“BREAKING NEWS, THERE’S A NEW TRAIN PASS IN TOWN…sort of.”
To be truthful, it’s really not new at all — just a new name, and a handful of other changes. But if you’re planning to explore Lucerne and Central Switzerland, here’s everything you need to know.
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Phasing Out The Tell-Pass
The train pass we’re talking about is the LUCERNE TRAVEL PASS.
It’s available for travel dates starting from April 1, 2026 (and can be purchased in advance as early as Nov. 1, 2025).
Now the reason this isn’t really new is because it used to be known as the Tell-Pass.
In fact, if you’re reading this blog BEFORE APRIL 1, 2026, the Tell-Pass is still available for purchase, and you can find the details on that product (while it’s still available) in this blog post.
But as of April 1st, 2026 there is no more Tell-Pass — it is now the Lucerne Travel Pass. And all of the info we’re sharing from here on out pertains to the Lucerne Travel Pass.
Lucerne Travel Pass: The Basics
So what are the basics?
- The Lucerne Travel Pass is available for 3, 4, 5, or 10 consecutive days.
- There are no differences between the Summer and Winter seasons, it’s the same pass year round.
- And for a fixed rate of 30 CHF, you can add on a pass for kids ages 6-15 (or for dogs) for the same number of days as your pass.
Now, you might not even need one of the kid’s passes. The Swiss Family Card, which you can request for free if you also buy a Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card, allows your kids to travel with you for no additional cost.
And there’s also the option of buying a Junior Card or Children’s Co-Travelcard, but those details are beyond the scope of this video. (Learn more in our Ultimate Guide to Swiss Transportation!)
Lucerne Travel Pass: Route Coverage
The Lucerne Travel Pass is perfect for trips to Lucerne and Central Switzerland, because the validity area is huge and the route coverage is unbeatable, stretching as far as Zug or Baar in the direction of Zurich, Göschenen or Andermatt to the South toward Ticino, and Interlaken to the West.
In fact, you’ll have a really hard time finding any transportation within the validity area that isn’t fully covered by the Lucerne Travel Pass:
- Mt. Pilatus by gondola, cable car, or the world’s steepest cogwheel train
- Mt. Rigi, using any of the 9 forms of mountain transportation to get there
- Mt. Titlis, including the Ice Flyer chairlift to the Glacier Park
- The Stanserhorn, including the rooftop ride on the CabriO cableway
- Stoos village on the world’s steepest funicular railway, as well as the chairlifts to and from the Stoos Ridge Hike
- And The Hammetschwand Lift, which is the highest outdoor elevator in Europe
By the way, if you have our Lucerne Day Trips Guide, then you know that this train pass covers all transportation in those 5 itineraries too!
And seriously, it still covers so much more, including:
- Dozens of tiny farmer’s cable cars known as Buiräbähnli in the local dialect
- The Luzern-Interlaken Express between, well, Lucerne and Interlaken
- The Brienz-Rothorn Bahn, which is one of the best steam train rides in the entire country
- And trains, buses, and boats all throughout central Switzerland
We’re gonna suggest who we think will get the most from this pass in a moment. But first, there are some other benefits worth mentioning.
Lucerne Travel Pass: Who Should Buy It?
So let’s talk about who this pass will most appeal to, and then discuss a few tips for buying and using the Pass.
The Lucerne Travel Pass is perfect for those of you visiting Lucerne and Central Switzerland who value CONVENIENCE and SIMPLICITY.
If you have our Lucerne Day Trips Guide, you know that the average cost of full price transportation tickets for each of the daily itineraries is 125 CHF. So a quick look at the pricing options for this pass shows that you could realize some pretty substantial cost savings if those mountain destinations are on your list.
Now, an important factor to mention is that you cannot get any kind of discount on this pass with the Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card, as you can with some other regional passes. So if you already plan to buy one of those and COST SAVINGS is what you value most, you’ll need to do the math on whether or not it makes sense to buy this pass as well — especially considering that the Swiss Travel Pass would fully cover your journey to Mt. Rigi, the Stanserhorn, and Stoos village, just to name a few.
And if you’ll be traveling to multiple destinations throughout Switzerland, be sure to watch our Ultimate Guide to Swiss Train Passes and download the free checklist after watching this video. It removes all the guesswork by giving you our custom recommendation for your trip itinerary.
But the average daily cost of the Lucerne Travel Pass drops from 80 CHF for 3 days to less than half of that for 10 days. So I want to encourage more of you to buy the Lucerne Travel Pass, settle into this region for longer than you might be planning, and explore beyond the highlights.
In our experience, there are plenty of villages and lakes and mountains and trails within this huge region to keep you busy for far longer than the maximum 10-day length of this pass.
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Lucerne Travel Pass Vs Lucerne Visitor Card
Now, some of you might be wondering, why not just use the Lucerne Visitor Card? Real quick, to bring all of you up to speed, the Lucerne Visitor Card is given to overnight guests in registered accommodations throughout the city and some nearby villages. And it has two main benefits: discounted local attractions and free local transportation.
But “local” is the key word here regarding transportation: it only covers zone 10 of the city network, which wouldn’t apply to the destinations and excursions we’ve mentioned earlier in this post.
So it’s important to consider your specific plans: if you’re really just staying in Lucerne to explore the city, you won’t need the Lucerne Travel Pass. The Visitor Card will get you around town by bus and by train. If you have more questions, be sure to check out our deep dive into Swiss Guest Cards after you finish this post.
But the Lucerne Travel Pass is an amazing way to explore beyond Lucerne. You could even take advantage of the opportunity to stay in a few different home bases throughout the region for an even more diverse experience.
- Consider staying in Schwyz or Brunnen for your adventures east of Lucerne. In fact, Brunnen is one of the towns we considered moving to in Switzerland, so this has a special place in our hearts.
- Or how about Engelberg for areas to the South? It’s just a great, quieter valley to spend 2-3 days exploring, especially for families.
- Or because this pass covers a piece of the Berner Oberland, you could even think about Brienz or Meiringen as a home base farther West.
Lucerne Travel Pass: Where To Buy It And How To Use It
But let’s touch on some tips for where to buy it and how to use this pass.
You can purchase the Lucerne Travel Pass at train stations throughout Central Switzerland or buy it online. We prefer the online version since we don’t have to worry about losing a digital pass. And if you want an easy way to support our work, buying through our link will give us a small commission at no extra cost to you.
You’ll receive an email containing a PDF version of your pass, and we like to save screenshots of this PDF to our phone, marking it as a favorite so it’s easy to find.
For trains, buses, boats, and some forms of mountain transportation, you simply hop on board and show your pass when requested by an attendant. There are a couple exceptions to be aware of:
- Sometimes there is a turnstile to board mountain transportation, and you simply scan your pass to enter.
- Other times, for example, like for the Brienz-Rothorn Bahn, you’ll actually need to visit the ticket counter to get a scannable ticket. Don’t worry, you won’t need to pay for this ticket, it’s just so you can scan yourself through the turnstile. And while it can be a little frustrating to have to do this, the other conveniences far make up for this minor inconvenience.
So, armed with your newfound knowledge of the Lucerne Travel Pass, why not watch check out these posts about Swiss Guest Cards and our Ultimate Guide to Swiss Train Passes to continue on your path to traveling Switzerland with confidence, and we’ll see you in Switzerland!