Lake Thun Cruise

The Lake Thun cruise is a boat journey on BLS ships between Interlaken West and Thun in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. The landing sits beside Interlaken West station on Bahnhofstrasse, which makes it easy to combine with train travel. The full trip to Thun takes about 2 hours 10 minutes, calling at Spiez, Oberhofen and Hilterfingen, and a historic paddle steamer operates on selected dates. Passengers can sit on open decks or in saloons, and food and drinks are available on board. The scenery changes along the route: the Niesen pyramid rises above the southern shore, castles appear at Spiez, Oberhofen and Thun, vineyards and villas line the lakefront, and the Alps stand behind. Many visitors take the boat one way and the train back, which takes about 25 minutes between Interlaken and Thun. Others hop off at Spiez for Schloss Spiez, or at Oberhofen for the castle garden, or at the Beatushöhlen landing for the St. Beatus Caves. The full cruise is a half-day outing. The seasonal timetable runs from around late March to mid-November 2026, and departures should be checked at bls.ch. The one-way second-class fare from Interlaken West to Thun is about CHF 54, while the Berner Oberland Pass and Swiss Travel Pass cover the boats, and children 6 to 15 pay reduced fares with under-6s free with an adult. Clear mornings give the best views of the peaks, and spring and autumn are quieter than July and August. On windy days the open deck is cold, so a jacket helps. Photographers prefer the upper deck on the port side for the castle views.