On the turquoise lake
The gentler adventures, twenty minutes from the valley: a jetboat to the Giessbach Falls, a guided kayak, or a paddleboard. Good with children and on cloudy days.
Lake Brienz is the turquoise one, east of Interlaken. When the summits are in cloud, the lake is still that colour, and that makes it the best family and bad-weather fallback in the region.
| Jetboat | Kayak | Stand-up paddle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What | Fast, splashy run to the Giessbach Falls | Guided paddle along the shore | Guided tour, beginners’ course or rental |
| How long | About 50 minutes to 1.5 hours | About 3 hours | About 2 hours |
| Season | Year-round, shorter winter version | Year-round, with a winter tour | Summer |
| Best for | Mixed groups and children | A calm half-day | A hot afternoon |
Jetboat on Lake BrienzFast and splashy, across to the Giessbach Falls. Good for mixed groups.Year-roundBook now →
Kayaking on Lake BrienzA guided paddle on the turquoise lake. There is a winter version too.Year-roundBook now →
The jetboat leaves from Bönigen, at the Interlaken end of the lake, and runs across to the Giessbach Falls with spins and stops on the way. It is the gentlest thrill in this guide and the best one for mixed ages. There is a shorter winter version.
A guided kayak tour is a calm half-day on the water, and there is a winter tour if you want the lake to yourself. Stand-up paddleboarding is a summer thing: a guided tour, a beginners’ course, or just a board for a couple of hours.
The scheduled lake boats stop at the Giessbach Falls and the villages along the shore, and are covered by several of the travel passes. Check yours in the pass calculator.
More: every adventure activity near Lauterbrunnen, paragliding, skydiving, canyoning, rafting, Canyon Swing and bungee, Lake Brienz, winter.
Activity photos: © Outdoor Switzerland AG, used with their permission for tourism publishing; paragliding photo: Airtime Paragliding; kayak photo: Hightide Kayak School. Photos show the activities described, not an endorsement of this guide.
Common questions
From Bönigen, at the Interlaken end of Lake Brienz. Rides run across to the Giessbach Falls and take about 50 minutes to an hour and a half.
Yes. There is a guided winter kayak tour as well as the summer one.
Yes. The jetboat, kayak tours and the scheduled lake boats all work with children, and the lake is a good fallback when the mountains are in cloud.
On the valley floor, twenty minutes from Interlaken by train and a short walk from Lauterbrunnen station.
Nightly ranges for our own three places, before cleaning. What you actually pay moves with the dates, the length of stay and how far ahead you book, so treat these as the shape of it rather than a quote. Dollar figures are converted at 1 USD = 0.835 CHF, set 15 October 2026.
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