Diving in Lake Zurich

TSK Zürich – PADI 5 Star dive centre✔ Verified

Stauffacherquai, on the Sihl in Kreis 4, is home to TSK Zürich, which describes itself as the largest dive school and shop in the region. It is a PADI 5 Star IDC centre with around 45 instructors, teaching everything from first try-dives and snorkelling to freediving, first aid and instructor-level courses, in German or English. Adaptive diving for people with disabilities is part of the programme. Lake Zurich is the home water, and the club side runs weekend trips, Sunday dive outings and events for non-divers too. The shop sells, rents and services gear, fills tanks, and has its own bar with beer on tap, which says something about the social atmosphere.

Good to know: For the Open Water course bring your own mask, snorkel, boots and fins plus a medical certificate under a year old; the rest of the kit is provided.

Address

Stauffacherquai 54, 8004 Zürich

Opening

Mon-Fri 10:00-19:00; Sat 09:00-16:00

Phone

+41 44 291 94 94

E-mail

zuerich@tsk.ch

Getting there

Parking on site (PADI listing)

Requirements

Open Water Diver: minimum age 15 (10 for Junior OWD), good swimming skills, medical certificate not older than 1 year; own ABC gear (mask, snorkel, footies, fins). Discover Scuba Diving: minimum age 10 (8 for Bubblemaker), good swimming skills; full equipment included.

Source: PADI · prices: operator website · checked 2026-10-10

Tauchschule & Tauchshop Poseidon✔ Verified

In Seefeld, on Zollikerstrasse a few streets back from the lake, Poseidon combines a dive school, shop and workshop. Courses start with try-dives and run through nitrox, technical diving and rebreather training, with underwater photography, children's courses and teaching for divers with disabilities alongside. Pool sessions cover the basics before you head to the lake. The workshop handles regulator servicing and neoprene repairs, and the team fills nitrox and trimix, so technical divers come here for gas as much as for lessons. Reviews praise the instructors and the advice in the shop, and the school also leads trips to river sites in Ticino such as the Verzasca.

Good to know: Poseidon is the nearest listed fill station for the Tiefenbrunnen (WZT) shore dive, so it is a practical stop before a lake dive on the east shore.

Address

Zollikerstrasse 155, 8008 Zürich

Opening

Mon 12:00-18:30; Tue 16:30-18:30; Wed-Fri 12:00-18:30; Sat 10:00-15:30

Phone

044 391 85 58

E-mail

info@tauchschule-poseidon.ch

Requirements

Open Water Diver: minimum age 10, must be able to swim, good health; online theory must be completed before the course. Rental equipment included except ABC (mask, snorkel, fins).

Source: taucher.net · prices: operator website · checked 2026-10-10

Dive site Wassersportzentrum Tiefenbrunnen (WZT)✔ Verified

Tiefenbrunnen's water sports centre, on Zurich's eastern shore, has a wide staircase with a handrail, or a jetty, to take you into the lake. The bottom drops to about 3 m beyond the edge, then slopes gently down to around 25 m, with the listed maximum at 30 m. Divers have placed a series of objects along the slope, including pipes, sunken boats, a diving bell, statues and signs, which give you something to navigate by. The gentle gradient makes it a popular training and buoyancy site, and reviewers recommend it for night dives. Poseidon on Zollikerstrasse is the nearest listed fill station.

Good to know: Parking is close to the entry; Poseidon in Seefeld is the nearest listed air fill.

Address

Tiefenbrunnen, Zürich

Getting there

Parking near the entry

Prices are not published by the operator — ask when booking.

Source: taucher.net · checked 2026-10-10

Dive site Herrliberg (large car park)✔ Verified

Herrliberg's large car park on Seestrasse, on the right shore, is only steps from an easy entry. The site is marked with buoys chained to the bottom, and a stepped rock wall runs from about 5 m down to 30 m, with seagrass meadows and plenty of fish in the shallows. Many divers do their first open-water dives here with an instructor, so it is busy with training groups. There can be some current, and in summer you share the shore with swimmers, a snack stand and public toilets. Shops in Horgen, Wädenswil and Zurich are the nearest for fills.

