Lake Thun or Lake Brienz?

Which boat ride is better, Lake Thun or Lake Brienz?

Neither wins outright. Lake Brienz is the better ride for scenery in a short time; Lake Thun is the better ride for places to get off and things to see on shore.

If you only have a morning, take Lake Brienz. The boat leaves Interlaken Ost through a short canal on the Aare, and within minutes you are on milky turquoise water between steep forest. Iseltwald and Giessbach Falls come up inside the first hour. Lake Thun takes longer to reveal itself, but it gives back more: Oberhofen Castle on the water, the castle and church on the Spiez promontory, the St. Beatus Caves above the north shore and an old town at Thun.

Here is how we would split it:

• Short on time, first visit: Lake Brienz, out to Iseltwald or Giessbach and back.
• Castle and history fans: Lake Thun, with a stop at Spiez or Oberhofen.
• Steamer fans: either, on the right day. The Lötschberg sails Lake Brienz Wednesday to Sunday in summer; the Blümlisalp is on Lake Thun.
• Visiting from November to March: Lake Thun. Lake Brienz boats stop after early December.
• Want both: a both-lakes day ticket and the short train hop between the two Interlaken stations.

What is the difference between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz?

Lake Thun is bigger and more built up; Lake Brienz is deeper, narrower and more turquoise, with far fewer towns on its shores.

By the Wikipedia figures, Lake Thun covers 48.3 km² and runs 17.5 km from Interlaken to Thun. Lake Brienz covers 29.8 km², is about 14 km long and reaches 260 m deep. The colour difference is real. Glacial silt carried in by the Lütschine and the Aare gives Lake Brienz its turquoise, strongest from spring into early summer and again into autumn, per Interlaken Tourism. Lake Thun reads more blue-green.

The shores differ too. Lake Brienz has a handful of villages: Bönigen, Ringgenberg, Niederried, Oberried, Iseltwald and Brienz. Lake Thun has more than a dozen boat stops, vineyards above Spiez and a proper town at each end.

Which lake is prettier, Brienz or Thun?

For most people, Lake Brienz. The turquoise water and the near-wild south shore are what end up on the postcards; Lake Thun is prettier if you like castles and towns in the frame.

Lake Brienz looks like the brochures. On a sunny day in June the water goes a colour that photos rarely exaggerate, and the south shore between Iseltwald and Giessbach is forest almost all the way down. The Iseltwald peninsula, with its small castle-like house and the jetty known from the K-drama Crash Landing on You, is the most photographed spot on either lake.

Lake Thun is gentler and wider. The view opens up, the Niesen stands like a pyramid over the south shore, and the beauty is in the man-made bits: Oberhofen's tower in the water, the vineyards at Spiez, Thun's castle above the roofs. On a grey day we would rather be on Lake Thun. On a bright one, Lake Brienz.

Castles or waterfalls: what will you see from each boat?

Lake Thun is the castle lake: Thun, Schadau, Hünegg, Oberhofen and Spiez, per BLS. Lake Brienz is the waterfall lake, with Giessbach Falls dropping about 400 m into the water.

On Lake Thun the boat passes Oberhofen Castle so close you can see the windows of its lake tower. Spiez Castle sits on its own peninsula with about 1,300 years of history, per MySwitzerland, and Thun Castle with its four corner turrets looks down on the town at the end of the line. The St. Beatus Caves on the north shore have their own boat stop. All of it is in the Lake Thun cruise guide.

Lake Brienz trades castles for water. Giessbach Falls come down about 400 m in 14 steps, and from the Giessbach See pier the 1879 Giessbachbahn funicular climbs to the falls and the Grandhotel. Ringgenberg has its 12th-century castle above the north shore, and Brienz at the far end is known for woodcarving. The route, stop by stop, is in the Lake Brienz cruise guide.

The Lake Brienz side with a guide: the scheduled boat to Giessbach, the old funicular, the path behind the falls and a forest walk to the Iseltwald jetty, max 5 guests. Pass holders ride the boat on their pass.

★ 5.0 · 5 hours · from $183

Explore the Giessbach and Iseltwald boat day → Tour details

Which lake has the paddle steamers?

Both, one each. The Blümlisalp, built in 1906, sails Lake Thun in summer; the Lötschberg, built in 1914, sails Lake Brienz Wednesday to Sunday from 23 May to 27 September 2026.

BLS keeps two Belle Époque paddle steamers. The Blümlisalp was out of service for about two decades before a nationwide fundraising campaign paid for its restoration from 1989 to 1992; it has run again since May 1992. The Lötschberg won an ICOMOS award in 2008 for its restoration, and BLS calls it the jewel of Lake Brienz. Both are scheduled boats, so a normal ticket or a valid travel pass gets you on.

If a steamer matters to you, plan the day around it, because most courses on both lakes are motor ships. The 2026 BLS timetable marks the steamer courses. On Lake Brienz, Mondays and Tuesdays are motor ship days, and from 28 September every course runs with a motor ship.

How long is the boat ride on each lake?

From Interlaken Ost to Brienz takes about 1 h 13 to 1 h 15. From Interlaken West to Thun takes about 2 hours end to end.

Those are one-way times on the scheduled boats, with every stop. Few people ride the whole way and back. On Lake Brienz the classic plan is Interlaken Ost to Iseltwald or Giessbach, an hour or two ashore, then the boat back. On Lake Thun many people sail one way and take the train back: Thun to Interlaken is roughly half an hour by rail.

When do the boats run, and are they covered by a Swiss pass?

Lake Thun boats run all year. Lake Brienz boats run from 3 April to 6 December 2026. On both, the scheduled boats are covered by the main Swiss travel passes.

The full summer timetable runs from 9 May to 11 October on Lake Thun and from 23 May to 11 October on Lake Brienz. Spring and autumn bring fewer boats, and from mid-November to mid-March only Lake Thun has a service. In low-water periods, Lake Brienz boats can leave from Bönigen instead of Interlaken Ost.

The scheduled BLS boats on both lakes are fully covered by the Swiss Travel Pass (the Flex version with the day entered), the GA travelcard, the Berner Oberland Pass and Eurail or Interrail with the date entered. The Half Fare card gives 50% off. Pass holders already ride the scheduled boats, so the trips that add something for them are the ones with a boat of their own: the jetboat, the kayak tour and the fondue float. Without a pass you need a ticket anyway, and the boat day pass is that ticket. Note that its Lake Brienz part runs from early April to mid-October, per the listing. The whole pass picture is in the Swiss pass guide.

Can you do Lake Thun and Lake Brienz in one day?

Yes, with an early start. There is no boat between the lakes, so you sail one, take the train or bus across Interlaken, and sail the other.

A workable summer plan: the morning boat from Interlaken Ost to Giessbach or Iseltwald, back by early afternoon, then over to Interlaken West for a Lake Thun boat to Spiez and the train home. BLS says its Thun and Brienz day ticket includes Libero zone 750, which covers the train between Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost and the Interlaken buses. A day pass holder said it plainly:

★★★★★

It was a fun experience. Be advised that you will need to take a smaller boat, train, or walk over to Interlaken West. Or if you’re going the other way go to Interlaken OST.

Every way of getting between the piers is in getting to Brienz and Thun.

One day on the scheduled BLS boats of both lakes: start at Thun, Interlaken West, Interlaken Ost or Brienz, and hop off at Iseltwald, Giessbach, Spiez or Oberhofen.

★ 4.2 · 1 day · from $50

Explore the boat day pass for both lakes → Tour details

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