Guide · Passes

Your boat ride in Interlaken with a Swiss pass

A boat ride in Interlaken with a Swiss pass can cost nothing at all, but it depends on the pass, the class and the kind of cruise. Here are the rules BLS publishes and what you pay without one.

Check availabilityfrom $147 · no cancellation fee

Editorial team, interlakenboattour.comUpdated October 20, 20267 min read38 sources

This guide's tour Jetboat ride on Lake Brienz 4.7 (403 reviews) 50 minFrom the base in BönigenMinimum height 110 cm from$147per person Check availabilityFree to cancel as late as 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01Swiss Travel Pass: Free travel on scheduled BLS cruises, in the class of your pass.¹ ²
02Half Fare Card: 50% off scheduled cruises, as with the Swiss Half Fare Card.³
03Day ticket: Both lakes for CHF 83.00 in 2nd class, CHF 125.00 in 1st.⁴
04Not covered: The Giessbach funicular and culinary cruises have their own rules.⁵ ⁶

What the Swiss Travel Pass covers on the lakes

BLS, which runs the public boats on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, lists the Swiss Travel Pass as valid for its cruises on both lakes.⁷ Swiss Travel System says the same on its own site: scheduled BLS cruises are covered by the Swiss Travel Pass and by the Flex version.⁸ You show the pass on board instead of a ticket and ride as far as the timetable takes you, whether that is one landing stage or the length of the lake.

The word that matters is scheduled. BLS gives free travel in the class you bought on scheduled cruises, and it accepts the Flex version only with the travel date entered.¹ Culinary and event cruises are not regular services, and BLS lists the Seepass, GA and Half Fare Card as not valid on them.⁶ Before you count on a pass for a fondue, brunch or sunset trip, read the conditions of that cruise on its own page and budget for a separate ticket.

Class is the other thing to watch. A pass is valid in the class printed on it, so a 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass needs a class upgrade before you settle on the upper deck, where most boats keep 1st class.² ⁹ A day class change costs CHF 42.00 for both lakes at the standard rate, or CHF 21.00 with a Half Fare Card or GA.¹⁰ Seats are free and cannot be reserved, apart from restaurant tables for diners.²

Half Fare cards, Interrail and other passes

With the Half Fare travelcard or the Swiss Half Fare Card, BLS takes 50% off scheduled cruises, and children aged 6 to 15 travel at half price too.³ Swiss Travel System confirms the Swiss Half Fare Card discount on scheduled cruises.⁸ In practice, a one-way trip from Thun to Interlaken West costs CHF 54.00 in 2nd class, or CHF 27.00 with a Half Fare travelcard.¹¹ The longer the crossing, the more the card saves, and the same discount applies to every landing stage on both lakes.

Eurail and Interrail passes are valid on the BLS boats of both lakes, as long as the travel date has been entered.¹² The Tell-Pass, by contrast, is not valid for cruises on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.¹³ Staying in Interlaken itself brings a small bonus: the Interlaken guest card gives 20% off the BLS day pass for Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.¹⁴ Children under 6 ride free in any case, and there is no senior discount.¹⁵

The Jungfrau Travel Pass needs a closer look. BLS lists it among the passes valid on its cruises, and Jungfrau Railways lists the cruises on both lakes as included, with Lake Brienz running from 3 April to 6 December 2026.⁷ ¹⁶ The GetYourGuide listing that sells this pass, from $260, says a half-price 2nd class ticket is required for BLS boats, trains and buses. If you buy it there, ask the seller which rule applies to your pass.

Published fares

BLS fares from Interlaken, 2nd class, in CHF

CHF

Full 2nd class fares on BLS pages, read 20 October 2026; a Half Fare card halves each one.¹⁷ ¹⁸ ¹⁹ ¹¹ ⁴ ³

Passes on the boats

What each pass does on the BLS boats

Pass	On scheduled boats	Note
Swiss Travel Pass	Free travel	Flex with date entered
Half Fare Card	50% off	Swiss Half Fare Card too
Eurail and Interrail	Free travel	Date entered on the pass
Berner Oberland Pass	Free travel	3 to 10 days in a row
Interlaken guest card	20% off	On the day pass
Tell-Pass	Not valid	Pay the fare

As BLS, Swiss Travel System and Interlaken Tourism list them; the class printed on your pass applies.¹ ³ ⁸ ¹³ ²⁰ ¹⁴

Three ways to pay

Single ticket, day ticket or a rail pass

Simplest

Single ticket

One stretch of lake

Ost to Brienz: CHF 39.00
Ost to Iseltwald: CHF 21.00
Where to buy: On board

Compare

Hop on, hop off

BLS day ticket

Both lakes all day

2nd class: CHF 83.00
1st class: CHF 125.00
Child 6 to 15: CHF 15.00

Compare

Free on line boats

Swiss Travel Pass

Trains, buses and boats

Class: As printed on the pass
Flex: Date entered first
Themed cruises: Check each one

Compare

Decision helper

Which ticket fits your day?

Find the line that sounds like your trip

I already hold a Swiss Travel Pass I have a Half Fare Card I plan several stops in one day I sleep in Interlaken with a guest card I only ride one way

Just board

Free travel on scheduled boats, in the class you hold.¹ ²

Buy at half price

BLS takes 50% off scheduled cruises with it.³

The day ticket

CHF 83.00 in 2nd class for both lakes, or CHF 41.50 at half fare.⁴ ²¹

Day pass with a discount

The guest card gives 20% off the BLS day pass.¹⁴

A single ticket

Interlaken Ost to Iseltwald is CHF 21.00 in 2nd class.¹⁷

Paying without a pass

The Interlaken boat day pass is the BLS 1-day ticket for Lakes Thun and Brienz, at CHF 83.00 in 2nd class and CHF 125.00 in 1st class at full price.⁴ With a Half Fare card it costs CHF 41.50 and CHF 62.50.²¹ Its price also includes Libero Zone 750, which covers the train between Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost and the public buses in Interlaken.²² That makes it easy to start on one lake and finish on the other without buying anything else in between.

If you only plan to explore Lake Brienz, its own day ticket costs CHF 75.00 in 2nd class and CHF 112.00 in 1st class.²³ Children aged 6 to 15 can buy a children's day pass for both lakes at CHF 15.00 in 2nd class and CHF 24.00 in 1st.²⁴ If the trip falls on your birthday, BLS lets you travel free in 1st class for the whole day on showing ID, though not on culinary or event cruises.²⁵ Keep a passport or ID card in your bag that day.

Single tickets suit a one-way hop. Interlaken Ost to Brienz costs CHF 39.00 in 2nd class and Interlaken Ost to Iseltwald CHF 21.00.¹⁹ ¹⁷ Every ticket can be bought on board, and from spring to autumn also at the stations in Thun, Spiez, Interlaken West, Interlaken East and Brienz.²⁶ For travel dates up to 6 December 2026, the online code HERBST26 takes 25% off 1st and 2nd class day passes.²⁷

Checklist

Pass and ticket sorted before boarding

Passes

Swiss Travel Pass in the class you will sit in
Flex, Eurail or Interrail: travel date entered first
Children under 6 ride free¹⁵

On the day

A day ticket if you will stop more than once
Guest card for 20% off the day pass¹⁴
A separate ticket for the Giessbach funicular⁵

Cost calculator

What passes sold online cost your group

Enter your group size to compare the passes you can book.

Boat day passBoth lakesfrom $52 Day ticketUnlimited boatsfrom $135 Berner Oberland Pass2nd classfrom $297 Pass for STP holdersReduced farefrom $208

People 2

Total from$103

per guest from $52

Check availabilityfree cancellation

A total multiplies each listing's lowest GetYourGuide fare by your group size, turned into your currency at today's ECB rate; checkout shows the final figure.

Video

10 free things to do with the Swiss Travel Pass in the Bernese Oberland

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When a day ticket beats single fares

Compare before you buy. A single ride from Thun to Interlaken West costs CHF 54.00 in 2nd class, against CHF 83.00 for unlimited boats on both lakes that day.¹¹ ⁴ If you plan to come back by boat as well, the day ticket already costs less than paying that single fare twice, and every extra stop on the way is then free. If you only ride one stretch and take the train back, a single ticket is the better buy.

