Discover the best beaches in Zakynthos
Sandy beaches and shallow waters make Zante popular for family holidays while the large hotels bulk up the travel brochures. The beaches of Zante are the main attraction of the island and the main reason that thousands of tourists visit the island every summer.
The huge bay of Laganas accounts for most of the south coast beach resorts, along with the peninsula at Vassilikos which is characterised by picturesque coves and rich vegetation.
Vassilikos has been ‘discovered’ of late and each year hotels sprout to meet the growing demand but there are still rich pickings for those willing to explore this part of the island
Tsilivi beach
The long, wide beach of good sand has plenty of loungers and some showers and toilets. The sea is very shallow and safe for children.
Heavy winter rains can wash sand away from the western end to reveal rocks and stone; much better sand is to be found at the eastern end of the beach.
There are the usual watersports and, being north facing, it can get windy enough for windsurfers to let rip. Low dunes and scrub help give Tsilivi beach a wide-open feel.
Tsilivi resort is packed with restaurants and menus lean towards burger-Brit tastes – you will find a chip shop and a McDonald’s here.
There is plenty of family-type entertainment too here too – karaoke bars, crazy golf, bowling and so on.
Transfers: Tsilivi is about 10 km from Zante Airport
Tragaki beach
The proximity of capital and a regular bus service promises visitors a quiet day on Tragaki beach and a lively night in Zakynthos Town.
The village of Tragaki is built on the side of the Kavelaris hills, set amongst olive groves and with panoramic views over the bay. Most holiday accommodation, however, is in nearby Planos which backs onto a beach below Tragaki where there is also a camping site.
The water at Ampoula is shallow near the shore, so its fine for children, but there is a steep incline a little way out.
Beaches get quieter as you head west. The road to Bouka also leads to the remains of a Venetian observatory, which is worth a visit. Inland at Sarakinda is a small water park.
Transfers: Tragaki is about 12km from Zante Airport
Alykanas beach
Soft sand shelves gently and the beach is backed by low dunes, some scrub and several olive groves. The sand narrows and turns to pebble nearer Alykes.
Good facilities and shallow water make Alykanas good for family holidays. Fishing boats use the small harbour at one end of the beach; a large hotel complex dominates the other end.
Bars, tavernas, shops and mini-markets, line the resort’s main street. Many restaurants are English-owned, serving up fish and chips and full English breakfast. Some Alykanas tavernas have a a free horse and carriage taxi service to take you home after your meal.
The resort has a relaxed atmosphere and those who prefer a more lively time can walk allong the shore to Alykes in 10 minutes.
The popular ‘Trainaki’ train tour that runs between Alykes and Alykanas takes in the hill village of Katastari, the Vertagias Caves, the folk museum at Pigadakis and the church of Ag. Panteleimona with a snack stop at the Kaki Rahi taverna. Details here at Trainaki
Transfers: Alykanas is about 18km from Zante Airport.
Alykes beach
Alykes, sometimes spelt Alikes ,gets it name from the large, flat salt pans that lie behind the sand sat the southern end.
The water is very shallow for several metres out but then dips sharply, making the beach fine for children close to the shore, and great for surfers who ride big breakers whipped up by northerly winds.
The centre of Alykes beach is the busiest but those looking for a more peaceful spot need only walk in either direction for crowds thin out, although pebbles are more prevalent to the east.
Alykes village is very compact, just a couple of streets with the usual tourist shops, tavernas and cafes. Alykes may be more developed than its neighbour Alykanas but bars are still generally low key and most close around midnight. There is even a tourist train from Alykes to Alykanas (see Alykes report).
Transfers: Alykes is about 17km from Zante Airport.
Beaches in Agios Nikolaos
The cliffs get wilder and steeper until they reach the tiny port of Agios Nikolaos about 30km from Zakynthos Town. Don’t confuse it with the more resort of the same name in the south of Zante.
This Agios Nikolaos has a small pebble beach and nearby rocky coves found off any of the many tracks that snake along the coast.
The setting is idyllic, but the drab cement buildings are a disappointment. The port has ferry links to Kefalonia and caiques often pull in on their way to the famous Blue Caves of Zante.
Agios Nikolaos is also a popular mooring point for visiting yachts and boats and a good place to wander off the tourist trail. There are tavernas and cafes in the village and on the coast road outskirts.
The beach of Agios Nikolaos south
The resort is named after the striking chapel that sits on the bluff above the beach and shouldn’t be mistaken for its namesake port in the north-west.
There was a fishing port here once but sailing is now pretty much confined to windsurfing, pleasure craft and excursion boats.
Agios Nikolaos beach has a wide arc of soft, sand normally packed with sunbedswith a scattering of apartments and hotels behind. The bare landscape around Agios Nikolaos makes it feel rather more remote than it is but things improve inland where there are pine forests and olive groves.
Vassilikos beach
Island maps are vague on the exact spot of Vassilikos village but all the hamlets here come with picturesque bays and coves attached.
The main hotel development is confined to the north where the popular Banana Beach owes more to the bulldozer than to nature.
The Vassilikos area has long been a nature reserve and efforts have been made to combine tourism and conservation. Watersports, for example, are either banned or sharply curbed.
Vassilikos is a quiet resort with entertainment limited to that offered by hotels. For nightlife many head for the clubs and bars of Argassi.
