Zakynthos: Navagio This Year, and Who the Island Suits

As of early October 2026, Navagio, the Shipwreck Beach, is closed to landing and swimming until 31 October 2026. A joint ministerial decision published on 28 May 2026 bans entry to the beach and leaves visitors only the upper viewing point, from the existing platform. At sea, boats may not anchor or come within 50 metres of the shore, and no one may swim inside the bay. A second decision, of 12 June, set up a buoyed zone in the bay: boats enter at the north end and leave at the south, stay 20 minutes at most, and no more than 15 may be inside at once.

Landing has been banned since 2022-2023, after a rockfall in 2018 injured seven people. Every Navagio trip on this page is therefore a view, from the cliff or from the water.

The island beyond Navagio

GNTO calls Zakynthos, also known as Zante, the third-largest of the Ionian islands, and says the Venetians named it the “flower of the East” for its many flowers. Zakynthos Town, at the head of Laganas Bay, was rebuilt after the 1953 earthquake with respect for its architecture.

The Blue Caves line the north coast between Agios Nikolaos (the port, not the Cretan town) and Cape Skinari, and can be reached only by sea. The two Navagio boat trips on this page take in caves on the way from the west coast.

The south belongs to the turtles. The National Marine Park of Zakynthos, set up in 1999, covers Laganas Bay, the islets of Marathonisi and Pelouzo, and the Strofades. The nesting beaches are open to the public from 07:00 until sunset; stay within about 5 metres of the sea and away from caged nests. There are no umbrellas at Gerakas, Dafni or Marathonisi, and Sekania is closed to visitors.

The fire season runs from 1 May to 31 October. In 2026, listed forests and Natura areas on Zakynthos are closed from sunset to sunrise all season, and around the clock on days when the fire-risk map puts the island at category 4 or 5, with a €300 fine.

Who Zakynthos suits, and who should pick another island

Lonely Planet’s first-time guide says Zakynthos has a reputation as a party island, but that the atmosphere is “mostly contained to the south”. It names Laganas, Tsilivi and Argassi as the party-loving resorts and Vassilikos, Alykanas, Kalamaki and Skinari as quieter bases.

Zakynthos suits a beach holiday with boat days, sea caves and the turtle coast. It is a fly-in island rather than a cruise stop: its airport had 1.08 million international arrivals in 2025, about half of Corfu’s 2.08 million, while only 41,245 cruise passengers came ashore.

If standing on Navagio’s sand was the point of the trip, no tour can put you there while the ban runs. For a quieter, bigger island with caves and Ithaca next door, Kefalonia is a 1 h 35 crossing from Agios Nikolaos to Pessada, by GNTO’s timing. For a historic old town, choose Corfu, and for quiet above all, read the quieter-islands guide.

Getting there

Nothing sails to Zakynthos from Piraeus. The ferry leaves from Kyllini, on the Peloponnese: Levante Ferries, the only operator, takes about 1 h 15 to Zakynthos Town and runs all year, with four sailings a day on its winter timetable from 1 November 2026 to 28 April 2027.

By air, GNTO gives about an hour from Athens. The airport, Dionysios Solomos, is run by Fraport Greece. In winter 2025-26 it kept limited hours and closed on Saturdays, so check flights before a winter trip.

How long to stay

No authority sets a length of stay; we suggest four or five full days. The land-and-sea day takes a whole day, the marine-park speedboat about three hours, the buggy day runs from 08:00 to about 15:00, and the sunset tour fills an evening. Keep a spare day, because the boat listings here say trips can be cancelled or moved for bad weather or sea winds.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

The two Navagio decisions are the big change, and both run to 31 October 2026. Since 21 July 2025 cruise passengers pay €5, €3 or €1 per port by season, and since 2025 the climate resilience fee has been €2 to €15 per room a night from April to October. In June 2026 the Environment Ministry funded a drinking-water treatment plant on the island.

The tours here

The featured day is Happy Days Zante’s land and sea tour, from $40 as of October 2026 and rated 4.8 from 6,439 reviews. The $40 does not include the boat. The glass-bottom boat costs €25 per adult and €15 for ages 3 to 11, paid in cash on the day, and the semi-private speedboat option €50 per person.

The day starts with a minibus pickup inside the operator’s radius, then Bochali, Xigia’s sulphur water and the Navagio viewpoint. The boat leg runs from Anafonitria: the wreck from the water, the Blue Caves with an optional swim, and about an hour at White Beach. The return climbs through Maries, Loucha and Exo Hora, with a tasting of local products and a lunch stop at a local restaurant; lunch is not listed among the inclusions. It is not suitable for wheelchair users, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.

If you want the north-west coast, the caves and the hill villages in one day without driving, and you are happy to pay the boat in cash on top, this is the day to book.

See dates for the land and sea day →

navagiobeachtour.com covers the Navagio boat trips in more detail, from the view from the water to the clifftop.

Porto Vromi Maries Cruises & Fun’s cruise from Porto Vromi ($34, 4.5 from 2,508 reviews) is the cheaper way to see the wreck from the sea. You meet the boat at Porto Vromi on the west coast (hotel transfers cost extra), and it takes in the Navagio bay, blue caves and three swim stops at places such as White Beach, Sfogio and Porto Steniti. Its listing still talks about soaking up the sun at Navagio Beach; that is not possible while the ban runs, so expect the wreck from the boat and your swims elsewhere. Sea winds can cancel or move the trip.

ZANTE MARE P.C.’s speedboat to Marathonisi and the Keri caves ($30, 4.6 from 3,782) picks you up and sails from Agios Sostis harbour for about three hours past Cameo islet and the Keri caves, with swim stops that include Marathonisi. Its listing calls it an eco-friendly turtle-spotting cruise and lists sightings among its inclusions; wild turtles cannot be promised. The park’s rules apply to it as to every boat: Zone A of Laganas Bay is closed to all boats, Zones B and C have a 6-knot limit, and Marathonisi is a nesting beach without umbrellas, open from 07:00 to sunset. It is not for pregnant travellers, people with back problems, wheelchair users or anyone prone to seasickness.

Happy Days Zante also runs a sunset tour ($51, 4.7 from 583) by minivan from your hotel to the Mizithres viewpoint, Damianos cave and an hour at the Sunset Agalas snack bar. Drinks there are not listed as included, and pickups outside its free radius cost €20 each way.

ZANTE OFF ROAD TOUR’s buggy day ($394 per group of up to two, 5.0 from 332) has you drive a Polaris RZR behind a guide for about 80 km, from 08:00 to around 15:00, with a swim at Korakonisi and lunch in Loucha. Bring a driving licence. It is not for children under six, pregnant women or drivers under 18, and when Civil Protection closes forest trails for fire risk, the operator switches to other routes.

YOTOMU’s horse riding ($56, 4.8 from 249) starts at the Yannis Horses stables in Kato Gerakari, with rides of one to three hours; only the option the listing calls Tour 1 includes swimming with the horses. Transport is not included. The listing’s age limits conflict (a minimum of 8 in its description, not suitable under 9 or under 14 in its restrictions), and it excludes riders over 95 kg or over 70, non-swimmers and pregnant women, so ask the operator before you book.