Greece · Ionian Islands
Zakynthos
The island of the Shipwreck and the loggerhead turtles: Greece's most photographed cove on one coast, a protected nesting bay on the other.
Zakynthos, or Zante, is the southernmost of the large Ionian islands: a green farmed interior ringed by white limestone cliffs and sea caves on the west, and long shelving sand on the east. Two things made its name. Navagio, the cliff-walled cove with a rusting smuggler's freighter sitting on white shingle, is the most photographed beach in Greece, and Laganas Bay is the Mediterranean's most important nesting ground for loggerhead turtles, protected since 1999 as a national marine park. Between them the island swings from a notorious party strip to hill villages that barely notice the season.
Suggested stay
4–7 days
Language
Greek
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+3
Why you'll love Zakynthos
Navagio reachable only by boat, white cliffs on three sides, white shingle underfoot and a beached freighter rusting in the middle of it
The turtles Laganas Bay is a national marine park and the busiest loggerhead nesting ground in the Mediterranean, with rules on the beaches to match
Two islands in one resorts and a party strip along the east, empty cliffs, sea caves and slow hill villages across the west and north
A rebuilt town Zakynthos Town was levelled in 1953 and put back with its arcades and campaniles, a deliberate copy of what the earthquake took
Best time to visit
Mar-Oct
17-33° days
37.789° N, 20.790° E
UTC+3 · Europe/Athens
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Weather & when to go to Zakynthos
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Mar-Oct
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Zakynthos
August is the crush, when charter flights land full, the Laganas strip runs at capacity and every boat to Navagio is booked. The bigger catch is access rather than weather: from late autumn most resorts, excursion boats and beach tavernas shut for the winter and the coast empties, though Zakynthos Town carries on year-round. Nesting beaches also close through the evenings in turtle season.
Top things to do in Zakynthos
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Navagio (Shipwreck Beach) - the freighter in the cove
scenic 👍 PopularA stranded smuggler's freighter rusting on white shingle between sheer cliffs on the northwest coast, with no road down: you arrive by boat from Porto Vromi, Agios Nikolaos or Zakynthos Town. The clifftop viewpoint above Anafonitria gives the postcard angle, and has been closed at times after rockfalls, so check before driving up.
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Blue Caves - sea arches at Cape Skinari
scenic nature wildlife 👍 PopularAt the island's northern tip, small boats from Agios Nikolaos and the lighthouse jetty thread a run of arches and collapsed caverns where the limestone throws the light back up through the water. Go early, when the sea is flat and the colour is at its strongest, and swim inside the bigger arches.
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National Marine Park - loggerhead turtles in Laganas Bay
nature wildlife ⭐ Highly recommendedThe bay is the single most important nesting ground for Caretta caretta in the Mediterranean, with protected beaches at Sekania, Daphni, Gerakas, Kalamaki and Marathonisi. Females come ashore to lay through early summer and hatchlings run for the sea into autumn. Sekania is off limits entirely and boat speeds are capped across the bay.
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Marathonisi and the Keri Caves - the boat day round Laganas Bay
scenic nature wildlife 👍 PopularMarathonisi is the uninhabited islet in the bay that really does look like a turtle from the water, with a shingle beach on one side and a sandy nesting cove on the other. Boats from Limni Keriou carry on to the sea caves and arches under the Keri cliffs, and the twin Mizithres rocks offshore.
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Zakynthos Town - Solomos Square and the arcades
history culture artsThe capital was flattened in 1953 and rebuilt in the Venetian idiom, so its arcaded streets and belfries are a faithful reconstruction rather than a survival. Solomos Square holds the Byzantine Museum, full of icons and whole gilded screens rescued from churches the earthquake took, and the waterfront runs the length of the harbour.
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Church of Agios Dionysios - the island's patron saint
history culture artsThe tall campanile at the south end of the harbour marks the church of Zakynthos's patron, whose body lies in a silver casket inside. It was one of the few substantial buildings to ride out the 1953 earthquake, and the saint is carried through the town in procession twice a year.
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Bochali and the Venetian castle - the town from the pines
history scenicA short climb above the capital brings you to Bochali, with cafes looking down over the roofs and the harbour, and the ruined Venetian fortress in pine woods just beyond. Strani hill next door is where Dionysios Solomos is said to have written the poem that became the national anthem.
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Porto Limnionas - swimming off the west-coast rocks
scenic nature wildlife ⭐ Highly recommendedA narrow rocky inlet on the wild western side where the water runs deep, cold and glass-clear against the cliffs. There is no sand at all: you swim from the rock ledges, with a taverna on the headland above. Best on a calm day, since swell funnels straight into the inlet.
