Silsersee Schifffahrt: the Lake Sils boat, Europe's highest line
The Silsersee Schifffahrt is the small white boat you see crossing Lake Sils on summer afternoons, and it has been running since 1907, when Luigi Giani decided the lake needed a scheduled service and founded the only one in Grisons. The same family has run it ever since. The lake sits at about 1,800 metres, which is why the operator and Switzerland Tourism both describe it as the highest scheduled boat line in Europe. The landing stage sits below the village, a walk down from the hotel.
Where the boat calls
There are five landing stages: Sils Maria at the Bootshaus, the Chastè peninsula, Plaun da Lej on the far shore, Isola halfway down the lake and Maloja at the southern end. End to end from Sils Maria to Maloja takes around 40 minutes on the Segl Maria, a boat small enough that the crossing feels like local transport. Isola is the obvious place to break the trip: a cluster of houses on the alluvial fan, a restaurant and a shore to sit on before the boat comes back through. Chastè, the wooded peninsula just outside Sils Maria, is the shortest hop of all and turns a half hour stroll into a return by water. Plaun da Lej sits across the water on the north-western shore, the road side of the lake, roughly opposite Isola.
Walk one way and sail back
The lakeside path to Isola is flat, and the boat turns it into a point-to-point outing, so you walk one way only. Walk from the village to Isola or as far as Maloja in the morning, then take the boat home in the afternoon, or reverse it and sail out early while the water is still. It works the same way with a bicycle on the lakeside route if you prefer to ride one leg, which the bikers welcome page covers. For the lake under your own power there is the stand-up paddle rental at reception.
Season, tickets and timings
The service is a summer one. The published 2026 window runs from mid June until the second half of October, daily and weather permitting, but departures and fares change from year to year, so check the current timetable with Silser Schifffahrt directly rather than working from a printed sheet. Cash is preferred over cards, and dogs travel for a small fare. Bad weather can shorten the day's sailings at short notice, which is worth knowing if the boat is your way back.
A crossing pairs well with the walk into the car-free Val Fex, which starts on the other side of the village: the valley in the morning, the lake after lunch, and both of them done on foot at one end. Reception at Schweizerhof, Sils Maria can tell you which sailing suits the walk you have in mind, how long you need to reach the Bootshaus and whether the forecast is likely to hold for the afternoon return. Schweizerhof is a Faern Collection Hotel.