Lake Brienz Cruise from Interlaken to Brienz – An Amazing Way To Experience The Beauty of Switzerland

It was a cold morning in Interlaken, and we were rushing to the boat dock to catch our cruise on Lake Brienz. It was 9.55am, and the boat was scheduled to leave at 10.07am. The Swiss are famous for their punctuality, so I knew the wife and I had to hurry. If we missed this boat we would have to wait two hours for the next departure! This article was last updated on 26 February 2020.

Table of Contents

• What is Lake Brienz
• Buying Cruise Tickets
• First Class vs Second Class
• Our Breakfast Cruise
• A Lovely Experience
• Boat Amenities
• First Stop: Iseltwald
• Second Stop: Giessbach
• Last Stop: Brienz
• Other Brienz Attractions
• How to Book Lake Brienz Cruise
• Conclusion

What is Lake Brienz?

Lake Brienz is a famous alpine lake with beautiful turquoise waters in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. It is right beside the equally famous Lake Thun.

Interlaken, the popular Swiss resort town, is located between these two lakes.

Taking a boat cruise on Lake Brienz is a very popular tourist activity. The cruise boat sails between Interlaken and Brienz, stopping at various lakefront Swiss villages along the way.

Recently, this lake has become even more popular because many scenes from the hit K-drama “Crash Landing On You” were shot in this area! This included scenes on the cruise boat and at the lakefront towns.

The Lake Brienz cruise boats do not operate in winter, other than in December when there is a cruise every Sunday. The cruises on Lake Thun operate as usual throughout the year.

The cruise boats are owned and run by Swiss transport company BLS AG, under the “BLS Navigation” brand.

Buying Cruise Tickets

We managed to reach the Interlaken Ost dock at 10am, but to our dismay the ticketing booth was closed.

Luckily, I spotted a boat crew member walking towards the boat. I quickly ran towards her and asked if we could still buy tickets.

To my relief, she actually agreed and went back to the ticketing booth! I quickly bought two tickets from her for a one-way cruise to Brienz.

My first-class tickets cost CHF 26.50 each with my Swiss Half Fare Card. The original price was CHF 53. You can check out my full review of the half fare card here.

Once we got the tickets,we quickly boarded the boat, happy that we had made it.

To my surprise, I saw a ticketing counter on the boat. Therefore, we could have just boarded the boat directly just now instead of rushing to buy tickets at the dock.

First Class vs Second Class

First Class outdoor area

First Class seating area

Second Class outdoor area

Second Class seating area

Still feeling slightly breathless, we slowly walked up the steps to the boat’s second level. We had bought first class tickets which gave us access to the upper deck.

Even though our tickets were significantly more expensive than the second class tickets, I felt it was worth paying the premium.

This was because from the upper deck, we got to enjoy awesome views of the scenic Lake Brienz.

I also liked the peaceful atmosphere here. It was quieter than the lower deck which had several families with young children.

In addition, unlike the lower deck, the first class section was spacious with plenty of space between the tables. The wooden chairs were partially padded which made them quite comfortable to sit on.

The wife and I sat at a table by the large glass window which gave us fantastic views of the lake.

Our Breakfast Cruise

We were on the first Lake Brienz cruise of the day, which was the Breakfast Cruise. The breakfast menu offered a small variety of breakfast items like hot beverages and pastries.

However, we had just finished a sumptuous breakfast at our hotel (the main reason why we were almost late for the cruise) and were feeling quite full.

Therefore, we only ordered two hot chocolates, perfect for drinking in the cool Swiss weather.

A Lovely Experience

And we were off on our cruise!

It felt wonderful to sit by the window and sip on our hot drinks while enjoying views of the beautiful lake and scenic Swiss landscape.

Not Jeong-hyeok

After chilling at the table for a while, we made our way to the upper deck’s outdoor area.

It felt great to stand outside and enjoy the windy lake breeze! We took plenty of selfies here, with the Swiss flag waving in the wind behind us.

It was actually quite challenging to take a decent photo, because our hair got really messy thanks to the wind.

However, the wife demanded really wanted to take a nice photo, so after plenty of tries we did manage to take a few decent selfies.

Incidentally, it was also on the outdoor deck that the depressed Se-ri heard Jeong-hyuk’s beautiful piano playing and found the courage to continue living (a wistful scene from “Crash Landing On You”).

Boat Amenities

Kitchen

Play area

Some toys

On the lower deck, I saw a small play area for children.

The kitchen was located here too. Other than breakfast items, it also sells some snacks.

Toilets are located on the lower deck.

First Stop: Iseltwald

After about 40 minutes, we reached Iseltwald, a quaint lakefront village. The boat stops near Strandhotel, which has a pleasant restaurant where you can enjoy waterfront dining by the scenic Lake Brienz.

Outdoor enthusiasts will be happy to know that it is possible to hike from Iseltwald to Giessbach. This is an easy and very popular 5km hike along the bank.

The Iseltwald boat dock is also the setting for the iconic “Crash Landing On You” scene where handsame piano prodigy Ri Jeong-hyuk plays the piano at the boat dock!

We didn’t alight here because our itinerary was quite tight.

The boat only stopped here for about one minute for passengers to board and alight, before quickly moving on to the next stop.

Yes, the Swiss transport system does indeed operate like clockwork.