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Gerakas and the Vasilikos beaches
nature wildlife scenicThe southeast peninsula strings together Porto Zoro, Banana, Agios Nikolaos and Gerakas, the last a curve of soft pale sand under crumbling cliffs and one of the strictest nesting beaches, closed in the evenings and free of the usual sunbed sprawl. It is the quietest developed coast on the island.
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Xigia - the sulphur springs on the north coast
wellness off beaten pathA small cliff-backed cove where sulphurous springs seep out of the rock, leaving the water milky, noticeably cold and smelling faintly of eggs. Locals swear by it for the skin. The steps down are steep and the beach is tiny, so it fills quickly in the middle of the day.
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Volimes and Askos Stone Park - the hill north
nature wildlife off beaten pathVolimes is the big village on the northern uplands, long known for handmade lace, rugs and honey sold from the roadside. Nearby Askos Stone Park is a walk-through reserve of dry-stone terraces and oak where deer and other native animals are kept, which works better with children than the beaches do.
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Kantades and Zakynthian cooking
food culture artsThe island's music is kantades, Italianate serenades sung in harmony to guitar and mandolin, still heard in the town tavernas. On the plate look for sartsa, beef slow-cooked in tomato, skordostoumbi with garlic and aubergine, ladotyri cheese kept in oil, mandolato nougat, and the oxidised local white wine called verdea.
Best areas to stay in Zakynthos
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Zakynthos Town (Chora)
First-time visitors $$Rebuilt Venetian arcades along a working harbour
Explore hotels in Zakynthos Town (Chora) →
Tsilivi and Planos
Families $$Sandy family resort strip north of town
Explore hotels in Tsilivi and Planos →
Vasilikos and Gerakas
Quiet beaches $$$Green peninsula, quiet nesting beaches
Explore hotels in Vasilikos and Gerakas →
Alykes and Alykanas
Quiet and easy $Low-key twin villages by the salt pans
Explore hotels in Alykes and Alykanas →
Laganas and Kalamaki
Nightlife $Long bay behind Greece's loudest party strip
Explore hotels in Laganas and Kalamaki →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Zakynthos
Getting to & around Zakynthos
Getting there
Fly into Zakynthos (ZTH) beside Laganas Bay, or cross by ferry from Kyllini in the Peloponnese
Flight
Zakynthos International Airport (Dionysios Solomos) (ZTH)
The airport sits on flat ground between Zakynthos Town and Laganas, about 5 km from the harbourfront, with approaches over the bay. Taxis reach the capital in roughly ten minutes and Laganas or Kalamaki in less, hire-car desks are in the terminal, and most package arrivals are met by a transfer coach. There is no useful scheduled bus, so arrange a car or transfer if you land late.
Ferry
Zakynthos Port
Car ferries from Kyllini on the Peloponnese coast cross to the town harbour in a little over an hour, and are how most Greek and overland traffic arrives
Ferry
Agios Nikolaos, north Zakynthos
A seasonal ferry links Pesada on Kefalonia with the small port at the island's northeast tip in around an hour and a half; useful for island-hopping, but it does not run all year
Coach
Zakynthos KTEL bus station
Long-distance KTEL coaches run from Athens and Patras and ride the Kyllini ferry across with you, arriving at the station just behind the harbour
Getting around
Hire car
The practical way to see the island: the west and north are switchbacks through olive terraces, and bus links out there are thin
TBC
KTEL buses
Routes fan out from Zakynthos Town to the main resorts and larger villages, but services are sparse and the last one back is early
TBC
Excursion boats and water taxis
How you reach Navagio, the Blue Caves and Marathonisi; boats leave the town harbour, Porto Vromi, Agios Nikolaos and Limni Keriou
TBC
Taxi, scooter and quad
Ranks in town and at every resort; quads and scooters are everywhere in summer, on narrow roads that punish inexperience
TBC
Walking
Zakynthos Town is small and flat enough to cover on foot, and the resorts are built along a single strip each
Free
Day trips from Zakynthos
Navagio and the Blue Caves
Full dayShipwreck cove
The classic island cruise takes in the shipwreck cove, the sea arches at Cape Skinari and a swim stop or two along the western cliffs. Doing it in halves by car is quicker and less crowded: Porto Vromi for the wreck, the north tip for the caves.
Getting there
ferry | tour | car
Cruises of around 8 hr from Zakynthos Town, or short hops by boat from Porto Vromi and Agios Nikolaos
Marathonisi and the Keri Caves
Half dayTurtle Island boat
A short run across Laganas Bay to the turtle-shaped islet and the caves and stacks under the Keri cliffs, usually with time to swim. Turtles are often visible in the bay in season, and the boats are speed-limited inside the marine park for that reason.
