What trip is suitable for half a day in Interlaken

Hi there. Ill be in interlaken OST with my family in the 20th July and have half a day there where I have to take a train to barcelona at 5pm. Is there any short trip that I can bring my family to go around Interlaken or any boat trip that will allow me to reach the train statiom by 5pm?i have a interrail pass as well.

Welcome to MySwissAlps, justin92!

Sure, there are many options. Are you able to start in the morning, or can you only spend the afternoon on this? A list of activities in the Interlaken region can be found here. If skies are clear, it's worth it to visit a nearby mountain top like Schynige Platte. The short ride up to Harder Kulm offers nice views as well. Otherwise, a boat trip over Lake Thun or Lake Brienz is a good idea. For example, a boat ride from Interlaken Ost to Brienz takes about 1h15. You could take the train back in order to save time.

The timetable allows you to find traveling times and will help you determine what you can and cannot do in the time you have available.

Yes. I am available in the morning. I am interested in the lake brein trip. May i know what time is the earliest boat and how long will the train from brein to interlaken ost? I am afraid I have not enough time for it. And whether my interrail pass includes the boat trip. Thank you for your prompt reply.

Hi justin92,

It's called Lake Brienz. Train and boat times are in the timetable I linked to. A separate boat timetable can be found through the link on the Lake Brienz page I referred to in my last post. I think the first boat from Interlaken Ost departs around 9 AM. The full trip to Brienz takes about 75 minutes.

According to the Interrail website the boats are fully covered.

Thank you for your prompt reply. I tried using the timetable and I feel that I am not used to it. Just to confirm, on the 20th july. So i key in from 'Interlaken OST Brs' to 'Brienz Brs' ? Does the Brs means boat trip? And for the return, I searched from 'Brienz' to 'Interlaken OST'. And for this two trips, do i need to reserve? Because the timetable shows a button "Fare/Buy". I am not sure do I need to buy if I have the interrail pass. Thank you so much for your help! Will definately recommend this forum to my friends travelling to Switzerland!

Hi justin92,

You don't need to book or buy anything. Just board the boat and show your pass when requested.

Interlaken Ost Brs is the name of the boat dock near the Interlaken Ost rail station. If you're using this timetable, it will first show you the quickest connection between any two locations (usually that's a train). From there choose your preferred mode of transport in the advanced search (boat only in your case) to see only the boats. The separate boat timetable Annika mentioned might be easier to read.

Thanks in advance for recommending us!