Guide · Public boats

Lake Lucerne ferries to Weggis, Vitznau, Brunnen and Flüelen

The Lake Lucerne ferries are public transport with a view: scheduled boats that link the city with the villages around the lake. Here is how they work, what they cost and how to plan a day hopping from one landing stage to the next.

Check availabilityfrom $38 · cancellation is free

Editorial team, lucerneboattrip.comUpdated October 19, 20266 minutes to read37 sources

Bookable here: the tour Lake Lucerne round trip by catamaran 4.5 (1,424 reviews) 1 hourFrom pier 3 at the KKLChildren up to 5 ride free from$38per person Check availabilityCancel for free up to 24 hrs ahead

Quick answer

01Where from: Pier 1 in Lucerne for Weggis, Vitznau, Brunnen and Flüelen.¹
02How long: About an hour to Weggis or Vitznau.²
03How much: CHF 23.00 one way to Weggis, CHF 53.00 to Flüelen, 2nd class.³ ⁴
04With a pass: Free with the Swiss Travel Pass, half price with the Half Fare Card.⁵ ⁶
05Car ferry: Beckenried to Gersau in about 20 minutes, CHF 27.00 for a car.⁷ ⁸

How the public boats work

The boats on Lake Lucerne are part of Switzerland's public transport, run by SGV, the Lake Lucerne Navigation Company. They follow a timetable like trains, stop at landing stages around the shore and carry walkers, families, commuters and visitors side by side. SGV currently counts 31 boat stations on the lake.⁹

You can buy a ticket on every boat, at the Lucerne and Weggis stations, and from spring to autumn also at Brunnen and Vitznau.¹⁰ The ships range from modern motor vessels to historic paddle steamers, and with one exception every SGV boat is wheelchair accessible: only the small electric motor vessel Rütli is not.¹¹

That makes the Lake Lucerne ferries the most flexible way to see the lake. Unlike a round trip, a line boat lets you step off in a village, walk the promenade, have lunch and catch a later boat on, or back. It is the closest thing the lake has to a hop-on, hop-off ticket, especially with a day pass or a rail pass.

A hopping day

Lucerne to Flüelen, one village at a time

Morning

Lucerne, pier 1

Boat along the northern shore.¹
About an hour later

Weggis or Vitznau

The Lucerne Riviera, gateway to the Rigi.² ¹²
Midday

Brunnen

A walk on the lakeside promenade.¹³
Afternoon

Lake Uri

The fjord-like arm between Brunnen and Flüelen.¹⁴
Late afternoon

Flüelen

Train back, or the boat if time allows.¹⁵

Which pier in Lucerne

All the main lines start at the Bahnhofquai, right in front of Lucerne station. Boats to Weggis, Vitznau, Brunnen and Flüelen leave from pier 1, boats to Alpnachstad for Pilatus from pier 2, and boats to Küssnacht am Rigi and to the Bürgenstock from pier 3.¹ Pier 3 is also where this site's 1-hour catamaran round trip boards, in front of the KKL.

The Bürgenstock line is the steadiest of all: the motor vessel Bürgenstock crosses hourly between Lucerne and Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock on 365 days a year, in around 30 minutes each way.¹⁶ The Swiss Museum of Transport even has its own landing stage, Verkehrshaus-Lido, 10 minutes by boat from the station.¹⁷

Look at the pier number on your ticket or in the timetable before you walk down. The piers sit side by side along the quay, and boats for different lines leave from neighboring piers, so a quick check saves you boarding a boat heading the wrong way.

Fares from Lucerne

One-way fares, 2nd class, in CHF

CHF

Full fares on SGV's price list, read 19 October 2026; the Half Fare Card halves them and the Swiss Travel Pass covers them.³ ¹⁸ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶

Lines from Lucerne

Where the boats go, and from which pier

Destination	Pier	Fare one way	Good for
Weggis	1	CHF 23.00	Cable car to the Rigi
Vitznau	1	CHF 31.00	Cogwheel train to the Rigi
Brunnen	1	CHF 46.00	The lakeside promenade
Flüelen	1	CHF 53.00	Lake Uri and the Gotthard line
Alpnachstad	2	See the timetable	Pilatus
Bürgenstock	3	See the timetable	Funicular and resort

Piers and 2nd-class full fares from SGV, read 19 October 2026.¹ ³ ¹⁸ ⁴

Three lake villages

Weggis, Vitznau or Brunnen

Mild and green

Weggis

Lucerne Riviera

From Lucerne: About an hour
Fare: CHF 23.00
Rigi: Cable car nearby

Compare

Train at the pier

Vitznau

Foot of the Rigi

From Lucerne: About an hour
Fare: CHF 31.00
Rigi: Next to the boat

Compare

Promenade

Brunnen

Gateway to Lake Uri

Pier: 1
Fare: CHF 46.00
Next: Lake Uri

Compare

Decision helper

Which boat should you take?

