Frequently asked questions
Here you can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning our cruises.
Here you can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning our cruises.
In spring, summer and autumn, all tickets and combination tickets are available on our boats and at the stations in Thun, Spiez, Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost as well as Brienz. During the winter months the stations remain closed. On Lake Brienz, navigation is suspended during the winter.
Day tickets & combi tickets
Culinary cruises & special offers
Route tickets
Yes, the boat trip can easily be integrated into a round trip ticket. You can also purchase tickets for sections of the boat trip at practically all sales points in Switzerland. Please note that special offers can only be purchased directly from BLS Navigation.
Day tickets & combi tickets
Culinary cruises & special offers
Route tickets
Yes, you can purchase the multi-trip tickets at all our sales points.
Cash (CHF and EUR); Reka, PostFinance and EC cards; as well as all major credit cards.
Yes, you can also buy your ticket ahead of the actual day of travel. Nevertheless, due to simplicity reasons, we recommend to buy your ticket at the day of travel.
The following season tickets are valid on scheduled cruises:
100% discount, no surcharge or free with
50% discount with
The listed season tickets are not valid on our special culinary cruises; however, you will receive a discount with the GA and Half-Fare travelcards.
Yes, Fairtiq and EasyRide tickets are valid on BLS Lake Cruise.
With the Seepass you can travel unlimited in 1st class on Lakes Thun and Brienz for 1 year. Take a look at our Seepass offer.
On your birthday, you travel free of charge all day in 1st class on all scheduled services. You can obtain your free day ticket for Lakes Thun and Brienz on presentation of your identity card or passport at our sales points and on our boats.
Children under the age of 6 travel for free, while children aged 6 - 15 years only have to pay half-price. The Junior travelcard and Children’s Co-travelcard (for children aged 6 - 15 years) are valid on all scheduled cruises.
No discounts are available to seniors.
With the BLS Navigation day ticket, you can travel as much as you want on any of our scheduled cruises on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.
The GA or Half-Fare travelcard is not valid on our special culinary tours, as they are not part of our scheduled cruises. However, with the GA or Half-Fare Card you will receive a reduction on the price. The Seepass is also valid for a reduction, with the Seepass you pay the GA travelcard price.
Our cruises are subject to a regular timetable with various connections which must be adhered to. The boats can wait a few minutes, but no longer. The best thing to do is talk to the train staff so that they can inform the boat of the delay.
Dogs less than 30 cm tall at the shoulder can travel for free as long as they are in a suitable basket or bag. All other dogs require a valid dog ticket: 1/2 price, and no more than CHF 8.00 (dog day ticket)
The SBB 1-day travelpass for dogs is also valid aboard our scheduled cruises.
Dogs are allowed inside the boat as well as in our on-board restaurants.
Subject to space, we are happy to transport your bike. Cost per bike: 1/2 price, and no more than CHF 14.00 (bike day ticket) Please note: we cannot guarantee to transport your bike. The national SBB 1-day bike passes and annual passes are valid for BLS Navigation.
Our boats travel all year on Lake Thun. We do not operate our cruises on Lake Brienz during the winter months.
Our boats operate in virtually all weather. We cannot guarantee schedule adherence in storms, thick fog, or high or low water (where possible, we will inform you on site).
Picnicking on board is permitted. However, please note that the tables in the boat restaurant are reserved for diners.
Smoking is permitted on the outside decks. We ask that you please use the ashtrays provided. Smoking is not permitted in any of the indoor areas.
The playing of music on board our cruise boats is not permitted, as these are modes of public transport carrying many passengers.
Apart from our smallest boat (MS Interlaken), all vessels are wheelchair-accessible. The accessways to the outside decks and restaurants in second class are level. Aboard MS Berner Oberland and MS Thun, the first-class area can also be accessed by lift.
All boats (with the exception of MS Interlaken) feature a disabled WC.
Travel companions of passengers with the “Disabled Passenger’s ID Card ” travel for free on our cruises. This discount is not comprehensively available on our special culinary cruises; here, the travel companion must pay the child fee.
For groups of 10 people or more, we offer a discounted group rate (30% reduction on the single-person rate). To claim the discount, the group ticket must be purchased and paid for by one person and a reservation is required.
For groups of 10 people or more, we recommend making a reservation in order to guarantee that all passengers can travel.
Yes, you can inform us about the cancellation as follows:
Yes, we have a menu for people suffering from allergies on every boat. Nevertheless, it is useful to indicate allergies when making your reservation so that we can prepare alternatives for you in advance. Here you'll find the menu for people suffering from allergies.
No, you can make a note in the comments section. We will then take this into account and keep the table ready for you for the return journey.
No, you can make a reservation from any station. For example, simply enter "from Spiez" in the comments. For us, this means that the reservation and boarding are from Spiez.
You have the following payment options in our onboard restaurants:
Gastronomically, no distinction is made between 1st and 2nd class. Compared to 2nd class, 1st class offers a higher level of comfort and due to its location on the upper deck, the view is often described as more impressive.
We take all requests regarding the choice of table (online via comments) and try to accommodate your wishes as best we can. However, we can unfortunately not guarantee anything, as the wishes are taken into account after the reservation is received (date of request).
Gift vouchers can simply be redeemed for a cruise. However, you unfortunately cannot use them to pay for onboard catering (Schiffcatering Thuner- und Brienzersee).
Expired gift vouchers with the BLS Navigation value stamp will still be accepted on board the boats and at the boat landing stages after they have expired. This does not apply to vouchers with the Hotel Freienhof logo or to promotional and competition vouchers.
There have been increasing problems with the electronics of the ship's remote control, which unfortunately could not be solved within a reasonable period of time. The exact causes of the malfunction must be comprehensively investigated with the relevant specialists so that the correct measures can be taken. This will take a long time and will only be possible in the next maintenance period in the coming winter of 2022/2023.
In order to exclude any risks, the boat was taken out of service until further notice. For this reason, the public cruises with the DS Spiez planned for autumn 2022 could unfortunately not have been carried out.
We apologise for the circumstances and hope to be able to put the «Spiezerli» into operation again next spring.