For beaches and nightlife, the base is Laganas or Kalamaki on the big southern bay. For quieter, greener surroundings and the best turtle beaches, the Vasilikos peninsula in the south-east is the pick. Zakynthos Town is central for ferries and exploring, and the north around Alykes and Agios Nikolaos is handy for the Blue Caves.
Zakynthos, also called Zante, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of the mainland. It is the third-largest of the Ionian Islands, roughly 40 km end to end, lying south of Kefalonia. The capital and main port, Zakynthos Town, sits on the sheltered east coast.
Yes. Zante is the older Italian and Venetian name for the island, dating from the centuries of Venetian rule, while Zakynthos is the Greek name. Both refer to the same island, and "Zante" is still the common shorthand in English.
Most visitors fly into Zakynthos Airport (ZTH), just south of Zakynthos Town, on summer charters and low-cost flights. Out of season it is reached by ferry from Kyllini on the mainland to Zakynthos Town (about an hour), or from Pesada on Kefalonia to the north of the island.
The beach itself is currently closed to landing. After a cliff collapse in 2018 and an earthquake in 2022, the Municipality of Zakynthos restricted access on safety grounds, and boats may approach the bay but must hold offshore rather than putting people on the sand. The wreck is still seen two ways: from the water on a boat trip, and from the clifftop viewpoint above, which remains open. Authorities review the safety position periodically.
The photograph looking straight down on the wreck is taken from a fenced clifftop platform reached by road from the village of Anafonitria in the north-west, not from the beach. Seeing the wreck from above and viewing it from the water are two separate trips. The platform is free to enter and sits several hundred metres above the cove.
The wreck is the MV Panagiotis, a small coastal freighter that ran aground in the cove in 1980. It is widely reported to have been carrying contraband when it foundered in bad weather, and it has rusted on the sand ever since, giving the beach its name of Navagio, which means "shipwreck" in Greek.
The Blue Caves are a run of sea caves and arches at Cape Skinari, the island's northern tip, where sunlight reflecting off the white rock turns the water an intense blue. Small boats run from Agios Nikolaos port, often as a combined Blue Caves and Navagio-bay trip, and the light is at its most vivid in the morning.
The loggerheads (Caretta caretta) gather in Laganas Bay in the south, which is protected as the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. Licensed turtle-spotting boat trips leave from Laganas, Keri and Agios Sostis, often calling at Marathonisi (Turtle Island). The marine park sets rules on boat speed and distance, and the nesting beaches are closed to visitors at night through the summer.
The long sandy strips of Laganas, Kalamaki and Banana Beach line the big southern bay, while Gerakas on the Vasilikos peninsula is a protected turtle-nesting beach. On the west coast, Porto Limnionas is a rocky swimming cove in clear deep water, and Xigia in the north is known for its sulphur springs. The beaches range from busy and developed in the south to quiet and rugged on the west.
Zakynthos Town is the island capital and ferry port, rebuilt after a 1953 earthquake around wide squares and arcaded streets. Its landmarks are the church of Agios Dionysios, the island's patron saint, the seafront Solomos Square, and the Venetian castle and Bochali hill above, which give a wide view over the town and bay.
The south-west around Keri holds sea caves and the Mizithres, twin rock stacks rising from the water, seen on boat trips from Keri and Limni Keriou. The Keri lighthouse viewpoint looks out over the cliffs and, on clear evenings, the sunset. The same stretch of coast feeds into the turtle waters of Laganas Bay.
For beaches and nightlife, the base is Laganas or Kalamaki on the big southern bay. For quieter, greener surroundings and the best turtle beaches, the Vasilikos peninsula in the south-east is the pick. Zakynthos Town is central for ferries and exploring, and the north around Alykes and Agios Nikolaos is handy for the Blue Caves.
A car or scooter helps for reaching the west-coast beaches, the Navagio viewpoint and the quieter corners, which public buses serve thinly. KTEL buses run from Zakynthos Town to the main southern resorts such as Laganas and Kalamaki, but the island's best-known sights are spread out and often easiest to combine by road or by boat trip.
The shallow, gently shelving beaches of the southern bay at Laganas, Kalamaki and Banana Beach are the kind of calm, sandy water associated with family holidays, and turtle-spotting boat trips are a common draw for children. The protected nesting beaches carry restrictions at night, which shapes where and when people use them in high summer.
Zakynthos is a summer island, roughly May to October, hottest and busiest in July and August. Late spring and September bring warm sea, calmer water for the boat trips and thinner crowds. Turtle nesting runs through the summer, peaking June to August, and much of the beach and boat trade closes over winter.
As part of Greece, Zakynthos uses the euro, and the language is Greek, with English widely spoken across the tourist resorts. Cards are accepted in most hotels, tavernas and shops, though small kiosks and remote spots can still favour cash.
Zakynthos — Zante for short — is an Ionian island off western Greece, famous for the cliff-ringed Shipwreck Beach, the electric-blue sea caves at its northern cape, and the loggerhead turtles that nest in its southern bay. Green hills and long sandy beaches make it one of the most photographed islands in Greece.
The island's icon: a rusting freighter half-buried in white sand, wrapped by sheer limestone cliffs and impossibly blue water. You can only reach the sand by boat, from Porto Vromi or Agios Nikolaos. The postcard shot — looking straight down on the wreck — is from a fenced clifftop viewpoint above, a separate drive from the boat departures.
At Cape Skinari, the island's northern tip, small boats thread a run of sea caves and arches where the water glows a vivid blue in the morning light. Trips leave from Agios Nikolaos and usually combine the caves with Navagio.
Laganas Bay in the south is a National Marine Park protecting nesting loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). Turtle-spotting boat trips run from Laganas, Keri and Agios Sostis, often stopping at little Marathonisi (Turtle Island). Use licensed operators, keep your distance, and leave the nesting beaches to the turtles after dark.
Fly into Zakynthos (ZTH), just south of the capital, or take the ferry from Kyllini on the mainland. Stay in Laganas/Kalamaki for beaches and nightlife, the quieter Vasilikos peninsula for turtle beaches, or Zakynthos Town to be central. A hire car opens up the west-coast viewpoints and the north.
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