Interlaken Adventure Activities: 7 Thrills, Rated

Tandem paragliding is the most-booked and best-proven — 4.9★ across 969 reviews at $223, with almost no fear tax once you're airborne. For maximum intensity, airplane skydiving ($519, 4.9★/585) delivers 45 seconds of freefall over the Eiger. The canyon swing ($170, 4.9★/424) is the budget-terror sweet spot between them.

It's the common label, and the concentration backs it up: within one small region you can skydive, paraglide from two different launch sites, canyon-swing, canyon, jet-boat and quad — all commercially operated with year-round infrastructure. Few places in Europe pack seven distinct adrenaline activities into a 30-minute radius.

No — every activity on this page is beginner-format. Paragliding and skydiving are tandem (a certified pilot or instructor is strapped to you), the canyon swing is crew-rigged, the jet boat has a captain, and canyoning is fully guided with all technique taught on the day. The only one requiring an existing skill is the e-quad, where drivers need a licence.

Different products: paragliding is 10-15 minutes of calm scenic flight ($220, from age 5, intensity 2/5); skydiving is 45 seconds of maximum-intensity freefall ($519, intensity 5/5). If it's your first airborne experience or a family activity — paragliding. If you want the biggest possible rush and the budget allows — skydiving. Many travellers do paragliding first, then return for the skydive.

Genuinely scary for about ten seconds — you step off a platform and freefall 90 metres into a glacier gorge before the swing catches you. It rates 4/5 on our intensity scale: scarier than paragliding, comparable to a bungee, less sustained than skydiving. The 4.9★ across 401 reviews suggests the terror converts reliably into delight.

Paragliding in Interlaken accepts children from age 5 (tandem with a pilot). Skydiving, the canyon swing and canyoning have minimums in the 16-18+ range depending on the operator and parental consent rules. The e-quad requires a driving licence for drivers. Exact, current limits are on each review page and the operator's booking page.

Airborne activities (paragliding, skydiving) are the most weather-sensitive; operators typically offer a rebooking to the next available window or a full refund if conditions ground the session. The canyon swing runs in most weather, and the jet boat depends on lake conditions. Booking a morning slot reduces cancellation odds — air is usually calmest early.

The range on this page: $145 (jet boat, 75 min) to $519 (skydiving). The middle band — canyon swing $174, e-quad $161, paragliding $212-223, canyoning $218 — covers most appetites. Photo/video packages are extra almost everywhere and worth budgeting $30-60 for.

Yes, with sensible pairing: paragliding plus the canyon swing fits in one day with lunch between; the jet boat slots into any free afternoon. Avoid stacking canyoning (5.5 hours, physically draining) with anything else, and give skydiving its own morning — weather holds can stretch the schedule.

Sturdy-soled closed shoes (sneakers or hiking shoes) and weather layers — operators recommend a sweater or windbreaker even in summer, because launch sites sit well above the valley and it's colder up there. Sunglasses are fine during the flight. The harness and helmet are provided; small bags can be stored at the meeting point.

Yes for both. Skydiving operators provide goggles that fit over prescription glasses, and contacts are fine — just tell your instructor so they seal the goggles properly. For paragliding, regular glasses and sunglasses are both fine in flight. Neither activity requires perfect vision or any medical certificate for healthy adults.

Mostly no for the airborne ones: skydiving operators don't allow personal cameras on the jump (regulations require licensed camera flyers), and paragliding pilots restrict phone use during flight — takeoff photos are fine. Instead, pilots and guides shoot professional photo/video packages, typically CHF 40-50. On canyoning some operators tolerate a strapped GoPro, but the guide-shot video (around CHF 48) captures the parts you can't. On the canyon swing, secure your phone or hand it over — anything dropped is gone.

Just four things: a swimsuit (wear it under your clothes — you change in the open at the canyon), a large towel, a small day bag with a warm change of clothes, and cash or card for the trip video. Everything technical is provided: full wetsuit, neoprene booties, helmet, harness and life jacket, with hot showers back at base. You must be able to swim, and note there's no exit once the group enters the canyon.

Paragliding and skydiving run year-round — winter flights over snowy peaks just need gloves and a windproof layer. Canyoning runs May to October, dependent on water levels. The jet boat follows the lake season, roughly May to October. The canyon swing operates in most weather year-round conditions permitting, and the e-quad tour runs in the warmer months. June to September is the only window when all seven activities run simultaneously.

Colder than the valley suggests. Canyoning water is glacier-fed and stays cold even in August — the provided full wetsuit and booties are what make it comfortable. Paragliding launch sites and skydiving altitude run several degrees below town temperature, hence the "bring a windbreaker even in summer" rule. The jet boat adds lake spray to wind chill at speed. The pattern: pack one more warm layer than the weather app suggests, for every activity here.

Pregnancy rules out all seven activities across operators. Heart conditions, recent surgeries and serious back, knee or neck problems require disclosure in the operator's paperwork and often a doctor's written consent — instructors can refuse on safety grounds even within official limits. Harness landings require the ability to walk, stand and lift your legs. If in doubt, email the operator before booking; they answer these questions daily.

No — operators refuse visibly intoxicated or clearly hungover participants, without refund. It's a hard safety rule, not a vibe check: balance and reaction matter at launch and landing, and motion sickness gets dramatically worse. Interlaken's nightlife plus an early paragliding slot is a classic mistake — do the activity first, celebrate after.

Excellent — arguably the best category for solos. Paragliding and skydiving are tandem by design (your pilot is your partner), and canyoning, the swing and the jet boat run as mixed small groups where solos blend in instantly. Tours run in English as standard, and the shared adrenaline makes these the easiest places in Switzerland to meet people.

Tipping isn't obligatory in Switzerland — service is included — but rounding up or adding 5-10% for a genuinely great pilot or guide is appreciated and increasingly common. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including for on-site photo/video packages; a small amount of CHF cash is still handy for the odd kiosk or tip.

Often not by default — standard travel policies frequently exclude "air sports" and adventure activities, so check for an adventure-sports add-on that names paragliding, skydiving and canyoning specifically. Operators carry their own liability insurance, but that's not the same as your medical, evacuation or trip-interruption cover. Two minutes reading your policy beats discovering the exclusion afterwards.

Tandem paragliding — children fly from age 5 with their own pilot, and the flight itself is calm. The jet boat is the next family option for older kids. The swing, skydive and canyoning are teen-and-up territory (16-18+ minimums); for younger children, the lakes and peaks categories have more options.