The Goldi Safari is a full day scenic tour of the Swiss alps with lots of variety and fun activities for the kids. Over the course of the day, you get to ride 5 modes of transportation: cable car, gondola (or bike boards), bus, funicular train and boat on Lake Lucerne.
You start with a relatively easy hike, book-ended by two great playgrounds and beautiful picnic areas. The hike can optionally be turned into a detective theme trail with clues to solve. You can linger where you like or move with purpose, depending on the tolerance and patience of your group. This is a great choice for visitors that want to see a lot in a short amount of time.
If you want to do just the trail with the playgrounds and not the full day tour, see my other Klewenalp post. Note: This outing was hosted by Lucerne Tourism – Be a summer child again!
| Location: | Central Switzerland |
| Start/End: | Beckenried-Klewenalp cable car: Kirchweg, 6375 Beckenried |
| Car: | 25 mins from Luzern, 1hr from Zurich to Beckenried Parking GPS: 46°57’57.2″N 8°28’24.4″E |
| Train: | 50 mins from Luzern Bahnhof or 1hr50 from Zurich HB to Beckenried, Post |
| Trail: | 5.5 km one way, about 2 hr walking time with kids |
| Condition: | wide dirt path, possible with all-terrain strollers |
| Skill: | easy |
| Services: | multiple restaurants, picnic areas with fire pits with wood, playgrounds, mountain scooters, theme trail |
| Cost: | Goldi Safari CHF 62, kids under 16 free. Included with GA & Tell Pass. Discount for SBB Half-fare. Optional mountain scooter CHF 15, optional Detektiv trail CHF 32/family |
| Open: | mid May to beginning of November generally open 08.30 – 17.30 but check opening times |
| More info: | www.klewenalp.ch webcams |
First a short video from our day by 110 in partnership with Lucerne Tourism, who hosted this outing.
Overview
Klewenalp is located in central Switzerland, southeast of Luzern.
The Goldi Safari is a loop starting with a hike and ending with a scenic tour of the region on a bus, funicular and boat. Here is a map of the full loop. You start in Beckenried, ride a cable car to Klewenalp, hike to Stockhütte, ride a gondola (or bike boards) down to Emmetten, ride a bus to Seelisberg, ride a funicular down to Treib, then catch a boat back to Beckenried.
Here is the map for the trail portion of your day, which starts at the top of the Beckenried-Klewenalp cable car and ends at the top of the Stockhütte-Emmetten gondola.
Getting There
Getting There
The Goldi Safari is a loop, starting and ending in Beckenried.
By car: Drive to Beckenried, southeast of Luzern, and follow signs to the Klewenalp cable car (Kirchweg, 6375 Beckenried). There is a large parking lot next to the cable car station, CHF 5/day.
By public transport: Take a train to Stans, then bus 311 to Beckenried, Post. It’s a short walk to the cable car station as shown below.
Tickets
The Goldi Safari includes tickets for all modes of transportation on your journey: cable car, gondola, bus, funicular and boat. In 2020, this costs CHF 62/adult and CHF 32 for children and SBB Half-fare. If you have GA or a Tell Pass, this whole journey is free.
For a shorter and less expensive trip, you can simply hike at Klewenalp and skip the scenic tour. More about that in my other Klewenalp post.
Optional Add-ons
Theme trail. If you want to do the Detektiv trail with clues to solve along the path, this costs CHF 32/family and the guide must be purchased online beforehand and the clues printed out to bring with you. You collect your prize at the end of the day by opening a locked treasure chest with the code you discovered. Purchase the Klewenalp Detektiv Trail here. It’s only available in German. Bring a pen with you to fill out the answers as you go.
Bike boards. Instead of riding the gondola from Stockhütte to Emmetten, you can ride bike boards, much more fun! It costs CHF 15/bike board and takes about 30-40 mins to get down the mountain. Suggested age 12+ but younger children can ride double with an adult. See my Klewenalp Bike Board post for more info.
Timetable
Since you are using several modes of transportation, you should familiarize yourself with the schedule beforehand and estimate your time. The main concern is catching the bus in Emmetten, which runs hourly. After that, the bus/funicular/boat schedules are coordinated.
1. Beckenried-Klewenalp cable car runs every 20 mins on the xx:05, xx:25, and xx:45.
2. Stockhütte gondola runs continually from 8:30 – 17:30 (break for lunch on Mon & Tues), about a 10 min ride. You can alternatively ride the bike boards, which takes about 30 mins.
3. Bus from Emmetten, Post to Seelisberg, Bahnhof runs once per hour on the xx:25. The ride takes 13 mins.
4. Funicular from Seelisberg, Bahnhof to Treib, Talstation runs about every 20 mins on the xx:04, xx:24 and xx:44. But check the schedule because it skips a few of these (like for a lunch break). The journey takes 9 mins.
5. Boat from Treib to Beckenried generally runs hourly on the xx:57 but check the schedule beforehand. The journey takes about 35 mins.
Sample Schedule
You should plan for a minimum of 6 hours for this full day tour. Here is a sample schedule. The bus/funicular/boat connection runs hourly, so shift that as needed if you spend more time on the trail and playgrounds.
1. Arrive Beckenried at 8:55 and catch 9:05 cable car to Klewenalp.
2. Playground time and hiking, about 2-3 hours.
3. Gondola from Stockhütte to Emmetten at 13:00 (about 10 mins) or bike boards at 12:45 (about 30 mins).
4. Bus from Emmetten at 13:25 to Seelisberg arriving about 13:38.
5. Funicular from Seelisberg at 13:44, arriving in Treib about 13:55
6. Catch boat in Treib at 13:57, arriving Beckenried about 14:35.
A few impressions
Here are a few photos from our trip on the Goldi Safari. For lots more pics of the playgrounds and trail, see my other Klewenalp post.
Here is the first playground at Klewenalp, lots to climb on, a zip line and wrestling ring.
The trail to Stockhütte, mostly a wide dirt path, possible with all-terrain strollers. Gorgeous views.
Playground at Stockhütte with barefoot path. There is a slides, swings, obstacle course, water play, slide, picnic area with grills, restaurant. Really everything you need for a fun time with the kids.
Then bike boards down the mountain from Stockhütte to Emmetten.
If you end up waiting in Emmetten for the bus, there is a playground near the bus stop.
View from the beautiful bus ride to Seelisberg.
Funicular ride to Treib.
Then boat ride back to Beckenried.
That’s everything! I hope you enjoy it.
See also my other Klewenalp post, which has more about the trail & playgrounds.
6 responses
Dear Tanya,
Cannot thank you enough for this treasure of a website. We are planning to travel in September and almost our entire itinerary is based on information provided by you. We will be travelling with our 3.5 year old boy and wanted to ask you if he would be allowed to ride double on the bikes/monstercarts on any of the places that you have listed on your website. If yes, would you have any recommendations from a safety and scenic views perspective?
Glad you have found the website helpful. Each mountain has different rules and some enforce them more strictly than others. So its hard to say. Usually its more about how tall the child is than how old. In general, I find trotti’s a little dangerous. we’ve had a couple accidents on them. I would go slow, definitely wear a helmet and perhaps choose a place that have three-wheel scooters, which are easier to control.
Hello Tanya, thank you so much for this great post and all the effort you put in it! We did this trip yesterday and had a blast!
For anyone who would like to add a bit of swimming before heading back home, I can suggest checking the Strandbad in Beckenried. It’s a ten-minute walk from the boat stop (or two stops by bus). It is for free, has got two swimming pools (tiny ones, for small kids), a sunbathing area and a direct access to the lake (with a diving board). Loungers, sun umbrellas and stand up paddles can be rent on site. It was a great ending of our trip 🙂
Great tip! Thanks for sharing.
What a great we just had doing the Goldi Safari. It was worthwhile getting up early, we were more or less alone. All worked out just great, no waiting anywhere. We loved it! Many thanks
So glad you had a good time! Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment.