Zakynthos Trail

If you only know Zakynthos from Laganas, the Navagio wreck or the beaches of Tsilivi, you are missing a green, hilly island of olive groves, vineyards, quiet little chapels and hilltop villages. Hiking on Zakynthos takes you to five very different faces of the island: the Vasilikos peninsula with Mount Skopos in the south-east, the rugged cliffs and lighthouse around Keri in the south-west, the hill country around Agalas in the interior, the Vrachionas uplands in the north-west and Bochali hill above Zakynthos Town. Ten minutes from the busiest resorts you are on empty country lanes. We arrange the accommodation for the Zakynthos Trail, with breakfast where possible, and you get our app with route descriptions, hiking maps and GPS navigation that also works offline. In this guide you will find out where the best hiking on Zakynthos is, what the multi-day trail looks like, how hard it is, when to go and which style of hiking suits you.

Walking holidays in Greece take you well beyond the beaches. The five multi-day trails we organise at Bookatrekking run from island gorges and south-coast villages to the rocky summits of the highest mountain in Greece, and the real choice is between island and mainland, between gentle coastal paths and serious ascents, and between carrying your own bag or handing it over. Here is a quick overview: Crete Trail — 6 days, gorges and south coast, from 585 euros per person Menalon Trail — 6 or 8 days, mountain villages and monasteries, luggage transfer included, from 630 euros Zakynthos Trail — 6 days, quiet interior loop of an Ionian island, from 450 euros Corfu Trail — 6, 8 or 11 days, walking the length of a green island, from 422 euros Mount Olympus — 3, 4 or 6 days, refuges and summit at 2,918 m, from 195 euros The comparison table further down puts days, distance, climbing and prices side by side, so you can choose the trail that matches your pace, budget and the number of days you have.

Hiking in Crete is a good way to get to know Greece's largest island beyond its beaches. In the southwest, the White Mountains fall steeply to the sea through deep gorges, so in the space of a few days you walk from a high mountain plateau down to the Libyan Sea and along a coast with villages that have no road access at all. This guide answers the practical questions: where to hike, which gorges are worth it, how hard the walking really is, when to go and how to get there. It also explains our self-guided Short Crete Trail (6 days), a concrete route through the gorges and along the south coast of Crete.