The Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint is the most iconic place in Zakynthos, Greece. Although you’ve probably seen this place a million times on social media, it’s actually not that straightforward to find the real viewpoint.
That’s why in this post, I share all you need to know about getting to the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint.
PS: Are you planning a romantic getaway to Zakynthos with your loved one? Check out these unforgettable things to do in Zakynthos, especially for couples.
Map of how to get to the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint
As you can see, I marked three places on my map of how to get to the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint in Zakynthos, Greece:
- The parking (marked in blue with a white P)
- The official viewpoint (marked in orange)
- The unofficial viewpoint (marked in green)
The unofficial viewpoint is the one where the best social media pictures are taken, which is why I marked it in green.
The official viewpoint marked in orange is barely worth a visit. You’ll be able to see the shipwreck beach from there, but it will be pretty much impossible to take a picture of yourself with the shipwreck beach in the background.
Transport to the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint
I highly recommend to take your own transport – either a rental car, quad or moped – to visit the Shipwreck Beach viewpoint.
There is no public transport to the viewpoint, and tour buses will probably not wait long enough for you to reach the unofficial viewpoint where the best pictures are taken.
The parking lot I marked in my map had free parking when we visited in September 2021, so that’s where we parked our rental car. The parking gets full sometimes, in which case we found a space next to the road between the parking lot and the official viewpoint. Again, we parked there for free.
What time to visit the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint
Now, this is the tricky part. When we visited the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint during the day, the path towards the unofficial Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint was closed off with a fence.
The fence has a warning sign on it with falling rocks, but I read online that fire safety is the real reason why authorities close off the path towards the unofficial viewpoint. As you will see in my pictures, the path is surrounded by bushes and trees, so when the weather has been dry and someone drops a burning cigarette butt, there is a high risk of a wildfire.
Also, when you visit during the day, there is a massive queue to the official viewpoint of all the people who came with the tour buses:
Somehow, every time we visited the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint one or two hours before sunset (so we arrived between 6pm and 7pm-ish), the fence that closes the path to the unofficial viewpoint had disappeared.
Please do not be the person who removes the fence, but once it’s gone you can just walk along the path towards the unofficial viewpoint freely. And please do also not be the one who causes a wildfire (I wished this goes without saying, but I actually saw smokers discarding their cigarette butts in the area π )!
How to walk to the unofficial Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint
Once you parked your vehicle and walked towards the official viewpoint – which is the suspended platform with railings around it that you see in the picture with the long queue above – you just walk towards the right of the official viewpoint.
You will see a path towards the Greek flag that hangs high above the cliffs, and that’s the path you need to follow to get to the unofficial Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint. Like I said, this path is closed during the day when the authorities assess the fire risk as being high, but it was open each time we visited between 6pm and 7pm-ish.
How to take pictures at the unofficial Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint
Again, this is a tricky one. We are pretty good at taking our own couple pictures when we travel – I literally wrote the book on “Travel Photography for Couples” – but our tripod was pretty much useless at the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint.
To take the best pictures, you will have to sit close to the edge of the cliffs – but not too close of course, safety first! – and ask someone to take your picture. The person taking your pictures will have to place the camera really high – even above their head – and point the lens of the camera down towards the Shipwreck Beach:
The person taking your pictures will not be able to see their screen, so it’s best they keep moving their camera to take pictures at different angles and different heights, just to make sure there are a few good pictures. Unfortunately a tripod will never reach the height that’s needed to take these pictures at the unofficial Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint.
As you see in my pictures, I always made sure that there were a couple of rocks between myself and the edge of the cliff. Keep in mind that rocks can fall from the cliff at anytime, and you don’t want to be sitting on that rock when it happens. People have died from taking photos here, so please be careful!
If you are desperate to take couple pictures at the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint, then you will need to take a drone with you. JordiΒ managed to take a few drone shots of us while he was proposing to me at the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint at sunset – and of course I said YES:
That’s right, we got engaged at the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint π <3
What to wear at the unofficial Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint
The first time we went to the Shipwreck Beach Viewpoint, I was unprepared and I was wearing the golden shoes you see in the pictures. While these shoes only have very low block heels, it was enough to put me off-balance when walking the rocky path towards the unofficial viewpoint, so I had to walk really slowly and carefully. And yes, Jordi had to hold my hands sometimes to help me keep my balance.
During the few times that followed, I was wearing my Skecher sneakers, and it made such a big difference! I walked the path a lot quicker, felt a lot safer and I no longer needed Jordi to hold my hand π
I still brought the golden shoes with me in a shoe bag, so I could put them on for the pictures only.
Add to your bucket list:
Travel Photography for Couples
Learn more about taking your own travel pictures as a couple in my book:
As a travel couple, do you ever wish to travel back to a place, just to take better pictures together? I sure know I do! Thatβs why in this book, I am sharing everything we wish we knew about taking pictures together when we first started travelling as a couple. Read more…
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