Is The Lucerne Tell Pass Worth It: Map, Price & Best Day Trips

Is The Lucerne Tell Pass Worth It: Map, Price & Best Day Trips

If you are planning a trip to Switzerland, and spending time in Lucerne, then the Lucerne Tell Pass may be the perfect travel pass for your stay. There are a few other public transport tickets that you can use in Switzerland, including the Swiss Travel Pass, but if you are using Lucerne as a base then you need to know about this pass. So here is our guide to the Lucerne Tell Pass, if it is worth it for your trip, what benefits you get from it and where to buy it.

 



 

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What Is The Lucerne Tell Pass & Is It Worth It?

The Lucerne Tell Pass is a travel pass ticket that allows you to get unlimited travel on all trains, boats, buses, cable cars and mountain railways within central Switzerland in the are surrounding Lucerne. You won’t need to buy any additional tickets, (other than if you want to reserve seats on any transport, which you really don’t need to do anywhere in this region of Switzerland), you just simply buy your Lucerne Tell Pass online or at a tourist office and show it to a conductor along with a valid form of ID if you are ever asked for it.

This pass lasts from 2 days up to 10 days, so is a great option for anyone wanting to spend a bit of time in Lucerne as well as exploring the surrounding area and all of its mountain excursions.

If buying this pass online, you can do so at any point before your trip as the price doesn’t increase nearer to the date of use, (it only varies a little from summer to winter), just be sure to have the correct dates for your pass as the pass in non refundable once bought.

What Is Included In The Lucerne Tell Pass

The Lucerne Tell Pass covers all public transport in the Lucerne region, including train, bus and boat and all buses in Lucerne itself, as well as certain mountain railways. Fully included mountain trips include the following, but there are many more covered too:

📍 Brienzer Rothorn

📍 Brunni

📍 Burgenstock

📍 Klewenalp

📍 Mount Pilatus

📍 Mount Rigi

📍 Mount Titlis

📍 Stanserhorn

📍 Stoos

📍 Zugerberg

 

What Is Not Included In The Lucerne Tell Pass

Travel outside of central Switzerland is not covered on this pass, so trips to or from other nearby cities / airports including but not limited to, Basel, Bern, Chur and Zurich are not covered. You will need to purchase an additional ticket to get between any of them and Lucerne. If you are planning on visiting in April or May, October or November you should also check any cable cars / mountain railways that you want to travel on as a few of the mountain resorts take these lower season months to renovate the transport.

 

 

Lucerne Tell Pass Map

The maps below show the full coverage of the Lucerne Tell Pass, one in the summer season and one in the winter. Most mountain excursions are covered in both, but there are a few changes from season to season.

 

Best Excursions With the Lucerne Tell Pass

📍 Burgenstock – famous for its rock walk and panoramic views over the lake, Burgenstock is a wonderful day trip from Lucerne.

📍 Brienzer Rothorn – a little further afield from Lucerne but still covered under this pass, Brienzer Rothorn is a peak that overlooks the Bernese Alps as well as back to central Switzerland and Lucerne. Plus it has a really cute steam train to take you to the top during the summer months!

📍 Boat Cruise Lake Lucerne / Vierwaldstättersee – You can’t visit Lucerne and not hop on board one of the many ships that take you our across the lake. Be it the swanky new electric boats or the beautiful old paddle steamers, any trip on the lake come rain or shine is worth it.

📍 Lucerne Interlaken Express – This train is often overlooked, or simply unknown, by tourists to Switzerland, but is one of our favourites, with giant panoramic windows and a route that zips you past numerous mountains as well as bright blue lakes all the way from Lucerne to Interlaken.

📍 Mount Pilatus – Lucerne’s local mountain, Pilatus is a great mountain to visit with a Dragon Trail, toboggan run and rope park to keep you entertained as well as a great transport loop that you can do that takes in the lake, mountain railway, cable car then bus back to Lucerne. (This was the first mountain we visited when we moved to Switzerland and the snow was well over 6 feet deep!).

📍 Mount Rigi – Also known as the Queen of the Mountains, Rigi is a great mountain to explore at any time of the year, with both train and cable car links.

