5 Best Indoor Water Parks near Zurich

There are several indoor water parks in Switzerland that have action adventure water slides, wave pools, and lazy rivers. Some are connected to spas and thermal baths. Here are our favorites.

Prices and opening times may change without notice. Please check the relevant websites for current info.

1. Säntispark – near St Gallen

Säntispark is a large amusement center near St. Gallen with a fantastic indoor water park. The main attraction is the Wildwassercanyon (shown above), which is a long water slide with a huge volume of water rushing through it so it feels like going down a river. Super fun!

They also have a wave pool, regular water slides for both big and small, a heated outdoor relaxation pool with bubble jets, lazy river, and waterfalls. They’ve recently added a new wonderful toddler splash pool, with a tiny slide and sprays. This water park is completely designed for families, loud and fun. Read my detailed review…

• Website: www.saentispark-freizeit.ch
• Location: Wiesenbachstrasse 9, 9030 Abtwil SG / From Zürich 1h by car, 1h30 by train/bus
• Cost: 2h ticket – Adult CHF 31 / Child (6-15) CHF 21 / Family discount
• Open: Mon-Fri 9:00 – 22:00 / Sat-Sun 8:00 – 22:00

2. Alpamare – near Zürich

Alpamare is a large indoor water park south of Zürich. It has about a dozen water slides, a wave pool, and a heated outdoor pool surrounded by a no-so-lazy river. For small children (under 6), it has a paddling pool, splash pad and small slides. For adults, they have a wellness area with sauna, steam bath, and massage treatments.

The wave pool was our favorite part, because the waves actually break and you can body surf, unlike other wave pools that just bounce you around. We also liked the river rafting slides with innertubes and usually spend most of our time here.

The “lazy” river is so powerful and quite deep that I was worried that whole time that my kids would drown, even with arm floaties. At times I had a hard time holding on to my kids and standing upright. The river flows at different speeds at different times, so see what works for your kids. 

On the downside, we don’t like that they don’t have a picnic area and the restaurant food is pretty basic. We try to plan our day so we don’t have to eat there. This place is extremely popular, especially during the school holidays, so the lines can get quite long. 

Also, the entrance price is quite high that we only go once a year. You get a slight discount for buying tickets online, which also lets you skip some of the line. Sometimes you can get coupons and discounts from SBB Railaway, Migros and other vendors, so definitely look for those during the year. 

• Website: www.alpamare.ch
• Location: Gwattstrasse 12 Pfäffikon SZ / From Zürich 30 mins by car, 40 mins by train
• Cost 2023: weekend 4h ticket – Adult CHF 47.50 / Child (6-15) CHF 38.50 / Discount for online booking and weekdays
• Open: Mon-Thu 10:00 – 21:00 / Fri-Sat 10:00 – 22:00 / Sun 10:00 – 21:00

3. Aquabasilea – near Basel

(photo from Aquabasilea website)

Aquabasilea is a spa and indoor water park, with lots of waterslides surrounded by a relaxing oasis environment. There are several traditional waterslides, some with intertubes, at varying levels of excitement for all ages.There are two “wild water canyons,” one inside, one outside, where a relatively flat slide whips you back and forth and spills you into various pools along the way, like rapids.

There are no baby waterslides but young children can ride with adults on most of the slides. On Wednesday afternoons, they have special extras for kids, like a hamster bubble, water bridge, and jumping boards. 

There are a couple big heated pools with massage jets, where you’ll see adults relaxing. There are a couple sauna rooms part of the main “Wasserwelt” and also a separate “Saunawelt” for adults.

• Website: www.aquabasilea.ch
• Location: Hardstrasse 57 Pratteln / From Basel 10 mins by car, 20 mins by train
• Cost: 2h weekend/holiday ticket – Adult CHF 34 / Child (6-15) CHF 29 / less on weekdays, family discount, 4h and day pass tickets available
• Open: daily 10:00 – 22:00

4. Bernaqua – near Bern

This indoor water park near Bern has three long water slides, a “wild water canyon,” lazy river, and a splash pad for small children. For adults, it has a wellness area with several relaxing heated pools with massage jets, both indoors and outdoors. They also sauna rooms, steam baths, hot/cold plunge pools, high salt pool for floating, 

• Website: www.bernaqua.ch
• Location: Riedbachstrasse 98, 3027 Bern / From Bern 8 mins by car, 15 mins by train
• Cost: 2h ticket – Adult CHF 33 / Child (6-15) CHF 22 / family discount
• Open: daily 9:00 – 22:00

5. Badeparadies Schwarzwald – day trip from Zürich

(photo from Badeparadise website)

Badeparadies Schwarzwald is a big waterslide park in southern Germany, within day trip distance of Zurich. They have over 20 water slides, including one over 1200m long. We like that it not only has big action slides for the big kids, but also a very nice collection of small slides for little kids, especially the under 6 crowd. They also have a wave pool and diving platform.

I love that they allow picnics inside, which you can enjoy on comfortable lounge chairs by the wall of windows. On the way home, we always stop in the nearby tourist town of Titisee, to get big cream sundaes at an Eiscafe and enjoy a view of the lake. It’s a bit of a drive from Zurich, but as a special treat, it’s totally worth it! Read my detailed review…

• Website: www.badeparadies-schwarzwald.de
• Location:Am Badeparadies 1, 79822 Titisee-Neustadt, Germany
• Cost: prices vary based on day from 17-36 € – book online
• Open: Wed-Fri 14:00 – 22:00 / Sat-Sun 9:00 – 22:00 / closed Mon & Tues / usually open daily during school holidays, but check current schedule

Note: photos are not allowed inside these facilities so I have used promotional photos from the various websites as noted.