The Königssee in Berchtesgaden is by far one of the most beautiful, but also most visited places in Germany. If you are looking for the perfect visit of Königssee in Germany, then this Königssee travel guide is for you! It includes the best visiting times, photography tips, top things to do, travel tips and everything in between!
The Königssee in Berchtesgaden is an emerald green lake in the Berchtesgaden National Park and is often referred to as Germany’s most beautiful mountain lake. Imagine crystal clear, emerald green water surrounded by beautiful nature and mountains as far as the eye can see. In the morning you will see the fog rising up from the lake and once the sun is above the mountains, they will be shimmering in the perfect golden hue.
If you love mountain views and alpine lakes, Königssee is the perfect place for you! We had the opportunity to stay in Berchtesgaden during our 14-day road trip and had the absolute perfect visit of Königssee in Germany. That’s why we wanted to help others with this Königssee travel guide. Read on to find out about the best photo spots at Königssee, travel tips, and so much more.
Königssee Travel Guide | The Perfect Visit of Königssee in Germany
To ensure you have the most perfect visit of Königssee in Germany, we made up this Königssee travel guide with everything you need to know.
How to get to Königssee in Germany
Firstly, how to get to Königssee in Germany? Arriving by car or public transport is both absolutely possible, however we would recommend arriving in your own vehicle. There is a huge parking lot on site at affordable prices. For example, a day ticket with a guest card costs only €2.50, without a guest card it costs €5. Since you have to count on a day ticket for an extensive visit to the Königssees, we think that’s perfectly fine. It’s actually almost impossible to spend just an hour at the lake itself.
From the parking lot it’s only a five minute walk to the Königssee. There, you will have the option to buy a ticket for the boat tour then.
When to visit Königssee
There are daily boat tours from April to October that allow you to cross the Königssee and grants you the opportunity to visit St. Bartholomä and the smaller Obsersee lake.
The electric boats that take you around the entire lake only run from April to the end of October. In between those months, you still have the opportunity to visit St. Bartholomä but the boats won’t go until Salet at Obersee.
In July and August, the first boat goes out at 8am in the morning and the last one arrived back at 7pm. If you want to have a peaceful experience of Königssee and Obersee, we highly recommend taking the first boat at 8am. The ticket counter opens at 7:30am and you won’t believe your eyes how full it will be at only 7am. So, you should definitely get out of bed early. We know from first hand experience that it’s pretty awful to visit this place during peak hours!
Online Tickets
Important to know is that they don’t accept cards at the ticket counter! The ticket to visit both stops is €21. You also have the opportunity to buy a ticket online before your visit. However, only 20% of the tickets are offered for sale online at all and you will have to take the pre-selected times whereas you can use your tickets bought at the ticket counter at any time.
How much time is needed at Königssee
We’d say you will need around 5-6 hours just to explore the Königsee and Obersee. You will need more time if you want to go hiking. Most people come to Königssee on two days of their vacation to have one day for exploring and one day for hiking. For example, the most popular hike on Königssee, the hike to Malerwinkel, takes about 2 hours. In general, you should not underestimate hiking at Königssee.
Where to stay in Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden is the perfect starting point for the Königssee. Here you will also find many hotels that often have a great spa in addition to a magnificent view!
Which places to visit at Königssee
The only way to cross the Königssee is by one of the electric boats. They leave every 15 minutes and start at 8am. There are two stops along the way: St. Bartholomä and Salet. We would highly recommend to buy a ticket that goes to Salet since you will have the option to make a stop at St. Bartholomä on your way back.
Obersee
You will arrive at Salet after 45 minutes. From here on, simply follow the arrows that state Obersee and after 15 minutes walking you will be rewarded with amazing views of the Obersee.
Fischunkelalm
Now, if you’re up for a little hike, follow the signs to Fischunkelalm. It’s a 45 minute hike that will lead you all the way around the Obersee and has some of the most beautiful viewpoints! We’d suggest to not spend too much time taking pictures at the Obersee itself since you may want to have some time at the Fischunkelalm.
Actually, the Fischunkelalm is one of the most popular photo spots at the Königssee and will get pretty crowded once 2-3 boats have left.
Natural Pool at Königssee
We know that this is one of the hotspots at Königssee, but we did not go. The natural pool at Königsee and the corresponding waterfall are actually really dangerous. Unfortunately, most people do not know that – or simply ignore the fact that they can die. In the past few years there have been some incidents, just like the two men who drowned in the natural pool because the flow was too strong. If you are interested in this, click here to read more.
Picture Credit: Berchtesgadener Land
Travel Tips | Things to know before visiting Königssee
Let’s end this Königssee travel guide with some travel tips and things to know before visiting Königssee.
- Have some cash with you, because they do not take cards at the ticket counter.
- Take time to explore the Königssee and do not just rush from one photo spot to the next.
- Go to Salet first and then to St. Bartholomä on your way back. This way you will have the Obersee almost to yourself for a while.
- Do your research if you want to hike at Königssee and skip on hikes that go through alpine terrain if you are not used to alpine terrain.
- Leave your drone at home, because the Königssee is part of the Berchtesgaden national park and it is not allowed to fly a drone there. There will be consequences if you do.
- Don’t miss the last boat. Because then you have to call the local water guard and like to pay €200 for a return trip.
- If you get lost and therefore have to call for emergency (112 in Germany), you have to pay for the mountain rescue yourself.
- Always check on the weather forecast. You should not go hiking if it is about to rain, because the mud and the weather can quickly make a hike very dangerous.
- Take your trash with you. We have seen so much trash during our visit, please do not be that disrespectful to Mother Nature.
We really hope you liked this Königssee travel guide. Here are some more posts you might enjoy:
- Königssee natural pool
- Photo spots in Bavaria – a complete list of photo spots
- Neuschwanstein Castle travel guide & photography tips
- Top things to do in Bavaria in summer
- Eibsee photo spots & tips for photo spots nearby
[…] might know Berchtesgadener Land from the beautiful and popular Königssee, one of the largest lakes in Germany. It’s an emerald green lake in the Berchtesgaden […]