Getting there
ferry | tour
About 30 min by boat from Limni Keriou or Laganas
Kefalonia
Full dayIsland hopping
The big mountainous island to the north, with the beach at Myrtos under its white cliffs, the underground lake at Melissani and the harbour village of Assos. The ferry lands at a remote southern port with no bus, so a car or an organised cruise makes the day work.
Getting there
ferry | car | tour
About 1 hr 30 by seasonal ferry from Agios Nikolaos to Pesada, or a day cruise from the resorts
Ancient Olympia
Full dayAncient sanctuary
The sanctuary where the Games were held for a thousand years, with the stadium, the workshop of Pheidias and a museum holding the Hermes of Praxiteles. It is a long day with two ferry crossings, and easiest as an organised excursion out of the town harbour.
Getting there
ferry | car | tour
Just over an hour by ferry to Kyllini, then about an hour by road
Volimes, Askos and the north
Half dayHill villages
A loop up the eastern coast road through Alykes to the northern uplands: lace and honey stalls at Volimes, the wildlife park at Askos, the monastery at Anafonitria and the lighthouse at Cape Skinari, where the land drops away towards Kefalonia.
Getting there
car
About 45 min by car from Zakynthos Town
A little history of Zakynthos
Zakynthos was Venetian for over three centuries, from 1484 until the republic fell in 1797, and like the rest of the Ionian islands it never came under Ottoman rule. The Venetians called it Fioro di Levante, the flower of the Levant, and left an Italianate town of arcades and campaniles, a registered nobility, a Catholic minority and the operatic street serenades still sung as kantades. The island also produced Dionysios Solomos, born here in 1798, whose Hymn to Liberty became the Greek national anthem.
Britain ran the island as part of its Ionian protectorate from 1815 until the islands were handed to Greece in 1864. In 1944 the mayor and the bishop refused to surrender a list of the island's Jews, submitting their own two names instead, and the entire community survived the occupation. Nine years later the Ionian earthquake levelled Zakynthos Town and most of the villages. The town was rebuilt to a plan that reinstated the Venetian arcades and belfries, which is why what you walk through looks old and is not.
Venice takes Zakynthos, beginning three centuries of rule and the name Fioro di Levante
Venice falls and the Ionian islands pass through French and Russian hands
Dionysios Solomos, author of the Greek national anthem, is born in Zakynthos Town
The British protectorate of the United States of the Ionian Islands is established
Britain cedes the Ionian islands to the Kingdom of Greece
The mayor and bishop refuse to hand over the island's Jews and the whole community survives the occupation
The Ionian earthquake destroys Zakynthos Town; the rebuild reinstates the Venetian arcades
A smuggler's freighter runs aground in the cove now known as Navagio, Shipwreck Beach
The National Marine Park of Zakynthos is founded to protect the loggerhead nesting beaches
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+30
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Greece eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Zakynthos
▸ When is the best time to visit Zakynthos?
March to October is the season, and May, June and September are the pick: warm sea, everything open and none of the August crush. July and August are hot and busy, and the turtle nesting beaches are at their most restricted. Through winter the island is quiet and much of the coast simply closes, though Zakynthos Town keeps going.
▸ How many days do you need in Zakynthos?
Four is enough for the town, one stretch of coast and a boat trip to Navagio and the Blue Caves. A week suits it better if you have a car, because the west coast, the Vasilikos beaches and the northern hill villages are each a separate day and the roads are slower than the map suggests.
▸ Can you drive to Navagio Beach?
No. The cove is walled in by cliffs and the only way onto the sand is by boat, from Porto Vromi, Agios Nikolaos or Zakynthos Town. There is a clifftop viewpoint above Anafonitria you can drive to for the famous photograph, but it has been closed at times after rockfalls, so check locally first.
▸ Where can you see the turtles?
In Laganas Bay, which is a national marine park. Boat trips from Limni Keriou and Laganas often spot loggerheads feeding in the shallows, and the nesting beaches at Gerakas, Kalamaki, Daphni and Marathonisi have evening closures and marked no-go zones in season. Sekania, the busiest nesting beach, is closed to visitors entirely.
▸ Is Zakynthos just a party island?
Only one part of it is. Laganas is one of the loudest strips in Greece and dominates the island's reputation, but it is a couple of kilometres long. Vasilikos, the northern villages, the west coast and the capital have nothing to do with it, and plenty of visitors never go near the place.
▸ Do you need a car in Zakynthos?
Not if you are staying put in one resort and taking boat trips out. Yes if you want the western cliffs, Porto Limnionas, the north tip or the hill villages: KTEL buses are infrequent, stop early in the evening and barely serve the west, and those roads are much better driven in daylight.
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