Zante, Zakynthos Greece

Recognise this picture?

Of course you do! It’s Naviago beach also knows as the ship wreck beach, Zante!

Every year thousands of people swim ashore into this jaw dropping cove from boats and walk along the stoney beach to see this beached smugglers ship.
On 2 October 1980, a freightliner, the MV Panagiotis, ran aground in the waters around Zakynthos Island on Navagio Beach during stormy weather and bad visibility. It has been rumored the ship was smuggling contraband such as cigarettes, wine and women. –Wikipedia.

Along the way you’ll witness some beautiful cliff edges and bright blue water and if your ‘lucky’ you’ll get to take a mid-journey plunge into an area of the ocean that’s rich in sulphur to cool down! Be warned though, it smells!

Now, this is only a small part of what Zakynthos island has to offer!

Firstly there’s a great selection of hotels and villas to stay at, we chose Alykanas Beach Hotel, with great service and set in a great location it’s definitely worth the money!

With a large swimming pool and terrace to relax in the scorching sun along with a separate Jacuzzi and child’s pool you’ll have no problem cooling off!

Not a fan of pools? No problem.

Just past the pools there’s a few steps revealing a beautiful sandy beach with sun lounges and with upto 10 metres of shallow water it’s the warmest ocean I’ve ever been in! There’s no ‘ooooooh’ on entry, more like the ‘Ahhhhh’ you do on entering a nice warm bath!

Just down the strip that’s a 2 minute walk from the Hotel, we hired Quad bikes to explore the rest of the Island.

They cost about €35 a day and the fuel is cheap! We managed to explore the whole South side of the Island making our way there through the incredible mountain roads passing through old villages with minimal luxuries but great hospitality!

There’s loads of beaches to visit, from stoney beaches in secluded coves to white soft sand beaches spreading for miles along the coast line, most with refreshment stalls and even people selling delicious fruit pots for a few euro!

The night life in Alykanas is nothing like the booming late night to early morning rave scene found in Laganas which is a short drive away.

It’s more of a relaxed romantic setting with lots of good music minus the vomiting roudy teenagers on their first ‘Lads/Girls Holiday’.

A word of warning, do not try and end your romantic night on the beach though, as it’s illegal due to Turtle nesting!

As well as exploring the Island there’s a lot of activities to do, from water sports on the sea to scuba diving beneath, we did both!

The scuba diving was a brilliant experience, we even had fish swim up to us and eat out of our hands! Pictures and videos are available but of course, they’ll cost you!

Overall Zakynthos was an amazing holiday and I’d recommend it to anyone, no matter what they’re looking for from a holiday!

Check out my other Destinations!