Jielin & Braden
Jielin & Braden
Travel
Hotel Restaurant Schönbühl
We have blocked off 3 double rooms in this hotel from Friday June 6 to Monday June 9. The rooms are 185CHF to 205CHF per night. This includes breakfast and parking.
This hotel is about a 20min walk, 10min bus ride or 3min drive to our wedding venue and has a wonderful lake view.
Please either let Jielin or Braden know if you would like to book one of these rooms so we can keep track of available rooms.
Both hotels we have blocked off include a PanoramaCard which allows free travel on most buses in the Lake Thun area, as well as discounts on other things.
Parkhotel Gunten
If you would like to stay at Parkhotel Gunten, please let Jielin or Braden know as we are keeping track of the room allocation for this hotel and will be sending the hotel a list.
We have blocked off 19 double rooms in Parkhotel Gunten. The hotel has a beautiful garden overlooking the lake, and is right next to a small beach. The rooms range from 270CHF to 325CHF per night. However, if over 10 of the rooms are booked, there will be a 5% discount. The price includes breakfast, parking, and a row boat rental.
Unfortunately, Parkhotel Gunten is about a 50min walk to the wedding venue. We are looking into arranging a shuttle service to and from the venue on the wedding day. Alternatively, it is an 11min bus ride or a 5min drive.
Both hotels we have blocked off include a PanoramaCard which allows free travel on most buses in the Lake Thun area, as well as discounts on other things.
How to get to our wedding location?
That depends on what your plans are!
If you are flying directly to Switzerland, your flight will likely arrive in the Zurich airport. From there, there are regular trains to Thun (either directly or going through Bern), which is the nearest train station to our wedding venue and the hotels. Those trains take approximately 1hr 45min-2 hours. Alternatively, if you are planning to rent a car, the drive takes roughly the same amount of time (and parking is included in the hotels we have blocked off).
Should you be coming from Bern, there are regular trains down to Thun which (depending on which station in Bern you are travelling from) would take half an hour to 40min.
Once you arrive in Thun, there are many regular buses that go all around the area. The main bus terminal is right outside the Thun train station. The buses are fairly straightforward (and Google maps can help you figure out which to take as well), but if you have trouble, most people speak English fairly well and are friendly.
There are also taxis and Ubers that can take you where you need to go. The two hotels we have blocked off are about a 45min walk from the train station - which is pretty and mostly flat, but may be a long way with bags.
Finally, there are also ferries that go around Lake Thun, including directly to Schloss Oberhofen. We did have a bit of trouble figuring out the schedule when we were there, and they are a bit slower than the buses, but you do get a nice view.
Fair warning: the Swiss generally live up to their stereotypes - buses and trains are generally extremely precise. They will leave at the exact time that they are scheduled.
How much are the trains and buses?
That depends! (And yes, the lawyer is writing this)
Buses
In terms of the buses around the Thun area - if you are staying in one of the hotels we have blocked off, you will get a PanoramaCard:
https://www.thunersee.ch/en/info-service/guest-cards/panoramacard-thunersee
That card gives you free bus travel in the area (along with some other discounts).
If you book at a different hotel, you will also most likely get the card. If you are staying at an Airbnb, it is unlikely you will get one. Without a card, bus fare is about $1-3. Kids under 16 with an adult ride for free.
Trains/other transport
If you are planning on travelling around the area, or around Switzerland before or after the wedding, you may want to consider getting either a Swiss Travel Pass or (if you are sticking mainly to the region closer to Bern/Interlaken) the Bernese Oberland Pass.
There are differences between the two (including which specific trains etc. they cover), but generally speaking, they allow for free train, bus and boat rides in the areas they cover for the duration of the pass. They are available for 3, 4, 6, 8, or (10 or 15 depending on the pass) days.
Swiss Rail Pass: https://www.swissrailways.com/en/buy-swiss-travel-pass
Bernese Oberland Pass: https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/
There are also other passes (such as the half fare pass) that you can look into. If you are travelling around Europe, you can also look into the Eurail pass, which covers trains throughout Europe (but not any other forms of public transit): https://www.eurail.com/en
Airbnbs?
If you would like to book an Airbnb instead of a hotel room, please feel free! However, from a cursory glance, there are not a lot of Airbnbs in a walkable distance, though that may depend on the size/price you are looking at and whether you care about walking.
Please note that staying on the opposite side of the lake (for example, in Spiez) would be about a 45min-1hour bus ride or half hour drive (or more depending on where and traffic) to our wedding venue.
Food you would recommend?
Amstutz Fredi
This is a tiny bakery across the street from Schloss Oberhofen. We went there a few times to grab some bread/snacks. It was very tasty. The woman does not speak much English though. Depending on when you go, there may also be a line
Restaurants in Thun
There are lots of restaurants and cafes along the Aare river that runs through Thun. Most of them also have outdoor seating so you can enjoy the pretty views.
There is also a small island in the middle of the river. The main street Balliz, which runs through the island has a number of shops and restaurants.
To the East of the river, the street Obere Hauptgasse up to and just passed city hall (Rathaus Stadt Thun) also has various shops and restaurants.
