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Jungfrau Express Five-Star All Inclusive

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4.4 stars(57 reviews)
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Small Group

Explore the highlights of the Swiss Alps

You are viewing the 2023 itinerary. Select your departure year
20222023
9 days From £2,495 per person

2023 Tour code: GIS23

About the tour

Explore the Swiss Alps from our charming base in the village of Grindelwald. Journey on the Jungfrau Railway to Europe's highest railway station, Jungfraujoch, where there's a private tour of the Ice Bar followed by drinks, enjoy a mountaintop dinner and soak up classic Swiss luxury at your Five-Star hotel

Highlights

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What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - London and Colmar

Our Swiss adventure begins at London St Pancras, where we board the Eurostar service to Paris before continuing to the beautiful Alsatian town of Colmar for the night.

Includes
  • Dinner
  • Eurostar Meal
Day 2 – Grindelwald

After a morning at leisure in colourful Colmar, we take the train to Grindelwald, where our 5-Star hotel awaits. One of Europe's oldest mountain resorts, surrounded by the dramatic peaks of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains, the origin of the village name is the old German word 'grindel', a piece of wood that serves as a barrier, and 'wald', a forest closed off from the rest of the world. Filled with Swiss charm and surrounded by wildflower meadows during the summer and open skiing fields in the winter, this is a picturesque destination all year round.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 – Grindelwald First cable-car

We board the Grindelwald First cable-car system which takes us up the nearby mountain that shares its name with the resort. Ascending to Grindelwald First in the sky gondola is a delight, affording some wonderful panoramas of the magnificent Alps. Admire the views across the snowy peaks of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, swathes of forests and far-off resort villages as you breathe in the fresh mountain air and enjoy the spectacular scenery before returning to Grindelwald.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 – Grindelwald

Today is free in Grindelwald, a quintessentially Swiss village of traditional wooden chalets, live music bars and plenty of excellent cafés to relax in. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, you could brave Grindelwald's ZipRider attraction. Offering a birds' eye view of the scenery below, this seated zip line is a thrilling way to experience the surrounding mountains, reaching top speeds of up to 55mph.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 - The Jungfrau Railway

We enjoy a highlight of our holiday today, a journey to Jungfraujoch - Europe's highest station. We board the train in Grindelwald, where we're met by our expert guide. At Kleine Scheidegg, we join the remarkable Jungfrau Railway and the distinctive red and yellow carriages start to climb through a tunnel hewn out of the Eiger. We pause at the halfway station where our guide gives a fascinating talk about the history and construction of the line before arriving at the 'Top of Europe', over 11,000 feet above sea level. Another unique experience awaits us here as we transfer to the mountain's Ice Bar, in the heart of the Ice Palace, for a private tour plus sub-zero drinks and snacks. Carved from the interior of Europe's longest glacier, everything - from the glasses to the décor - is made from ice.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6 - Schynige Platte Railway

We travel by cog railway through pretty Alpine meadows on the way to Schynige Platte. Enjoying the journey from restored 19th-century carriages, this vintage electric train hugs the mountain as we cross bridges and wind through tunnels. At the summit, you have time to explore the Alpine Botanical Garden. An explosion of colour, it features around 600 different high-altitude plant species and, interestingly, is twinned with a similar garden on the slopes of Mount Rokko in Japan.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7 - Interlaken and Brienz

Our first destination today is Interlaken, a sweet town situated between two Alpine lakes. We continue to the cosy village of Brienz, the starting point for our steam-hauled ascent of Brienz-Rothorn by mountain railway. At the mountain's top, there's free time to drink in the views across the Emmental Alps or to visit the summit restaurant. Following a scenic cruise back to Interlaken, we enjoy an incredible dinner at the Harder Kulm Panorama Restaurant this evening. Overlooking the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains, with beautiful views of Lakes Thun and Brienz, we ascend by private railway for a meal in a stunning setting.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8 – Grindelwald

