The best overall is Jungfraujoch — Top of Europe ($331, 4.6★ across 396 reviews). The best value is the $51 boat day pass on both lakes. The adrenaline king is tandem paragliding (4.9★, 969 reviews). Every pick below is backed by verified numbers, honest flags, and links to both direct booking and our full reviews.
Short answer: the best overall Interlaken tour is Jungfraujoch — Top of Europe ($331, ★ 4.6 across 396 reviews). The best value is the $51 Lake Thun & Brienz boat day pass; the best thrill for most people is tandem paragliding at $223. All 23 tours are ranked below with verified review data — including the ones we tell you to skip.
Start Here
Four Kinds of Interlaken Tours
Everything worth booking in Interlaken falls into one of four buckets. The classic first-timer mistake is cramming one of each into two days and burning out — most tours are half-day-plus commitments with early starts. Pick your kind first, then compare inside it: tap a category to jump straight to those tours.
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3 TOURS · FROM $331
Iconic Peaks
Jungfraujoch (3,454 m), Schilthorn and Grindelwald First. Trains and cable cars do the climbing — zero fitness needed, big-mountain views guaranteed even for strollers and grandparents.
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7 TOURS · FROM $145
Adrenaline
Paragliding, skydiving, canyon swing, canyoning, jet boat and e-quads. You fly, fall or speed — certified pilots and guides handle the skill part, so most need zero experience.
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3 TOURS · FROM $51
Lakes & Scenery
Boat passes, kayaking and lakeside castles on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Low effort, constant views — the perfect rest day between the big-ticket bookings.
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10 TOURS · FROM $121
Local Experiences
Alpine cheese farms, tasting bike rides, winter snowshoeing, night sledding, beginner skiing and day trips — the genuinely Swiss experiences most visitors never find.
Browse all 23 →
OUR 3-DAY FORMULA1 peak + 1 adrenaline + 1 lake day = a full Interlaken without burnout
The Top 5 below are exactly those picks — chosen on review volume, sub-score consistency (guide, transport, value-for-money) and how well each represents its category. Every tour links to direct booking with free cancellation and to our full review with photos, honest flags and FAQs.
The Shortlist
The 5 Best Interlaken Tours — and Exactly Why
Not a vague "editor's choice". Each pick is here for measurable reasons: review volume, rating consistency, and how well it represents its category.
The #1 tour in the region: 4.6★ across 396 reviews, runs in any weather. Reserve now, pay later, cancel free up to 24 hours — July-August departures genuinely sell out, so holding a date early costs nothing and saves the trip.
The three iconic-peak tours overlap in views but differ meaningfully in price, crowds and what's at the top. The most-asked decision for first-timers, compared directly.
Our verdict: First time in the region — Jungfraujoch; the review volume, all-weather reliability and infrastructure justify the fame. Pick Schilthorn if you've done Jungfraujoch or crowds genuinely spoil your day. Pick Grindelwald First only with a clear forecast — it's the most weather-dependent and most active of the three.
Money Talk
Best Interlaken Tours for Every Budget
Switzerland is expensive; the tours don't have to wreck the trip budget. Every tour sorted by price tier — and what the extra money actually buys.
What the extra buys: exclusivity (private car), scarcity (skydive slots), or small-group comfort (Schilthorn).
The Value Pick
The $51 Boat Day Pass: Check Dates
The cheapest full-day experience in the region — unlimited boats on both lakes. The perfect rest day between your big-ticket bookings, and the easiest yes on this page.
Interlaken is genuinely year-round, but the tour mix changes completely between summer and winter.
JUN – SEP · PEAK
Everything is open
All 23 tours run. Lakes are at their turquoise best for the kayak and jet boat; paragliding thermals are most reliable. Book Jungfraujoch and paragliding 2-3 weeks ahead — they sell out in July-August.
APR – MAY · SHOULDER
Quiet & waterfalls
Snowmelt puts the waterfalls at maximum flow — the best window for the 72 Waterfalls e-bike. Lake tours start mid-April. Fewer crowds everywhere, same prices.
OCT – NOV · LOW
The gap season
Water tours wind down; winter hasn't started. The all-weather picks shine: Jungfraujoch, the cheese farm (until late Oct), and the private car tour which adapts to whatever's open.
