Beach for turtles, people and nudists - Greece, Zakynthos island, Gerakas Beach

In Greece, on the southeastern side of the island of Zakynthos, at the southeastern tip, there is a very long sandy Gerakas Beach, which is chosen by sea turtles for laying eggs. For this reason, this place is the National Marine Park of Zakynthos Island. But, despite this, people are allowed to pass here, here you can sunbathe and swim in the sea, but there are some restrictions. And yet, on this beach there is a large area for nudists, where lovers of an even tan relax (without traces of swimming trunks and swimwear).

How to get there

Gerakas Beach is located in the Vasilikos area, at its very end, on an elongated cape of the island. There is a bus to the beach from the capital of the island, Zakynthos, several times a day. But the most convenient way to get there is by rented car.

Beach parking

At the entrance to Gerakas Beach, on the right side of the road, in the field, there is a large parking space. Parking is free. Leave the car there and walk to the beach, it is very close. After 30 meters, on the right side there will be a booth - a turtle protection point on the beach. We did not look inside the booth, but, probably, video surveillance of the turtle beach area is carried out from there so that people do not violate it and do not go there.
After going forward another 20 meters from the security point, you reach the landing, from which a small stepped descent leads to the beach itself.
There is not a single tourist who would pass this site without stopping for a photo shoot. It offers a magnificent view of the entire beach and adjoining clay rocks, located at the very end of the cape.

Beach

The entire Gerakas Beach is divided longitudinally into zones: a zone for people, and a zone for sea turtles, and the role of the border between them is played by a ribbon stretched between wooden pegs driven into the sand.
The human area is on the edge of the sea, while the sea turtle area is farther from the water. The passage from the stairs to the sea is also fenced with tape, because. on the sides of the turtle masonry.
The beach is large and very long, but there are not many people on the beach, and they mostly concentrate at the beginning of the beach near the descending stairs, because. in this part there are sun loungers with umbrellas. Sun loungers are paid, but the prices are moderate, like almost all the beaches of Zakynthos. Naturally, no one forces you to use paid sun loungers, and if you don’t want to fork out for stationary umbrellas, you can sit a little to the side, on your own towel, laying it on the sand. But keep in mind, unlike other beaches, you cannot bring your own umbrellas to Gerakas Beach. More precisely, you will bring it in the folded state, because. no one at the entrance checks who is carrying what, but if you open it and try to set it in the sand, vigilant turtle guards will definitely come up to you and explain that this is not allowed. The fact is that private portable sun umbrellas are unreliable, and in any breeze they always tend to break away and fly away, and most likely in the direction of turtle egg clutches. If the "escaped" umbrella does not damage the masonry, then its owner will do it without fail, in pursuit of him through the restricted area. Therefore, the use of personal umbrellas on the beach is prohibited.
It's also worth noting that Gerakas Beach doesn't have cabanas or fresh water showers, if that's important to you.
Despite the fact that turtles have a wider strip of beach than people, there is plenty of space for everyone, and the farther from the territory of paid sun loungers towards the nudist part of the beach, the fewer people. We went in that direction, closer to the nudists and clay rocks.
The rocks at the very end of Gerakas Beach are mostly made of pressed clay. Sea water gradually erodes the foot of the cliff, and the upper pieces of clay, which are sometimes even very large, sometimes break off and fall down. Passage in this zone is officially forbidden, as evidenced by the prohibitory sign ⛔, installed at the foot of the cliff, but no one monitors compliance with this, and there is no one to do it.
The trip to these clay rocks itself involves a through passage through the nudist area of the beach with completely naked people. Therefore, if this is intolerable for you, then keep this in mind.

Nudist beach area

Gerakas Beach is perhaps the only beach on the island of Zakynthos, where nudists do not hide somewhere behind rocks and bushes, but feel at ease in an open area, on a spacious sandy beach. In fact, there are no official nudist beaches with the status of "NUDE" on the island of Zakynthos at all. And on ordinary classic beaches, only topless is allowed, and even then not everywhere. But if we talk about Gerakas Beach, then we can safely say that this is a semi-official nudist beach, where it is allowed to relax completely naked, sunbathe naked and swim in the sea, in the area designated for this.
We settled down near the nudists. The place is spacious. There are few people. No one is buzzing around. Silence and beauty. And of all the sounds, here, only the beautiful singing of Cicadas, located on the green slopes - on the one hand, and the soothing sound of light sea waves - on the other hand. Bliss!

