Taking A Boat Tour Across Königssee to Obersee Lake, Germany

In the farthest south-east corner of Germany, in the alpine beauty of Bavaria, are the stunning lakes of Königssee and Obersee. See is the German word for Lake, so they are King’s Lake and Upper Lake in English. These gorgeous glacier lakes are the bluest of blue, and offer extraordinary views of the Berchtesgaden Alps and National Park. Take a boat tour across Königssee and an easy hike to Obersee for lake views that will amaze you.

Königssee and Obersee Lakes

We visited Königssee and Obersee lakes during our Austrian road trip. Sitting a mere 45 minutes drive from Salzburg, it is an easy detour over into Bavaria for either a day trip, or a longer stop to enjoy the alpine hikes and stunning Bavarian scenery.

We visited at the beginning of May and the weather was perfect. There was a crispness in the air, but the sun was out. We visited mid-week, so it wasn’t particularly crowded either. However, I was warned that in the summer the queues for the boats can be long – especially with bus tour groups arriving.

Schönau am Königssee

Schönau am Königssee is the jumping off point for your boat trip across Königssee. Here you will find a large carpark with public toilets and a tourist office for visitors. Plus a small town really geared towards tourists.

The road down to the lake from the carpark is lined with clothing and souvenir shops, convenience stores, tour operators and restaurants.

PARKING: We paid €8 for parking – which is the max you’ll pay for the day [as of May 2023]. It was paid via a ticket machine near the toilets.

King’s Lake Boat Trip

When you get to the lakefront, you’ll find the ticket office for the boat tours. They sell an allocation online before the date, but also leave aside an allocation of tickets to buy in person on the day.

There are a fleet of electric motor boats that cross the lake – keeping the lake pristine by using electricity over fuel. They hold around 80 people each crossing, and there are many boats working the routes at once to keep the schedule regular.

Dogs are welcome, muzzled and on a leash. You’ll find hikers, day trippers, pilgrims and all kinds using the service across this beautiful lake.

Königssee Lake Stops

Echo Wall (A pause rather than a stop)

Before any official stops, the boat will make a brief pause at the Echo Wall. A large flat surface in a skinny part of the lake, which, when you send sound towards it, it echoes across the lake between rock faces.

One of the staff on our boat played a tune on a little bugle to demonstrate (see the video below for the full concert). We heard other boats demonstrating with singing, and letting visitors yell too!

Kessel (Mountaineering stop, by request)

Hiking and mountaineering is popular in the dramatic landscape of the Berchtesgaden Alps. Kessel is a by-request stop on King’s Lake. If you wish to stop here, you just advise the boat captain.

To get a pick-up from Kessel, you just slide out an orange signal on the jetty to alert passing ferries.

Saint Bartholomew

The Pilgrimage church of Saint Bartholomew was founded in 1134, although the twin tower and triple domed Baroque building currently in situ wasn’t built until 1697. When this part of the Berchtesgaden Alps became part of Bavaria, it became the summer stomping ground of kings.

The pilgrimage to this Catholic church happens every August. And the hunting lodge is now an Inn.

Salet

Salet is at the southernmost tip of Königssee, and is the ferry stop for your adventure up to Obersee (but more on that shortly). As you putter into this protected cove in the lake, you’ll notice how clean and clear the water is.

Salet is very well provisioned, with a large toilet block right near the jetty. From here, there is a trail that leads to the rustic self-service restaurant, Saletalm. From here you will follow the Saletbach creek for about 1km to Obersee.

NOTE: You can only stop once at St Bartholomew. The ferry company recommends you stop at Salet first, making the return from St Bartholomew’s busy. But if you do it in reverse, you’ll have the quickest and easiest return trip from Salet later (our return boat from Salet was almost empty).

King’s Lake is very popular, so there will likely be crowds at both Obersee and St Bartholomew’s church (especially in summer).

Obersee Lake

Obersee is truly one of the most vivid green mountain lakes I have seen outside of the Icefields Parkway in Canada. With the Berchtesgaden Alps in the background, and Fischunkelalm (mountain cabin) across the lake, it sure is a pretty backdrop. The walk to the other side of Obersee is around 30-45 minutes. And on to Röthbach waterfall, about an hour.

The joy of Obersee Lake is the accessibility – it’s a very short and easy walk to reach it. But the downside of that is the crowds. We visited in Spring and it was already getting busy.

I have a good tip for that though – be patient. Many people come up just to take photos of the boat shed and the blue water and then they walk back and leave. We found if you spend longer here, explore the lakefront to the right of the boat shed and hike some of the Obersee lake trail, you will get lots of great photos without the crowds.

Tips for visiting Königssee and Obersee

• Don’t stay in Schönau am Königssee, it’s touristic and expensive. Stay in Salzburg, Austria for city vibes; or Berchtesgaden, Germany for alpine charm. I recommend Das Jedermann Boutiquehotel mit Stadtgarten in Salzburg, or Hotel EDELWEISS Berchtesgaden Superior in Berchtesgaden.
  
• Many of the restaurants in Schönau only take cash, so visit a bank ATM before you visit. The ferry kiosk takes cards.
  
• Arrive by 9:30 to get on one of the first boats of the day.
  
• Don’t miss the last ferry! In the high season this is around 17:40, and shoulder season is as early as 17:10 from Salet. Check the timetable before you leave, as reception is sketchy on the lake.
  
• A certain evil führer had his summer house, The Eagle’s Nest, nearby. Combine a with visit to King’s Lake on a full day tour from Salzburg or Munich.

Where to next? Why not drop down to the Italian Dolomites from your Bavarian and Austrian adventure.

All photos & content © Hannah Henderson and may not be used without permission (sharing this blog post is fine, though!). Images shot with a Canon DSLR T3i Rebel + Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM; and an iPhone.