📍 Stanserhorn – with the worlds first aerial cableway, (where you can stand on the top of the cable car!), even getting to the top of Stanserhorn is an adventure. Once at the top there are numerous hikes to do as well as fantastic views and marmots to spot!

📍 Stoos – another slightly less known mountain local to Lucerne is the wonderful Stoos, with incredible views down to the lake as well as a moderate hike.

📍 Titlis – the highest mountain in Central Switzerland, Titlis is a great place to visit throughout the year with skiing, glacier walks, tobogganing and snowshoeing in winter, and hiking, mountain biking, via ferrata and the glacier park in summer.

 

 

Lucerne Tell Pass Price

The price of the Lucerne Tell Pass varies depending on how many days you buy you ticket for, and if you purchase a winter or summer ticket, (winter tariffs are reduced from November through to the end of March). There is no option of 1st of 2nd Class, and no reduced rate for holders of the Swiss Travel Pass or Half Far Card, but all children aged 6 to 16 years pay a flat CHF 30 rate for as many days as is needed as long as there is an adult Tell Pass holder travelling with them. Children younger than 6 go free.

Validity                 Adult

🎫 2 days           CHF 120 / £110 / USD 137

🎫 3 days           CHF 160 / £146 / USD 182

🎫 4 days           CHF 180 / £164 / USD 205

🎫 5 days           CHF 200 / £182 / USD 228

🎫 10 days         CHF 260 / £2337 / USD 296

 

Where To Buy The Lucerne Tell Pass

You can buy the Lucerne Tell Pass here, plus with our coupon code AFFTEDALDI, you receive a 5% discount on your pass too!

 

STC Affiliate

 

Tell Pass or Swiss Travel Pass

The Swiss Travel Pass is a multi day pass, (from 3 up to 15 days), that can be used across Switzerland, so if you are planning on moving around the country a lot it could be a great option. You can find out more detail about this in our Swiss Travel Pass Guide.

That being said, the Swiss Travel Pass is more expensive than the Lucerne Tell Pass and doesn’t include a lot of the mountain excursions for free, so if you want to visit a few of the local mountains to Lucerne, (which you should as they are some of our favourites in Switzerland!), then we would recommend getting the Lucerne Tell Pass over the Swiss Travel Pass.

You can buy the regular Swiss Travel Pass here and the Swiss Travel Pass Flex here.

 

Lucerne Tell Pass FAQs

Is the Tell Pass worth it?

If you are planning on spending any time in Lucerne, and visiting local mountains around the area, then the Lucerne Tell Pass is 100% worth it!

Is Titlis free with the Tell Pass?

Yes, you can travel on the Titlis Bergbahnen to the top of Mount Titlis with the Tell Pass.

Can you travel from Zurich / Geneva / Basel-Mulhouse airport to Lucerne with the Lucerne Tell Pass?

In order to get from any of the airports in Switzerland to Lucerne you will need to buy an additional ticket as the Lucerne Tell Pass doesn’t cover any of these routes.

 

Conclusion: Is The Lucerne Tell Pass Worth It?

So there you have our guide to the Lucerne Tell Pass. This is a great pass if you plan on spending some time in central Switzerland with Lucerne as a base, with all public transport included as well as some of our favourite mountain excursions fully covered on the pass as well. Be sure to check out our other Switzerland travel pass guides to make sure you get the best ticket for your trip to our wonderful home!

 

All Our Switzerland Content

Here are a few other articles you may find useful for planning your trip:

📍 How To Visit Switzerland On A Budget

📍 Swiss Travel Pass Guide: Benefits, Discounts & Alternatives

📍 Switzerland Saver Day Pass Guide: Discounts & Best Day Trips

📍 Is The Jungfrau Travel Pass Worth It?

📍 Is The Berner Oberland Pass Worth It?

 

 

Gemma Tedaldi

Gemma is the owner and author of The Travelling Tedaldi, a travel blog helping travellers to discover the best road trips and travel itineraries throughout the UK and Europe. When she isn’t writing about her favourite travel destinations, she can often be found out exploring local hikes or planning future trips.