Zakynthos Town and the Turtles of Laganas Bay

National Marine Park Of Zakynthos (1999): The Largest Single Loggerhead Turtle Nesting Bay In The Mediterranean, Averaging About 1,200 Nests A Year, In Three Zones With Strict Boat Rules · Laganas, Ionian Islands

The National Marine Park of Zakynthos, declared in 1999, protects Laganas Bay on the island's south coast: the largest single loggerhead nesting bay in the Mediterranean, averaging about 1,200 nests a year. The sea is divided into three zones with different rules for boats, and the nesting beaches are managed separately, with Sekania, the densest of them all, closed to visitors completely. What a visitor can do is spend a day on the open nesting sand at Gerakas, Daphni or Kalamaki under the rules, call at an information station, and take a boat from Laganas or Keri that keeps to the turtle-watching code. About 10 km north-east, Zakynthos Town was flattened by the 1953 earthquake and rebuilt behind long arcades, with Solomos Square, the church of Agios Dionysios, a Byzantine museum of icons rescued from churches that fell, and the Venetian castle in the pines above Bochali. Honest caveats: a turtle sighting is never promised, plenty of boats break the code, and the Laganas strip is loud package nightlife right beside a wildlife sanctuary.

National Marine Park of Zakynthos in Laganas Bay on the island's south coast, with Zakynthos Town about 10 km north-east; nesting beaches at Sekania, Daphni, Kalamaki and Gerakas, Laganas, Ionian Islands, Greece

The bay itself has no opening hours, but its rules are seasonal. Nesting runs roughly from late May into August and hatchlings emerge roughly from late July into October; during that season the nesting beaches are open by day only and must be left before dusk, with no lights and no noise at night. Sekania is closed all year. Gerakas, Daphni, Kalamaki and Marathonisi are reached by road or boat and are free to walk; sunbeds and umbrellas are restricted or banned on the dry sand. Turtle-watching boats from Laganas and Keri run roughly 09:00 to sunset from about May to October and stop for the winter. Park information stations and the rescue centre keep summer hours only - confirm. In Zakynthos Town, the Byzantine Museum runs on state hours, long in summer and short in winter, closed on the main public holidays; the church of Agios Dionysios keeps church hours with a midday break. Nothing needs booking far ahead except August beds and flights, and a car in high season.

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