Zakynthos Half-Day Tour: Exploring Marathonisi, Cameo Island and Keri Caves
4.2
225 Ratings
Zakinthos
Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Your exceptional journey begins with the convenience of being picked up right from your accommodation anywhere on the island. An amicable local guide-cum-driver will enrich the start of your journey with a complimentary Zakynthos map and a brief about your day’s travel plan.

  • Situated along the south coast of Zante, Kalamaki is a captivating beach accentuated by its golden sand and warm waves. It is notably a nesting ground for the endangered Caretta-Caretta turtles. The nests are visibly marked by wooden frames. An informative guide, along with the area volunteers, will share intriguing facts about these magnificent creatures. You will find this tranquil 5km beach seldom crowded, making it a joy to stroll along, soak in the sight of the mountains and the Marathonisi island, or indulge in swimming or snorkeling. The beach is family-friendly, given its gentle sand slopes and shallow waters.

  • After Kalamaki, our journey moves through Laganas’ main road towards the quaint port of Agios Sostis for a glass-bottom boat ride to Marathonisi, a lush island also part of the Zakynthos National Marine Park. You will be spellbound as the captain sails the boat into two awe-inspiring caves where sunlight filters in, creating an enchanting blue palette on the walls. A subsequent one-hour stop at a pristine golden beach offers you an opportunity to relax, swim, snorkel, or sunbathe. The protected turtle nests marked for their preservation are indeed a sight to behold. We urge all visitors to respect the area regulations to ensure the ancient sea turtles, who have existed for over 100 million years, remain undisturbed.

  • The awe-inspiring Keri Caves towards the south-western region of the island are shaped over time by the sea and wind. A sail along the coast will reveal serene white beaches, incredible arches, green hillsides, and towering cliffs plunging into the ocean. The skilled captain skillfully navigates into the petite but gorgeous caves and through the famed rock arch (Kamara) with the glass-bottom boat. Once inside, the water reflections paint the cave walls blue, creating a magically radiant ambiance. You can spend 20 minutes swimming near the entrance of a grand cave, or exploring the underwater world with snorkeling gear to witness the aquatic life of the crystal-clear waters. If swimming is not for you, feel free to sit back and enjoy the view from the boat.

  • As we steer back, you will be taken close to the surreal Cameo island (often referred to as the wedding island), one of Zakynthos’ prime attractions. Be captivated by the enchanting scenery of this tiny island, nestled off Agios Sostis coast in southern Zakynthos. Cherish the sight of the shielded beach encircled by steep white limestone cliffs, which doubles up as a wedding venue. Capture the picture-perfect site of the billowing white sheets fluttering above the sparkling water. It’s an ideal backdrop for your photographs.

  • Your tour will introduce you to the deep-rooted significance of the olive tree, its olives, and olive oil in Greek culture. At the award-winning Aristeon ecological olive oil press, you’ll be walked through an outdoor olive oil museum illustrating the island’s olive oil production history. Admire the traditional equipment and advanced machinery used over the years to produce this ‘Greek gold.’ Learn about the distinct health benefits of the extra virgin oil processed here. You can sample local olives and fresh village bread garnished with various extra virgin olive flavors (likely lemon, orange, and garlic) for free. Complimentary samples of eco-olive oil cosmetic products like shampoo, soap, body cream, and face cream are also available. You may opt to purchase these products to support the local economy.

What's Included
  • Bottled water
  • full insurance
  • Visit the Aristeon Olive Oil Press with free Olive oil tasting
  • Cameo Island entrance fee
  • Boat ticket to Marathonisi island
What's Not Included
  • Towels, Sunscreen, Snorkelling equipment.
  • Food or drinks
  • Extra charge 25€/booking if your hotel is more than 10-20km from our office Lomvardou 20 Zakynthos
Additional Information

Embrace a distinctive journey where you will experience Kalamaki beach’s pristine and shallow waters, as well as the underwater world hidden within Lagana Bay. The itinerary includes thrilling swimming experiences in Keri’s breathtaking caves and the vividly transparent waters of Marathonisi Island, in addition to voyaging through the extraordinary Keri Arch rock formation. You’ll have the chance to take flawless pictures with Cameo Island and wander across the renowned rope wooden bridge. Ultimately, immerse yourself in Greek traditions with a visit to the award-winning Aristeon eco-friendly olive oil press and olive museum. This memorable tour offers flexibility in the schedule and itinerary, ideal for individuals, couples or families seeking to encounter the clearest waters you could imagine.