Second Stop: Giessbach

From Iseltwald, the boat took about 25 minutes to reach Giessbach (See). This is another popular stop along the lake.

From Giessbach (See), you can take the historic funicular Giessbachbahn to Grandhotel Giessbach and further up to Giessbach Waterfalls.

Giessbach Waterfalls is one of the most famous waterfalls in Switzerland. It is a series of 14 small waterfalls tumbling over a distance of 500 metres into Lake Brienz.

The other famous attraction here is the Grandhotel Giessbach, a charming hotel built in the Belle Epoque style. It is perched high up on a hill, offering fantastic views of Lake Brienz.

This hotel was also used as a fictitious music school in “Crashing Landing On You” – there is a scene where Ri Jeong Hyeok is walking down the hotel steps with his schoolmates.

Again, we didn’t alight at Giessbch (See) due to time constraints. However, I managed to catch a glimpse of the beautiful hotel and waterfall as our boat was passing by.

Last Stop: Brienz

After another 15 minutes, we reached our last stop at Brienz. In total, the boat ride from Interlaken to here took about 75 minutes.

Brienz is a tranquil lakefront town famous for its wood carving tradition. I saw plenty of pretty Swiss wooden cabins dotted on the lush mountain side here.

From the dock, we started walking along the lake promenade. It felt really nice to stroll along the bank with the wife and admire the beauty of Lake Brienz’s shimmering turquoise waters.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see a few graceful swans and ducks swimming in the lake!

Much to my amusement, we spotted a “talk tube”, which was something I expected to see at a playground instead.

I’m not sure why this device was built here, but anyways the wife and I had a bit of fun talking to each other through it.

Chilling out on one of the benches

Foldable chairs

There were many benches along the lake. We sat down on one to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

In case the benches are occupied, there are even foldable chairs available.

While it was indeed quite romantic to sit here, we started feeling quite cold after a short while and decided to continue walking.

The promenade was lined with Swiss wooden chalets facing the lake. Some of them even had beautiful gardens with plants and flowers.

To me, staying in one of these pretty wooden chalets on the shore of a gorgeous alpine lake would be a dream come true.

Therefore, I asked the wife affectionately, “Dear, would you be willing to settle down here with me?”

“Yes of course dear! We can take a train to Paris every other weekend for some shopping too,” she replied cheerfully.

I wasn’t really sure how to respond.

Albert Streich memorial statue

After walking for about 5 minutes, we saw a bronze sculpture. I did a quick search on Google and found out that this was a memorial sculpture for Albert Streich (1897-1960), a well-known Swiss writer and poet.

I took a closer look of the sculpture. It was a young lady wearing a traditional Swiss dress, relaxing on the ground with a small bunch of wild flowers in her hand.

She gazed into the distance with a blissful expression, as if feeling grateful for being able to grow up in a tranquil Swiss village.

The surrounding area of the sculpture turned out to be an awesome spot for taking great photos of the shimmering Lake Brienz.

From here, we also got to see rows of pretty Swiss chalets lining the shore in the distance.

The weather was a little cloudy that day, so I can only imagine how much more beautiful the views must be in summer.

I spotted a washroom near the sculpture but it was locked. I had to use the washroom at the train station later instead.

After we were done with taking pictures, I used my drone to capture some aerial footage of Lake Brienz. It was pretty cool to see the Swiss landscape from high up in the air.

By now, we were feeling really cold after being out in the open for so long. We quickly walked back towards the train station.

Supermarket in Brienz

Along the way, we dropped by a co-op supermarket to buy some drinks and snacks, before catching the train back to Interlaken Ost.

Other Brienz Attractions

Brienz Rothorn Train

Ballenberg Open-Air Museum

Due to a lack of time, we didn’t manage to explore Brienz fully.

For example, we did not get to visit Brunngasse. This romantic street in Brienz is lined with historic wooden chalets that are adorned with beautiful wood carvings art. It is a 15-minute walk (1 kilometre) from the train station.

Oberdorfstrasse is another popular street in Brienz that is just next to Brunngasse. This historic street used be the town’s main thoroughfare. Some of the Swiss chalets here even have small woodcarving workshops.

During summer, many tourists will combine their Lake Brienz cruise with a train ride on the famous Brienz Rothorn Bahn (Brienz Rothorn Train). This historic steam engine train ferries passengers up the Brienz Rothorn mountain to the Rothorn Kulm summit. Unfortunately, it was closed when we visited in April.

If you have extra time to spare, you can check out the Ballenberg. This popular open-air museum exhibits traditional architecture and handicrafts from all over Switzerland. It is about 6km away from Brienz train station.

How to Book Lake Brienz Cruise

Initially, I found booking the Lake Brienz cruise to be quite a confusing task, because there are many types of cruise tickets and itineraries available.

However, I managed to figure it out eventually. You can check out my detailed beginner’s guide on how to book a cruise on Lake Brienz.

Conclusion

On the whole, we enjoyed our Lake Brienz cruise very much. We got to see amazing views of Lake Brienz and the Swiss landscape during the boat ride. I highly recommend this fun and affordable activity in Switzerland. It’s also a nice way to reminisce about the romantic scenes in “Crash Landing On You” – who knows, you might even hear Jeong-hyuk playing the piano when your boat passes by Iseltwald!

Lake Brienz 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

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate Jungfrau Region Travel Guide. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?