Pure fun: 11 sustainable activities for water lovers

Abseil into thundering waterfalls, dive to the bottom of a lake or take a leisurely water hike: In Germany, 15,000 rivers and 12,000 lakes await you. So dive into the cool water!

Stand Up Paddeling

Nesselwang: Family having fun with a SUP board on Schwaltenweiher lake in the Allgäu Alps ©DZT (Christoph Jorda)

You can indulge in this casual and trendy sport in Berlin, Frankfurt, Leipzig, on Lake Constance, Lake Chiemsee or in Müritz and Lake Steinhude, for example.

Canoeing & Kayaking

Quakenbrück: Mit dem Kanu auf der Kleine Hase im Osnabrücker Land ©TMN GmbH (German Roomers/David Kollmann)

Small tours are great on the Pene, Müritz, Sieg near Bonn, the Upper Danube, the Amper, the Lahn or the Isar.

Windsurfing & Surfing

Kite-Equipment am Strand ©TA.SH (Jan-Christoph Schultchen)

This works particularly well on the island of Rügen, in the Bay of Lübeck, Dazendorf and Weissenhaus near Kiel and on Brandenburg Beach and Norderney.

Rafting

Oberstdorf: Kayaking on a mountain river in Oberallgäu ©Lookphotos (Martin Siering Photography)

You can take a white-water tour in the Allgäu in Oberstdorf and in Sonthofen, for example, and on the Isar in Bad Tölz, Lenggries and Munich. Tours are also offered in the Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia in Epel, Bonn and Cologne. The Berchtesgaden National Park is also particularly beautiful.

Water Skiing & Wakeboarding

Immenstadt: Man goes water skiing ©Lookphotos (Christoph Jorda)

There are over 80 water skiing and wakeboarding facilities in Germany. Not only around Berlin and around Brandenburg are there numerous lakes where you can practice this sport. Water sports enthusiasts also get their money's worth on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in Saxony in the Lusatian Lakeland, Chiemsee in Bavaria and in Hesse at Raunheimer Waldsee near Frankfurt am Main.

Diving & Snorkelling

Füssen: Child with diving goggles ©Lookphotos (Christoph Jorda)

There are many lakes where you can go diving, but the most beautiful are the chalk lake Hemmoor in Lower Saxony and the Echinger Weiher in Bavaria, as well as the Sundhöuser See in Thuringia, the Große Teich Torgau in Saxony, the Messinghausener See in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Große Stechlingsee in Berlin-Brandenburg.

Water Hiking

Havelland: Red boat on the Havel ©Getty Images (typo-graphics)

Relaxed canoeing for a few days through a beautiful region, occasionally carrying the canoe, passing the weirs and locks, spending the night in nature: that is water hiking. In Germany, many fantastic landscapes make such a water hike a real experience. We recommend the lakes of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the Müritz National Park. Lower Saxony with its 22 rivers, especially the Emsland or the Thuringian Sea as well as the Unstrut in Saxony-Anhalt or the Bavarian Altmühl Valley, and the Danube in Baden-Württemberg are also beautiful.

Kite Surfing

To surf with a sail you need wind, and wind is mostly found by the sea. This is why there are plenty of places to go kite surfing, such as the Eckernförde Bay near Kiel or on the island of Rügen. This is also possible at the Alperstedter See in Thuringia, for example, or on the Wasserkuppe in Hesse or the Aartalsee.

Fishing

Fishing is back in fashion, and no wonder, since angling can be very relaxing. There are countless rivers and lakes in Germany that offer you the opportunity to do this, popular places include Schliersee or Ruhpolding in Bavaria, Gstadt on Lake Chiemsee or Füssen in Bavaria. But there are also countless beautiful spots in Saarland where you can cast your line into the water. The Baldeneysee in Essen, the Hengsteysee and Harkortsee dams in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Edersee in Hesse are also great fishing spots.

Canyoning

For canyoning, you need mountains and gorges, and you can find them in Bavaria in particular, and Starzlachklamm, Oberallgäu and Finzbachklamm in Krün, for example.

Yacht Trips

The North Sea and the Baltic Sea are not the only places where you can go sailing; you can also do it in the middle of Berlin on the Havel and the Wannsee lakes or on Lake Constance.