Lucerne to Jungfraujoch
 

Is it feasible to do a day trip from Lake Lucerne to the top of the Jungfrau via public transport? It appears doable from research, but sometimes reality doesn't match the paper data. I'm sure someone has done this--or tried to.
Thanks for the help.

Weaver,

Yes, it is doable, but you must get an early start. The trip from Lucern to Interlaken is short and beautiful. Depending on the time of year you may want to get tickets before you leave Lucern. Also, check the weather to make sure it will be worth the trip to the top. You will want to have enough time to take the trip up the mountain (45 minutes) and enjoy the top as long as possible. If it is a clear day it is a magical place to be. On the return trip you will want to stop and have a bite to eat. You don't want to get back to late to Interlaken because you will be tired after spending a few hours at 11,300 feet. Take a look at the Swiss railway timetable (www.SBB.ch) and you will be able to plan your trip schedule in detail. This is one of the amazing sights to see in all of Europe. Have fun.

Greg

Correction to last response. The trip up to the top of Jungfrau is a liitle over 2 hours, so adjust your planning accordingly. Have fun.

Greg

Your best travel time to Lauterbrunnen where you can board the train to Kleine Scheidegg for the transfer to the Jungfraubahn is 2 hours, 21 minutes.

You can leave Luzern at 6:34 to get to the viewing area at about 11 for a time for a full day.

For the return to Luzern, trains leave Lauterbrunnen as late as 18:10 the return trip.
The trip from Lauterbrunnen to the Joch varies from 2 hours to 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Some of the connections require several changes. At a minimum coming back you must change at Kleine Scheidegg, Lauterbrunnen, and Interlaken Ost.
The changes at Kleine Scheidegg and Lauterbrunnen are changes of equipment.

Thanks to Greg and Bob. Sounds like we can do this. We're off on Monday to Austria, Prague, and then Switzerland.
Mary

Sorry my contribution was so disjoined. Ugh! But you can do the trip with an early start. Just be prepared for the many changes of train.

From Interlaken Ost, the train to Lauterbrunnen uses a short section of cog rail to get up about a 5% grade. In Lauterbrunnen, passengers must change to the Wegneralp Bahn (Wab) to ride uphill to Kleine Scheidegg. At Kleine Scheidegg, Jungfraujoch passengers must change again to a different type of equipment to make the trek up the tunnel to the observation building at the Jungfraujoch itself.

Some of the connections back to Luzern take a round about route that requires a couple of changes.
The best route between Interlaken Ost and Luzern is via the Brünig Pass, but those trains don't seem to run late in the evening.
The last no change connection leaves Interlaken Ost at 18:35.
Some of the connections even include riding the bus for a short stretch to make the next train.

Last year we rented a car for several days and drove round trip to Luzern in about 60% of the time for the train trip. The train over the Brünig Pass is slow because it stops to frequently.

When you go to the Joch, I recommend taking the walk along the groomed snow track to the hikers' shelter known as the Mönchsjochhütte -- hut in the knotch of the Mönch, which is the peak between the Jungfrau and the Eiger.
This so called hut is a 3-story building bolted to piling sunk into the hard rock of the mountain. It can sleep 125 plus staff. Some hut!! Food and drink are available for a price.
When we were there I tried my imperfect German when I ordered, and I got the answer back in Baltimore accented American. Surprise Surprise.