Groups of 10 or more pay around 30% below the individual fare when they reserve at least 3 working days ahead.²⁸ Dogs under 30 cm shoulder height travel free in a suitable basket or bag, while larger dogs need a dog ticket at half the 2nd class fare, capped at CHF 15.00 for the day.²⁹ Bikes travel at half price when there is space, with the same CHF 15.00 cap, but carriage is not guaranteed.³⁰

BLS also sells combined tickets that bundle the boat with a sight. The Time travel ticket includes the return boat from Interlaken Ost to Giessbach, the Giessbach funicular and a 3-course lunch at the Grandhotel, from CHF 80.00.³¹ The St. Beatus Caves ticket from Interlaken West combines the boat one way, a bus the other way and entry to the caves and museum, for CHF 30.40 in 2nd class.³²

The Berner Oberland Pass and passes sold online

For a longer stay in the region, the Berner Oberland Pass gives free travel on most trains and buses, on the boats of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz and on more than 25 mountain railways, between Bern, Lucerne, Montreux and Brig.³³ It is sold for 3, 4, 6, 8 or 10 consecutive days.²⁰ In 2026 the 3-day pass costs CHF 240.00 in 2nd class at full price and CHF 288.00 in 1st class.³⁴ Weigh it against the boat day ticket if you also plan mountain trips, since the same pass also covers more than 25 mountain railways.³³

Booked on GetYourGuide, the 2nd class Berner Oberland Pass starts from $297, and a version at a reduced fare for Swiss Travel Pass and Half Fare Card holders starts from $208. Both listings describe travel by train, bus and boat from April to December, and say the official digital ticket arrives within 72 hours of purchase. Children 6 to 15 need a child pass for CHF 30 alongside a valid adult pass.

Passes for the boats alone are sold online too. A boat day pass for Lake Thun and Lake Brienz starts from $52, valid for 1 day, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before and reserve now, pay later. Another listing sells a 1-day ticket for unlimited scheduled boats on both lakes from $135; its Lake Thun boats leave from Interlaken West and its Lake Brienz boats from Interlaken Ost.

What a pass will not cover

Not everything at the landing stages belongs to the boat network. The Giessbach funicular, which links the boat pier with the Grandhotel 100 meters above it, lists the GA, the Half-Fare travelcard, the Swiss Travel Pass, the Eurail Pass and the Jungfrau Travel Pass as not valid on it.³⁵ ⁵ An adult pays CHF 7.00 one way or CHF 14.00 return.³⁶ A guided boat-and-hike listing on GetYourGuide says a valid Swiss Travel Pass saves you an extra ticket for its tour day, but the price list is the funicular operator's own word. Keep a few francs or a card ready when you step off the boat there.

Activities run by private operators are booked and paid separately. The jetboat from Bönigen, for example, is OUTDOOR's own ride and starts from $147 for 50 minutes on Lake Brienz, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Kayak tours, rental boats and the fondue rafts are priced by their operators in the same way, so a rail pass in your pocket changes nothing about what they cost.

Themed cruises have their own conditions as well. The cheese fondue cruise on Lake Thun costs CHF 75.00 for adults, and the Seepass, GA, Half-Fare and Junior or Child travelcards are not valid on it.³⁷ The Sunday brunch rides a scheduled boat from Thun, with the brunch at CHF 39.00 on top of the boat fare.³⁸ When a cruise includes a meal, read what the ticket covers before you reach the pier.

Your turn at speed

The Giessbach Falls are waiting across the lake.

Pick a starting time, meet the crew in Bönigen and cancel free up to 24 hours before.

Check timesfrom $147 · no cancellation fee 4.7 · 403 reviews, verified

You ask,we answer.

Is the lake boat free with the Swiss Travel Pass?

Yes, on scheduled BLS boats. BLS lists free travel on scheduled cruises on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, in the class of your pass.¹ ²

Can I sit in first class with a 2nd class pass?

Only with an upgrade. A day class change for both lakes costs CHF 42.00, or CHF 21.00 with a Half Fare Card or GA.¹⁰

What does the BLS day ticket cost?

CHF 83.00 in 2nd class. It is CHF 125.00 in 1st class, and half of either price with a Half Fare card.⁴ ²¹

Does the Half Fare Card work on the lake boats?

Yes, 50% off. BLS gives half price on scheduled cruises with the Half Fare travelcard and the Swiss Half Fare Card.³

Is the Giessbach funicular included in my pass?

Not according to its own price list. Its 2026 price list says the Swiss Travel Pass, GA and Half-Fare travelcard are not valid on it.⁵ A guided boat-and-hike listing on GetYourGuide says a valid Swiss Travel Pass saves you an extra ticket for its tour day, so keep the funicular fare at hand.

Do children pay on the boats?

Not under 6. Children aged 6 to 15 pay half price, and there is no senior discount.¹⁵

Is Interrail valid on the BLS boats?

Yes, with the date entered. BLS states Eurail and Interrail are valid on both lakes once the travel date is filled in.¹²

Sources