Cold Water · Germany
Lake Constance
The Jura paddle-steamer wreck and steep walls falling past 40 m
Photo: Ansgar Gruber · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Constance, the Bodensee, is dived from shore entries at Meersburg and Überlingen and by boat to sites that cannot be reached from land. Dives start from entries about 2 m deep and drop down walls and slopes that fall past 40 m, with pike, burbot and whitefish along the way. The draw is the Jura, a paddle steamer lying at 39 m (128 ft) off Bottighofen and a famous freshwater wreck in Europe, together with the wall at the Marienschlucht, reached by boat.
About diving in Lake Constance
Some Lake Constance sites are entered straight from the shore, while others can only be dived from a boat, and regular boat trips run out to the Jura and the Marienschlucht. The Meersburg entries lie on the town's lakefront between Friedrichshafen and Überlingen, and guided dives leave there every Saturday in season. The Meersburg ferries set limits: diving is forbidden in the ferry harbour, and at Plätzle the boats pass so close that surfacing in open water is dangerous.
Underwater the lake is walls and slopes. At Wilder Mann in Meersburg the entry is about 2 m deep, a wall runs down to about 10 m, and a slope continues beyond 40 m. The fish are freshwater species: pike, burbot, Lake Constance whitefish, char and eels, with crayfish in the shallows. Even in summer the water is below 10 °C from 10 m down, and touching the bottom drops the visibility to zero.
Lake Constance suits divers who are comfortable in cold fresh water and want walls and a protected historic wreck. The dive areas call for experienced divers under the guidance of a local school or a seasoned diver. Some places need paperwork: the Teufelstisch, a rock needle in front of the Marienschlucht, may be dived only with approval from the Konstanz district office. Newly certified divers and newcomers to the lake have Krebsgarten, an easy shore site with a shallow area.
Best time to dive Lake Constance
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
January: winter diving continues, Wilder Mann at Meersburg can be a busy winter site, and char and eels shelter under the overhang at Parkhaus Post. February: the coldest month, with the lake near 4 °C. March: still cold, before the guided season opens. April to October: guided Saturday dives run at Meersburg. July and August are the warmest months, with August averaging about 22 °C, and the car park above Krebsgarten is usually busy in summer. November and December: diving carries on, and in December the char and eels return to Parkhaus Post.
Best months: April, May, June, July, August, September, October
Dive types & marine life
Large pike turn up at Plätzle with some luck. Burbot and Lake Constance whitefish hold near the bottom at Parkhaus Post, and in December and January char and eels shelter under its overhang. Crayfish are common in the shallows at Krebsgarten.
- Freshwater
- Wall
- Wreck
- Freshwater fish
Best dive sites in Lake Constance
- 1
Jura wreck
Paddle steamer off Bottighofen, protected as an underwater industrial monument and reached by boat.
- 2
Marienschlucht
Wall reached on boat trips, one of the most imposing and nearly untouched in the lake.
- 3
Parkhaus Post
Überlingen wall with an overhang, burbot and whitefish on the bottom; for advanced divers.
- 4
Plätzle
Meersburg wall dropping in steps onto a slope, with many niches where fish gather.
- 5
Wilder Mann
Meersburg winter site used for tec deep and sidemount training.
- 6
Krebsgarten
Easy Meersburg shore site with a shallow area full of crayfish, ideal for beginners.
Site guides
Freshwater
Tent remains and a swivel chair on the slope at 18 m
A stepped, broken wall with large pike close to the ferry lane
A winter-only wall with a lone column standing at 38 m
Char and eels sheltering under a deep overhang in midwinter
How to get to Lake Constance
Friedrichshafen (FDH) is the closest commercial airport, and trains run around the lake, stopping in most towns of interest. Shore sites are at Meersburg, between Friedrichshafen and Überlingen, and at Überlingen itself.
Photos from Lake Constance
Ansgar Gruber · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Diving to the most spectacular wrack at Lake Constance „Jura“ sunk 1854 · Scubamarine on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can beginners dive Lake Constance?+
At the easy shore site. Krebsgarten at Meersburg is rated easy and ideal for beginners and divers new to the lake, while the guided wall dives need at least Advanced Open Water.
How do divers reach the Jura wreck?+
By boat. Regular boat trips run out to the paddle steamer, which lies at 39 m off Bottighofen and is protected by the canton of Thurgau as an underwater industrial monument.
When is the best time to dive Lake Constance?+
April to October, when guided dives run every Saturday at Meersburg. Diving carries on through winter, and December and January bring char and eels to the overhang at Parkhaus Post.
Do any Lake Constance dive sites need a permit?+
Some do. The Teufelstisch, a rock needle in front of the Marienschlucht, may only be dived with approval from the Konstanz district office, and diving is forbidden in the Meersburg ferry harbour.
Sources
- Tauchschule Meersburg: Begleitetes Tauchen im Bodensee — Tauchschule Meersburg
- Dreams of Diving: Tauchplätze — Dreams of Diving
- Tauchteam Bodensee — Tauchteam Bodensee
- Lake Constance — Wikipedia
- Lake Constance — Wikivoyage
- Wassertemperatur Bodensee — wassertemperatur.org
- Wassertemperatur Bodensee — wassertemperatur.com
Photo credits
- A single brown crayfish with speckled claws among fine green stoneworts underwater by Ansgar Gruber, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A glass bottle crusted with dark mussels and algae lying on a pale sandy lake bed in green water by Ansgar Gruber, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Embed
Run a dive centre, club or blog? Embed this map of 4 dive sites near Lake Constance on your own page.
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