Zakynthos, Greece – well when you think of beach vacations in Greece you usually hear about Santorini or Mykonos. I wouldn’t call Santorini a beach destination ( see my separate post on this little gem) and unfortunately have not made my way to Mykonos yet. So, considering we were going to be in Athens and on Greek territory, we started our search on a beach destination there. We heard about Rhodes but it was a bit of a distance from Athens and Mykonos prices in August were way up in the skies. So somehow we ended up on Zakynthos and upon further search on it, turns out we have been seeing the breathtaking picture of its Navagio Beach, or better known as Shipwreck beach, all over social media travel accounts. If our minds were not set on it before, they sure were after this discovery. So, from Athens, we drove 4 hours to Kyllini, where we took a 1 hour ferry to Zakynthos. On the ferry you come into Zante and it’s a really cute coastal harbor area, lots of boats and cute restaurants and a big market nearby.
We stayed at Zante Plaza while vacationing in Zakynthos. The hotel staff was friendly and very hospitable. One of the nights at the hotel was Greek Night, which gave us a taste of how the Greeks party. I must say it was a memorable night. The staff performed traditional Greek dances, including the sirtaki, and got the audience, young and old, up and dancing along to the music. Even my grandma made her way to the dance floor at some point in the night :D. And what Greek party would be complete without the tradition of breaking plates? Opa!
Make sure that if you plan to do any tours, especially the famous Shipwreck beach tour, you book ASAP. We were there for 5 days and on the first day we were told that pretty much all the tours going to Navagio were booked. We ventured out to other parts of the town and they had openings but due to the location of the beach, the weather has to be super clear and calm because of the currents that the boats face and so on the day that we planned to go, we were told that no ships were allowed to travel to Shipwreck (Navagio) beach. We were pretty disappointed but we did two other tours. The first tour we did was the Blue Caves tour. It was a small boat of maybe 15 people that takes you on a nice scenery ride around the infamous Blue Caves. Not going to lie, from the pictures and tour descriptions it seems like you go full in deep into these magical caves…no…you basically pop your head in the cave and then it’s back out you go. It’s nothing spectacular but it is a pleasant and serene experience and the scenery is beautiful. They do stop at a deeper cave and allow people to swim around and inside for 20 minutes or so which looked refreshing and fun (but since I can barely last 3 strokes before I start sinking, I chose to sit this adventure out and admire the view from the boat). By the way – the town where we took the Blue Caves tour from – Agios Nikolaos , was really cute and postcard worthy (see below).
From there you can drive up to the view point of Shipwreck Beach or Navagio as the locals know it. It was a little challenging to find but we kept stopping to ask people who despite not understanding us managed to point us to the right direction. Make sure you have a picture with you of the beach so they know what you’re referring to. The viewpoint to Navagio is packed with people and there is a long line to get to the railed section overlooking the beach and the famous shipwreck. I decided to venture on like the many brave souls and start climbing down to the unguarded sections of the cliff – for a better angle and views of the beach. BEWARE – it is all little rocks and sands, plenty of them slide so wear sneakers. We didn’t know so we were all in flip flops and some of the more life appreciative ones stayed behind (my sister gave up after taking two steps lol). I’m usually a chicken when it comes to any adrenaline rush but I rather enjoy hikes so slowly and cautiously I proceeded my climb down, sometimes crawling down on all fours since flip flops are definitely not the shoes to wear if you plan to be a risk taker lol. When we got to the edge and looked down, I knew the short but scary hike down was worth it because the view was spectacular. This climb was on the left side of the designated viewpoint. If you go to the right of the railed section, there is an easier hike, with a slightly different angle of the beach a little bit further away. But even if you decide against being an adrenaline junkie that day, the views from the railed sections are just as breathtaking and worthwhile. It was almost like catching a glimpse of paradise. Pictures do not do this place any justice.. This destination is definitely a bucket list must!
The following day we did a turtle sighting tour that also went to Keri Caves as well as the famous secluded island of Marathonisi. Keri Caves seemed significantly bigger than the Blue Caves and I personally enjoyed this tour slightly better.. the views were simply amazing!
Next, we sailed our way to the small island of Marathonisi, also known as turtle island. We even got lucky and spotted 2 turtles 🙂 Marathonisi beach was breathtaking – crystal blue water and so relaxing. Again, the whole tour takes you on a nice sightseeing trip around the island and it’s definitely worth it. Also, make your way to Banana Beach – a great, big beach on the other side of the island with a booming beach bar by the dunes.. a good spot to relax and lay back if you have the time.
All in all, Zakynthos was very serene and full of beautiful scenery. It’s one of the more underrated Greek Islands that’s worth taking a closer look at. We’ll definitely be back again <3
