Season 2023 & 2024

half-day option: January 1 - December 31

full-day option: March 14 - October 20

As a sole proprietor with a capacity of one tour per day, I can be fully booked far in advance.

Mount Rigi half or full-day tour

Tour description half-day tour

With this tour, you can experience the Swiss Alps even when you are short on time or can't travel for an extended period.

The journey is easy and straightforward as it requires just one change of trains in each direction.

First, we travel from Zurich central station to Arth-Goldau. From there, the Mt. Rigi cogwheel railway will take us to the peak station.

Once we reach the peak station, you can have one or two hours of free time, to wander around, take pictures, and have a snack and a coffee at the restaurant (meals and drinks are not included in the tour price).

Afterward, we return to Zurich on the same route.

Tour description full-day tour

First, we travel from Zurich central station to Arth-Goldau. From there, the Mt. Rigi cogwheel railway will take us to the peak station.

Once we reach the peak station, you have plenty of time to take pictures and have a snack and a coffee or lunch (meals are not included in the tour price).

Afterward, we descend the mountain on the other side of the mountain to Vitznau.

In Vitznau we board a ship. Enjoy a 50-minute cruise on Lake Lucerne.

The ship will take us to the city center of Lucerne.

If you like we can do a one-hour walking tour in Lucerne, where we will visit the landmarks of the city.

Afterward, we return to Zurich.

Inclusions

- All required train tickets in first class for you and the guide

- Mt. Rigi railway tickets for you and the guide

- Full-day option: Lake Cruise tickets for you and the guide

- Meeting at any centrally located Hotels, Apartment, or Airbnb

- Return to any centrally located Hotel, Apartment, or Airbnb after the tour

- Fee for the private guide, who will stay at your disposal throughout the tour

- Car-free tour by train, mountain railway, and aerial cable car as per the tour description

- Photography by the guide (with your own camera or smartphone)

- A booklet with comprehensive information about Switzerland (one per party, for groups of four persons or larger are two printed copies included)

- Use of a mobile hotspot with unlimited data (Speed: 4G)

What is not included in the tour price?

- Your meals and drinks

- Any personal expenses

- Optional activities

- travel insurance (participation at your own risk)

Please regard that your lunch is not included in the tour price

Lunch at the peak

Self-service and à la carte restaurant is available.

The opening times vary depending on the weather and season.

Click here to read the restaurants' reviews on TripAdvisor

An online menu is not available.

Lunch in Lucerne (full-day option only)

With the full-day option we can have a lunch in Lucerne. There is a wide range of restaurant available.

Quick lunch:

There are convenience shops and sandwich outlets along our travel route, where you can grab a bite.

I can meet you at any centrally located hotel in Zurich.

Click here to see a map of the pick-up area

If you're staying outside of the pick-up area, I can meet you at the central train station of Zurich.

The activity level is low to moderate: few changes of trains, walking at the peak at your discretion, walking in Lucerne (optional)

Departure time half-day option: anytime between 8 AM and 1 PM

Departure time full-day tour: between 8:45 AM - 9:15 AM

The exact departure time depends on the pick-up location.

Return time half-day option: five to six hours after departure

Return time full-day option: between 4 PM and 7 PM. As this is a private tour, you can choose the duration of your stay at various vantage points. Hence, the return time varies greatly.

Weather forecast

Once a reliable weather forecast is available (usually one to three days before departure), I will send you a link to the forecast.

If there is bad weather forecasted, I will include my recommendations for our tour day.

I use the weather forecasts provided by the Federal Office of Meteorology and SRF (Swiss Radio and Television).

With the link below, you can check the weather forecast at any time by yourself. The forecast is available for the next five days.

Operability

This tour can run in any weather condition except during a storm. During a storm, aerial cableways have to halt operations for safety reasons. If there is a storm with gale-force winds in the forecast, I need to cancel the tour. On rare occasions, there may be a cancellation due to landslides, avalanches, and other natural forces or the risk thereof. I will fully refund the deposit in this case.

Your options in case of bad weather (tour specific)

half-day variant: all rates

- You can cancel the booking up to 12 hours before departure for a full refund of the deposit. Hence if the weather forecast looks bad you are free to cancel the tour free of charge if you desire.

full-day variant: early bird or standard rates

If you booked an early bird or standard rate, then a free cancelation is not possible anymore once a reliable weather forecast is published, as I need to purchase train tickets in advance for these rates.

- You can choose a different tour/mountain peak in an area with better weather (if available, the price of the newly selected tour will apply).

- We can do the tour as planned despite the weather.

- I also have a few full-day train tours. For example, the Glacier Express route on local trains tour. These tours are ideal on rainy days as we are for most of the day inside and not exposed to the weather, and as on rainy days the views are usually better at lower altitudes. Further, this tour has a lower tour price as it doesn't require any expensive mountain railway tickets.

- If not having perfect weather is a dealbreaker, you can cancel by forfeiting the deposit.

full-day variant Swiss Travel Pass rates

- If you have booked a Swiss Travel Pass rate you can cancel the booking up to 12 hours before departure for a full refund of the deposit. Hence if the weather forecast looks bad you are free to cancel the tour free of charge if you desire.

All other options which are published under the early bird and standard rate section are also available to you.

This itinerary is only an example. The schedule can vary due to various factors such as the season, the day of the week, construction work, service, and schedule changes.

The exact departure and return time depends on the pick-up/drop-off location.

8:15 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. at any centrally located Hotel or Apartment

9:05 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Zurich - Arth-Goldau

10:08 a.m. - 10:47 a.m. Arth-Goldau - Rigi Kulm

10:47 a.m. - 12:01 p.m. Enjoy Mount Rigi

12:01 p.m. - 12:48 p.m. Rigi Kulm - Arth-Goldau

1:15 p.m. - 1:55 p.m. Arth-Goldau - Zurich

2:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. at any centrally located Hotel or Apartment

Customization possibilities:

You can select the departure time. Departure is possible up to 12:30 p.m.

Flexible departure time: If you are arriving on the tour day, I can be on stand-by for a period of up to two hours, so that you don't have to worry about missing the departure time in case of a small delay.

You can spontaneously extend or shorten the duration of the stay at Mount Rigi by two hours. Latest possible departure time from Rigi Kulm is at 5:16 p.m.

This itinerary is only an example. The schedule can vary due to various factors such as the season, the day of the week, construction work, service, and schedule changes.

The exact departure and return time depends on the pick-up/drop-off location.

8:15 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. at any centrally located Hotel or Apartment

9:05 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Zurich - Arth-Goldau

10:08 a.m. - 10:47 a.m. Arth-Goldau - Rigi Kulm

10:47 a.m. - 12:01 p.m. Enjoy Mount Rigi

12:00 p.m. - 12:40 p.m. Rigi Kulm - Vitznau

12:56 p.m. - 1:47 p.m. Vitznau - Lucerne

1:47 a.m. - 4:09 p.m. Enjoy Lucerne

4:09 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. Lucerne - Zurich

5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. at any centrally located Hotel or Apartment

Customization possibilities:

The departure time can be one hour later.

You can spontaneously extend or shorten the duration of the stay at Mount Rigi by two hours. Latest possible departure time from Rigi Kulm is at 4 p.m.

You can spontaneously extend or shorten the duration of the stay in Lucerne. Latest possible departure time from Lucerne is at 10:09 p.m.