Pick the line closest to your plan

Weggis

About an hour by boat, on the Lucerne Riviera.² ¹²

Vitznau

The cogwheel train leaves next to the boat.²

Brunnen to Flüelen

The fjord-like Lake Uri, around 90 minutes round trip.¹⁴ ¹⁹

The car ferry

Beckenried to Gersau in about 20 minutes.⁷

The catamaran loop

1 hour from pier 3 and back.

The fjord landscape of Lake Lucerne is best explored by boat. Discover the top excursion destinations in the region: Brunnen on the " Swiss Path ", Vitznau with the Rigi or Alpnachstad with the Pilatus.

Switzerland Tourism (MySwitzerland)Source 20

A Lake Lucerne cruise to Weggis and Vitznau

The most popular line runs along the northern shore to Weggis and Vitznau. A Lake Lucerne cruise to Weggis or on to Vitznau takes up to about an hour.² SGV's 2nd-class full fare from Lucerne is CHF 23.00 one way to Weggis and CHF 31.00 to Vitznau.³ ¹⁸

Both villages are worth a stop. The area is called the Lucerne Riviera for its mild climate, with palms, orchids and chestnut trees, and on the promenade from Weggis towards Vitznau stands a memorial stone for Mark Twain, who lived in Weggis for a time.¹² ²¹

They are also the gateways to the Rigi. In Weggis the cable car to Rigi Kaltbad is about a 15-minute walk from the pier, and in Vitznau the cogwheel railway leaves right next to the boat station.² Our page on the Rigi by boat covers that trip in detail.

Map

Lake Lucerne from the city piers to Flüelen

The whole lake with its landing stages and the two mountains above it, then a close look at the piers between the station and the KKL.

Map of Lake Lucerne from Lucerne in the north-west to Flüelen in the south-east, with Pilatus and Rigi — The lake

Street map of the Lucerne lakefront with piers 1, 2, 3 and 7, the Chapel Bridge and the station — The Lucerne piers

1
Lucerne piers
Boats to Weggis, Vitznau, Brunnen and Flüelen leave from pier 1, to Alpnachstad from pier 2, and to Küssnacht and the Bürgenstock from pier 3.¹
In Google Maps ↗
2
Weggis
About an hour from Lucerne by boat; the cable car up to Rigi Kaltbad is a 15-minute walk from the pier.²
In Google Maps ↗
3
Vitznau
The Rigi cogwheel railway starts right next to the boat station.²
In Google Maps ↗
4
Gersau
Start of the car ferry across to Beckenried, a crossing of about 20 minutes.⁷
In Google Maps ↗
5
Brunnen
Gateway to Lake Uri, the fjord-like arm of the lake that runs on to Flüelen.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
6
Flüelen
Turning point of the Grand Lake Cruise, which takes 5 h 30 min there and back from Lucerne.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
7
Alpnachstad
Valley station of the Pilatus cogwheel railway; in 2026 the boat from Lucerne ran until 18 October.²²
In Google Maps ↗
8
Küssnacht am Rigi
Boats for Küssnacht leave Lucerne from pier 3.¹
In Google Maps ↗
9
Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock
The MS Bürgenstock crosses hourly from Lucerne in around 30 minutes, then a funicular climbs to the resort.¹⁶ ²³
In Google Maps ↗
10
Beckenried
The other end of the car ferry, which runs from 26 March to 10 October in 2027.⁷
In Google Maps ↗
11
Pilatus Kulm
The summit at 2,132 m, reached from Alpnachstad on a cogwheel railway with gradients of up to 48 percent.²⁴ ²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
12
Rigi Kulm
The top of the Rigi, about 30 minutes up from Vitznau by cogwheel train.²⁶
In Google Maps ↗
13
Pier 1
Boats to Weggis, Vitznau, Brunnen and Flüelen.¹
In Google Maps ↗
14
Pier 2
Boats to Alpnachstad for Pilatus.¹
In Google Maps ↗
15
Pier 3
In front of the KKL: the boarding point of this site's catamaran, and of the boats to Küssnacht and the Bürgenstock.¹
In Google Maps ↗
16
Pier 7
Schweizerhofquai, the start of a 1-hour discovery cruise sold on GetYourGuide.
In Google Maps ↗
17
Chapel Bridge
Rebuilt in eight months after the fire of 18 August 1993.²⁷ ²⁸
In Google Maps ↗
18
Lucerne station
Direct trains to Zurich main station every 30 minutes.²⁹
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you board a line boat

Tickets

Pass, day pass or a single ticket
Day pass if you stop in more than one village
Bike ticket bought from SGV, not SBB

Timing

The current season's timetable
The last boat back from your village
Every SGV boat but the Rütli is step-free

Cost calculator

Price a boat day for your group

Count your group to price the catamaran, the Rigi loop or the Bürgenstock.

