Diving in Switzerland

Hi all,
We are trying to plan a summer holiday that will combine diving and camping. A favourite location is Switzerland.

I was hoping that someone may have some ideas/contacts/websites for diving in Switzerland (in English!) that I could go through to try and plan our trip.
I am AOW w/nitrox/wreck/dry-suit and Rescue - and spend my time divng in the UK - so am not adverse to cold water and average viz.

Her Ladyship doesn't dive, so I'd also be after a buddy/DM/dive-package too.

Many thanks - hope this isn't too vague.

KJ

Hi there. It is a bit vague - sorry!! Diving in Switzerland is in the lakes, as there is no sea (you knew that though I guess!!) Most dive operations cater for the majority German speakers. Search on "Tauchen" for your chosen area.
We dive the southern part as we live in Milan. Despite being "officially" Italian speaking most operations are German speakers.
Lake Maggiore has a couple of operations at the Northern (Swiss) end. One is PADI. Their phone number is +41 796867426 Just south of them is aquasub (www.aquasub.ch - Italian only). They have a few toys sunk in the lake to visit.
South of St Moritz are three lakes you can dive in the most southerly being the best. Viz can be good but not much to see. From the northernmost point near Celerina the road back to Italy is incredible and has some of the best alpine views ever..
There is camping in Celerina. St Moritz has good shops if you have deep pockets. There is lots of walking and the cable cars take you up for a panorama if you like that sort of thing.
There is some reasonable diving near Genova (IT), but that's a day's drive and you need Trimix to get the best out of it. On the Italian side of Maggiore is a cave system if that's your thing.
None of this will be of much use if you are going to Geneve or Interlakken though!! You don't say which part of Switzerland you are aiming for.
If flying look at ryanair to Bergamo (IT) and drive from there. It is a spectacular drive and Bergamo to Stansted is very cheap (£60 or so). If driving from UK then you will probably go via France and in at the top, in which case I know the route but not the diving.
Hope you have a nice trip. Post back if you need more about the south.
Chris.

Hi and thanks for the information. We haven't decided which part of Switzerland to go to yet ...... basically, it will be the one where I can get some diving in!

The swisscamps website lists the two near St Moritz, though I note that they're both at an altitude that I shouldn't be at after diving.

Ideally, the lake would be warm enough for her Ladyship to swim in without getting hypothermia - perhaps Maggiore sounds best. We've never been to that part of Switzerland before, so it would be great. If you have any more information about this lake, then that would be superb.

Many thanks for your help

KJ

Hi there,
The camps are at the same altitude as the lakes so no problem - just remember to set the computer to its high alt setting. All three are about 1800M from memory. Water temp cold - 5-8C. Altitude techniques apply - slow ascent and deeper safety stop at 6M as opposed to usual 3.
There are no dive centres so you need to find a buddy. (Tempt me with a beer and maybe I'll join you!). Gas refills also require a drive therefore.
Maggiore is at 230M above sea, making diving there then driving to most of Switzerland a definate need for SI of 4-5 hours min before the drive depending on depth and duration - maybe more.
Maggiore temp 5-15C
Other "good" diving in Lakes Garda and Como. Como has a number of dive centres and Garda has a particularly good one at nearby Verona: www.nauticamare.it Max speaks a little English!!
Viz in the Italian lakes is not as good as Switzerland.

Switzerland and the Italian lakes have some 1st class scenery and good weather (in summer only). Personally I'd rather dive Scotland any day. Oban is a million times better than any of these venues. Camping at Port Gallanach near Puffin Dive!!

Chris

PS

Central Switzerland has many facilities - again if you speak some German. Look at http://www.diveacademy.ch/ for example. Alta Vista will make a stab at translation if you need it. Most Swiss speak some English. Try http://www.just-dial.com for cheap calls to Switzerland (no subscription needed and just a tip, no connection to me:- in-laws use it to ring us).
Chris

PPS

Try out your Italian too...

http://www.parchilagomaggiore.it/

Some English pages on there.

Blimey! That's a whole load of information. Many thanks for all that - I'll get reading.

All the best,

KJ

Just found another link for you that lists Dive Centres in Switzerland. Sorry but its in German..
http://www.taucherwelt.com/tauchshops.php?land=SCHWEIZ

Chris

As an update we dived Maggiore yesterday. Viz was about 2 meters. Thermocline is at 11M and water about 8 below that. There is a caravan park near the Swiss dive site (the "centre" is rarely open), but saw no tents. Nearest Swiss town is Locarno.
Driving back on the West bank there were about 20 camp sites in the Italian part, many with swimming pools or Lidos.
Scenery stunning as ever, diving crap as ever...

Chris.

you can also dive in geneva or lake geneva area (western part of switz. french border)

various dive centers operate, www.diveexplorer.com, www.diving-adventure.org, just check out the padi website too you'll get more, or the www.cmas.ch there's a whole list.

there are wonderful dives in the close french lake of Annecy with a wreck around the 40-45m of an old wheel boat (don't really know how they are called in english, but they have wooden wheels on the sides to move around )

or the Lake of the Bourget, close to Aix-les-Bains still in france.

For the rest of switzerland, beautiful dives in the vallemagia or other parts of Ticino (italian part) a few in the lake of Neuchatel (still western) and otherwise in the german part there are many, as listed above.

Most dive centers in geneva or around switzerland have knowledge of english, as there is a very large community of english speaking people (you might guess with all the NGO's around geneva area) ... if you need more info, just email or pm me, i'll help with pleasure.

cheers,