[Emilylee]

23 November 2021 at 6:04:41 #826309

Hi, I was thinking of adding a boat ride on my way to Interlaken from Zermatt by changing to a boat ride at Spiez (so that I can also cover Lake Thun). Does this itinerary make sense? If I went to Interlaken by train then take the boat from there to visit lake then, it felt like a back and forth.

I will be travelling on the 16 December, and I understand that there might be lesser boats during winter in Lake Thun? So I am not sure if this might be feasible.

Zermatt -> Spiez (Train), then Spiez -> Interlaken West (Boat). – Does it makes sense to walk form train station to the boat port at Spiez?

Also, would I be able to bring my luggages onboard for free or would there be a charge during the boat rides?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions. Sign up

[Anna]

23 November 2021 at 6:49:04 #937616

Hi EmilyLee,

Yes, this route is possible although it will add considerable time to your journey. The boat journey from Spiez to Interlaken West takes about 1 hr and 45 mins. In December, there is only 1 boat service a day at 12.28pm: https://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakethun/gettingthere. So please plan your journey carefully if you don’t want to miss your boat connection. Take note that the train journey from Zermatt to Spiez takes roughly 1 hr and 40 mins: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable. From Spiez train station you can take a Postauto bus to the boat landing stage (Spiez Schiffstation) but there is only 1 bus every 1 hour. Or you can walk, takes about 15 minutes, perhaps longer with luggage. And yes, you are allowed to bring your luggage on the boat with no additional charge.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Anna

[Removed user]

24 November 2021 at 1:00:45 #937617

Don’t forget Switzerland is a small country, you may be overestimating the journey times involved around the Thunersee, which is only about 15km end to end . Bear in mind it only takes the train 20 minutes to travel from Spiez to Interlaken.

The following information will help:

* – The road from Spiez station (high above the lake) down to the landing stage is steep and it is hard to walk down with heavy luggage.

* – On the contrary, Thun boat landing stage is adjacent to Thun railway station and both are in flat territory.

* – a Spiez – Interlaken only boat journey misses most of the castles!

As such, to avoid feeling you are going ‘out and back’, I recommend you travel to Thun then take the boat to Interlaken

The first sheet of the attached timetable PDF shows the Lake boat and the connections from Visp:

http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/fileadmin/fap_pdf_fields/2022/3310.pdf

[Emilylee]

24 November 2021 at 2:23:37 #937618

Thank you both for the good advice and information! 🙂

[TravelElla]

25 November 2021 at 13:22:26 #937619

Hello Anna

Please help with the way how to look for the Ferry/Boat Timetables on Lake Thun & Lake Brienz on the SBB Timetable.

I have “played” with a date later in November (29 November 2021) to see how the system works, although we will only be in Interlaken area September 2022.

I have put in Depart Spiez See – Arrive Interlaken Ost See.

Maybe I don’t understand the timetable or maybe I have put in the wrong names, but it only looks like Buses and Trains that show for this line.

Or is there maybe another website where I can get these schedules?

Regards

TravelElla

[Removed user]

25 November 2021 at 13:34:07 #937620

Hi TravelElla,

in the SBB timetable use the ‘Advanced search’. In the ‘Transport type’ part select only the ‘Ships’ and nothing else. So you will see only the ships.

I hope this will help you,

Ildiko

More about the timetable: http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable

[TravelElla]

25 November 2021 at 14:03:41 #937621

Hello 1960man

Can I use the link of this Fahr Plan that you have provided to check the Ferry/Boat Timetables of Lake Brienz and Lake Thun for September 2022?

Is so, please provide the exact website for the above routes.

Regards

TravelElla

[TravelElla]

25 November 2021 at 14:41:08 #937622

Hello Ildiko

Thanks a million for your help in this regard!!

I have managed now how to use the “Advanced Search” for these boat schedules.

This was the first time that I had a proper look at the Advanced Search set-up.

Super easy and user friendly 🙂

TravelElla

[Removed user]

25 November 2021 at 16:56:50 #937623

Hi TravelElla,

I am very glad you managed it. Yes, it is user friendly 🙂

Take care,

Ildiko

[Removed user]

26 November 2021 at 10:57:31 #937624

Yes,

Now that the 2022 timetable has been loaded on to the official Swiss Timetable site (http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch) it is easy to find the PDFs .

The ‘Kursbuch’ is the Swiss national Timetable that has been in place since 1905!

Each line has a number. Railways are 100 – 900s onwards, Cableways are numbered in the 2000s , Lake boats are in the number 3000s. Bus routes are regionalised according to the railway timetable number roughly by area, hence as you see below a bus in the area near railway timetable 310 has a 31 prefix.

Once you get to know the numbers you can just put that in the search, for example Spiez – Interlaken railway is table number 310 , the bus on the north side of the Thunersee is table 31.201 , and the Thunersee lake boat number is table 3310.

Otherwise you put in a placename, which then finds all the stations and stops with that placename included. For example ‘Thun’ will be the main station, Thun (See) is the boat landing stage at Thun, and Thun, Berntor is one of many bus stops in the area.

The home page is:

http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch

You can choose the language, including English, then use the search as above.

[TravelElla]

26 November 2021 at 15:58:17 #937625

Hello 1960man

Thank you so much for this info regarding the timetables.

I will definately have a look at it.

Regards

TravelElla