Eviano

Switzerland · Family · 7 days

Jungfrau with Kids

One week, three bases and every day something children really want: a cogwheel railway, a boat, a scooter bike downhill, a toboggan run and a museum you are allowed to touch. No car, because children travel free on the trains with the Junior Card.

The route, day by day

  1. Day 1 to 2

    Lucerne: Transport Museum, Pilatus and the Boat

    From Zurich you are in Lucerne in 41 minutes, the station stands on the lake, and the hotel is best within walking distance, mid-range CHF 200 to 260 (about EUR 214 to 278) for a family room, cheaper in Weggis with a boat connection. The first afternoon belongs to the Transport Museum, ten minutes by bus 6 or boat: locomotives to climb into, a flight simulator, a building site for little ones, a planetarium, adults CHF 35, children CHF 15, reduced with a Half Fare Card; allow four hours, not two. On day two the Golden Round Trip up Pilatus: boat to Alpnachstad, the steepest cogwheel railway in the world at 48 percent, Dragon Trail and playground at the top, gondola down to Kriens with the Fräkmüntegg toboggan run and rope park in summer. Adults around CHF 58 with a Half Fare Card, children free with the Junior Card. In föhn wind the cogwheel railway does not run; then the Glacier Garden with its mirror maze. On to Interlaken: train over the Brünig, two hours, hourly, around CHF 17 with a Half Fare Card, children free; the stretch along Lake Lungern is an experience in itself.

    Tours at this stop: Swiss Museum of Transport ↗Pilatus Golden Round Trip ↗Fräkmüntegg toboggan run ↗

    Open the Lucerne travel guide →

  2. Day 3 to 4

    Interlaken: Two Lakes, Giessbach and a Mountain to Play On

    With children Interlaken is the base for water: on the first afternoon the paddle steamer from Interlaken Ost across Lake Brienz to Giessbach, where the oldest funicular in Europe runs from the jetty up to the grand hotel and the waterfalls come down in steps beside the house, children free with the Junior Card, parents around CHF 12 (about EUR 13) with a Half Fare Card. Back by boat via Iseltwald. Day two is the buffer day and, depending on the weather, either the Jungfraujoch, around CHF 125 per adult with a Half Fare Card, children free with the Junior Card, which makes the bill more bearable for families than for couples, ice palace and snow in July included, or under cloud Harder Kulm with the funicular and the children's trail, or the Bönigen lido. If nobody wants a mountain, go to the Interlaken rope park or take the train to Brienz for the Ballenberg open-air museum with animals and crafts. Sleep in Matten or Wilderswil in a family guesthouse or holiday flat, CHF 180 to 240. On to Grindelwald: Berner Oberland-Bahn from Interlaken Ost, 35 minutes, every half hour, around CHF 6 with a Half Fare Card.

    Tours at this stop: Lake Brienz boat trip to Giessbach ↗Jungfraujoch family ticket ↗Interlaken rope park ↗

    Open the Interlaken and Jungfraujoch travel guide →

  3. Day 5 to 7

    Grindelwald: First, Trottibike and the Pfingstegg Toboggan Run

    Three nights in Grindelwald, because everything is on the doorstep and by day three the children say what they want to repeat. Day five: first gondola up to First, the glass-floored Cliff Walk, the hour-long walk to the Bachalpsee, fine for children, then the descent in stages: First Flyer or Glider for the brave from age ten, Mountain Cart from Schreckfeld to Bort, Trottibike from Bort down to the village, from 125 centimetres in height, around CHF 20 to 25 (about EUR 21 to 27) each. Day six: Pfingstegg, the small cable car behind the village, CHF 16 with a Half Fare Card, toboggan run at the top, eight francs a ride, the Fly-Line through the trees, a playground, and the path to the glacier gorge with its spider web over the water. Day seven: Männlichen with the Royal Walk and playground, or simply the sports centre pool. Sleep in a holiday flat or a family hotel in the village, CHF 200 to 260; half board saves nerves in the evening. Getting home: train to Interlaken Ost, then to Zurich in 2 hours 45, to Basel in three hours, to Bern in 1 hour 30.

    Tours at this stop: First Cliff Walk and Bachalpsee ↗Trottibike and Mountain Cart at First ↗Grindelwald glacier gorge ↗

    Open the Grindelwald travel guide →

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What the route costs

Rough total per person for the whole route, mid-range, travelling as a pair. Flights and hotels vary by season; details are on the destination pages.

