Jungfraujoch Day Trip from Zurich, with a Guide at the Top

★★★★★ 4.8 (2,585 traveller reviews)

Rides up to 3,454 mMountain railway in the fareGuide with you at the topSihlquai bus station, Zurich

The day to book if you are staying in Zurich and want the Jungfraujoch without reading a single timetable. A coach takes you over the Brünig Pass to Interlaken, the Eiger Express gondola and the cogwheel railway carry you up to 3,454 metres, and your guide stays with the group on the summit. You come down through Wengen and ride the coach home.

Hours, prices and access verified by the Jungfraujoch Tours team — last checked 2026-09-26.

More photos →

Twelve hours, with the mountain in the middle

Sihlquai at dawn, Lucerne on the way

The day starts at the Best of Switzerland Tours counter at Sihlquai, Zurich's coach station behind the main railway station. The coach stops in Lucerne to collect more guests, then climbs the Brünig Pass and follows the shore of Lake Brienz into the Bernese Oberland. After a break in Interlaken you drive on to Grindelwald Terminal, where the mountain part of the day begins.

Comparing Best of Switzerland Tours Jungfraujoch days? This is the one that keeps the guide with you from the coach seat to the snow. If a 12-hour day sounds long, it is: see who should book something else further down.

Up by the Eiger Express

At Grindelwald Terminal you board the Eiger Express, the tricable gondola that climbs to Eigergletscher at 2,320 metres in 15 minutes. It runs 44 cabins of 26 seats, and on Jungfrau Railways' own figures it puts you on the Jungfraujoch 47 minutes sooner than the old route. The Eiger's north face stands close beside the cabin on the way up.

At Eigergletscher you change to the Jungfrau Railway, which runs every 30 minutes and takes 26 minutes through the tunnel inside the Eiger and the Mönch. Your seat on this last train is reserved in the fare, which matters: from May to October a reservation is compulsory, and without one you can wait at the change for a train with room.

Two hours guaranteed on the summit

The train stops inside the mountain at 3,454 metres, Europe's highest railway station. With your guide you follow the circuit: Alpine Sensation, the lit corridor that tells the railway's history past 30 memorial tablets for the men who built it; the lift to the Sphinx terrace, which climbs 108 metres in 25 seconds; and the Ice Palace, the halls mountain guides cut into the glacier with picks and saws in the 1930s.

From the Sphinx terrace the Aletsch Glacier runs south between four-thousand-metre peaks. The operator guarantees at least two hours up here, so there is time for the Plateau outside and a warm meal. Lunch is not in the fare: Aletsch Self is the quick self-service option, and there is an Indian self-service restaurant too.

Down through Wengen

You come down the other way. The Jungfrau Railway takes you back to the col at Kleine Scheidegg, and the Wengernalp line runs down through Wengen, a car-free village, to Lauterbrunnen. The descent on the listing takes 50 minutes. Your coach waits at Lauterbrunnen for the drive back to Zurich, with a stop in Lucerne on the way, and guests describe getting back after 8 pm in traffic.

Going up by gondola and down by rail means you see both faces of the mountain in one day. The Gray Line day from Lucerne does the same loop in reverse.

How the twelve hours run

1. Sihlquai, Zurich. Check in at the Best of Switzerland Tours counter; bring a passport or ID card.
2. Lucerne pickup. More guests join; the coach then crosses the Brünig Pass.
3. Interlaken. A break by Lake Brienz before the mountain.
4. Eiger Express, 15 minutes. Grindelwald Terminal to Eigergletscher by gondola.
5. Jungfrau Railway, 26 minutes. Through the tunnel to the station at 3,454 metres.
6. The summit, 2 hours or more. Alpine Sensation, the Sphinx terrace, the Ice Palace and the Plateau.
7. Down through Wengen, 50 minutes. The railway to Lauterbrunnen, then the coach home.

Who this suits: a Zurich base and no wish to plan

What the fare covers

Meeting at Sihlquai, behind Zurich station

Meet at the Best of Switzerland Tours counter at Sihlquai, the coach station on the river side of Zurich main station. Allow a few minutes to find the counter and check in; the confirmation in your booking gives the exact time.

If you are staying in Lucerne, ask the operator whether you can join at the Lucerne stop instead, because the coach passes through on both legs. The day ends back at Sihlquai in the evening.

Know before you go

• Dress for winter. Expect frost at the top in any month; wear layers, closed shoes, gloves and sunglasses.
• Nothing to rent up there. Bring your warm clothes from the valley.
• Not for babies under 1. Jungfrau Railways also advises against the trip for children under 2.
• No food in the coach. Eat at a stop or at the summit, and carry water: the air up there dries you out.
• Routing can change. During maintenance the operator may swap the way up or down; the 2 hours at the top stay guaranteed.
• A long way home. Plan a late dinner: the drive back runs through Lucerne and the evening traffic.

What travellers say about the Zurich day

Read all reviews →

Frequently asked questions