My husband and I are wanting to take a trip to see and get some good pictures at the base of the lakes. Is Interlaken the best spot to hop of the train for this? Or should we stop specifically at Thun or another location? Thank you!!
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
In Interlaken you can actually hop off the train and hop ON the lake boats which are part of the integrated Swiss Transport System. Take the boat all around lake Brienz, hop off, take some pics, hop back on and get off at the next stop on lake Brienz, etc.
Posted by
Milwaukee, WI, USA
196 posts
Just to expand on what Tim is saying, there are two lakes accessible from Interlaken: the Brienzersee & the Thunersee. The boats on the Brienzersee leave from just outside the Interlaken Ost rail station & the boats on the Thunersee leave from just outside the Interlaken West rail station. For the best views of both lakes, you need to get on the boats. The trip on the Brienzersee is a little over 2 hours R/T & on the larger Thunersee, the trip runs 5 hrs. R/T so I usually get off the boat at Thun (halfway) & take the train back to Interlaken. I usually fly into Zurich, stay in Murren and head to Paris via Basel. I personally like the 4 day Swiss Travel Pass for the amount of traveling I do in & out of the Lauterbrunnen valley & for the convenience of not having to buy a ticket for each step of the journey (the pass works on the lake boats) & the trains from Zurich & to Basel.
Posted by
Grand Rapids, MI
768 posts
In response to the title, you can't see the lakes from Lauterbrunnen. If you want a good picture looking DOWN on the lakes, then take the train up to Schynige Platte, or, from the other side, the funicular up to Harder Kulm.
Posted by
USA
291 posts
Tom, we will be going from Lauterbrunnen to Thun. Rather than take the train between Interlaken and Thun, do you know if we can we catch a boat at Interlaken West and take our luggage on with us? Would it be too cumbersome? Where does the boat dock in Thun? We would need to get to our hotel in Thun from the boat dock. Thanks for any help.
Posted by
BROADSTAIRS, Kent, United Kingdom
120 posts
Provided you can carry your luggage you can take it on the boat. The landing stage at Thun is opposite the train station, you just have to cross the road and possible go down the steps to some of the platforms. Just so that you are aware the boat from Interlaken to Thun takes about 2 hours 20 minutes.