  • Getting there 54 EUR
  • Accommodation 642 EUR
  • Food 417 EUR
  • Local mobility 300 EUR
1,412 EUR
Total per person · 7 days

Money & payment: You pay in Swiss francs (CHF). Cards and the Twint app work practically everywhere, even on alpine pastures. Many shops accept euros but give change in francs at a poor rate. Service is included in prices; rounding up is customary.

Tips for the route

The Junior Card is the most important item in the planning: CHF 30 (about EUR 32) per child per year, valid on trains, buses, boats and most mountain railways when accompanied by a parent, from the ticket desk or in the SBB app. The Grandchild Card works the same way with grandparents. Children under six travel free everywhere. Without the card children pay half price, and with four mountain railways in a week that quickly comes to CHF 150.

In reverse from Grindelwald the route works if you arrive from Bern or Valais; the week then ends in Lucerne with the Transport Museum as the finale, which is the best insurance in bad weather. The order mountains first, city last has one advantage: on the last day tired children sit in a museum rather than in a gondola.

Hotels with family rooms in Lucerne and Interlaken are full three months ahead in July and August. Holiday flats in Grindelwald are often cheaper than hotels for three nights and have a kitchen, which with children saves CHF 80 (about EUR 86) a day in the evenings. Many family hotels offer half board with a children's menu; check whether the Jungfrau Region guest card includes local buses and the indoor pool.

Snacks from the Coop rather than the mountain restaurant: a children's plate up there costs CHF 15 to 18 (about EUR 16 to 19), a bottle of water CHF 6. Every fountain in the villages and on the alps has drinking water, so bring bottles. The First, Männlichen and Pilatus Kulm stations have playgrounds, where the break lasts longer; plan for it instead of fighting it.

Setting off early is easier with children than it sounds, because they are awake early: the first gondola up to First at eight has no queue, at eleven you stand for an hour. In high summer thunderstorms roll in regularly in the afternoon, and then the Trottibikes are closed. A rain jacket and a second pair of trousers per child in the rucksack; at 2,000 metres it is often only twelve degrees in July.

June and September are the better months: the same railways, fewer people, hotels 20 to 30 percent cheaper, and the neighbouring countries' summer holidays are over or have not yet begun. The Trottibikes and the Pfingstegg toboggan run operate from May to October, as do the First Flyer and Glider. Swimming in the lakes is possible from mid-June; Lake Brienz stays cold even then.

Frequently asked questions about Jungfrau with Kids

How long do you need for the family route?

Seven days with two nights in Lucerne and Interlaken and three in Grindelwald is the right pace with children: only two moves and one activity a day, not three. In five days Lucerne plus Grindelwald works without Interlaken. With ten days you add rest days in Grindelwald; the children will want them.

When is the best time for a family holiday in the Jungfrau region?

Mid-June to mid-September, because then the Trottibikes, toboggan run, boats and all mountain railways are in summer operation and the lakes get warm enough. June and September are cheaper and emptier than the school holiday weeks in July and August. In winter the route works with sledging and ski school, then with different prices and programme.

Do you need a car with children?

No, quite the opposite: with the Junior Card the children travel free on trains and boats, while a car would cost CHF 25 to 30 (about EUR 27 to 32) a day to park in Lucerne and Grindelwald and get you up no mountain. Pushchairs fit in all trains and gondolas, and the mountain railway stations have lifts. For the transfer over the Brünig the railway is prettier than the road.

What does the week cost per person?

Budget around CHF 1,320 (about EUR 1,412) per adult for two adults: travel with a Half Fare Card 50, six nights in a family room 600, food 390, trains, boats and mountain railways 280. Per child add a hotel supplement of CHF 30 to 50 a night, food of CHF 20 to 25 a day and the Trottibikes; the railways are free with the Junior Card.

Is the route suitable for small children?

From about four, yes: the walks are short, the railways are an experience in themselves, and the toboggan run and Fly-Line have minimum ages of three to four. Trottibike and Mountain Cart are from 125 centimetres, First Flyer and Glider from age ten. On the Jungfraujoch at 3,454 metres small children often get tired or grizzly, so stay no longer than two hours up there.

Is there a shorter or longer version?

Shorter: Grindelwald only with five nights, travelling straight there, with a day trip to Interlaken by boat. Longer: after Grindelwald two nights in Mürren with the Allmendhubel playground and the Schilthorn, or at the start two days in Zurich with the zoo and the lakeside baths, making nine to ten days.

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