Lake Eibsee, Germany
Now, I’m not suggesting you visit Eibsee lake for the soul purpose of a quick-pic and outta there, but sometimes you just don’t have time for a hike and yet you’d still love a peek at such a great beauty!
This happened to us on our most recent trip to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where we were so unlucky with the weather when we were there. Ideally we’d have spent one day at Eibsee and one day enjoying the Partnach Gorge, but the cumulonimbus that shrouded the Zugspitze had other ideas for us! (Thankfully we could hole-up in the most amazing apartment with mountain views)
So, with hopes of spending a few hours navigating the tight crevices of the Partnach Gorge later on, a quick glance of the most beautiful lake in the Upper Bavaria region was all we were looking for.
So how do you avoid the expensive car park charges, long queues, large crowds and annoying traffic jams? Here’s our guide to visiting Lake Eibsee for a brief time and the cheapest way…
Visiting Lake Eibsee On A Time Limit
Eibsee is one of the top tourist destinations for anyone staying in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area/Upper Bavaria, and for good reason. This glacial lake is framed by Germany’s tallest mountain, the Zugspitze, and panoramic views of such a beautiful mountain range are jaw-dropping. But obviously, with this kind of celebrity status, a beauty spot like Eibsee lake is going to draw the crowds. And with crowds come car park charges, and this is what you find at Lake Eibsee. But there are a couple of tips and tricks you can employ to make sure you see what you came for…
THE BEST TIME TO VISIT LAKE EIBSEE, GERMANY
You know what I’m going to say, right? Make sure you cut back on steins of beer the night before and set your alarm! The early bird certainly catches the worm in this scenario. If you’re driving to Eibsee there’s a reduced rate in the car park of €2.50 if you visit between 5am and 9.30am. After that you pay €9 for the next 4 hours.
Alternatively, arrive late in the day and catch the last of the suns rays on the Zugspitze – the park definitely quietens down after 7pm. That said though, last entrance is at 9.30pm and the car park closes at 10.15pm with a €50 fine for tardiness. The car park fee would be a flat €9 at this end of the day though.
Choosing early morning or later in the day primarily avoids the traffic queues on the road that leads to Eibsee. Plus, there’s room to breathe once you’re by the lake.
TIP: Choose car park 2 for even quicker access to the lakeside path which goes anti-clockwise around the north side of the lake for the best views of the mountain range. On Google maps you will see two car parks for Eibsee, one north of the road in and the other south of the road in. Choose car park two, the first one you come to, labelled Eibsee Parkplatz on google maps (car park 1 is labelled Parkplatz am Eibsee on google maps)
EIBSEE CAR PARK CHARGES
Morning tariff – €2.50 from 5am – 9.30am
Day tariff; €9 for 4 hours then €1 for every hour after that.
€50 fine for a lost parking ticket or if you are still there after 10.15pm.
*last entrance 9.30pm
HOW LONG DO YOU NEED TO SEE EIBSEE AT ITS BEST?
How long you visit Eibsee for depends on whether you want to walk the whole circumference or just see it briefly. As we’ve already mentioned – we were on a time limit the day we visited and we really only wanted to see the lake with the mountain range behind it. If you park in car park 2 and take the path north and anticlockwise, you arrive at probably the prettiest view-point on Lake Eibsee after about 10 minutes walking, mostly through a forested area. YOU NEED TO ACCESS THE PATH FROM THE BACK OF THE CAR PARK. This is important information because if you were to follow the main signs to the lake you would end up walking the clockwise route, end up on the south side of the lake, and miss the mountain view.
That said, if you are an early riser, take advantage of the 5am – 9.30am reduced parking rate and hike the whole circumference. Then it really doesn’t matter where you park or which way you hike around the lake. The circular Eibsee hike is about 7km and should take about 2 hours, but you’re going to want to allow stoppage time to take photo’s. Bear in mind that because of the mountains the sun doesn’t rise until later around these parts, so taking the clockwise route might be more sensible if you’re there early morning since by the time you get to the viewpoints on the northern side of Eibsee, there’ll be a brighter view for you.
