Is Austria (Attersee & Traunsee) good for beginner divers?

Yes, partly: 4 of the 8 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Unterwasserwald (Weyregg, Attersee), Fernsteinsee (Tyrol) and Föttinger (Steinbach am Attersee). The others need more experience or a higher certification.

What is the water temperature in Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)?

The water is usually between 1 °C and 24 °C over the year.

What marine life can you see in Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)?

Divers regularly see burbot, freshwater fish and pike.

Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)

Diving in Austria

8 documented dive sites, 4 of them for Open Water divers.

Best months: May–Oct
Water: 1–24 °C
Levels: Open Water, Advanced, Experienced
Nearest airport: SZG

When to go

Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.

Pick a month

Best
Good
Possible
Closed
Not documented yet

Austria (Attersee & Traunsee) in November

Good season

Air: 9 °C; 3 °C at night
Rain: 120 mm; average for the year
Wind: 8 km/h; on average

Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.

Compare with another destination

Year-round lake diving; best May–Oct on the Attersee (PADI). Operators stay open in winter (with reduced hours), when the water is clearest (up to 25–30 m visibility); ice diving runs Dec–Feb (e.g. Weissensee, Hallstätter See, Attersee Gumpen), but the Traunsee never fully freezes.

Source: padi.com

Dive sites in Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)

From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.

On the Wolfgangsee, an official St. Gilgen order bans diving 15 Sep–15 Apr between Hotel Lueg and Gamsjäger. Fernsteinsee is for hotel guests only (minimum two nights, no training dives).

Open Water friendly

usual dive down to 18 m4 sites

Lake

down to 30 m

Unterwasserwald (Weyregg, Attersee)

A sunken forest of criss-crossed tree trunks off the Weyregg shore, home to pike, perch and eels.

Open Water
Pike

Lake

down to 17 m

Fernsteinsee (Tyrol)

Tyrolean mountain lake at 934 m, especially known for its clarity, with a maximum depth of 17 m.

Open Water

Lake

down to 60 m

Föttinger (Steinbach am Attersee)

Attersee training site with platforms at 5, 10 and 15 m, a buoyancy course and air-filled glass domes at 20 and 30 m.

Open Water
Burbot

Lake

down to 40 m

Weissensee east shore (Dive World entry)

Shore dive on Weissensee's east shore with a practice platform at 6 m, big perch and pike, and a reef dropping to 40 m.

Open Water
Pike

For Advanced divers

usual dive down to 30 m3 sites

Lake

down to 100 m

Schwarze Brücke (Attersee)

Attersee's best-known wall: large burbot hide in crevices at 5-8 m, and the finest wall views lie between 20 and 30 m.

Advanced
Burbot

Lake

down to 120 m

Madonna (Traunsee)

West-shore Traunsee wall south of Traunkirchen, dived down a steep rock face to a plateau at about 20 m.

Advanced

Lake

down to 30 m

Hinkelsteine (Attersee)

Advanced

For experienced divers

usual dive down to 40 m1 site

Lake

down to 35 m

Kohlbauernaufsatz (Unterach, Attersee)

Easy shore entry at Unterach onto a wall ending near 31 m, where a sunken boat carrying an outhouse shelters burbot.

Experienced
Burbot

Marine life

When the big encounters happen, month by month.

Reported here, season not documented yet:

Burbot
Freshwater fish
Pike
Perlfisch (Danube roach)

Where is Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)?

View on OpenStreetMapLocation: Attersee (lake) (Wikipedia)Map: Natural Earth

Nearest airport: SZG

Austria (Attersee & Traunsee): frequently asked questions

When is the best time to dive Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)?: The best months to dive Austria (Attersee & Traunsee) are May–Oct. Year-round lake diving; best May–Oct on the Attersee (PADI). Operators stay open in winter (with reduced hours), when the water is clearest (up to 25–30 m visibility); ice diving runs Dec–Feb (e.g. Weissensee, Hallstätter See, Attersee Gumpen), but the Traunsee never fully freezes.
Is Austria (Attersee & Traunsee) good for beginner divers?: Yes, partly: 4 of the 8 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Unterwasserwald (Weyregg, Attersee), Fernsteinsee (Tyrol) and Föttinger (Steinbach am Attersee). The others need more experience or a higher certification.
What is the water temperature in Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)?: The water is usually between 1 °C and 24 °C over the year.
What marine life can you see in Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)?: Divers regularly see burbot, freshwater fish and pike.
How do you dive Austria (Attersee & Traunsee)?: The nearest airport is SZG.

About this page

Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.

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Photo: Sarah Lee on Unsplash

Photo credits

Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash