For my last photo trip some criteria were in my head: I wanted to go to an island, not too big so that I could reach everywhere in a day trip, nice shooting locations and great weather. And Zakynthos was on top of that list pretty quickly. And I actually had seen photos from Zakynthos before I even started planning my trip: Navagio Beach! I just never realised that the beach was on Zakynthos.
The picture above shows the famous ship wreck during sunset. It is a really nice place, a very short hike from the parking lot and you can enjoy the view of the sunset and the beach at the same time. There are of course also quite a few people, but also a lot of different rocks to sit on. And you can get a cold drink to go next to the parking lot and enjoy it with the view. However, this is not how I started the trip to the beach. I actually started the longer hike also from the parking lot and tried to get a good shot from there. The picture below gives you an impression. It is a different angle but when I was standing there I also remembered that I am literally standing on the side of the cliff that partly collapsed a few years back (see e.g. on YouTube). The hike to the other side of the cliff appeared a bit longer and the sun was already getting pretty low. So I decided to check out if there is a different location, one that looked more like the photos that I had seen. And of course, back at the parking lot, I just had to follow all the other people. The beach was closed to boat trips some time ago due to the collapsing cliffs. It was opened up again but when I was there it was closed again due to some damage also to the wreck itself after a storm had hit the island. I have to admit that I like it more when the beach is closed. The pictures without any boats or people just look a lot nicer.
However, Navagio Beach is not the only attraction on Zakynthos. I have to admit that it might be the most spectacular one though. I started the trip in the north at the Potamitis Windmills right next to the Blue Caves. Staying there for 2 nights had two benefits: I could get early morning sunrise shots with no people around and I would be able to more or less walk from my room to the water, jump in and swim right into the blue caves. And there is the possibility to jump into the Ionian Sea from two springboards (~7m) which is a lot of fun once you convinced yourself to do the first jump. Do not order the chocolate croissant, though.
From Potamitis it was only a 40min drive to Navagio Beach and on the way to my second hotel in Argasi I discovered a nice microbrewery (see links below). The hotel in Argasi was very nice and there was also a restaurant/bar in town that serves the local beer from the brewery I just had discovered: The Green Frog. Nice food, nice drinks and nice people. Argasi is a tourist town but you can do day trips from there easily. One of the trips I did was to the Myzithres rocks, very beautiful location during sunset with incredible coloured water, a short hike and a restaurant (which I did not try) and a small outdoor bar at an “official” view point. Do not stay too long at the official bar/viewpoint. It is free but you are asked to at least buy a drink. With all the different tourist spots, that one seemed ok to me and the people there are very nice. So where the drinks. But definitely do the short hike next to the parking area to find the view point right above the rocks. You should not be afraid of heights, though. The view is fantastic as you can see on the picture below.
Other trips I did were to the Damianos cave, which is interesting and you absolutely should climb into the top one for a photo and to the Mediterranean Marine Life Center (see links below), which is a non-governmental organisation (NGO). It is located at the southern tip of the island, roughly 100 metres from Gerakas Beach where the turtles actually are laying eggs. The beach is open for tourists but the parts where the turtles lay their eggs is blocked. I would recommend to leave the turtles alone and only go there for a photo or two. There are plenty other beaches on Zakynthos.
The different locations and easy driving on the island make it the perfect mix between photography and a relaxing vacation. I can highly recommend to go there at least once.
Useful Links
- Potamitis Windmills & Apartments
- Levante Beers – Microbrewery
- Zakynthos Airport
- The Green Frog
- Mediterranean Marine Life Center
