MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Booking Pilatus & Rigi excursions in advance?
-
Hi, I have seen some references made on the forum but nothing definitive, in July will I need to book any boat, cog, cable car tickets in advance as I am assuming it will be peak season? Or will we be able to use the transport through the Tell Summer Pass with no issues?
The plan is:
Friday
Go see the Lion monument
Kapellbrücke / chapel bridge
Saturday
Cog wheel train to Pilatus
Sunday
Half day in Rigi mountain
Cruise on Lake Lucerne
Monday
Burgenstock panoramic viewpoint = Hammetscwand Lift
Thank you.
-
Bookings aren’t necessary on any of those activities.
Hi welshwizard,
As rockoyster confirmed, bookings (i.e. reservations) aren’t necessary on any of the trips you mentioned. To be precise, reservations aren’t even possible. It’s first come, first served.
In July it will definitely be crowded, so go early and be prepared to queue.
For your Rigi excursion, if going by boat to Vitznau, the first people off the boat will fill the waiting train. If it is too crowded, you can wait for the next train, and get on it just before the next boat arrives.
With your Tell-Pass, you will still need to go to the ticket window to get a (free) ticket with a magnetic strip to get you through the turnstiles for any cable cars and the Pilatus cogwheel train.
The queue at Alpnachstad for the Pilatus cogwheel train can get long, but you might also be able to get your (free) ticket at the Tourist Information in Lucerne, so I would try that first before heading out to Alpnachstad.
They tend to give you a round-trip ticket by default (up by cogwheel, down by cableway or vice versa). If you want to go both ways by cogwheel train, mention this. I didn’t think to do so, and my ticket wouldn’t get me through the turnstile at the top for the trip back in the cogwheel train. However, the attendants at the turnstile simply swapped my ticket for a (free) “Streckenwechsel” (change of route) ticket, which then got me through the turnstile to return in the cogwheel, the same way I had come up.
The Hammetschwand Lift is not inluded in your Tell-Pass. It will cost CHF 13.00 return or CHF 10.00 one way.
Alpenrose
As a general rule, all Swiss mountain uphill transport is unreservable. You can buy tickets in advance or at the base station and then queue – first come fist served.
On small point about Luzern. Did you realise that much of the Kapellbrücke only dates from 1994 (following a disastrous fire on the bridge in 1993 …)
Yes the only mountain trip that had reservable times (other than Jungfraujoch) was Stanserhorn for 5chf (then you got a coupon for 5chf to use at the gift shop or restaurant I think….)
I did know that! But Tourism Lucerne & Switzerland gets upset if you spread it around ;).
One of my German teachers told me that in a very hushed tone one day.Thank you all
When you talk about long queues, typically how long a wait are they? 20 minutes?
I’ve seen waits at Pilatus of about an hour…so I’d say 20 – 60 minutes on a very busy day. The worst is when you get there just behind a tour bus 🙁
If you want to avoid queues in high season then it helps to schedule your day atypical, if that makes sense. So don’t get up at a reasonable time, have breakfast and start your day trip. Get up early, or really late 🙂 And as Alpenrose said, for Pilatus it can help to start at the other side of the mountain.
- The thread ‘Booking Pilatus & Rigi excursions in advance?’ is closed to new replies.
