What the pass actually pays for here
Bürgenstock is one of those mountains where the journey is split into pieces, and your pass treats each piece differently.
Free
The catamaran across Lake Lucerne to Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock, and the bus to Stansstad if you approach from the land side.
50% off
The funicular that hauls you up from the water.
Full price
The Hammetschwand lift, the highest outdoor lift in Europe, sits stubbornly outside the whole arrangement.
That last one catches people out, because it feels like the sort of thing a pass ought to cover. It doesn't, and it never has. If that bothers you, it's worth understanding why some Swiss mountain railways are free while others give only a discount or nothing at all, since the pattern repeats all over the country and Bürgenstock is not an outlier so much as a compact illustration of it. There's also a list of the summits where your pass buys you nothing if you want to know where else your wallet is on its own.
Is the Swiss Travel Pass the right pass for this mountain?
Honestly, not necessarily.
Swiss Travel Pass
Half price
On the funicular, with the boat from Lucerne free on top, and the rest of the country on the same ticket
Lucerne Travel Pass
Covered in full
The funicular itself, if Bürgenstock is the centrepiece of your trip and you're based in Lucerne anyway
The Swiss Travel Pass earns its keep across a whole country; a regional pass earns its keep in one corner of it. Which one wins depends entirely on how far you plan to roam, and the comparison between the Swiss Travel Pass and the Lucerne Travel Pass lays out the arithmetic properly. If you're already holding a Swiss Travel Pass for the rest of your itinerary, though, none of this is a problem. The free boat ride is a genuinely lovely piece of transport, and half off the funicular on top of that is a reasonable morning.
Getting there, and how long it takes
Catamaran from Lucerne
25 min on the water
- Jetty a few minutes walk from Lucerne station
- Shuttle runs hourly, roughly 9am to 9pm
Bus to Stansstad
Free by road
- For staying on land, or when the boat timetable does not suit
- Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock is the station by water, Stansstad by road
Coming from Zurich, allow roughly an hour to Lucerne and then that half hour on the water.
The funicular itself is the good part. It opened in 1888, was the first electric funicular in the world, and climbs the best part of a kilometre at gradients touching 58 percent. Sit with your back to the mountain: the view behind you, opening out over the lake, is the whole point.
FAQ
Is the boat to Bürgenstock free with the Swiss Travel Pass?
Yes. The catamaran from Lucerne to Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock is fully covered, and so is the bus to Stansstad if you go by road instead.
How much is the funicular with the pass?
You pay 50 percent of the fare. Buy it at the ticket counter on the day and show your pass.
Does the Swiss Travel Pass cover the Hammetschwand lift?
No. Europe's highest outdoor lift is not covered at all, at any discount. You pay the full price on the spot.
Can I buy the discounted funicular ticket online before I travel?
Usually not. Pass-holder mountain discounts are handled at the counter on the day of travel, which means turning up with your pass in hand rather than a printout from home.
How long does the trip from Zurich take?
About an hour to Lucerne by train, then 25 to 30 minutes on the boat, plus the funicular. Comfortably a half-day outing, easily a full one if you walk along the cliff path.
Would the Lucerne Travel Pass be better?
For Bürgenstock alone, yes, since it covers the funicular in full. For a trip that ranges beyond central Switzerland, the Swiss Travel Pass will almost certainly come out ahead.
