Winter cruises on Lake Thun

Stunning views of the mountains. Beautiful homes with boat houses on the lake. Comfortable and very quiet boats made t his a really relaxing trip

We took the cruise from Borigen on a muggy September. It was cold and it wasn’t a sunny day but we loved the views of Lake Brienz. The water was green not blue . We stopped at Giessbach and hiked to Grand Hotel which had amazing view of the Falls. Came down via funicular and caught the boat back to Borigen.

PROS • The most fantastic experience with beautiful boats on a beautiful lake • The scenery of the journey is mesmerizingly beautiful • The water is an unbelievable glistening turquoise blue/green * See iconic scenic views of mountain peaks capped with eternal snows • Enjoy the boating experience and watch the crew at their work of anchoring the boat at the various ports • You get a better view in first class n the upper deck, where it is also less crowded * Enjoy a meal in the dining room- food cooked, prepared and served on board • The ship sails to and stops directly at two special attractions- Giessbach Falls and Brienzer Rothorn BRB. * The loading dock for the boat is conveniently locted adjacent to the Interlaken Ost train station • The journeys are covered and are part of the Berner Oberland Pass CONS * It is crowded in second class * The schedule of boats in each direction is every hour or less and needs to be coordinated with one's travel and hiking schedule * The last journey of the day is completed by 1800h, and in the summer sundown is well after 2100h “I VISITED THIS PLACE”… … because I've done this a number of times in previous years and it had been such an incredible thrilling and exhilarating experience each and every time that I had to do it again, this time with my 30 year old son. Again, our journey from Interlaken Ost to Giessbach Falls and then forward on to Brienz was fantastic- the boat experience, watching the scenery, seeing the iconic views, feeling the refreshing breeze and being mesmerized by the glistening turqoise green waters- all unforgettable. WAS IT WORTH THE COST? It is covered by the Berner Oberland Pass, but even when paying full fare, it would be worth it WOULD "I VISIT THIS PLACE" AGAIN? I've chosen this excursion journey a number of years in a row, and I would certainly do it again ADVICE • For sure- you must do this-even though you should take a boat journey on both Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, if you must choose one- this is it • Use the SBB app for the schedule and to see from when and where the paddle steamer “Lötschberg” is sailing- see my photos of the red steel mechanisms of the engine in action. • Consider paying for and enjoying first class/ the upper deck FULL DISCLOSURE "I visited this place" with the plan to write a "helpful" review and to attach "helpful" photos 📷 here on tripadvisor, so if these did "help" you, please indicate that by tikking the "thumbs up" 👍 symbol. Thanks.

The views on the boat are beautiful but the staff are rude and unfriendly. They won’t even look at you and expect you to move aside when they are passing by without saying anything. Three different restaurant staff women were acting like this. If you are not in their area and sit in the wrong side of the boat they wont give you the time of day. So do yourself a favor and stay away from the restaurant staff. I was so made about it for practically half the trip. On the other hand if you want to take the boat and just go to the deck to look at views and not interact with staff then it’s fine. Overall I would not take this cruise again. I don’t go on vacations to be treated like crap. So if you do go expect to be treated this way. And also, by the way, I had the first class ticket.

PROS • Fantastic experience • Beautiful boats and beautiful lake • Mesmerizingly beautiful journey • Great iconic scenic views • One boat is a paddle steamer • Watch the crew at their work of anchoring the boat at the various ports • The ship stills directly at Tei special attractions- Giessbach Falls and Brienzer Rothorn BRB. • Part of the Regional Pass- Berner Oberland CONS No apparent limit to the number of passengers who can board and be transported “I VISITED THIS PLACE”… … because I tried it for the first time on my last summer hiking trip (on a train day) and it was so fantastic that it became essential for a sunny day- the turquoise lake was glistening in the bright summer sun- unforgettable. I used it four times to go to Giessbach Falls twice- from Interlaken and from Brienz. TIPS • Fantastic- you must do this. • Use the SBB app to see from when and where the paddle steamer “Lötschberg” is sailing- see my photos of the red steel mechanisms of the engine in action. • Consider first class/ the upper deck… I didn’t do that though • Please see and enjoy my many attached “helpful” photos

Views were beautiful but unfortunately one of the staff when trying to ask a question with regards the stops she was very rude and not helpful by trying to make fun of me instead of just answering the question. On the other hand the staff in the restaurant was friendly friendly.

If you take a point-to-point tour - in our example one way from Spiez to Thun, they charge half a Swiss Franc per minute of sailing to ride their decrepit old boats. Certainly not worthwhile.