Booking choice: The airplane jump, from $513 per person. Check dates Compare the options below
Most people book a skydive imagining the jump and nothing else, then are surprised by how much of the day is spent on the ground and in the air with the door shut.
Knowing the shape of it in advance makes the waiting easier and stops you booking it on a morning you cannot spare.
The quick answer
Allow three and a half hours from Interlaken, or two if you drive to the airfield yourself. You check in on Hoeheweg, ride a shuttle twenty-five minutes to Reichenbach, get harnessed and briefed, wait for your load, climb for fifteen minutes to 4,000 m, freefall for forty-five seconds, fly the canopy down for five to seven minutes, and ride back. Departures are at 08:30 and 12:00 all year.
Why does a skydive take three hours?
Because the drop zone is twenty-five minutes away, loads run on a schedule, and the climb to 4,000 m takes fifteen minutes.
The jump is the short part of a half-day operation. Interlaken has no active airfield, so the aircraft flies from Reichenbach in the Kander valley and the operator shuttles you there and back. Add the briefing, the harness fitting and waiting for your place on a load, and three and a half hours is realistic. Driving yourself to the airfield cuts it to about two.
What happens when you arrive?
A harness fitting, a short briefing and an introduction to the person who will be attached to you.
- Check in at the shop on Hoeheweg, or directly at the dropzone if you drove.
- Harness: fitted and tightened over your own clothes. Closed-toe shoes are required.
- Briefing: the body position for the exit, arch and legs back, and what the canopy flight will feel like.
- Your tandem master: one per jumper, with at least 750 jumps behind them.
- Waiting: loads run on a rotation and the weather call can move things.
Book a morning slot and keep the rest of the day free.
Check dates for the airplane jumpWhat does the exit feel like?
Less like falling than like being pushed sideways by a wall of air, and it is over before it registers.
The reviews are consistent about this. One jumper writes that she was scared the whole time but felt safe and knew she was in great hands. Another calls it one of the best experiences of her life and says she felt safe and comfortable. The part nobody reports is a long drop: at 200 km/h there is no sensation of acceleration after the first few seconds, just noise and a view.
Is the canopy ride the good bit?
For a lot of people, yes. It is five to seven minutes of quiet with the whole valley underneath.
Once the canopy opens the noise stops. The tandem master usually steers, sometimes hands you the toggles for a turn, and points out the Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau on one side and Lake Thun on the other. You land in an open field at Reichenbach, usually sliding in on your backside rather than running it out.
Three and a half hours door to door, forty-five seconds of freefall, and a canopy ride over the Kander valley.
Explore the airplane jumpShould you pay for the photos?
Decide at the airfield, not at booking, and know the real prices first.
CHF 140 for a handcam photo or video, CHF 170 for both, CHF 230 if a second jumper flies alongside to film you. One reviewer says paying for the video camera is worth it and that they give you a lot of footage. The platform listing confusingly names a photo and video service among its inclusions and then charges for it in the fine print; the cost guide sets out every figure.
What if the weather cancels it?
You are rescheduled if there is a slot and refunded if there is not, which is why the first morning of your trip is the right one to book.
Wind is the usual reason and the call often comes on the morning. Nobody publishes how often it happens, so treat it as a real possibility. If it does happen, the canyoning trip and the Jungfraujoch railway both run in weather that grounds an aircraft.
Frequently asked questions
Will I be sick?
Few people are. The climb is smooth and the freefall is too short, though the canopy spirals can be disorientating if you ask for them.
Can I wear glasses?
Goggles go over them, but contact lenses are easier. Tell your tandem master before you board.
Can someone film me from the ground?
They can watch the landing, but they have to drive themselves to Reichenbach: shuttle space is reserved for jumpers.
Ready to book
Pick the jump, or the thing that is not a jump
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Airplane Skydive over the Swiss Alps
- Safety briefing, all equipment and one tandem master per jumper
- Shuttle from Interlaken to the airfield at Reichenbach
- About 15 minutes of scenic climb to 4,000 m, then a 45-second freefall
From Zurich: Skydive and Scenic Flight
- Return coach from Zurich with a driver guide
- 15-minute scenic flight and the skydive from 4,000 m
- All skydiving equipment and a professional tandem master
From Interlaken: Local Canyoning Trip
Abseils, slides and jumps down a gorge: the usual fallback when the drop zone closes
