Mt. Titlis on your own

[Viking3]

We are getting ready for a Viking Cruise on the Rhine and have taken the two day extension to Lucerne. We are trying to decide if we should book the Viking excursion to Mt. Titlis or try to do it on our own. We are staying at the Raddison Blu which is understand is very close to the train station.

 

Thank you for any help.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The Radisson Blu is a lovely hotel and indeed close to the train station. I don't have any information about getting to Mt. Titlis, but there are several nice combination tours to Mt. Pilatus. We took the "silver" option: a train ride to the base of the mountain, the cog railway up to the top, and then the gondolas down; from there a short walk gets you to a bus stop, which takes you back to town. The "gold" option includes a boat ride to the mountain instead of the train, and is worth the upgrade if you aren't doing a Lake Lucerne boat ride otherwise. It was definitely nice to do both the cog railway and the gondolas, as you get views from different sides of the mountain. Note that the gondolas are closed for reconstruction until Spring 2015.

[jpalbny]

Mt. Titlis is a nice trip. We visited last year on our own, but it was easy because we had a car. You just drive to Engelberg which is about 30' from Lucerne, park (plenty of parking), and buy tickets. They are about $100 per person if you want to ride all 3 gondolas, all the way to the top. I guess it makes for less strain on the gondolas if they lighten everyone's wallet first... :rolleyes:

 

If you don't have a car, there's a train station in Engelberg less than a km from the gondola. A quick look at the train website shows frequent trains to/from Lucerne, about 45 minutes. So it should be easy enough that way if you don't want to drive.

[Floridiana]

Switzerland has a marvelously efficient public transportation system. I would rely on it more than on a group tour.

[alexandra cruiser]

Since we did NOT take the extension and was easier this way. Ended up cheaper and glad we did,since the place was PACKED with tourist s that day.Gondolas were too.We pushed on and enjoyed free time on top.Enough for me,was beautiful but COLD and hard to breath for some.

So much other things in Lucerne,would just take the excursion with company.

[coolerchick]

We did it on our own and it was very easy.

 

First I suggest you go to the tourist board at the train station - which is very well marked if you want to verify any information. You can also buy tickets for your trip. (there is also a bakery at the corner where you can buy some sandwiches for your trip)

 

We took the ferry, then the cog wheel, then walked down from the top of Mt Titlus to the gondola which took us back down to catch the boat again. Our tickets were 112.00 each and again, super easy.

 

If I had to do it again, I would hike UP to the top but it was a wonderful, beautiful crisp sunny day.

[Viking3]

Thank you for these very helpful suggestions. We are leaving next week so I don't think the cog railroad is open but it sounds like it is not very difficult to get from Lucern to Engelberg by train and then up to Mt. Titlis from there. We usually use public transportation but just was not sure about this one. I feel much more confident.

 

Thanks again for the help.

[roberts2005]

I would wait till you are there. A lot will depend on the weather. If there is heavy overcast it is not worth doing.

[jpalbny]

I would wait till you are there. A lot will depend on the weather. If there is heavy overcast it is not worth doing.

 

That is an excellent point. At the gondola base station, they have live updates of the weather conditions and visibility at the top. I wonder if you could check this via the web from Lucerne before deciding whether to make the trip. I agree that it's an expensive trip up if it don't have the view as a reward.

 

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[KansasCityGuys]

We leave in two weeks to fly to Zurich as we are doing a cruise on the Rhine with Avalon. We are going to Mt. Titlis, as well and we purchased our tickets through Rail Europe.

[roberts2005]

I believe both mountains have sites including webcams