Camping Manor Farm 1 on Lake Thun: A winter Stellplatz with the family

Camping Manor Farm 1 sits on the north shore of Lake Thun between Interlaken and Spiez, the only campground in the Interlaken holiday region with its pitches directly on the water. The Flurname (a German term for a traditional field-parcel name attached to a piece of land) for the lakeshore pitch area is “Nüblätze”, a Bernese-German landscape name for the meadow strip, and the operator keeps the site open year-round – which is the reason we ended up here. We had just bought a new tow car and a new caravan, both about two weeks old, and we wanted an excuse to use the rig. We also wanted the first family camping trip Samira and I and the kids had ever done together to happen somewhere that looked, on the map, like a calm December weekend. Most Swiss campgrounds close for the off-season. Manor Farm 1 doesn’t, which is why a camping-app search in early December 2023 put us on the shore of Lake Thun with our two-week-old caravan instead of in a hotel somewhere closer to home. For an American family living near Kaiserslautern, the practical appeal is specific: a heated sanitary block, a gravel pitch a few metres from the water, an Audi A6 wagon worth of luggage room, and a window view straight across the lake to the snow-streaked Niesen.

Visit at a glance

A bit of history

The lakeshore strip where the campground now sits has been a working part of Neuhaus for a long time. Before 1918 the area between the Lombach and the Chienberg was called “Kühlibad” or just “Bad”, and people were already bathing in sulphurous spring water there in the 18th century.^[5] The hotel-restaurant complex on the same shore took its current shape in the mid-18th century as a key landing and transshipment point on the upper Thunersee.^[5]

The shift to a tourism business came in two phases. In the 1980s the Manor Farm AG took over the historic Hotel Neuhaus next door, and in 2011 the two businesses formally merged into the Neuhaus Manor Farm AG that runs the hotel, the beach access, the water-sports centre, and the campground as one continuous Neuhaus complex along Seestrasse.^[5] The campground itself today is the only one in the Interlaken region with pitches directly on the lake, and the operator markets it as a 5-star ganzjährig (year-round) site of about 8 hectares.^[1][2] ADAC’s PiNCAMP listing flags it as an ADAC Tip and tags it both as “Winter escape” and “Campsite for winter sports enthusiasts”, which is roughly the angle we were testing in early December.^[2]

What to do at Camping Manor Farm 1

The honest answer for a winter visit is that the campground itself is most of the experience. The pitches on the Nüblätze meadow strip are gravel, set back from the lake by a single row of bare-branched trees, with a paved access road behind. From the caravan window the view runs across the water to the Niesen massif, and on a clearer day to the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks behind it.^[2] In December that view is mostly cloud-banded and grey, which has its own quiet appeal.

Use the site as a basecamp

The reason to choose Manor Farm 1 over a hotel for a winter family trip is the basecamp shape. You park the caravan, hook up the electric, and leave it set up while you take the car out for the day. Worth knowing before you book: in winter the pitch itself is electric-only – no piped fresh-water or grey-water hookup the way a summer “comfort pitch” has. The bathrooms are heated and have water; you fill your caravan tank from a hose on the sanitary-block wall and carry it back to the pitch, on the days the weather is mild enough that the lines are not at risk of freezing. From our pitch the drive to the St. Beatus Caves at Sundlauenen is about 15 minutes around the lake; Interlaken is 2.5 km away; the Ski-Region Beatenberg-Niederhorn is around 15 km and the ski bus stops 50 metres from the camp entrance.^[2] The operator-provided Gästekarte (a guest card issued at check-in) covers the local Bus 21 across the Interlaken Ortsbusnetz (the town’s local-bus network), free entry to the indoor and outdoor Bödelibad pools 3.5 km away, and free BLS ferry rides on the Neuhaus to Interlaken West leg in season.^[1]

Lakeshore mornings

The other reason to stay is harder to put on an operator page. You fit the caravan onto the pitch however it parks – there is no assigned orientation – and the open water runs off to the west, so the lake takes its best light in the evening rather than at dawn. The mornings trade on something quieter. In December the campground runs at a fraction of its summer self, and a winter pitch becomes the thing a hotel cannot hand you: a heated base on the shore you can sit in all day with no checkout clock. We let Friday go shapeless on purpose. The kids sorted out the campground on their own while the adults stayed put, and by mid-morning the case for a winter pitch over a hotel room had made itself.

Walk the Lombach Naturschutzgebiet

For dog-walking or a stretch before driving out, the path along the Lombach (a small alpine stream that empties into the lake at the camp) runs east through the Weissenau Naturschutzgebiet (a protected wetland reserve) toward Interlaken, and the operator notes that the pilgrim path to the Beatus Caves runs the other way.^[4] In the off-season the cycle traffic that uses this path in summer is mostly absent.

Where to eat and drink

The honest answer for our two nights was the caravan kitchen. In summer there are three on-site catering options (the Restaurant Pizzeria Landhaus, the Restaurant Neuhaus zum See, and the seasonal Laguna Beach Bar) but most of them run reduced winter hours, and the seasonal beach bar is closed.^[6] The Restaurant Neuhaus zum See has the strongest view on site: the operator markets a panoramic terrace facing the Niesen.^[6] The Landhaus does Italian and runs a pizza takeaway.

