Navigating Lake Geneva: the essential rules

Which texts apply?

Navigation on Lake Geneva is based on an agreement between Switzerland and France of 7 December 1976, to which the Lake Geneva Navigation Regulations (RNL) are annexed. They set the rules common to the whole lake: signage, right of way, speeds near the shore, storm warnings.

Each country adds its own. On the French side, the general police regulations for inland navigation (RGP) and a special police regulation specific to Lake Geneva, issued by the Haute-Savoie prefecture. On the Swiss side, the federal Inland Navigation Ordinance (ONI) and the rules of the lakeside cantons (Geneva, Vaud, Valais).

Do you need a licence?

In Switzerland, no licence is needed for rowing boats, sailing boats with up to 15 m² of sail and motorboats up to 6 kW (minimum age 14 to helm the latter), according to the Geneva cantonal vehicle office. Above that, you need a licence for the relevant category:

The Franco-Swiss agreement provides that the licence is issued by the skipper's country of habitual residence and that it is valid on the whole lake, in Swiss and French waters.

The 300 m shore zone and speed limits

Along every shore runs a 300 m zone. Within it, the limit is 10 km/h at most (about 5,4 knots): this is where you find swimmers, small craft, aquatic plant beds and erratic boulders.

• In harbours: 10 km/h in Swiss harbours unless another limit is posted at the entrance; 5 km/h in French public harbours.
• Beyond 300 m: in Geneva waters, 30 km/h at most (canton of Geneva). On the French side, there is no general limit outside the zone, except for chartered hire cruisers (20 km/h).
• Beach craft (pedalos, small inflatables…): they stay within the 300 m zone.

Near harbour entrances, moored boats and aquatic plant beds, everyone slows down to avoid making a wash — even beyond the zone.

Who has right of way?

The RNL's rules of the road come down to a few principles:

1. Priority passenger boats go before everyone else. By day they show a green ball, by night an extra green light. Everyone else keeps clear of their course.
2. Keep at least 50 m from boats in scheduled service and, at timetabled times, from their usual route and landing stages.
3. Power gives way to sail and oars. A sailing boat under engine counts as a motorboat.
4. Between two sailing boats: if they have the wind on different sides, the one with the wind on its port side keeps clear; if on the same side, the windward boat keeps clear.
5. Windsurfers and kitesurfers give way to all other boats (French special regulation).

Storm warning lights

All around the lake, flashing yellow lights warn of strong winds:

On the French side, the caution warning bans beach craft and swimming; the storm warning bans all navigation except passenger boats, and everyone heads for the nearest shelter. Windsurfers and kites do not go out during a storm warning.

Safety on board: lifejackets, alcohol, night

• Lifejackets: in Switzerland, one approved lifejacket per person on board, suited to their weight (child or adult) — minimum equipment under the Inland Navigation Ordinance. On the French side, the lifejacket is worn at night, in fog, on an unprotected deck and during a caution or storm warning; it is compulsory in kayaks, on paddleboards and on windsurf boards.
• Alcohol: in Geneva, you are unfit to helm from 0,5 ‰ in the blood (0,25 mg/l in exhaled breath), as on the road; this applies to anyone involved in handling the boat. Drugs also make you unfit.
• At night: regulation lights on; a boat at anchor shows an all-round white light, unless it is moored to the shore or at a berth provided for that purpose.

Anchoring

• On the French side, occasional anchoring overnight is prohibited, and the anchor must not be dropped in aquatic plant beds.
• In Geneva, anchoring is prohibited in harbours and, downstream of a line drawn from the north breakwater of Port-Noir (SNG) to the Perle-du-Lac landing stage, within the 300 m shore zone.
• Everywhere: never in buoyed no-go zones, and ground tackle strong enough to hold against the wash of passing boats.

Swimmers, divers and prohibited areas

• Swimming prohibited in public harbours, in front of their entrances and near public landing stages.
• On the French side, navigation is prohibited in buoyed swimming areas from 30 April to 1 October.
• Divers: on the French side, a flag marks them and boats keep 100 m away.
• A1 buoys: they mark out an area closed to all navigation.
• Jet skis: according to the Haute-Savoie prefecture, the Lake Geneva regulations in force since 1 June 2019 ban jet skis and other motorised personal watercraft.

With the Navleman map

The Navleman map shows on your phone, even with no signal, what helps you follow these rules: shore zones, restricted areas and reserves, depths, forecast and measured wind, Geneva storm warning lights, harbours and landing stages. Its sailing route planner takes the boat's polar and the wind into account.

Open the Lake Geneva map

Articles in this guide

• Boat licenceWhat you can helm without a licence, the Swiss and French licences, and why one is enough for the whole lake.
• Right of way, buoyage, lightsThe rules of the road, buoyage and night lights, article by article from the Lake Geneva regulations.
• Speeds and zonesThe 300 m shore zone, harbours, the Geneva harbour basin and the zones you must not enter.
• Safety and equipmentWhat you need on board on each side of the lake, when to wear a lifejacket, and the alcohol limit.
• Emergencies and rescueThe numbers to call, man overboard, distress signals, and who responds on the lake.
• Water sports: the rulesWhat to wear, when and where you can practise, on each side of the lake.