In short
Lake Brienz is the eastern of Interlaken's two lakes: 29.8 km² of water at 564 metres, 14 kilometres long, 2.8 wide and 261 metres deep. It begins a five-minute walk from Interlaken Ost, which makes it the cheapest thing on this site to reach — the shore costs nothing at all. What costs money is the boat, and this page gives the fare with the date it was checked rather than a range.
Quick Facts
- Elevation
- 564 m (lake surface)
- Getting There
- 5 min walk from Interlaken Ost to the pier Walking time checked
- Duration
- Two hours to a full day
- Price
- Shore free · boat day ticket CHF 75 Checked with the operator
- Season
- Boats spring to autumn, shore year-round
- Best for
- Families, swimmers, photographers
Chapter 01
Around the lake, side by side
Five ways to spend time on this lake, with the travel time from Interlaken Ost. Note how much cheaper the road is than the water — and how much slower the water is on purpose.
| Destination | From Interlaken Ost | Price What is a pass day?One pass day is CHF 80 — the Berner Oberland Pass for 3 days (CHF 240), divided by 3. One-way fares are counted as return trips for this comparison. What else costs what here | Time needed | Season | With kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bönigen — the nearest shore | 8 min Bus | Free | 1–2 hrs | Year-round | Yes |
| Iseltwald | 15 min Bus | Free — CHF 5 for the pier | 2 hrs | Year-round | Yes |
| Brienz village | 17 min Train | Free | Half day | Year-round | Yes |
| Giessbach Falls | 47 min Train + bus | Free | 2–3 hrs | Year-round | Yes |
| Boat round trip, whole lake | 5 min On foot | CHF 75 day ticket · up to 1 pass day | 3 hrs | April–December | Yes |
Travel times: fastest public connection from Interlaken Ost to the destination itself — for mountain destinations that means the top station, not the valley station. Where the last stretch is on foot, a sourced walking time is part of the figure; where none is sourced, the figure ends at the last station. The destination page says which was measured. Places in town are walking times.
Adult prices, as of the date at the foot of this page. Cableway and boat fares vary by route, travelcard and guest card.
One pass day is CHF 80 — the Berner Oberland Pass for 3 days (CHF 240), divided by 3. One-way fares are counted as return trips for this comparison. What else costs what here
Chapter 02
Why the water is that colour
Both rivers feeding this lake — the Aare from the Grimsel side and the Lütschine out of the Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald valleys — come off glaciers. Glacial ice grinds rock into a flour so fine it stays suspended in the water instead of settling, and those particles scatter light towards the blue-green end of the spectrum. That is the turquoise.
It follows that the colour is strongest in early summer, when meltwater is running hardest and carrying the most sediment, and that it varies with weather and season. It also explains the temperature, which is the subject people are less prepared for.
Chapter 03
The boat trip — routes, times and the fare
The pier is five minutes on foot from Interlaken Ost. BLS runs the scheduled boats, and the shape of the service is simple: one line the length of the lake, calling at the villages along both shores.
- Interlaken Ost → Iseltwald: about 45 minutes
- Interlaken Ost → Giessbach: about 1 hour
- Interlaken Ost → Brienz: about 1 hour 15
- Full round trip: about 3 hours, including a 20-minute stop in Brienz
One of the boats is worth choosing deliberately: the Lötschberg, built in 1914, is the only steamship on the lake and still runs scheduled services for BLS. The timetable marks which sailings it works.
The operator sells two day tickets, and the names are the difference: the Lake Brienz day ticket at CHF 75 is valid on this lake alone. To use Lake Thun on the same day you need the Lake Thun and Lake Brienz day ticket at CHF 83 — both rows checked with bls-schiff.ch on 14 October 2026. Children under 6 travel free, 6 to 15 pay half. The Swiss Travel Pass, the Jungfrau Travel Pass, Eurail and Interrail are all valid.
Whether it is worth it is a question of what you want. Three hours on the water is a genuine pleasure and the best way to see the whole lake. But if the goal is simply to reach Iseltwald or Brienz, the bus and the train are far quicker and far cheaper — 15 minutes against 45. Take the boat because the crossing is the point, not as transport.
Insider Tip
Ride the boat one way and come back by train or bus. You get the full lake from the water without spending three hours on it, and you save the price difference — the return leg from Brienz is 17 minutes on a direct train. It also removes the risk of building the whole afternoon around one departure time.
Chapter 04
Iseltwald — and the CHF 5 turnstile
A small village on the southern shore that became internationally known in 2020 as a filming location for the Korean series Crash Landing on You. Worth knowing before you travel out: since 2023 a turnstile at the boat pier charges CHF 5 for access. The village itself and the lakeside path are free — and the path is the better reason to go.