  • There are no toilets on the boat or on Marathonisi Island. We will stop for the toilet before boarding the boat.
  • There are floating canteens on Marathonisi island, where you can buy snacks and refreshments but you can bring your own.
  • Please wear your swimming suit under your clothes. The places that you will visit on this tour include water interaction.
Location
Dali Tours Zakynthos
Lomvardou
Our office is located in the center of Zakynthos in the same building as the Dali Luxury Rooms & Restaurant.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.2
(225 Ratings)
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Jose_m
Jun 9, 2024
Amazing Zakynthos - The boat tour and swimming in the caves! The tour started late because of some passengers but the owner personally made sure that we didn't miss anything! Giani our boat captain was amazing!
Review provided by Viator
Y5842tcrichardv
May 1, 2024
Must see experience - Beautiful weather, saw turtles, Keri caves, swam, beach, neatly picked up and dropped off. A beautiful day, wonderful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elisabeth_k
Oct 26, 2023
Fantastic, shame about the delay. - Fantastic trip, lovely, enthusiastic staff and the scenery on the tour was just beautiful. Would have easily been 5* but we were picked up from the port and taken to sit in a cafe for a couple of hours, I've no idea why this was but as it was booked as a half day tour there was no lunch included and we didn't take any food with us, with the delay we ended up getting back to the port at the same time as the people on the full day tour, the only difference was we were absolutely starving and they weren't, as food was included on the full day tour. A real shame as had we been picked up and taken straight on the tour there would have been absolutely nothing negative to write about. Also had we been told timescales we could have explored the local area, a bit of souvenir shopping, something to eat but we were just left sat there with no communication and no timings.
Review provided by Viator
Jpeeters25
May 22, 2024
Zakynthos: good for a week's holiday. - In our opinion, the island is one of the least interesting Greek islands. Few sights. But... very, very friendly people everywhere. Good food everywhere. Good weather and a week in Zakynthos should certainly be possible.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Samantha_s
May 18, 2024
Overall a good experience. - The experience was amazing! Unfortunately we didn’t have the best weather. Our original tour got postponed and they offered to pick us up despite us being outside the drive area since there was a change in date. We also spent some time waiting for people that never showed and our tour ended up being a little behind schedule so we had to rush through Cameo Island. The driver and tour guide were very nice. Our captain of the boat tried so hard to get us to see a turtle and even spent a little extra time on the way back to try and spot one.
Review provided by Viator
Voyager09143714707
Apr 23, 2024
Mixed. - Very blue water, little corners of paradise On the other hand, if you want to see turtles, don't take April because there aren't any! It's not the season. They are barely in reproduction. There are quite a few in June. The boat..... Good on the way. On the other hand, for the return, we had very overcast weather and therefore a lot of turbulence. We were WASHED on the way back. The k-way and towels are not enough. We arrived soaked up to our swimsuits. The sneakers, the phone...well everything... Be sure to have plenty of time for this excursion As for the passage via the footbridge that we can do... Forget it, there isn't one
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sarah_b
Nov 16, 2023
Good but could be better! - This was generally a good trip although I would say that it could be made much better with a few changes. Firstly, the first stop is pointless at the end of season, it's just a long stretch of abandoned beach. Secondly, whilst I appreciate that the crew of the boat made an effort to spot turtles, since they do tend to leave in September, trying to find them at the end of October is, again, a bit pointless. Thirdly, when we went to the caves and the boat stopped to let people get off and swim through the arch to the beach, it would be much, much safer if they actually stopped and checked people can swim well as the current is quite strong and my daughter really struggled. There was also no offer of any swim aids, life jackets etc which is not good from a safety point of view. The stop at the next beach was lovely and the visit to the olive oil factory was amazing! Overall, I can see that this is probably a much better trip in season, the guys running the trip were very pleasant but a lot more needs to be done from a safety point of view. So, yes, I would recommend it with the above reservations.
Review provided by Viator
Bernice_b
Jun 15, 2024
Give it a miss - Nothing about this trip was pleasant. We were kept waiting right from the start. The bus was inadequately air conditioned and really uncomfortable. There are no bathrooms anywhere until the very end at the olive museum, so you either swim in really cold water or suffer for 5 hours. The boat was packed with 23 of us, no water was available on the boat at all in spite of them advertising water included. The Turtle beach is very limited in space and has vendors with drinks and icecream, but no bathroom facilities. We then arrived back and again waited for ever in a stuffy packed bus before getting to the olive museum. All in all best avoided, Zakynthos is run down and plain shabby.
Review provided by Viator
Marcia
Oct 25, 2023
Unrealized - Unfortunately, due to bad weather, the ship had to divert to Katakotor and we were unable to take this tour that we wanted so much.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shannon_b
Oct 24, 2023
The description is a lie - Huge misrepresentation in the description. So, we arrived on time from a cruise ship. The tour then proceeded to wait for a bunch of people who were late from the cruise ship. I appreciate the waiting for some unforeseen issues, however, it waited over an hour. So we sat around and did literally nothing waiting for people who couldn’t be bothered to be on time. The tour needs to have a cut off where if you aren’t there, it leaves without you. That hour actually stole part of our tour because from then on, they were definitely rushing and we missed a lot of what was said. Or at least I hope that was the reason and not that they just blatantly lied about what this includes. It says in the description, national marine park and beach walk. Nope. Not a second was spent there. No swim stop. No people telling us about the turtles. Then it says go to the glass bottom boat, that we did do. Drove out to the Keri caves. Also no swim stop around the Keri caves as it says. Drove into one, under an arch, quickly sped by marathonisi island and then they plop you on the beach for one hour. It says it is optional to swim, but it doesn’t state that you absolutely have to get out of the boat and you will get wet and that they leave you there for an hour. We then had to wait for some more people who decided to walk to the other side of the island and so that stole more time from us. Then we went back to the port… there was no spot for the boat to dock, so he went out chasing down poor turtles with like 6 other boats. It was honestly disgusting. I felt so ashamed to be there. Like vultures. And then we docked and they drove us to the olive press where they tell you 2 minutes of information, have a bin of bread and some oils out for you to try, with no info really. And then they try to sell it to you. Then they drive you to a restaurant where you can choose to buy lunch. And then that’s the day. Worst tour I’ve been on.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
June 2024
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