How to best spend 2 days in Lucerne

Hello Everyone,

I was hoping if I could get some advise regards to my trip. I am travelling with my family from UK to Lucerne on 11th June and returning on 14th. We land early morning in Basel where my Swiss Friend will pick us up and take us to a tour of Bern. Later in the day he will drop us to our accommodation in Lucerne. He will again on the morning of 14th take us back to the Basel airport.

So this leaves 12th and 13th free for us to do anything. Unfortunately I haven't yet been able to finalise my travel itinerary, just because there is so much to do and see but not enough time or budget.I will have 2 full days in Lucerne in which I want to do the following :Mount Titlis tour , Lake Lucerne boat Cruise, Museum of transport tour for kids and ideally one scenic short train journey to satisfy my life long dream to enjoy the beautiful landscapes in a train. I am fully aware of the Galacier and Bernina Express but I am really struggling with time, so was thinking may be a trip to Interlaken via Golden Pass panaromic trains might just be the option. Add to it some time in Lucerne town as well. If I could stretch my 2 days from dusk till dawn, perhaps I could fit all of the above ?I have looked at individual prices and there is a tour company Viator who are offering Family Mount Titlis half day tour which comes to just over 270 GBP. Add 1 hour lake lucerne panoramic tour for 54 GBP . You can find it on this link www.viator.com/Lucerne /d576-ttd. Museum cost comes to another 102 GBP and I will need 4 hours there too. I have tried to look at train options but that is very confusing for me.

Now my question is - Do I book the Mount and Lake Cruise upfront at these prices or will it be better to wait till we reach Lucerne. Will the prices be the same there ? Can I do these independently of a tour company? And have got any better / cheaper option that would work better for me in accommodating the above itinerary. I have heard you can get train tickets that include Lake cruise, buses, museums and cable cars. I just don't want to pay for each item separately if there is a better option, not to forget my scenic train journey. My party is 2 adults and 3 children - 4, 10 and 14 years. Hope someone can guide me best.

Kind Regards

Zaf

Hi Zaf,

Lucerne is a wonderful town to enjoy yourself for 2 days (or much longer). There's plenty to do as you can see here. I would not book guided tours in your case. If you buy Tell-Passes you can use boats, trains and cable cars as much as you like. You'll be more flexible that way, can do things in your own pace, which is the only way to fit your wish list in two days.

You can combine a short scenic cogwheel train trip to Mount Rigi with a boat trip and a short hike, for example. The Golden Pass line is an option too, but it's nearly 2 hours to reach Interlaken, so it takes a lot of time. If you combine that with a boat trip on Lake Brienz (not included in the Tell-Pass) it takes even more time.

On the other day, you could go to Mount Titlis in the morning and the Transport Museum in the afternoon.

Thanks Arno.

Tell passes just seem to be thing for me. Good thing you were around to guide me with this. I will buy a 2 day tell pass for 2 adults @ 170 CHF and 2 kids @ 30 CHF. And I think I will take on your suggested plan. I was thinking of doing the following, pleae advise if the Tell Pass will cover all the transport and do I need to be wary about the timings of each mode of transport.

On 12th June, I would

Take the boat from Lucerne to Vitznau. Change to the cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm and enjoy the view. Then take the cogwheel train down to Arth-Goldau and change to the regular train to Lucerne.

For the above, will the Tell Pass cover it all. How much time will I need for the complete return trip say we spend 1 hour at the top. I am thinking whether I could squeeze in a panaromic train. If so, is there any good short option from Arth-Goldau ?

On 13th I would do a Mount Titlis tour. Cable car from Engelberg to TitlisTrain to Engelberg

Just to confirm the above return trip will too be covered on Tell Pass. I know I will need to pay a supplement for the Ice Flyer but no more. If I want to do a morning tour, when is the earliest to leave so that I can get back in enough time to do a museum tour. Are the various trains and boats regular in Lucerne or do I need to book upfront or queue up for hours ?

And the pass will also cover the bus ? This will enable us to travel within the town to various places of interest. I didn' add but my wife has physical difficulties and any hiking or long distance walking is out of question.

Hi Zaf,

Glad I could help! At first glance all is covered in the pass, but you can check yourself by going to the Tell-Pass page I gave you and clicking 'Where it's valid'. Buses are included as well.

The trip to Mount Rigi is a scenic train. Another one in the region is the Voralpen Express. It stops in Arth-Goldau too. Voralpen means pre-Alps, so the landscape is more hilly than mountainous.

As you can see on the pass page it makes sense to buy it online in the UK. The price is slightly lower, you can pay in GBP, and shipping is free: www.swisstravelsystem. co.uk/ en/products/regionalce ntralswisspass.

Great Arno.

I will certainly get the passes now. And once there, I will stick to the plan as discussed earlier unless weather dictates otherwise.

I can't think of anything else, so this will be it for now. Can I take this opportunity to thank you for the excellent advise and tips you gave. I hope to be back here at least to tell you how my trip went.

Kind Regards

Zaf

You're welcome! It sounds like you're all set now. Yes, please tell us how it went, that would be great. You can start a new topic in the Trip reports forum for that.

Sure will do. Thanks again.