Good to know: Parking is free at the large car park; watch out for swimmers at the entry in summer.

Address

Seestrasse, Herrliberg

Getting there

Free parking at the large car park on Seestrasse

Prices are not published by the operator — ask when booking.

Source: taucher.net · checked 2026-10-10

Dive site Halbinsel Au✔ Verified

Deep wall diving is the draw at the Au peninsula near Wädenswil, and it is for advanced divers only. You enter left of the passenger-boat pier, descend to about 10 m where the wall begins, and follow it on your left shoulder towards 35–40 m. After five to seven minutes you reach a single standing stone, about 10 m off the wall, then a tree lying across the gap at around 40 m, and beyond it a fissured wall where burbot hide. On the way back small caves sit at 18–20 m and at 11 m. Two arm-thick intake pipes near the pier pillars mark the exit. The listed maximum depth is about 52 m.

Good to know: Passenger boats dock at the pier, with the first summer arrival at 10:32, so dive early and be out of the water before then.

Address

Halbinsel Au, Wädenswil

Getting there

Park at Landgasthof Au, then about 300 m downhill to the boat pier (steep walk back)

Prices are not published by the operator — ask when booking.

Source: taucher.net · checked 2026-10-10

Dive site Horn, Richterswil✔ Verified

A little meadow with a bench at the Horn, the small headland in Richterswil beside the youth hostel, leads to a stone staircase into the water. The bottom starts as stone, turns to silt and opens into a seagrass meadow, with a maximum depth of about 10 m, which makes it a beginner-level shore dive. A training platform sits at about 5 m. Two dive schools are based in Richterswil, so you will often meet course groups. It is a relaxed, shallow site for a first lake dive or for checking new kit rather than one for deep exploration.

Good to know: The platform at 5 m is private property of the Local Diving school; register by phone before using it.

Address

Horn, Richterswil

Getting there

Parking garage near the youth hostel / Seeclub Richterswil

Prices are not published by the operator — ask when booking.

Source: taucher.net · checked 2026-10-10

Dive site Rüschlikon, Pumphüsli✔ Verified

The Pumphüsli site in Rüschlikon, on the left shore, has parking right next to the entry, toilets and a covered spot to change when it rains. A wide staircase with a railing takes you over a bottom of small stones straight out to about 5 m, where a bicycle saddle on a long pole marks a good place for the safety stop. Turning right brings you to a sunken boat at about 10 m. On the way back, dense weed beds at 5 m hold shoals of small fish and the occasional pike, with sunlight playing through the green water. It suits beginners and divers returning after a break.

Good to know: Use the bicycle saddle on its pole at about 5 m as your marker for the three-minute safety stop.

Address

Pumphüsli, Rüschlikon

Getting there

Parking right next to the site

Prices are not published by the operator — ask when booking.

Source: taucher.net · checked 2026-10-10

Dive site Greifensee, Maur harbour✔ Verified

Beside the harbour in Maur on the Greifensee, divers enter about 50 m left of the boat landing using the rowing-boat ramp and jetty. You must swim only to the left: the harbour basin to the right is off limits. The muddy bottom slopes very gently to about 12 m, with roots, tree trunks and a few perch, and visibility is usually just 1–2 m, so good buoyancy matters. About 20 minutes out you reach a yacht mooring with chains and buoy lines, and fishing lines are common near the entry. Motorboats are banned on the lake apart from the ferry, and diving is allowed only at certain spots.

Good to know: Diving on the Greifensee is restricted to designated places; check the current rules with a local dive centre before you go.

Address

Hafen Maur, Greifensee

Getting there

Parking by the lake opposite the church; tight in midsummer

Prices are not published by the operator — ask when booking.

Source: taucher.net · checked 2026-10-10