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A compact pebbly cove where mineral-rich water reaches the sea, giving the water its distinctive smell and feel. Come for a short, memorable swim rather than a long beach day.
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A handsome pebble beach on the northeast coast with clear water and a more peaceful atmosphere than the main resorts. Good for swimming and snorkelling.
A long stretch of beach in front of the 2 resorts with plenty of facilities, sunbeds, watersports. To the west of the Skourtis River mouth is Alikes, to the east is Alykanas. The Alikes section is quite narrow and also quite stony in places, backed by numerous bars and restaurants, mostly competing to be the least Greek. The best sand is to be found at the eastern end, close to the little fishing port of Agios Kyriaki, where the Neraida Taverna offers friendly service and traditional, freshly-cooked local dishes, backed by live traditional music in the evening. There's also a "shipwreck", a sunken wooden sailing yacht sitting in quite shallow water which kids (and grown-up kids!) can wade out to and climb all over. A walk of around 1km from Alykanas Resort, through old Alykanas village, brings you to the peaceful Xehoriati Beach. This narrow stretch of fine sand has beautiful views across to Kefalonia and the Peloponnese, and shelves out very slowly offering safe swimming with a number of rocky reefs for interesting snorkelling. Xehoriati is served by 2 restaurants vying to have the most incongruous name. The apparently native-North-American-themed Redskins is run by a friendly young Italian couple serving up their native cuisine, while Shoestring (nothing to do with the 1970s UK TV detective), up a flight of steps at the eastern end of the beach, offers typical tourist taverna fare at lunchtime and close to a "fine-dining" menu in the evenings (save room at any time of day for the excellent home-made desserts), all with stunning views. There's also a mini-market about 150 m from the beach for snacks, chilled drinks.
One of the best beaches on the island. You can get there by free shuttle services from Laganas, Kalamaki, and Argasi, but to get a ticket to get the shuttle back again you have to pay to use a sun lounger (€4). Water sports (diving, jet skis, etc.) are offered, as well as a big British-run beach bar. This is not to be confused by the Agios Nikolaos village in the north of the island which shares little in common with this one.
Here you can get a panorama view of the sea, having both the calm waters of the east and the windy of the west within view. Here there are also some ruins from the great earthquake of 1953.
A series of geological formations have created the caves. Natural arches have been carved out by erosion, but these caves are most famous for the colour of the water in its deepest hollows, a deep azure color which is most striking in the morning when the light is at its brightest, hence the name Blue Caves. Kianoun Cave is the biggest of the caves. In order to reach there you can hire a boat or go on a tour. There are Blue Caves at 3 locations around the island: 1. At Cape Skinari on the northern tip of the island. These are the most spectacular. There are several boats offering trips from Agios Nikolaos Port, also from Makris Gialos Alikes and Alykanas. You can hire a "self-drive" motorboat for the day from several operators in Alykanas to visit the blue caves and then spend a leisurely afternoon exploring the northeast coast on your way back. These caves are also on the itinerary of the large round-the-island cruise ships operating out of Zakynthos town. 2. Keri - also pretty good. 3. Porto Vromi - Not as spectacular, you will visit these as part of the tours to the shipwreck.