Travelogue for the island of ZAKYNTHOS, Greece

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PREVIOUS TRAVELOGUE FOR KEFALONIA – Read HERE

MORE ABOUT THE ITINERARY FOR OUR TOUR OF THE IONIAN ISLANDS AND HOW MUCH IT COST US IN TOTAL—CHECK OUT HERE.

After the islands of Corfu, Lefkada, and Kefalonia, we were already on our way to visit the last, fourth island of our tour of the Ionian Islands, namely – Zakynthos Island.

The ferry connecting Kefalonia to Zakynthos departed from Pessada (Pessada) and reached Agios Nikolaos on the island of Zakynthos, while along the way we caught a distant glimpse of the popular Blue Caves (Blue caves). Usually, local tour agencies combine the visit to the Blue Caves with a trip to the most famous beach on the island – Shipwreck Beach (Shipwreck Beach), and why we managed to see both only from a distance, read further in the travelogue. We still didn't understand why Zakynthos is so popular and so much fuss is made around it, compared to Lefkada, for example, where there are much more beautiful beaches…

And so… arriving in the north part of Zakynthos, we are looking for a hotel – Argasi, where we are staying in Athina Apartments.

–> Browse and book with a discount a budget hotel on the island of Zakynthos. See HERE!

Island of Zakynthos is a unique tourist destination – a place where tourists from all over the world come, and the place where the tourist agencies are preparing a lot of different attractions and beaches on the island. Presented the island with many hotels and a lot of rooms to let, and a lot of taverns and restaurants, and a lot of beautiful beaches, and a lot of attractions. For the difference from the island of Corfu and Lefkada, Zakynthos is not so crowded with tourists. One of the most beautiful beaches on the island is the beach of Korabokrushencite (Shipwreck Beach), which is not suitable for swimming, but it is a popular place for a tour. And so the beach is popular, but also the surrounding area, which is full of beautiful beaches and a lot of attractions.

The capital Zante is a very neat, cozy town with its own atmosphere, charm, and Aegean style, accompanied by the rhythm of Greek music and the diverse polyphonic choir of tourists. Life is buzzing everywhere, tourists are passing by, cars are flying, waiters are running, and all this against the backdrop of the azure sea. The main attraction of the city is the Church of Saint Dionysios, which is located on Strata Marina Boulevard. Saint Dionysios is considered the patron saint of the island. The church was built in 1708 and renovated in 1764. In it you can see many valuable icons, the work of famous Greek icon painters. The church also keeps the shrine with the remains of the saint, which were brought to Zakynthos in 1717 from the Strophades monastery, where Dionysios was buried.

Here are the beaches in Zakynthos that we managed to visit:

Gerekas Beach

This beach is one of the most popular beaches where Caretta-Caretta turtles lay their eggs. More about the TURTLES – See here.

There is free parking and a free Information Center regarding turtles. A big problem was that at the entrance to the beach there was security that did not let our dog, Charlie, set foot on the beach. In the end we had to tie the dog in the shade next to the guards – just to keep them company while we go to the beach 🙂 The rule banning dogs applies to all similar beaches. Otherwise, Gerakas Beach itself was quite gently sloping and resembled a typical Bulgarian beach in terms of water and sand. Here we came to the conclusion that apparently turtles prefer dirtier beaches…

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Laganas Beach

Here is the largest resort on the island and the center of nightlife. In addition, this beach is known for its Caretta-Caretta turtles. Laganas Bay on the island of Zakynthos, also known as Turtle Bay, was turned into a National Marine Park in 1999 to protect this nature-valued species. In the park, besides turtles, dolphins, monk seals, and various species of water-loving birds and lizards live. In early summer, turtles gather on the beautiful beaches of the bay, where they bury their eggs. Mortality among newly hatched turtles is very high, with one in a thousand little turtles surviving. They fall victim to various local predators and birds that gather in flocks when the little ones try to reach the sea immediately after hatching.

Otherwise, Laganas beach is crowded, noisy, diverse. At one end of the beach, close to the port, is the private island Cameo Island, which is reached by a long wooden bridge of about a hundred meters and against an entrance fee you will have access to two or three miniature beaches and a few bars.

Beach on Marathonisi Island

This is the island of turtles or at least that's what it's called. We saw only one turtle and it was not on this beach. You can get to the island either by renting a boat or as part of an organized tour. We chose an organized half-day excursion with a submarine-style boat, where the lower floor is at sea level and you can see what is in the water. Not that there was anything to look at… There was only one turtle, which, poor thing, was surrounded by all kinds and sizes of boats and she was wondering how to get away… Reaching Marathonisi Island beach, there were expected to be conditions for snorkeling, etc. ZERO. Nothing like that. Not only was there no way to swim due to the presence of many tourist boats on the shore, but the beach was too crowded, literally nowhere to leave our luggage, let alone sunbathe…

Kalamaki Beach

The beach attracted us because very close is the Zakynthos airport and accordingly the planes fly quite low over the beachgoers on the beach. We were surprised at how often there were arriving planes – every 10 minutes a plane from various airlines arrived. Otherwise the beach was typically Bulgarian…

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Shipwreck Beach and View Point.

This is for me the only sight that the island of Zakynthos has, and around which the entire tourism industry revolves – The famous Shipwreck Beach. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side, and on the day we were supposed to catch a boat from the port of Porto Vromni (which is also the closest port to the beach), it turned out that the water right next to the beach itself was very rough, making it impossible to go down to the beach.

Rather disappointed, we decided to at least go to the View Point, from where we could see the beach from above. Keep in mind that where the View Point is, it is very windy and the terrain is not suitable for walking in flip-flops. Unfortunately, there was also a plaque for recently deceased tourists who had fallen from the cliffs. From above, the beach was truly very beautiful with the high white cliffs on either side and the deep turquoise waters.

For the next part of the travelogue series about Greece, read here: Travelogue for METEORA

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