Iseltwald: the CHF 5 jetty, and what else is there
Chapter 05
Giessbach Falls
On the southern shore, a cascade dropping through fourteen stages into the lake, with a historic funicular running up from the boat pier to the Grandhotel above. The falls themselves cost nothing to visit and the paths lead behind the water at several points.
Reaching the hotel by the falls takes 47 minutes by train and bus; the boat takes about an hour to the pier below it — this is one case where the boat is the more pleasant option, because the funicular connects directly with that pier.
Chapter 06
Brienz village
At the far end, 17 minutes by direct train. Brienz is the traditional centre of Swiss woodcarving and the valley station of the steam cog railway up the Brienzer Rothorn. It is also simply a quieter place to sit by the water than anywhere closer to Interlaken.
Chapter 07
Swimming — the honest version
People do swim here and it is safe at the marked bathing areas, but the lake deserves respect rather than enthusiasm. It is glacier-fed and 261 metres deep: the surface warms a little through summer, yet the temperature drops sharply within a short distance of the shore, and it stays cool even in August.
- Bönigen — the closest public bathing spot to Interlaken, 8 minutes by bus.
- Brienz — a lido at the far end of the lake.
- Iseltwald — shore access, but busy through the season.
Enter gradually rather than jumping in, stay inside the marked areas, and keep out of the boat lanes. Cold-water shock is the real hazard on this lake, not depth.
Chapter 08
When to come
- May to July — the colour is at its most intense, because that is when the glacial sediment load peaks.
- August and September — the water is at its least cold, and the boats still run.
- Late autumn and winter — the scheduled boats wind down; the shore, Brienz and Iseltwald stay reachable by train and bus all year.
Related Articles
Back to overview: All things to do in Interlaken
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Lake Brienz famous?
For its colour. The lake is an unusually vivid turquoise, and the reason is that both of its inflows — the Aare and the Lütschine — are glacier-fed and carry very fine rock particles ground out by the ice. That suspended sediment scatters light towards the blue-green end, and it is strongest in early summer when the melt is running. Since 2020 the pier at Iseltwald has added a second kind of fame, as the filming location of the Korean series Crash Landing on You.
Is Lake Brienz worth it?
The lake itself, yes — and it costs nothing to reach. Bönigen is 8 minutes from Interlaken Ost by bus and puts you on the shore. Whether the boat is worth it depends on your time: a full round trip is three hours and a day ticket is CHF 75, which is a lot if you only want to look at the water. The shore, Iseltwald and Brienz village give you most of it for the price of a bus ticket.
Is it safe to swim in Lake Brienz?
Yes, at the designated bathing spots — but it is genuinely cold. This is a glacier-fed lake 261 metres deep, and even in August the water stays cool, with the temperature dropping sharply a short way from the shore. Enter gradually rather than jumping in, stay within the marked areas, and keep clear of the boat lanes. It is not a lake to swim across.
How do I get to Lake Brienz from Interlaken?
The shore is a five-minute walk from Interlaken Ost to the boat pier, or 8 minutes by bus to Bönigen. Brienz at the far end is 17 minutes by direct train, Iseltwald 15 minutes by bus line 103, and Giessbach 47 minutes by train and bus. The boat is the slow option on purpose: Iseltwald takes about 45 minutes by water against 15 by road.
What are the best swimming spots on Lake Brienz?
Bönigen has the closest public bathing area to Interlaken and is the easiest to reach without a car. Brienz has a lido at the far end of the lake. Iseltwald has shore access but is crowded through the season. All of them share the same caveat: the water is cold and gets colder fast with depth.
Do I have to pay to visit the Crash Landing on You pier?
Yes. Since 2023 the municipality of Iseltwald has run a turnstile at the boat pier charging CHF 5 for access, payable in Swiss coins or by card (municipality of Iseltwald, checked 14 October 2026), introduced to manage the number of visitors arriving for photographs. The village and the shore around it remain free — the charge applies to the pier itself. The public toilet by the bus stop costs CHF 1.
Is the boat covered by a Swiss Travel Pass?
Yes. BLS states that the Swiss Travel Pass, the Jungfrau Travel Pass, Eurail and Interrail are all valid on Lake Brienz shipping. Children under 6 travel free and children from 6 to 15 pay half. Without a pass, the Lake Brienz day ticket is CHF 75 and the ticket covering both lakes is CHF 83, both checked with the operator on 14 October 2026.
Sources & last check
- Price
- bls-schiff.ch · checked
- Season
- bls-schiff.ch · checked
- Winter access
- bls-schiff.ch · checked
- Coordinates
- swisstopo · checked