On the nudist area of the beach, as well as on the whole of Gerakas Beach, the back part is intended for sea turtles, and is fenced off from people with a tape stretched between pegs. Beyond this boundary are turtle clutches. And in those places where the turtles laid their eggs in the sand, special beach employees mark this place and enclose it with a wooden tripod.
The place is awesome! All ordinary vacationers are located at the beginning of the beach. And here there are only nudists, and even then there are not many of them, and they are dispersed at a distance from each other. And the beach area in this place is gigantic. Therefore, here you can easily choose a place where there will be no one nearby at all.The entire beach is sandy. The sand is pleasant to the touch and very pleasant to walk on. No wonder the sea turtles chose this coast for laying eggs. Looks like they liked this sand.
The entrance to the sea is gentle. Depth begins at a considerable distance from the coast. The whole bottom is completely sandy, completely without stones. From this it follows that Gerakas Beach is an ideal place for families with children.
Despite the fact that the bottom is sandy, the water in this place is absolutely transparent. Turbidity does not appear, even if you fidget with your feet along the bottom. Fabulous place!
The territorial waters near Gerakas Beach also belong to the protected area "sea turtle protection zone", and therefore it is forbidden to enter vessels, both large and small, such as motor boats. This immediately catches the eye, because. unlike other places, boats rented by tourists do not dart along the local shores. Ecological paradise!

VIDEO: We are on the beach

Beach shop

Market Gerakas

There are no shops and cafes on Gerakas Beach itself, and there cannot be, because this is a protected area. But on the surface, on the only street leading from the parking lot to the beach, not reaching the sea turtle guard post, on the left side there is a Market Gerakas store, located on the territory of a private village house.
The shop is small, but it is the only shop in the village closest to the beach. The assortment of goods is not rich, but there is everything you need for a beach holiday, and even some food.
In the courtyard of this shop, there is a small but cozy area with a table and benches, located in the shade of dense greenery. Any buyer who bought ice cream for example can use this patio and eat ice cream like in a cafe, at a table and in a pleasant environment.

Beach cafes

Taverna Gerakas

As mentioned above, there are no establishments directly on Gerakas Beach itself, including cafes, due to the fact that the beach is a protected area - a zone for the protection of sea turtles. Therefore, all the few cafes that exist are located only along the village road leading to the beach. The nearest cafe to the beach is Taverna Gerakas.
What can we say about this cafe? Located near the beach, in front of the parking lot. Nice environment. Cosy. No crowds, lots of empty seats.
But we can't say enough good things about the food, unfortunately. The second dish, such as fried meat (kebab), french fries, etc. - average quality, but you can eat. What I especially didn't like about the food was the first course - their signature fish soup. We have never eaten a more terrible soup in Greece. There are so many small fish bones in this soup that a suitable name for this dish would not be "fish soup", but "soup with small sharp fish bones". How not to try to pull out all the bones from a bowl of soup, but they still do not end.
In general, either we were unlucky with the cook, or it's always like this here.

Taverna Nikos

The next cafe farthest from the beach is Taverna Nikos. This beautiful stone restaurant in a well maintained green garden is run by Nikos and his family. Traditional homemade Greek dishes and selected local delicacies prepared on site with fresh quality ingredients are waiting for you to taste it all.
Families with children will feel welcome here as the restaurant has a playground and high chairs.

Hotels around

The closest mini hotels to Gerakas Beach are Areti Orfeas Studios, Athena Studios and Porto Gerakas Villas & Apartments. There are only three of them. They are located in the private sector of the village, among the olive trees.

Areti Orfeas Studios

This is a family private house, the structure of which is divided into rooms with all the necessary amenities that are rented to guests. All rooms have a balcony or terrace.

Porto Gerakas Villas & Apartments

This is a private area on which three villas are located. Two of them are rented out completely, like whole two-story houses, for a family or a company. The third villa is rented out in parts, apartments, i.e. either the first floor with a terrace, or the second floor with a balcony, but whichever floor you choose, any apartment has a separate entrance from the street.

Advantages and disadvantages of the beach

Advantages:
• breathtakingly beautiful place with great views
• clean and transparent water in the sea
• few people
• availability of free parking (near the beach)

Disadvantages:
• there are no toilets on the beach, and showers with fresh water (probably because it is a protected area)

Gerakas Beach coordinates on interactive map • Get directions

Summary

Gerakas Beach on the island of Zakynthos is famous for the fact that sea turtles lay their eggs in its sands. This does not mean at all that upon arrival at this beach, you will definitely be lucky and you will see newborn sea turtles crawling towards the sea. No, of course, this does not happen every day and certainly not around the clock. But there is such a chance!

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