How do the boat trips on Lake Brienz and Thun work
A traveler is planning a family trip to Interlaken for three days, focusing on boat trips on Lakes Brienz and Thun. They're seeking advice on itineraries, worthwhile stops, and understanding ticket prices, particularly if they should get a day pass or individual tickets.
- Consider getting the Bernese Oberland Pass for unlimited travel on local transport, as it simplifies fare issues.
- For Lake Brienz, stopping at Giessbach Falls and Iseltwald is highly recommended, and the walk between them is scenic.
- Using the SBB timetable is easier for understanding boat schedules and fares than the PDF link.
- The Swiss Half Fare Card offers discounted prices on boat tickets, so make sure to check the grey prices in the fare table.
AI-generated summary-
Hi all,
Apologies in advance for the multitude of questions. My family is interested in taking boat trips on Lakes Brienz and Thun during 3 days in Interlaken. We are also visiting Wengen and spending a week there. I am wondering if it is worthwhile to visit both lakes while in Interlaken, and what stops on the tour are recommended? I am also very confused reading the fare table that is linked below.
For the Lake Briez tour, we would be departing from Interlaken OST. I’d like to stop at Giessbach and hike to the waterfall and see the Grandhotel. Are there other stops that are worthwhile to make? We were also thinking about stopping at Iseltwald (or potentially walking from Giessbach to Iseltwald) and boarding the boat or train back from Iseltwald to Interlaken. I am trying to figure out if we should book a day pass on the boat for unlimited stops, or just get individual tickets, and having a lot of trouble understanding the time and fare tables I liked above. If I have the half fare card, do I look at the prices in white (I assume the prices highlighted in green are full price). If I want first class tickets, do I add the prices highlighted in gray on the “class upgrade” page. So in other words, if I wanted to buy a first class, one way ticket from Interlaken to Giessbach, it would be 11.2+3.7=14.9 CHF, correct?
Planning the Lake Thun trip is even more complicated because there are so many stops. I was hoping to stop at Spiez, Oberhofen and then Thun, but I also heard some people prefer to take the train to Thun then board the boat from there? Is there a reason to do this (besides being able to book an earlier boat from Thun?) Is it anticlimatic to go from Thun back to Interlaken on the boat? I am also wondering if there are other stops we should make along the cruise? Can someone help me read and understand the fare table? If I am reading it correctly, then it looks like a one way ticket from Interlaken to Spiez would be 22 CHF for half fare card holders, but I don’t understand all the other fare prices above it in that same column. Are those prices from stops in between Interlaken and Spiez? Wondering if anyone here knows?
Thanks so much!
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Hi seru,
you can use the SBB timetable for the boat trips as well, I think it is easier to use than that pdf file. Have you already seen these pages: http://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakethun and http://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakebrienz?
The cogwheel trains to the Brienzer Rothorn depart just minutes away from the boat dock in Brienz. These two trips are easy to combine. I am not sure when you are traveling, the train to the top operates between 4 June and 23 October 2022. Learn more here: http://www.myswissalps.com/brienzerrothorn/gettingthere.
Giessbach Falls is a great idea. The walk to Iseltwald is an also nice and easy walk: http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/giessbach-iseltwald/route
While you are traveling by boat on lake Thun, you can easily visit the St. Beatus caves. The boat dock is called ‘Beatushöhlen-Sundlauenen’. From there, you can walk to the caves in about 25 minutes.
Regarding the pdf timetable and the fares. if you have a Swiss Half Fare Card, you can use it on the boats too. You’ll pay the grey prices (on the pdf, the cheaper ones). For example from Interlaken to Thun it (1 way) it costs 28 CHF per person with a Swiss Half fare Card (I highlighted it with green on the attachment). While from the Beatushöhlen to Thun it costs 21 CHF with Swiss Half fare Card (with blue on the attachment). Note, that it does not matter if it is from A to B or from B to A, it is the same price.
But that pdf is quite difficult, use the SBB timetable. That will also show you the prices.
You can buy the day pass (you’ll find prices here: http://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakethun/tickets and http://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakebrienz/tickets), or you can buy a single ticket one way and the other way. If you buy point to point tickets (and not the supersaver tickets) you can get off the boats and continue your trip later. It is similar to the trains: http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/switzerland.
I hope this helps,
Ildiko
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Try not to over analyse or over think Swiss transport. Also try not to overplan a Swiss holiday (see below)
All lake boats on the major lakes in Switzerland work the same way – they are public passenger services used by tourists, but also by anyone else who wants to get from A to B on a route served by boat , in much the same way as a bus.
If I were you staying as you are in the Berner Oberland area for quite a while I would get a Berner Oberland pass and all the fares problems would disappear for you because the pass is valid for unlimited travel on all main transport routes in the area, so you would be able to hop on and hop off at will at whatever landing stage you fancy.
It is often counterproductive to plan ahead too much. You are just as likely to be on the boat and approaching a village where the boat stops, and think ‘oh wow that looks nice, lets get off for a while’.
You may have read this in some other posts. The boats are based at Thun, so the first departure from Interlaken West is by definition always going to be later than the first boat from Thun. The comments about getting to Thun first and then getting the boat are most relevant when the lake boat service is in ‘winter’ mode when the number of sailings is restricted. After late May the first boat from Interlaken is earlier at 11.10, but if you want a whole day around the lake this is still quite late, so you may want to go somewhere by bus first (the whole north shore of the Thunersee has the very frequent number 21 bus serving dozens of stops between Unterseen and Thun.
Thanks for all the replies! I will use the SBB site to look up ticket prices then. We thought about getting the Swiss Rail Pass or the Bernese Oberland Pass but when I calculated all the different costs comparing the different tickets, the Half Fare Card still seemed significantly cheaper. I agree the SRP or BO pass would make things easier though!
In the past I have had a Swiss half fare card and also bought the BO pass for the section of the holiday we spent in that area – the half fare card gives a discount on the purchase price of a BO pass so that might work for you.
Hi Seru,
When you compare overall travel costs for various passes, be aware that the timetable shows the discounted price by default. So, that is not the price you need to compare with. It’s explained here: http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable. And also http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass. Just want to make sure you’re not drawing wrong conclusions 🙂
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