Rafting Down The Aare River in Bern, Switzerland

One of the most famous activities to do in Switzerland in the summer is rafting down the Aare River in the Canton of Bern. Luckily, I had a chance to experience this fun activity this summer!

This blog post is all about what you need to know and what not to do (based on my experience) when rafting down the Aare River. I hope you enjoy reading it!

Where do you start?

Our journey started in Schwäbis Thun which is one of the common starting points. There is a place where you can rent a rafting boat and lifejackets right next to the starting point so if you’re coming here as a tourist or just don’t own a good rafting boat and safety equipment, you can rent what you need there. (~130 CHF for 4 people)

Check out the prices here

Since it’s quite pricey to rent, we decided to take our own boat and lifejackets. For 4 people, two smallish boats seemed like the perfect fit.

We started to blow up the boats and everything was going perfectly but then we heard a big boom and one of our boats exploded because it seems like we pumped it up too much…

We didn’t really know what to do at this point. Should we rent another boat or just wing it and all go in one boat? We ended up doing the latter even if it is definitely not the best opinion. We made sure to only take the bare minimum and decided to start our journey.

My tips on how to be prepared before rafting down the Aare River:

So to avoid what happened to us happen to you, I would suggest the following:

Either rent a boat or take your own if you know it’s solid enough. Also when you’re blowing it up, be careful to not overdo it!

The new rules for rafting down the Aare River are that you need to have at least one lifejacket per person on the boat and you need to write your name and address on the boat if it’s your own, also it is recommended not to attach several boats together with a rope.

Check out the official safety precautions here

The river ride

The ride from Schwäbis Thun to Bern Märzli takes about 3 hours (more or less). If you go on a nice sunny day (which I highly recommend), the river will definitely be quite calm. There are some rough spots here and there but definitely nothing to worry about it you have your lifejackets on and a solid boat.

You always have to keep an eye out to not touch the riverbank but other than that, the journey is pretty stress-free. Of course, depending on which time of year you decide to go the river will either be full of people or empty.

Bring your loudspeakers, some good food and friends and time will go by. And before you know it, you’ll be in Bern. You even get a view of the mountains at the beginning so don’t miss it!

The arrival

After about 3 hours, you finally approach your destination, keep your eyes peeled because you’ll see the Bundeshaus appear in front of your eyes for only a couple of minutes before it hides behind the trees again.

About 10 minutes after you see the Bundeshaus, you’ll spot big signs with arrows pointing to the left, saying you need to get out of the river.

When stopping on the edge please make sure to not touch the rock because that’s what we did and guess what? Our boat exploded! Luckily we were still able to get out and our stuff before our boat completely deflated.

You arrive at Bern Marzili swimming pool that has one of the best views on the Bundeshaus. You can relax here after a long rafting trip as you enjoy the view…