Lake Brienz boat cruise

A boat cruise on Lake Brienz is the perfect way to visit this beautiful area! Switzerland is such a stunning country and it can be hard to decide what you should do. Let me tell you why a Lake Brienz boat cruise is a must do activity.

This blog was in collaboration with Switzerland Tourism and Swiss Travel System. All opinions are our own, we are excited to show you this incredible country!

Table of Contents

Where is Lake Brienz?

Lake Brienz is located right near Interlaken, an hour from Bern or Zurich. It is easy to explore when staying at Interlaken, from here you can spend a day or two enjoying the town, area and Lake Brienz! We used the public transport system to get around in Switzerland it was so easy! The public transport is so well organised in Switzerland, we used Swiss Travel Passes to get around. They included all our trains, buses and even the boat cruises on the lake! We just purchased our passes and then showed them when requested, it couldn’t have been easier!

Where to stay for Lake Brienz?

You can choose to stay on the lake itself, there are hotels in Brienz, Iseltwald or the Mountain Hotel Rothorn Kulm. We chose to stay in Interlaken at No8 Boutique Hotel. It was the perfect place to base ourselves to explore the area. It is not only affordable but has a cool industrial design, private rooms, shared kitchen and perfectly located near the train station!

No8 Boutique Hotel best hotel in Interlaken

What to do at Lake Brienz?

The best way to see Lake Brienz is by jumping on a boat cruise! It is such a great way to spend a day. If you have the Swiss Travel Pass your boat ticket is included so just jump on and show your pass if requested. Otherwise it is 16 CHF for an adult ticket Interlaken to Brienz.

You will leave from Interlaken and travel around the Lake stopping off at 7 little lake towns Bönigen, Ringgenberg, Niederried, Oberried, Brienz, Giessbach See and Iseltwald. We loved pulling into each port. If you have the Swiss Travel Pass you can jump on and off at any town to explore each one. We jumped on the boat at Interlaken Ost and hoped off at Brienz.

Lake Brienz is one of the best things to do in Interlaken

Is Brienz worth visiting?

The village of Brienz is so charming, it is definitely worth visiting!

What to do in Brienz

The stunning waterfront promenade and sweet wooden Swiss chalets that fill the town makes it incredibly enchanting place to walk and enjoy. The views out over the lake are incredible and there are tons of restaurants and cafes there to try. We went to the COOP supermarket and bought some cheese and bread for a picnic which is one of our favourite ways to eat in Switzerland. When you visit a country with such amazing natural landscapes its great to eat outside and enjoy them!

Make sure to walk through the town to Brunngasse Brienz which is a very cute little street with gorgeous little decorated chalets. Then walk on to Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche Brienz this church is so lovely sitting near the lake.

Brienzer Uferweg is the waterfront promenade. Take your time wandering along here. You will find lots of statues and benches to rest. Aussichtspunkt Brienzersee is along here and is a gorgeous viewpoint to stop and take in the lake views.

Giessbach Waterfalls

We hopped back on the boat and went across to Giessbach Waterfalls. We got off there and sat at the waterfront to enjoy our picnic. The views over the turquoise water were so incredible, almost glacial blue.

There is a railway there that was built in 1892. The Brienz Rothorn Railway goes uphill along the lakeside with incredible panoramas on the way up to the Mountain Hotel Rothorn Kulm for lunch.

The Giessbach Waterfalls are nice as well. They will be the first thing you see as you pull toward the landing on the boat. Then walk to the left from the railway entrance and you will find the stairs that leads to the bridge over the falls. You can stand right in the middle of the falls as they run under the bridge and to the lake.

Hiking along Lake Brienz

We chose to hike along Lake Brienz between Giessbach Waterfalls and Iseltwald. It was an easy hike and the views were picturesque. There is something about hiking, surrounded by lush nature and really feeling part of the environment. This hike took us about one and a half hours but wasn’t strenuous. There was a camping area and tall boulders to walk through along the way.

Iseltwald

The village of Iseltwald is as enchanting as Brienz. While it doesn’t have as many of the wooden chalets you will still find them here. Iseltwald is set on a scenic part of the lake with Schloss Seeburg out overlooking the lake. You will also find the famous pier from the Netflix show ‘Crash Landing on You”. This seems to be one of the busiest locations in the whole lake which was really surprising. Apparently it is drawing a big crowd all day and you would need to line up to take a photo here. We waited for the boat to come while watching people standing in line for such a long time!

Visiting Lake Brienz was a fantastic way to spend a day. The boat trip is so easy and pleasant way to get around the lake. We highly recommend the Swiss Travel Pass to make your trip easier. If you have any questions or need any help in planning your trip just leave a comment, we will be happy to help!