Swimming Skills for Canyoning: What You Really Need to Know

Let’s get this out of the way first: You can’t go canyoning without knowing how to swim, but the more important question is how well you need to be able to swim. The answer is reassuring: A confident, relaxed breaststroke is more than enough—none of our tours require you to set any personal bests. The wetsuit we provide also makes swimming much easier, because the material provides buoyancy and keeps you higher in the water than you would be in an outdoor pool. For our Family Tour, the swimming requirement explicitly applies to children ages 6 and up. We’ll explain what water crossings you can expect, how buoyancy works, and what less confident swimmers should consider before booking.

Typical swimming sections in beginner-friendly gorges like the Starzlachklamm are shorter than photos might suggest, since they usually involve nothing more than swimming across a pool a few meters long or making your way to the shallow shore with just a few strokes after a slide. Between the water sections, you alternate between walking, climbing, and sliding, so there are no long stretches of continuous swimming. The wetsuit fundamentally changes the swimming experience because the air bubbles in the material create buoyancy; you float higher in the water, can effortlessly drift on your back, and need noticeably less effort than in a swimming lake. Our guides also select the route and sections based on the group’s skill level, stay close to swimming spots, and keep an eye on everyone thanks to a maximum guide-to-participant ratio of 1:8. By the way, you don’t have to dive—just like jumps, diving spots are always optional. The page about the canyoning experience in the Starzlachklamm provides a complete overview of the requirements and itinerary for the beginner tour.

Openness helps everyone involved at this point, because a realistic self-assessment before booking prevents unpleasant situations in the canyon. Ask yourself two questions as a self-test: Can you float relaxed on the water for several minutes, and do you feel comfortable when you don’t have solid ground beneath your feet? If you answer “yes” to both, nothing stands in the way of your tour. If you’re unsure, please talk to us before booking—or at the latest when speaking with your guide—so we can assess together whether a tour is suitable for you and, if so, which one; this honest advice is part of our philosophy, which puts people first. We strongly advise non-swimmers against participating and instead recommend a swimming course as the best investment in future adventures. For children on the Family Tour, the same rule applies as for adults: the ability to swim safely is a prerequisite for participation starting at age 6. Our page on Family Canyoning provides all the details about the child-friendly format for parents and children.