Is Shipwreck Beach open right now?
No. Since 1 November 2026, no boat of any kind, with or without an engine, may sail, approach or anchor inside Navagio cove, and swimming is banned inside the imaginary line that joins its northern and southern tips.
The rule is point 12 of decision 2131.13/1496/2026 of the Harbour Master of Zakynthos, part of the Hellenic Coast Guard, published in the Greek Government Gazette on 12 June 2026. It applies until four ministries sign a new joint decision for the cove.
The only exceptions are emergencies and rescues, inspections by the bodies that assess natural hazards, and checks on the wreck itself. Breaking the rule brings the administrative penalties of article 157 of the Code of Public Maritime Law, on top of any civil or criminal liability.
What were the rules in summer 2026?
In summer the beach stayed closed, but boats could come into part of the cove. The joint decision banned access to the beach and let the Harbour Master mark out a safe zone at sea, with no anchoring near the shore and no swimming.
The 2026 joint decision was signed on 26 May 2026, and the 2025 one on 26 May 2025. For 2027, the Harbour Master's text already refers to a new joint decision; until it is published, nobody can say officially whether boats will be let back in during summer 2027.
This is how the safe zone worked in 2026, for reference only: these rules ended on 31 October 2026.
| Safe zone, 2026 season | What the decision said |
|---|---|
| Way in | Enter at the northern tip of the cove, leave by the southern tip |
| Time inside | Up to 20 min |
| Boats at once | 15; from 08:00 to 15:30, 10 passenger boats and 5 other craft |
| Hours, 15 June 2026 to 15 September 2026 | 08:00–21:00 |
| Hours, 16 September 2026 to 31 October 2026 | 08:00–19:00 |
| Near the shore | No approaching or anchoring within 50 m of the rocks and the sand |
| Swimming | Banned inside the line between the two tips of the cove |
Where are the Blue Caves, and does the ban apply there?
The Blue Caves are sea caves at the foot of Cape Skinari, the northern tip of Zakynthos, and the Navagio ban does not reach them: the Harbour Master's decision covers only the sea inside Navagio cove.
Cape Skinari is about 36 km by road from Laganas and 35 km from Argasi, with a lighthouse on the point and the hamlet of Agios Nikolaos just to the south. It fits into a day with the other stops on our map of what to see in Zante.
The cliffs from Agios Nikolaos Bay round to Cape Marathias form the Natura 2000 site 'Western and North-eastern Coasts of Zakynthos', described as sheer sea cliffs and a shelter for the Mediterranean monk seal, in the area of the Zakynthos unit of the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA). We found no official page with rules or timetables for boat trips to the caves, so we publish none.
