Is Mount Pilatus free with the Swiss Travel Pass?

What the pass covers, leg by leg

I get this question on nearly every walk, so let me split the journey into its parts. The Swiss Travel Pass is a public-transport pass. Bus 1 from Lucerne station to Kriens, the S5 train to Alpnachstad and the scheduled boat across the lake are all public transport, and the pass covers them completely. The moment you step onto something the operator runs (the cogwheel from Alpnachstad, the gondola from Kriens, the Dragon Ride at the top) you are on a mountain railway, and the pass gives 50% off, not 100%.

So a full Golden Round Trip with a Swiss Travel Pass costs you the boat and the bus for nothing, the train home for nothing, and half of the mountain sections. That is still a real saving. It is just not free, and I would rather you hear it from me than from the ticket desk.

The Rigi comparison people are thinking of

The reason the confusion exists is Rigi. The Rigi railways from Vitznau and Arth-Goldau and the Weggis cable car are fully included in the Swiss Travel Pass, so pass holders often assume every Lucerne mountain is the same. It is not. Stanserhorn, with its open-top CabriO cable car, is also free. Pilatus and Titlis are both 50%. If your only criterion is what the pass covers in full, Rigi wins. If you want the steepest railway and the round-trip loop, the 50% on Pilatus is what it costs to have that, and I explain the trade-off on the Pilatus vs Titlis page.

Other passes and cards

The Half Fare Card gives 50% on the mountain sections. So does the GA Travelcard, and so do Eurail and Interrail passes. The Lucerne Travel Pass, the regional visitor card, is the exception in the other direction: it includes Pilatus in full, so if your hotel gives you one, check its validity dates before you buy anything. Municipal day passes and SBB saver day passes are not accepted on the mountain at all. Children ride free with the SBB Junior or Children’s Co-Travelcard.

Using a pass with a GetYourGuide ticket: pick one

You cannot stack them. The GetYourGuide products on this site are full-fare packages that include the mountain sections and, on the round trips, the valley transport too. No pass discount applies to them. So the decision is simple. Pass holder who wants the 50%: buy the mountain ticket at the valley station on the day, use the pass for bus, train and boat. No pass, or a pass you would rather not fuss with: book the Silver Round Trip or the guided Golden and let the voucher carry you through every turnstile. The guided tour is the only option that also handles the cogwheel seat reservation for you.

No pass? This is the ticket to book

The self-guided Silver Round Trip covers bus, gondola, Dragon Ride, cogwheel and train in one voucher, with the cogwheel reservation included.

Frequently asked questions