Zakynthos
Zakynthos's marquee sight, Navagio (Shipwreck) Beach, is closed to boats and swimmers through October 31, 2026, after officials found renewed landslide risk on the cliffs around it — you can still see it from a clifftop viewing platform, just not walk on the sand. Beyond Navagio, the island's real draw is the Blue Caves near Cape Skinari and the Mediterranean's largest loggerhead sea turtle nesting grounds in Laganas Bay, both unaffected by the closure. Plan on 4–5 nights.
Zakynthos built its entire tourism brand around one photograph — the rusted shipwreck on a white-sand cove backed by sheer limestone cliffs — and for 2026, that exact photo isn't something you can walk down to and stand on. Here's what's actually going on, and why the island is still worth the trip regardless.
Navagio (Shipwreck) Beach — closed for 2026
Greek authorities closed Navagio Beach to both boats and swimmers through October 31, 2026, after a scientific team from the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization found the surrounding slopes at renewed risk of landslides from erosion. A new clifftop observation platform is being built to let visitors still view the cove from above once fencing and safety work are complete — check current access status before planning a visit specifically around it, since details can change through the season.
Longer-term, authorities have announced plans to physically extend the beach by about 30 meters using gravel, aimed at protecting the wreck itself from erosion — a genuine, if slow-moving, fix rather than a permanent closure. For now, treat the classic boat-tour-to-the-beach experience as unavailable, and the clifftop viewpoint as the realistic alternative.
The Blue Caves — still open, and worth prioritizing this year
Near Cape Skinari on the island's northeast tip, the Blue Caves are a series of sea caves where sunlight refracts through the clear water into a genuinely striking electric-blue glow. Boat tours focused just on the caves run about €10–25 per person and take roughly an hour — with Navagio's beach closed, this is a natural focal point for a boat-trip day instead.
Loggerhead turtles in Laganas Bay
Zakynthos hosts the largest loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting site in the entire Mediterranean, protected within the National Marine Park of Zakynthos around Laganas Bay. Turtle season runs May–October, with females nesting at night between June and early September and hatchlings emerging July–September. The best window for spotting turtles on a boat trip is 9–11am; for beach sightings, Gerakas and Kalamaki beaches are the top spots, best visited 7–9am before the day's beach crowds arrive.
Book an eco-friendly, non-glass-bottomed boat tour for turtle spotting — glass-bottomed boats are known to disturb and confuse the turtles below the surface. A standard boat trip from Laganas harbor to Marathonisi islet runs €15–20 per person and typically includes a snorkeling stop where turtles are frequently seen.
Other things to do
- Zakynthos Town — rebuilt in a Venetian-influenced style after a devastating 1953 earthquake; the Solomos Square and the Byzantine Museum are worth a wander.
- Keri Caves and Lighthouse — a quieter, less-visited sea-cave and clifftop sunset spot on the island's southwest tip.
- Bochali — a hilltop village above Zakynthos Town with the best sunset view over the harbor and, on clear days, out to Navagio's cliffs.
Getting to Zakynthos
Zakynthos International Airport has direct flights from Athens (about 50 minutes) and, in summer, direct charter and low-cost routes from several European cities. There's no direct ferry from Athens — the island is reached by sea via a short crossing from Kyllini on the western Peloponnese coast (about 1–1.5 hours).
Best time to visit
May–June and September offer warm, swimmable weather with meaningfully thinner crowds than July–August, and line up well with the best turtle-spotting window. Avoid nesting beaches like Gerakas and Kalamaki outside marked areas during peak nesting months if you're there in June–August — personal umbrellas are prohibited on protected sections and nests are clearly marked.
Where to stay in Zakynthos — hotels
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