Electric boat hire without a licence: where in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and what does it cost?
18 hire companies on the Spree, Lake Starnberg, Lake Constance, Mondsee, Lake Zurich and Lake Geneva: prices from €24 an hour, minimum age and what to bring.
You can hire an electric boat without a licence in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from about €24 an hour on the Mondsee; on the Bavarian lakes it is usually €30 to €45, in Berlin from €45. In Switzerland you pay 60 to 130 francs. As a rule you need an ID card as a deposit and, depending on the company, must be 14, 16 or 18. We compared 18 hire companies directly on their own websites.
Where can you hire an electric boat without a licence?
Germany
| Hire company | Water | Boats | Price per hour (company) | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoBoat | Spree, Berlin-Osthafen | 1 type, up to 8 people | from €59 (June–August) | 18 |
| Solarwaterworld | Dahme and Müggelsee, Berlin-Köpenick | SunCat solar boats and GoBoat, 8–12 people | from €45 or €55 | 18 |
| Boat City Rheinsberg | Rheinsberg waters up to Mecklenburg | family boat 6.40 m, 6 people | €45–60 incl. VAT and electricity | not stated |
| Marina FILEK | Bärwalder See, Lusatia | Vena 420 (4 people), Vena 707 (8 people) | €69 or €109 incl. VAT | not stated |
| Schropp | Lake Starnberg, Starnberg | 5 sizes, 2–10 people | €22–65 (2024 price list), largest boat €75 | 14, large boat 18 |
| Yachthafen Goetzke | Lake Starnberg, Possenhofen | Ringmaier, Frauscher, Heistracher, 5–6 people | €28–40 | not stated |
| Fischermichel | Lake Starnberg, Ammerland | boat with sunbed, 5 people | €30, day €145 | no minimum age, must swim |
| Segelschule Tutzing | Lake Starnberg, Tutzing | not stated | €35, from 2nd hour €30 | not stated |
| Frey | Lake Constance, Meersburg | 5 boats with sun canopy, 5 people | €45 incl. VAT (2025 prices) | 18 |
| Konstanz Bootsvermietung | Lake Constance, Konstanz | Tender T7, about 7 m, up to 8 people | 2 h €180, each further hour around €80–85 | 18 |
Austria
| Hire company | Water | Boats | Price per hour (company) | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mondseeschifffahrt Hemetsberger | Mondsee | 36 electric boats, 5 people; Frauscher San Remo | €24; Frauscher 4 h €310 | 14 |
| Bootsvermietung Gmunden | Traunsee, Gmunden | 5 people | €31.50 | not stated |
| Wassersport Engel | Wolfgangsee, St. Gilgen | "Standard" and "Deluxe", 5 people | €35 or €40 incl. VAT | not stated |
| Bootsverleih Seewalchen | Attersee, Seewalchen | not stated | €36 | not stated |
| Feurstein | Lake Constance, Bregenz | 0.8 kW and 2 kW boat, 6 people | €35 or €55 incl. VAT | 14 or 16 |
Switzerland
| Hire company | Water | Boats | Price per hour (company) | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Corsaires | Lake Geneva, Geneva | 4 electric boats, 0.8–1.3 kW, 4–6 people | CHF 60–84 | 14 |
| HULU Boats | Lake Geneva, Geneva | HULU with walk-on roof, 1 kW, 6 people | CHF 120 | 18 |
| Bootsvermietung Enge | Lake Zurich, Zurich | Infinity 455 (5 people), Shortbreak 5.8 (7 people) | CHF 95 or 130 | 18 or 22 |
| Korporation Sursee | Lake Sempach, Sursee | electric motor boats, also for fishing | not stated | not stated |
Only FILEK, Boat City Rheinsberg, Frey, Wassersport Engel and Feurstein say whether VAT is included. Many companies have seasonal prices, so check the price for your day directly with the provider.
On the Mecklenburg Lake District we found no hire company for purely electric boats; the companies we checked there only offer petrol boats and houseboats. Boat City in Rheinsberg names the waters up to the Mecklenburg lakes as its cruising area. We could not check the hire companies on the Wörthersee.
What do you need to bring?
Usually just an ID card. At Schropp on Lake Starnberg, HULU in Geneva and Bootsvermietung Enge in Zurich it stays with the company as a deposit instead of cash (Schropp, HULU, Enge). A cash deposit is required by, for example, Boat City Rheinsberg (€100), FILEK (€100 or €200) and Konstanz (€250). At GoBoat you are liable for damage up to €2,500 (GoBoat terms); in Zurich the excess is 1,000 francs.
Almost everywhere there is a short briefing before you set off; at GoBoat, Solarwaterworld, HULU and Enge you should arrive 15 minutes early. In Konstanz the briefing counts towards the hire time. Fischermichel requires that you can swim for at least 15 minutes without aids (Fischermichel terms).
Are the hire boats really licence-free?
Yes, according to everything the companies state. Without a licence you may drive boats up to 7.5 kW in Germany, up to 6 kW in Switzerland and up to 4.4 kW on Lake Constance and in Austria. But only five of the 18 companies state any motor power at all. Feurstein in Bregenz with 0.8 and 2 kW, Les Corsaires with 0.8 and 1.3 kW and HULU with 1 kW are clearly below the limits. Boat City Rheinsberg gives "approx. 10 hp", which by our calculation is around 7.35 kW, just below the German limit. Konstanz Bootsvermietung gives "just under 6 hp" for the Tender T7, about 4.4 kW, right on the Lake Constance limit; according to the company no licence is needed (Konstanz). The limits with sources are in Electric boat without a licence, and which motors stay below them in Which electric boat motors are licence-free?.
The companies' age limits are often stricter than the law, which requires 16 in Germany and 14 in Switzerland. Lakes where only electric boats are allowed anyway are listed in Electric-only lakes. If you want to stay out longer than a day, see Electric houseboat hire.
Sources and image rights
- Images
- Hassan Anayi / Unsplash (conditions)
- Checked
- 29 October 2026 by Andreas Lakeberg
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Legal notice. This article is a general summary of regulations and is not legal advice. Only the linked laws and regulations in their current version and the responsible authority are binding, for example the navigation authority, the local council or the lake operator. Information checked: 29 October 2026.
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