Enjoy another free day to explore with your Swiss Travel Card. You could travel to the medieval city of Bern, known for its Gothic cathedral and 'Ogre Fountain' in the Old Town. The city is nestled in a dramatic bend of the River Aare, and its cultural offerings include the Historical Museum, the Bern Museum of Fine Arts. The Einstein House and Paul Klee Center are dedicated to two of the city's former inhabitants. If you cross the river from the Old Town to the city's beautiful Rose Garden you'll be rewarded with wonderful views of the city. Other famous sights include the Zytglogge, or clock tower, the oldest building in the city

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9 – London

After a final breakfast, we board the train to Basel, continuing to Paris for the Eurostar to London St Pancras where our journey ends.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch
  • Eurostar Meal

Additional information

Please Note

Please note: One of the excursions on this tour is at high altitude. If you have any medical conditions or concerns that could impact this part of the tour, we recommend you seek medical advice and talk to us. We want to make sure that any holiday you book is right for you.

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotel

Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof

Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof, Grindelwald

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Trains

Brienz-Rothorn Mountain Railway
Eurostar
Jungfrau Railway
Schynige Platte Railway

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Upgrades

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London Hotels
UK rail connections

Reviews

4.4 stars4.4 / 5 · 57 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (32)
  2. 4 stars
    (16)
  3. 3 stars
    (8)
  4. 2 stars
    (0)
  5. 1 star
    (1)

Mrs Helen Pearson

3 stars

Submitted 3/Oct

The 5 star hotel was not up to standard regarding the breakfasts and dinners in the evening. Also I think our tour operator needed more support as this was her first trip to the Jungfrau Express

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TLee

3 stars

Submitted 3/Oct

The connection times for the trains on the outward journey were far to short to give any leeway for short delays. This lead to missed trains which then involved a lot of standing around at stations and not having our paid for First Class seats. On one of the trains we had to stand all the way. Just as disappointingly, despite pointing this out to Great Rail in my review they have not been in touch to offer recompense for the loss of First Class travel.

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D Burfitt

4 stars

Submitted 28/Sep

GRJ need to work on transit times. Hotel not quite 5*

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Iain Andrews

5 stars

Submitted 28/Sep

Great way to see the sights of the Bernese Oberlands with priority access to many of the facilities. Might not suit those with limited mobility as some trips involve two hour free time on mountainsides, and unreliable trains may require speedy transfer between platforms. There are two days without organised excursions, but half-price Swiss railcards provide the opportunity to view sites (in our case the Riechenbach Falls) without breaking the bank.

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Mike Martin

4 stars

Submitted 28/Sep

Lovely holiday, crammed full of beautiful views ( mostly!) and breathtaking mountain scenery. Comfortable hotel en-route and in Grindelwald, although the choice of evening meals was somewhat limited to just meat or non-meat main courses. Breakfasts, however, were excellent, but again, the packed lunches were devoid of imagination. Good staff , with a mischevious sense of humour. Tour manager was excellent, and coped well with some of the issues caused by limited transfer times between trains-something I have brought to Great Rail's attention. This is a rail tour that needs all participants to be capable of carrying their own luggage where they have not opted to have it sent on ahead ( as we did since it was included in the cost), and to be reasonably agile to enter and leave trains where entry is occasionally from track rather than platform level. Agility also helps on some of the mountain-top walks if the most is to be had from the holiday. Slight disappointment we did not get a view from Jungfraujoch after a wait of three years, but you can hardly blame the weather on Great Rail, and the other mountain-top views were stunning. The fresh snow added a real touch of Switzerland in winter as well..Looking at the current non-existant views from the webcams at the various sites we visited it looks like we were very fortunate with the weather for most of our holiday! Recommended for anyone who loves trains ( of all sizes) and train travel combined with mountain views.

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Mike Martin
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John

4 stars

Submitted 28/Sep

The experience in Switzerland was five star. Trips out. Public transport etc. Though the food at the beginning of the week was nearer three stars. The hotel rooms and facilities were excellent. However, the journey out was spoiled by a missed connection in Paris, resulting from a delayed Eurostar. The journey back almost went the same way when the German train from Interlaken to Basel was nearly thirty minutes late into Basel. Why not fly/ rail like a couple of years ago?

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