Where to stay in Zakynthos

The one thing to get right

Zakynthos has a wider spread between its loudest and its quietest resorts than almost any Greek island, and they are a short drive apart. Booking the wrong one is the mistake people actually make here.

• Laganas is the party strip: a long, dense run of bars and clubs aimed squarely at a young crowd, loud until very late.
• Tsilivi is the balanced family resort: a long sandy beach, shallow calm water, enough bars and restaurants to have an evening, and none of the Laganas volume.
• Alykes and Alykanas, on the north coast, are quieter still.
• The south and west are largely undeveloped, dramatic, and want a car.

If you take one thing from this page: decide about Laganas on purpose, in either direction.

This page names areas, not hotels. We have not stayed in Zakynthos’s hotels and will not rank them.

The areas at a glance

Tsilivi, the default answer

Area	Best for	Night noise	Beach	Costs
Tsilivi	First visits, families	Low-moderate	Long, sandy, shallow	Mid
Laganas	Nightlife, deliberately	Very high	Long, sandy	Mid-low
Alykes / Alykanas	Quiet family stays	Low	Long, sandy, calm	Mid-low
Zakynthos Town	Ferries, real town life	Low	Not really	Mid
The south / west	Scenery, seclusion	Very low	Coves, cliffs	Varies

For a first visit, and for most families, Tsilivi is the sensible base. It has a long sandy beach with shallow, calm water, a decent range of places to eat, enough going on in the evening, and it is close to Zakynthos Town.

It is a resort rather than a village - nobody would call it undiscovered - but it does the job it is there to do without the volume problem down the coast.

Alykes and Alykanas on the north coast are the quieter version of the same idea: long sand, calm water, fewer people, and a slower pace. Good if Tsilivi sounds a shade busy.

Laganas, described honestly

Laganas is Greece’s best-known party resort after Ios and Kavos, and it is very good at what it does: a long strip of bars and clubs, cheap drinks, and a young crowd that arrives for exactly that.

Stay here if that is the holiday you want. Do not stay here otherwise, and be sceptical of any listing that describes itself as “near Laganas” while showing photographs of a quiet pool.

One thing worth knowing about the bay regardless of where you sleep: Laganas Bay is a loggerhead turtle nesting area inside a national marine park, with rules that apply to boats and to the beach at night. Those rules come from the park authority, not from us - if you are taking a boat trip or on the beach after dark, follow what the authority and the operators tell you.

Zakynthos Town

Underrated as a base. The town was rebuilt after the 1953 earthquake, so it is not a picturesque old town, but it is a real working place with a waterfront, a square, ordinary shops and proper tavernas - and no resort strip.

It is also where the ferry from Kyllini docks, which matters if you are coming overland. See Athens to Zakynthos.

The south, the west, and the famous cove

The south-east, around Gerakas and Porto Roma, is quiet, low-key and beautiful, with protected beaches.

The west coast is cliffs. This is where Navagio, the shipwreck cove, sits - and it is worth being clear that Navagio is reached by boat, and that access arrangements to the viewing platform above it have changed in recent years on safety grounds. Check the current position locally before building a day around it rather than trusting any photograph you have seen.

Both of these want a car. See which islands need a car.

How the areas map onto trips

• First visit, families, balance: Tsilivi.
• Quieter families: Alykes or Alykanas.
• Nightlife, on purpose: Laganas.
• A real town, ferries: Zakynthos Town.
• Scenery and seclusion, with a car: the south-east or the west.

Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best area to stay in Zakynthos?

Tsilivi for a first visit or a family holiday - long sandy beach, shallow water, enough of an evening. Alykes for something quieter, Laganas only if you specifically want the party strip.

Is Laganas too loud?

It is a dedicated party resort with bars and clubs running very late. That is exactly right for some trips and completely wrong for others - the mistake is ending up there by accident.

Where should families stay in Zakynthos?

Tsilivi or the north-coast villages of Alykes and Alykanas. All have long sandy beaches with calm shallow water and a much lower noise level than Laganas.

Do I need a car in Zakynthos?

For the resorts, not really. For the south-east coves, the west-coast cliffs and the mountain villages, yes - the island is large and the best scenery is spread out.

Can you visit the Navagio shipwreck beach?

It is reached by boat, and access to the clifftop viewing platform above it has changed in recent years on safety grounds. Check the current arrangements locally rather than assuming.

Is Zakynthos Town worth staying in?

Yes, if you want a real place rather than a resort. It was rebuilt after the 1953 earthquake so it is not picturesque, but it has ordinary town life and the Kyllini ferry docks there.

Next

Read the Zakynthos travel guide, Zakynthos beaches, or compare the island in Zakynthos vs Kefalonia and Corfu vs Zakynthos.