Catamaran loop1 hourfrom $38 Rigi round tripBoats includedfrom $170 BürgenstockBoat and funicularfrom $112

People 2

Total from$75

per guest from $38

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Sums multiply the cheapest adult fare GetYourGuide quotes for each Lucerne trip by your headcount, at the European Central Bank's rate; your basket at checkout is what counts.

Video

4K Lake Lucerne Cruise: Brunnen to Lucerne (Gersau • Vitznau • Weggis) - Peaceful Boat Ride.

YouTube is only contacted once you press play.

Brunnen, Lake Uri and Flüelen

Beyond Vitznau the boats continue east past Gersau to Brunnen, where the lake turns south into Lake Uri. Switzerland Tourism calls Brunnen's lakeside promenade one of the most beautiful in Switzerland.¹³ Between Brunnen and Flüelen, Lake Uri opens into a fjord-like landscape of steep shores and rock formations.¹⁴

The Lucerne to Flüelen boat price on SGV's list is CHF 53.00 one way in 2nd class, and CHF 46.00 to Brunnen.⁴ The classic Lake Uri round trip from Brunnen to Flüelen and back takes around 90 minutes, and the full Grand Lake Cruise from Lucerne to Flüelen and back takes 5 h 30 min.¹⁹ ¹⁵

From Flüelen, travelers heading south can continue by rail. The Gotthard Panorama Express runs from April to October, Tuesday to Sunday, with a compulsory CHF 24 surcharge that includes a seat reservation.³⁰ Check its page for how the boat and train parts are combined on your date.

The car ferry and crossing the lake

Not every boat runs along the lake; one runs across it. The car ferry between Beckenried and Gersau takes about 20 minutes, and its 2027 timetable runs from 26 March to 10 October.⁷ It is run by its own operator rather than by SGV.⁷

A single crossing costs CHF 27.00 for a car with its driver and CHF 6.00 for a foot passenger.⁸ For cyclists and walkers it is a handy shortcut between the southern and northern shores, and for drivers it saves the long way round by road.

On the scheduled SGV boats, bicycles travel too: a bicycle up to 2 meters long costs CHF 10.00 one way, SBB bike tickets are not valid, and groups of more than 5 bicycles must register in advance.³¹ Dogs pay CHF 10.00 one way, while small dogs in a container travel free.³² ³³

Lake Lucerne ferries in winter

The public boats run all year, but the winter timetable is thinner. SGV's winter timetable runs from 19 October 2026 to 16 April 2027.³⁴ The Grand Lake Cruise to Flüelen keeps one departure in that period, at 10:12, while the Bürgenstock boat keeps its hourly rhythm on every day of the year.³⁵ ¹⁶

Some links pause altogether. Pilatus-Bahnen says the boat from Lucerne to Alpnachstad ran only until 18 October in 2026, and the car ferry between Beckenried and Gersau runs from 26 March to 10 October in its 2027 timetable.²² ⁷ If your plan depends on either, it is a plan for the warm half of the year.

Winter has its own charm on the water. SGV rates the paddle steamer Uri for winter operation, with an enclosed panorama restaurant on its upper deck, and the winter day pass is cheaper, at CHF 53.00 in 2nd class from 1 November to 31 March.³⁶ ³⁷ Dress warmly, and enjoy a quiet lake with snow on the peaks.

Passes, day tickets and planning a day

If you plan to use the boats more than once, look at the passes. SGV lists free travel with the Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Travel Pass Flex, the GA and the Saver Day Pass, and 50% off with the Half Fare travelcard, Interrail and Eurail.⁵ ⁶ Without a pass, SGV's day pass costs CHF 86.00 in 2nd class, or CHF 53.00 in winter.³⁷

A good hopping day starts early on a line boat to Weggis, continues to Vitznau, perhaps up the Rigi, and finishes with a boat on to Brunnen before the train back to Lucerne. Check the season first: SGV's winter timetable runs from 19 October 2026 to 16 April 2027, with fewer boats than in summer.³⁴

If you only have an hour, you do not need the line boats at all. This site's catamaran round trip from pier 3 lasts 1 hour, starts from $38 and can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before. For a longer look, the public boats are the lake's real gift: cheap, frequent and open to everyone.

Your hour afloat