In this article, I will be showing you how to book a cruise on Lake Brienz in Switzerland. Before the trip, I was a little confused because there are many types of tickets and cruise itineraries available. However, I managed to figure it out and will be providing you with the details below.
Lake Brienz Cruise
Enjoying the cool Spring air
Iseltwald town – one of the stops along the cruise
Lake Brienz is a beautiful lake with turquoise waters in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. It is right next to another famous lake, Lake Thun.
The small resort town of Interlaken is located between these two alpine lakes.
Taking a cruise on Lake Brienz is a very popular tourist activity. The cruise starts at the dock in Interlaken Ost, and ends at the Brienz dock.
The Lake Brienz cruise boats only operate from April to October. There is a winter cruise, but it is only available on Lake Thun.
The boats are owned and run by Swiss transport company BLS AG, under the “BLS Navigation” brand.
Where To Board The Cruise Boat
Interlaken Ost Boat Dock
Brienz Boat Dock
Lake Brienz has two main boat docks. One is located beside the Interlaken Ost train station, while the other is located beside Brienz train station.
You can also board at smaller lakefront towns between Interlaken Ost and Brienz, such as Gissenbach and Iseltwald.
However, most tourists will usually board at Interlaken Ost or Brienz. The wife and I took the cruise from Interlaken Ost because we were staying in Interlaken.
Where to Buy Tickets
Ticket counter on the boat
1. On the Boat
You can buy tickets directly on the boat using cash or credit card.
2. At the Dock
It is also possible to buy from the ticket counters at the docks. I bought my tickets at the Interlaken Ost boat dock near the train station.
3. Online
If you prefer, it is possible to buy tickets online. However, it is not necessary to do so because the boat tickets rarely sell out.
Swiss Transport Passes
If you have a Swiss Half Fare Card, you can buy tickets at half price. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you get to take the cruise for free.
Types of Tickets
There are many types of tickets, but I have listed below the ones that are relevant to most tourists. For the full list of ticket types, click here.
1. Single Tickets
These are tickets to get from one dock to another. You can get one-way or round trip tickets. The ticket fares are indicated in the below picture. Green-shaded fares are for first class tickets. To get the latest fares, click here and download the PDF under “Single Tickets”.
Single Ticket Fares (click to enlarge)
2. One Day Ticket
If you plan to explore the various small towns along Lake Brienz, then you should get a 1-day ticket. This will be a lot cheaper than buying multiple Single Tickets. Below are the prices of the tickets.
1st Class – CHF 102 (CHF 51 with Swiss Half Fare Card)
2nd Class – CHF 70 (CHF 35 With Swiss Half Fare Card)
If you have a second class Swiss Travel Pass, you can pay CHF 16 to upgrade to the first class day ticket.
3. Upgrades
Even if you’ve already bought a second class ticket, it is still possible to upgrade to first class by simply topping up the additional amount required.
For example, if you bought a second class ticket for CHF 25, and a first class ticket costs CHF 40, then you just need to pay CHF 15 to get the upgrade.
First Class vs Second Class
Upper Deck (First Class)
First Class Seating Area
Lower Deck (Second Class)
Second Class Seating Area
The cruise boats offer two seating classes: First Class and Second Class.
The First Class seats are located on the upper deck. Therefore, you will get a better view of the lake and surrounding Swiss landscape. It is also usually less crowded.
The Second Class seats are on the lower deck, and is usually less peaceful than the First Class area.
The wife and I bought First Class tickets. Personally, I feel that it was worth the premium because we enjoyed great views from the upper deck. It was also significantly less noisy than the lower deck, which had several families with young children.
Cruise Timetable
Above is the April to June 2019 timetable for the Lake Brienz cruise. You can get the latest timetable by clicking here and downloading the PDF under “Printed timetable”. There are many details to look out for in the timetable, which I will explain below.
1. Firstly, to understand the symbols and colour codes in the timetable, you can refer to the screenshots below. It was taken from the same PDF as the timetable.
List of Symbols
Colour Codes
2. If the destination does not have a timing stated, it means the boat will not stop there. For example, if you refer to the cruise timetable, you can see that the first boat (departing Interlaken Ost at 10.07am) does not stop at Ringgenberg (See), Niederried (See), and Brienz Dorf.
3. In case you are wondering what “See” means, it is German for lake. Therefore, “Interlaken Ost (See)” refers to the boat dock at Interlaken Ost.
4. The 
symbol refers to the famous Paddle Steamer Lötschberg. This is a historic steam powered boat that was launched over a century ago in 1914. It is Lake Brienz’s last remaining paddle steamer. Built towards the end of the Belle Epoque golden era, it evokes a sense of romance and nostalgia. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to take this boat.
