Laganas Beach — Attraction in Zakynthos Municipality

Laganas (Greek: Λαγανάς) is a village and a former municipality on the island of Zakynthos, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zakynthos, of which it is a municipal unit.[2] The municipal unit Laganas covers the southernmost part of Zakynthos. Its municipal seat was the town of Pantokratoras. The municipal unit of Laganas has a land area of 74.104 km².[3] The central and eastern part of the municipal unit are flat, but there are hills up to 450 m elevation in the west. The Zakynthos International Airport lies in the eastern part of the municipal unit, near Kalamaki. The beach village Laganas, part of the community of Pantokratoras, is on the southeastern coast. A large part of Laganas is a national park, established for the protection of turtles.

The name "Laganas" comes from the Greek word "lagini" meaning "jug", referring to the former manufacture of pottery in the area of Lithakia and Kalamaki. Laganas suffered great damage from the 1953 Ionian earthquake.

An attraction of Laganas is the migration of the loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Each year during the months of June, July and August the turtles migrate to the Bay of Laganas to lay their eggs on the beach. This is a protected beach which is watched over by ecologists at all times.

Laganas is home to over 100 bars and clubs[4] and is busiest during the summer months of June,...

Beach that unfortunately has lost a lot of its beauty due to mass tourism:

1. 80% of the endangered loggerhead sea turtles nest on this island, but females floating on the water surface of this warm shallow bay get constantly distracted by way too many observation boats, sometimes even injured. Minimum distances, minimum observation times, etc. are often not respected, let alone a limitation of boats or a requirement for turtle experts on boat.
2. The beaches – nesting ground for the turtles – are not protected enough. Some are officially closed down during the nesting time at night, but this is often not enforced. During daytime, tourists are often found too close to nests.
3. Light pollution – a deadly danger for the hatched baby turtles is regularly observed.
4. Beach erosion and with that habitat loss due to mass tourism can be observed

Fishing lines and nets, plastic pollution, beach erosion, invasive species like crabs eating their eggs and climate change are already a large enough thread for these precious animals that have been around for the last 250 million years, we do not have to add another one on top. I therefore recommend NOT visiting this beach (ideally not visiting any sandy beach during the nesting season from mid May - end August) but visiting turtle information centers instead.

Thanks for...

An average sandy beach of a calm bay. View is good but not that spectacular. It is a bit cumbersome to approach as there aren't much streets to lead there straigth. Most parts of the beach are taken by places and their sunbeds but there are some free spots too (with no shades at all). You can rent motor boats, water bikes and kayaks if you want, these can be used for some DIY turtle spotting that is a truly unique experience you can have at a beach. Water is pleasantly warm and clear. You can spot some tiny fishes too but nothing more. It is located at a party area of Zakynthos so expect groups of youngsters having fun around. The beach and the whole area is quite littered and there are no proper trash...