The caravan kitchen worked because the lake view is the best feature of the site, and you do not get to eat with that view from a restaurant in December the way you do through the caravan window. The Friday we drove up to the St. Beatus Caves we found them closed for off-season renovation, drove on to the Coop Interlaken Ost for olives, cured meats, two cheeses, and bread, and were back at the caravan with a charcuterie spread on the bench seat by early afternoon. That sequence – closed cave, supermarket stretch-the-legs, lakeshore lunch – is the honest version of what a low-pressure December day on the Bernese Oberland actually looked like for us.

For grocery runs, the on-site Mini Market handles basics; for a real shop the Bus 21 to Interlaken West (or the 10-minute drive) gets you into the Coop and Migros range. Bring cards; some Interlaken places only accept CHF, but most card readers handle EUR too.

Practical tips

• Most Swiss campgrounds close for winter; search by status, not by region. When we picked this site in early December 2023, the camping apps showed the majority of Swiss sites closed for the off-season. Filter by “ganzjährig” (year-round) or “open in December” before filtering by region; the list shortens fast. Manor Farm 1, Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen, and TCS Bern Eymatt are three of the dependable winter-open options on the Bernese side; the operator’s own “winter season” pitch count (120 of 230 tourist pitches) tells you they actually plan for it.^[1]
• Swiss motorway vignette is per vehicle AND per trailer. The annual vignette costs CHF 40 per vehicle and is valid 1 December through 31 January of the following year. The motorway charge applies to all motor vehicles and trailers up to 3.5 tonnes, and each unit needs its own vignette. You buy either the sticker or the e-vignette (linked to the licence plate) at the official Via shop at e-vignette.ch.^[7] For a car plus a caravan that is CHF 80 before you set up the awning.
• Winter reception is short. As of May 2026: the reception window from November through March is 09:00–11:00 and 15:00–17:00, and the operator explicitly recommends arriving before 17:00. Plan the last hour of the drive around that gate.^[3]
• Bring or borrow a Swiss-socket adapter. About 90 percent of pitches use the Swiss Type J socket. The reception lends a Schuko adapter against a deposit, but borrowing one in the November–March window depends on the reception being open. A spare CEE-to-Schuko-to-Type-J pigtail in the caravan saved us a same-day return walk.^[3]
• Kurtaxe is paid separately. The monthly flat covers pitch and person taxes for two adults, but the Kurtaxe of CHF 2.80 per adult per night is on top and is settled at the reception. Budget about CHF 22 extra for an adult couple on a 4-night stay.^[1]
• Use the bus, not the car, into Interlaken. Bus 21 runs from a Bushaltestelle 50 metres from the entrance straight to both Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost stations, and the Gästekarte covers the full Ortsbusnetz.^[1][2] Parking in Interlaken in summer is brutal and the bus is faster than the search loop.
• The Schiffländte Därligen (the lakeside ferry pier at Därligen) is closed. As of May 2026: the lakeside Därligen ferry pier has not been served by the BLS Lake Thun ferry since 2007, so do not plan to board a boat at Därligen station.^[8] The active piers nearby are Neuhaus (Unterseen) at the campground complex and Beatushöhlen-Sundlauenen at the cave entrance.
• Dogs on a short leash; not on every beach. Dogs are welcome at the campground on a short leash; beaches 2, 3 and 5 are off-limits to dogs even in low season. The Lombach footpath through the Weissenau wetland is the natural dog-walking route.^[3][4]
• Layers, even inside. As of May 2026: the sanitary block is heated, but the caravan-to-shower walk in December is cold and the pitch surface gets wet. Slip-on weather boots at the door and a beanie for the night-time walk to the bathroom save you twice a day.
• Cash and cards: the reception takes cards; the on-site shop handles small CHF cash purchases. Swiss bank machines deliver CHF only. Bring a small CHF float for parking machines in Interlaken and for the Beatus Caves lot.

From the visit

Sources

1. Neuhaus Manor Farm AG, Platzübersicht, Preise und Gästekarte, manorfarm.ch (pitches and pricing page) (retrieved 2026-05-22).
2. PiNCAMP by ADAC, Camping Manor Farm 1 listing (English), pincamp.com (retrieved 2026-05-22).
3. Neuhaus Manor Farm AG, FAQ (reception hours, WiFi, dogs, adapter, guest card), manorfarm.ch (FAQ) (retrieved 2026-05-22).
4. Campingregion Interlaken, Camping Manor Farm 1 regional directory listing, campinginterlaken.ch (retrieved 2026-05-22).
5. Schweizer Schwimmbad-Verzeichnis, Neuhaus am Thunersee (Strandbad, Camping Manor Farm, history), badi-info.ch (retrieved 2026-05-22).
6. Neuhaus Manor Farm AG, Camping Manor Farm 1 operator homepage, manorfarm.ch (retrieved 2026-05-22).
7. Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit (BAZG), Swiss motorway vignette (cost, validity, sticker vs e-vignette), bazg.admin.ch (retrieved 2026-05-23); and BAZG FAQ Vignette, “Anhänger unterliegen ebenfalls der Abgabepflicht” (trailers are subject to the fee), bazg.admin.ch/bazg/de/home/…/faq-vignette.html (retrieved 2026-05-23).
8. Thunersee-Liebi, “Ländten verbinden” (BLS 2006 decision to close Schiffländte Einigen, Leissigen and Därligen; implementation 2007), thunersee-liebi.ch (retrieved 2026-05-23).