Zugspitze van tour review

My verdict: this is the most reviewed tour on this site by a very long way, 759 ratings at 4.7 stars, and it does not go to the Partnach Gorge. Both of those are true at once, and if you came here for the gorge the second one is the one that matters. As a Zugspitze day it earns its reputation.

4.7★★★★★759 reviewsfrom about a hundred and thirty euros per person

Length of day9 hours

Goes to the gorgeNo

Where it goesZugspitze summit and Garmisch town

VehicleVan from Munich, hotel pickup on request

Reviews759, the most on this site

759 reviews, and none of them are about the gorge

The next busiest listing here has 272 reviews. This one has 759, which means most of what is written about Alpine day trips from Munich is written about this van. It is also why the tour turns up when people search for Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Partnachklamm, and why I am putting the following sentence in its own paragraph.

This tour goes to the summit of the Zugspitze and into Garmisch town. It does not stop at the Partnach Gorge. Nine hours, and none of them are in the gorge. If that is what you wanted, the canyon and waterfall day trip is the one built around it, and the full catalogue marks every tour that comes here.

What the reviewers praise

“named her guide, Toby” Sarah — on the guiding
“hotel pickup made the early start workable” Tajudeen — paraphrased from the review
“rated the day highly” Bianca — one of 759

The pattern across that many reviews is consistent and slightly dull, which is what you want from a bus: it leaves, it arrives, somebody tells you things, the pickup works. The price is the low end of the Munich day trips on this site, and at nine hours it is also one of the longer ones.

What works

The largest body of evidence on this site by an order of magnitude
Hotel pickup, which the reviews say actually happens
The lowest headline price among the Munich day trips here
Guides get named, which usually means they are doing the job

Worth knowing

It does not visit the Partnach Gorge at all
Nine hours, roughly three of them in the vehicle
The summit is weather-dependent in a way the gorge is not
A 4.7 average means some people had a bad day, and they say why

Adding the gorge yourself

You cannot bolt the Partnachklamm onto this day; the stop in town is not long enough for the walk in and back. What you can do is stay a night in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, do the summit on one day and the gorge on the next for about ten euros and a bus ride. That is the calculation on the Munich day trip page, and the reason it comes out the way it does is the walk in. The operator warns that short-notice closures for safety are sometimes unavoidable, so check partnachklamm.de on the morning you travel.

Rating4.7 / 5

Reviews759

Fromabout a hundred and thirty euros

Hours9

GorgeNot on the route

DepartsMunich

Check dates for the Zugspitze van tour

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on most tours — book now, decide later.

If you want the gorge instead

Gorge day trip

Frequently asked questions

Does the Zugspitze van tour visit the Partnach Gorge?

No. It goes to the Zugspitze summit and into Garmisch-Partenkirchen town, and the gorge is not on the itinerary. The tours that do come here are marked on the full catalogue.

Why does it have so many more reviews than the others?

It has been selling for years and it is the cheapest way into the mountains from Munich, so it accumulates. 759 reviews at 4.7 is a far more reliable number than a 5.0 from five, which is worth remembering when you compare scores on the reviews hub.

Can I see the gorge on the same day?

Not on this tour. The stop in town is too short for the 2.2 km walk in, the gorge and the walk back. Doing both means an overnight in Garmisch-Partenkirchen — see the day trip page.

Is nine hours too long?

About three of those hours are the drive, and a five-star reviewer on a comparable tour wrote that it could be done in six. If a long fixed day puts you off, the private options set their own pace.