Transfers: Vassilikos is about 17km from Zante Airport.
Porto Zoro beach
A narrow winding road leads to a small crescent of sharp sand with clutch of offshore rocks to the east that are ideal for snorkelling.
The Porto Zoro beach is gently shelving but can be steep near the rock formations where there are plenty of stones offshore.
A new hotel has been built behind the beach and sunbeds now cram the shoreline while recent visitors warn of the daily thump of disco from the hotel beach bar.
Porto Vromi beach
Porto Vromi means ‘Dirty Port’ and the name derives from the natural tar that stains the beach here and there. But this is no real problem for visitors and the flecks of tar are easily avoided. Porto Vromi is far enough off the beaten track to ensure that visitors are few.
Above the Porto Vromi harbour is the 15th century monastery of Panagia Anafonitria, noted for its fine frescos, and there are regular boat trips to the nearby Blue Caves of Zante.
Keri beach Zante
The steep, narrow beach has more pebble than sand but it is still very attractive, with warm shallow waters and a small river running into the sea for added interest.
The picturesque village has many pre-earthquake buildings and the view from Limni Keriou beach is impressive, with high cliffs flanking both sides and the turtle nesting islet of Marathonisi lying offshore.
Paths along the coast that lead to secluded coves and a rough track lends at a clifftop lighthouse where a small car park near the taverna offers spectacular of nearby limestone sea arches.
Boats can be hired to visit the turtle nesting islet of Marathonisi but ecologists warn that the swarms of visitors frighten the shy loggerhead turtles away and fewer nest there each year.
Marathonisi beach
Marathonisi has reefs that link it to the cape of Marathias and there are two small beaches on the islet.
Turtles nest on a long sand bank and it’s a protected part of the marine park but that doesn’t stop turtle watchers scaring the creatures off before they get there.
Agios Sostis beach
This pleasant resort has a wide gently shelving sand and pebble beach backed by a couple of tavernas with low cliffs at the southern end where the beach turns to rocks before meeting meets the wall of the substantial harbour.
The beach is named after the chapel on the picturesque islet that sits out in the bay to the south, connected to the resort by a dramatic wooden bridge. The resort is pretty uncommercial so there are no clubs and discos and there is the large Laganas campsite inland.
Excursion boats offer turtle spotting trips to the offshore islet of Marathonisi but tourists do no favours to the shy creatures. They are seriously disturbed by the daily swarms of trippers and often fail to lay their eggs.
Transfers: Agios Sostis is about 10km from Zante Airport.
Laganas beach
Laganas is not the place for a peaceful break; they party around the clock here. Evening neon flashes along a Golden Mile of deafening music bars full of ‘out for a larf’ revellers. There are at least 100 bars on the main Laganas strip and they outnumber restaurants by about ten to one.
The beach is the biggest on the island and stretched for nearly nine kilometres. The sands are firm, hard packed where cars roll over and littered with touts plugging the clubs and flogging pirate DVDs.
The shallow water makes this an ideal beach for families and for nesting turtles. The meeting of nature and tooth-and-claw businessmen has not been a happy one.
Stung by repeated criticism from the Council of Europe, Laganas has at least banned motorised watersports, but protection laws are widely ignored, nest sites are dug up and law-breakers go unpunished. As one commentator said “the animal will be killed off, only to live on as a Laganas fridge magnet.”
Frankly, anyone who cares about nature should avoid Laganas. There are plenty of places to stick a beach brolly other than through a clutch of turtle eggs or preventing them nesting just to get a photo.
Transfers: Laganas is about 8km from Zante Airport.
Kalamaki beach
The sand is soft on the long beach and the water very shallow, with some impressive rock formations along the shore. Less busy and less crowded than Laganas, Kalamaki is a family holiday destination.
The resort is enclosed by olive and citrus groves with the backdrop of Mount Skopos in the distance. Planes fly in low over the beach to land at the nearby airport but they are not a problem.
Kalamaki nightlife mainly consists of touring the tavernas and bars and those looking for something more lively will head for the lights of Laganas just down the coast.
Kalamaki beach is also a favourite with egg-laying turtles and tracks lead from the village to protected nesting sites at the back of the beach. Visitors are asked to stick to designated paths.
Gerakas beach
Often voted among the best beaches in Europe, Gerakas gets it share of tourists during the day but, being also a major turtle breeding ground, it is off limits from dusk to dawn.
Wardens based at the information centre above patrol the nesting areas where sunbathing is banned. There are no watersports and visiting hours are limited.
Its conservation area status has spared Gerakas the ugly fate of resorts like Laganas. A trio of tavernas provide the basics and there is parking near the mini market on the way to the beach.
The cliffs at the southern end of Gerakas turn to white clay that visitors once used as a natural sun block but they have been closed off following several rock falls. Venture there at your peril.
Porto Roma beach
A sublimely beautiful spot with olives and pines touching the shore below cliffs covered in rich vegetation, the beach takes its name from a former Zante notable, Alexandros Romas, who lived here.
The waters are shallow and the shore gently shelving and, although remote, the small beach can still fill up quickly with visitors in the high season.
Porto Roma has a couple of beach bars, three tavernas and some small shops. Luxury apartments have been built behind the beach but they are not particularly intrusive.