We were there at 8.30am in early August, and here is how the sun looked to us…
ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO VISIT EIBSEE, WITHOUT A CAR
There is a bus to Eibsee that runs every hour and starts in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and takes about 45 minutes. There are several stops en-route and you could get on or off at any of them. From our accommodation it would have been a beautiful 25 minute walk across the plains below Waxenstein mountain and a 20 minute bus ride from Hammersbach bus stop.
It’s the 9840 line that you need and you can buy your tickets with the driver. A single ticket costs €6.
You can find the timetable here…https://www.grainau.de/anreise-und-mobilitat/#/erlebnisse
Alternatively, you could cycle. It would take you about 45 minutes there, and 25 back due to the steep incline as you approach Eibsee. Obviously way less time with an E-bike. The apartment we stayed at offered free bikes.
IS EIBSEE REALLY WORTH VISITING?
If I told you that my Instagram post for Lake Eibsee got the most amount of likes and comments from friends and family, perhaps that illustrates how beautiful this place really is. And even though we only had time to see it briefly because of storms during our stay in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, it was still worth making the trip for.
There were only a few other groups at the lake when we arrived around 8.30am and there was a collective quiet awe as we all gathered on the shore to take in the breathtaking vista. It made me realise for the first time that nobody invented the word ‘wow’ – it’s just the noise that falls out of your mouth when your brain can’t hold in its sentiments anymore. There were people from all corners of the globe sharing that special moment with us and all you could hear was a collective WOW. Does that answer your question?
Eibsee, Bavaria
OTHER THINGS TO DO IN EIBSEE
Apart from the 2 hour circular hike around Lake Eibsee, there are one or two other things you could factor into a day trip here.
Rent a boat or paddle board for a bit of time on the water or take a trip on the ‘Reserl’ – an excursion boat that leaves from the boathouse every hour.
Or, just steps from the lake, you can whisk up to the Zugspitze (Germany’s highest mountain) on the Seilbahn cable car. There’s a restaurant at the very top if you fancied a spot of lunch. Access is right next to car park 1 for Eibsee.
We hope this has helped with your plans and that Eibsee can practically make it on to your itinerary!
And, if you are looking for accommodation in the area, we were really chuffed with where we stayed – Ferienhaus Heimhof. A cute little top floor apartment with the most amazing balcony views . Only 5 minutes from Garmisch, which meant easy access to a load of beauty spots. This really is a great area to spend a few days – there’s so much do and see, and we’d go back in a heartbeat.
For the best rates at Ferienhaus Heimhof, click here.
There is actually a hotel on the lake too – Eibsee Hotel. We haven’t stayed there as we were in the area for a few days as part of a 2 week road-trip so a few nights at Eibsee Hotel would’ve really blown the budget for our particular trip. BUT, if you were planning to stay just a night or two on Lake Eibsee and really make the most of the immediate area with its hikes and the Zugspitze cable car access then this really is the perfect hotel. It also comes with spa facilities, a stunning panoramic restaurant and free use of boats and paddle boards.
For the best deals at Eibsee Hotel, click here.
If you are in Bavaria, Eibsee is definitely one for the bucket list – a real highlight for us on our recent roadtrip. If you’d like to read more about the places we visited on that two week adventure through Germany and Austria, here are a few other articles we’ve written…
Why Garmisch Partenkirchen Should Be Your Next Alpine Escape
Four Days In The Tyrolean Alps – Innsbruck, Wipptal And Beyond
The Nightmares AND The Fairytales Of Hallstatt, Austria – A Travel Guide You Need To Read First
Summer In The Alps – Our 10 Day Itinerary For An Austria & Germany Roadtrip
3 Days In Berchtesgaden – The Eagles Nest, Salzburg, Konigsee Lake & More
Really well writen And very informative. Stunning photographs.