May/early June.”>>
The Rigi is at the lowest altitude of those three, with the summit (“Kulm”) at 1800 meters and plenty of sunlight exposure.
Most likely there will be some snow around in late May, which will disappear as June progresses.
So, there may some good opportunities for walks (if you have the time) , such as the nice one from Rigi Staffelhöhe across the meadows to Chänzeli, then swinging back into Rigi Kaltbad, at about 1560 to 1440 meters. In contrast, in the high Alps near the Jungfrau, the good trails at 2000 meters or so don’t really open until mid June.
It is all about altitude, and Lake Lucerne ( der Viewaldstättersee) and the city at around 440 meters will well into Spring .
I like to travel in Switzerland at the lower elevations in late May and early June; the weather can be very nice…some rain of course…and save my high altitude trips for September.
Slowpoke
In very early June 2017 I was wandering around Pilatus in a t-shirt ant Rigi was covered with spring flowers. Day time temperature in Luzern was 29C. Climate change?
<<“Climate change? “>>
Probably, and my memories of 15 or 20 trips up to Rigi Kaltbad span enough years that I can remember some that were not that warm. On the other hand, 2003 was like that. Janna, at the then Hotel Schiff in Luzern was kind enough to put me in a room way up near the top where there was cross ventilation, so I had breeze at night. And, the trail from the Brienzer Rothorn to Schönbüel was shirt sleeve hiking, in June. ( Both cableways down to Lungern were running then).
Slowpoke
Thanks for all the comments and a particular thanks to rockoyster for the link to the photos. They certainly are fantastic. We are, of course, hoping for great weather but will be going prepared for anything. I have added the costs of doing all 3 mountains to my comparison spreadsheet in the hope that the weather will allow us to do all three.
Hi Marggy,
Did you come across the wild flowers page at http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/spring-flowers-on-rigi?
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