Jungfraujoch — Top of Europe is the best overall tour ($331, 4.6★ across 396 reviews) — the iconic railway to 3,454 m that works in any weather. The best value is the Lake Thun & Brienz Boat Pass ($51), the best adrenaline pick is tandem paragliding ($220, 4.9★/969), and the best short activity is the Lake Brienz jet boat ($145, 75 minutes, 4.7★).
Three days covers the essentials well: one for an iconic peak (Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn), one for an adrenaline activity or the Lauterbrunnen valley, one for a slow lake day. Two days works if you're efficient; four to five lets you add local experiences like the cheese farm or a full canyoning day.
At $331 it's a genuine splurge, but 396 travellers holding it at 4.6★ is hard to argue with. What you're paying for: the highest railway in Europe, an indoor summit complex that works in any weather, and zero physical effort. Skip only if crowds genuinely ruin experiences for you — then Schilthorn is the quieter alternative.
The Lake Thun & Brienz Boat Day Pass at $51 — unlimited hop-on hop-off boats across both lakes for an entire day, with stops at Spiez, Thun, Iseltwald and Giessbach Falls. Nothing else in the region comes close on cost-per-hour. The next tier up is night sledding and the snowshoe tour, both $122.
Both work. Trains and boats are excellent, so independent travel is very doable — the boat pass is essentially DIY with a ticket. Tours earn their price in three cases: activities you can't do alone (paragliding, skydiving, canyoning), logistics-heavy days (the Zurich day trip replaces four train legs), and knowledge-dependent experiences (the cheese farm and snowshoe routes aren't findable on your own).
Jungfraujoch is the safest — the summit complex is largely indoor. The Alpine Cheese Farm is mostly indoors too. The private car tour adapts its route to conditions. Avoid booking Grindelwald First, paragliding or the jet boat on a bad forecast — all are weather-dependent and may cancel. Reserve-now-pay-later lets you hold dates and decide as the forecast firms up.
Jungfraujoch is stroller-accessible and works for all ages. The boat pass suits any age. Paragliding accepts kids from age 5 — genuinely. Night sledding and the snowshoe tour take kids from 8; the ski taster requires 14+. Skydiving, canyon swing and canyoning have 16-18+ minimums — check each review page for specifics.
For July-August: book Jungfraujoch and paragliding 2-3 weeks ahead — both sell out. Skydiving has limited daily slots year-round; book as early as your dates are fixed. Everything else typically has same-week availability outside peak season. Most tours offer reserve-now-pay-later, so early booking costs nothing.
June and September are the sweet spot: everything is open, weather is reliable, and crowds are noticeably lighter than July-August. May offers maximum waterfall flow for the Lauterbrunnen tours. For winter activities, January-February has the most reliable snow. October-November is the one stretch to avoid if tours are the main goal.
It varies by tour. Most Interlaken-based activities meet at the operator's base or a central meeting point in town — a short walk from most hotels. Some, like the canyoning trip and the private car tour, offer hotel or station pickup; the Zurich day trip starts in Zurich. The exact meeting point and pickup options are listed in the "How it works" section of each review and confirmed on the booking page.
Yes — English is the standard working language of tours in the Interlaken region, and guides typically speak German plus often French or other languages. Several tours (like the Zurich day trip) run explicitly multilingual. If you need a specific language, the tour options on the booking page show which languages each departure offers.
Most tours on this list offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, plus reserve-now-pay-later so you don't pay upfront at all. Weather-dependent activities (paragliding, skydiving, jet boat) are typically rebooked or refunded by the operator if conditions cancel the session. Always confirm the exact policy on the booking page for your specific date.
How this ranking works
We started from the full GetYourGuide catalog for the Interlaken region and kept tours that either hold a 4.5★+ rating with meaningful review volume, or uniquely cover a category (there's only one cheese-farm experience, one beginner ski package, and so on). Each tour was checked against its live listing, verified 2025-2026 reviews, the operator's own site, and cross-referenced with Tripadvisor. The Top 5 weighs review volume, consistency of sub-scores (guide, transport, value-for-money), and category fit for a first-time visitor.
Every review page flags the downsides too — crowds, upselling, physical difficulty, small samples, seasonal limits. Rankings are based on the data above. Last updated: July 2026.
Start with the Top 5 above, or filter all 23 tours by category and budget. Most tours offer free cancellation and reserve-now-pay-later — lock the dates first, decide the details later.
