The Navagio beach or Shipwreck cove is the most famous beach of Zante (Zakynthos) lying on the western side of the Ionian islands, close to Anafotiria village. The Shipwreck is one of the most photographed sights in Greece. It is considered as one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece. It was initially called Agios Georgios but owes its new name to the shipwreck of a boat that transported illegal cigarettes, in 1983. The ship was washed ashore.
The Navagio beach is sandy and its waters are crystal clear and very shallow with a depth of about 1 meter at low tide and up to 3 meters at high tide. Its length from north to south is about 200 meters with an extension of 100 meters from west to east, while it is about 50 meters wide from north to south and about 30 meters wide from west to east.
It has been voted as one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in Europe according to Trip Advisor users, who praised its natural beauty and cleanliness.
Navagio Beach: How to get there
You can’t get to Navagio beach without a boat, and there are plenty of boat trip options available. Before you start wondering—the distant photos of Navagio you’ve seen were taken from an observation platform above the beach. The platform is accessible via roads from the inland villages of Volimes and Anafonitria in the northwest part of the island.
Other photos are taken from just above the beach—it’s used for parachute and rope jumping, as the parachute allows people to “fly” for 2-3 seconds before opening and they land on the beach. Despite the tragic incident that happened there in 2012 and resulted in a parachutist’s death, Navagio is still among the most preferred spots for this extreme sport.
