Watch out for these deadly spots at Lake Balaton!

Lake Balaton, often referred to as the “Hungarian Sea,” is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike. While you do not have to worry about dangerous sea creatures, Balaton has its dangers. Contrary to popular belief among beachgoers, you cannot walk for kilometres into Lake Balaton without encountering deep waters. Despite the lake’s reputation for shallow stretches, the trench-like lines often lie surprisingly close to the shore, causing the water to deepen abruptly.

A potential danger at Lake Balaton

As Pénzcentrum writes, no buoys are marking the line of Lake Balaton, so beach-goers and sportsmen should be aware of the potential danger. Roland Szakter, Geodetic and Geoinformatics Officer of the Central Transdanubian Water Directorate, has told vizimentok.hu that many may believe that Lake Balaton is very shallow, especially the Southern shore.

The Northern coast of Lake Balaton has a quickly but steadily deepening bed. In contrast, the south coast has more shallow water, but as you reach the trench-like formation line, the water gets drastically deeper. According to the expert, the water could get two metres deeper within walking/swimming just 30-40-50 metres.

Staying within the buoys

Roland Szakter says that staying within the buoys is usually a safe choice. “But you should know that there are two milled lines on the south coast. The first is the abrupt line, which starts from 150-180 centimetres deep, but there is also a line closer to the shore due to the waves. There it is a much smaller drop of about half a metre,” says Szakter.