5. The wife and I took the first boat of the day, which was the “Breakfast Cruise”. The menu on this cruise offered a variety of breakfast items. However, we were quite full after our hotel breakfast, so we only ordered two hot chocolates.
Suggested Excursions
Below are three Lake Brienz itineraries that I find to be more interesting or relevant for tourists. You can refer to BLS’s website to see the full list of excursions.
1. Cruise from Interlaken Ost to Brienz
Brienz Town
We took many pictures of the alpine lake here
The wife and I took a one-way cruise from Interlaken Ost to the tranquil town of Brienz. We really enjoyed this short 73-minute boat ride where we got to see the entire lake.
Our 1st class Single Ticket cost CHF 26.50 each with the Swiss Half Fare Card. The original price was CHF 53.
After reaching Brienz, we spent about 1 hour taking pictures of the lake and exploring the small village town. Then we caught the train back to Interlaken Ost, which took about 20 minutes.
2. Visit the Quaint Lakefront Towns
Iseltwald
Grandhotel Giessbach
You can also alight at the various beautiful towns along Lake Brienz.
Iseltwald is a quaint lakefront town popular with tourists. The boat stops at Strand hotel, which has a nice restaurant with alfresco seating. There are also many beautiful private gardens in Iseltwald.
If you are the outdoorsy type, you can hike from Iseltwald to Giessbach. This is an easy 5km tranquil hike along the bank with great views of the alps.
Giessbach is another popular stop along the lake. This small town is famous for its roaring waterfall cascading 500 metres down into the lake. It is also home to the very charming Grandhotel Giessbach, built in the Belle Epoque style.
The wife and I managed to catch a glimpse of the beautiful hotel and waterfall as our boat was passing by. I recommend getting the 1-day ticket (refer to “Types of Tickets” section above) if you plan to stop at the various lakefront towns.
3. Cruise + Brienzer Rothorn Bahn
During summer, many tourists will combine their Lake Brienz cruise with a train ride on the famous Brienzer Rothorn Bahn (Brienzer Rothorn Train). This is a steam engine train that will bring you up the Brienzer Rothorn mountain to the Rothorn Kulm summit. This historic train has been operating since 1892!
Along the way, you will get to enjoy spectacular views of Lake Brienz and the surrounding lush landscape.
Once you reach Rothorn Kulm summit, you can revel in breathtaking views of the Swiss alps from an elevation of 2244 metres. Outdoor enthusiasts will be happy to know that there are many challenging hikes from here.
This railway train only operates between June and October. The ride to the summit will take about one hour. Click here for the exact train schedule.
It is cheaper to buy a combined ticket with the cruise. To give you an idea of the price, a 2nd class combined ticket costs CHF 116.80.
Themed Cruises
BLS also offers several themed cruises where you get to enjoy specialised drinks and food menus.
Sunset Cruise – Enjoy the Swiss sunset over the lake. There is also a three-course “Sunset Menu”.
Whisky Cruise – This cruise offers exclusive whiskies from the Rugen Distillery.
Swiss Barbecue Cruise / Oriental Cruise / Fajita Cruise – These are special culinary cruises catered to different palates.
Useful Tips
1. Swiss Travel Pass
We used the Swiss Half Fare Card which means that we were able to buy the cruise ticket at half price. Our first class boat ride from Interlaken Ost to Brienz only cost CHF 26.50 instead of CHF 53. Click here to check out my full review of this pass.
If you have the Swiss Travel Pass, you get to take the cruise for free.
2. BLS Contact Form
If you have any other queries, you can just leave BLS a message using their contact form, or email them at “schiff@bls.ch”. I asked them several questions before my trip and the helpful staff always replied promptly.
Conclusion
I hope this article has given you a clearer idea of how to book the Lake Brienz cruise in Switzerland. When I first started researching on the cruise, I was a little confused because there are so many details. Hopefully with this article, you will have an easier time planning your cruise than I did.
Note that other than the “Suggested Excursions” and “Themed Cruises” sections, the rest of the information in this article is also applicable for booking of the Lake Thun cruise.
Based on what I read online, Lake Brienz is supposed to be more scenic than Lake Thun. However, I cannot personally comment on that because I didn’t take the Lake Thun cruise.
BLS Navigation
Website: www.bls.ch
Helpdesk: www.bls.ch/en/pages/kontakt/formular-fahrplan
Email: schiff@bls.ch
Phone: +41 58 327 4811