ashleysdias

Hi-

I am looking to visit Jungfraujoch. I found a tour on http://www.switzerlandholidays.com/ that will start in Lucerne 09:30 in the morning and go to Jungfraujoch and end in Zurich around 20:00. This is the only tour that I found that will start in Lucerne and end in Zurich all others do round trip to Lucerne. Is it worth doing this trip through a tour company with a guide? The cost is $289 francs per person. Or can this trip be done by ourselves? Also does anyone know of other tour companies that offer this trip (start in Lucerne and end in Zurich)?
Also, Does anyone know of a good hotel in Lucerne where it would be easy to see the city as well as be close to the train station to go to Jungfraujoch?

Thanks,
Ashley

nytraveler

Don't know why you would need the guide -esp since this isn;t somethig you can schedule in advance. (The top of the mountain is often wreathed in clouds - even if the valleys are sunny - and there is no point in going up if the mountain is in clouds.) You will need to check in the morning - either online or with the Interlaken train station - to see if the top is open - and THEN decide to make the trip.

As for a hotel in Lucerne - you need to provide your budget - keeping in mind that other currencies have fallen dramatically versus the franc in the last couple months.

PalenQ

289 francs would be a lot more than $289 dollars - franc is about $1.35 last I looked - so for about $400 and you could buy a multi-day Swiss Pass for less than that that would take you there and back cheaper than $400 (Including paying the part the pass does not cover in full - Wengen or grindelwald to the Jungfraujoch.

But if that is your only trip buying regular tickets from Lucerne back to Lucerne would be your cheapest bet and easily done IME - take a train to Interlaken-Ost, transfer to trains that take you to the summit of the Jungfraujoch - even tour groups have to take the train after Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald as vehicles cannot go beyond those towns - at least large tour buses nor private vehicles.

Check www.swisstravelsystem.com for details on the Jungfrau trains and also these fab sites for info on Swiss trains (and if traveling elsewhere the Swiss Pass, Half-Fare Card, Swiss Card, etc - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com. Check www.sbb.ch for schedules and fares of the trains involved.

Easily done on your own and when you get off the train at Interlaken-Ost just follow the crowds that are doing it on their own.

PalenQ

again hed nytraveler's suggestions about checking to see if the Jungfraujoch is all cloued over before setting out - there are lots of weather reports on hotel TVs and even web cams from the Jungfraujoch - keep a flexible schedule and if the weather is good - clear hop on it as clouds can and do set in for several days sometimes.

tipsygus

You posed this question on Trip Advisor and got some good answers. I would add that Zurich to Jungfraujoch is going to take you almost six hours each way. On a tour you will be herded on to trains and into the complex at Jungfraujoch and given time limits on your visit. It would make much more sense if you want a mountain trip to visit somewhere like Mount Titlis near Lucerne, a journey of half what the Jungfrau trip will take and a lot cheaper. This you can and should do without needing an organised tour. Have a look if you need to at tours available from Zurich

kleeblatt

tipsygus, I disagree. Berner Oberland and Jungfraujoch is special and can be done easily in one day. Just get the train tickets at the train station and off you go.

I agree that one should only go on a lovely day.

PalenQ

If all you want to see is the Jungfraujoch then yes easy to do on your own in one day - if possible spend a day or two as there is so so much else to do here and IMO some other things like the calbeway Murren to Schilthorn is just as sweet as Jungfraujoch.

tipsygus

Schuler I wanted to point out that travelling from Zurich to Jungfraujoch will be a long day trip and that there are other mountains closer to Zurich which the OP could visit, and to point out the disadvantages of taking an organised tour. Having said that each to their own.

PalenQ

Jungfrau - Top of Europe Tourism
www.jungfrau.ch/en/tourism/
Impressions · 360-degree panorama · Jungfrau Railways centenary · Place reservation · Fares · Timetable · Jungfrau Railways ...

Jungfrau - Top of Europe History
http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/company/ra...au.../history/ -

PalenQ

Schuler I wanted to point out that travelling from Zurich to Jungfraujoch will be a long day trip and that there are other mountains closer to Zurich which the OP could visit, and to point out the disadvantages of taking an organised tour. Having said that each to their own.>

a ggod point IMO - much closer to Zurich is engelberg, which along with Zermatt and the Jungfrau Region IMO is one of the top three Alpine wonderlands - you have ice-girdled peaks, a mountain train to get to Engelberg and then thrilling conveyances to get up to the snow and ice, etc.

Perhaps not quite the sensation as at Jungfraujoch, where you can literally see a glacier that stretches down for miles to the south - an awesome awesome sight but yes nevertheless the usual thrills of such an Alpine wonderland and much closer and since you go via Lucerne (Engelberg about an hour from Lucerne, which is about 30 mins or so from Zurich, you could easily on the way back stop off and putz around Lucerne for a few hours and see IMO one of Europe's most exquisitely gorgeous cities, set on one of Europe's most idyllic lakes, fjord-like Lake Lucerne.

And this journey would probably be more than $100 cheaper all told than going from Zurich to the Jungfraujoch - perhaps much more than $100 cheaper.