I can’t tell for sure if this is Zakynthos’ biggest scam, or if it was just “bad luck”. But as soon as we rented a private boat from a shop on Laganas’ main strip, it seemed like all the stars aligned to get as much money out of us as possible.
To prevent other travellers from falling for the same tourist trap, I am sharing what to look out for when renting a private boat in Laganas.
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.
Three things to look out for when renting a private boat in Laganas
I will go through every point in detail in this post, but these are the three things you need to look out for when renting a private boat in Laganas:
- “Miscommunications” from the Laganas sales office
- Anchor getting stuck at the bottom of the sea
- Arrange your own transport back to Laganas
As long as you are aware of these traps, I’m sure you will enjoy renting a private boat to see Cameo Island and Turtle Island a lot more.
1. Beware of miscommunications from the Laganas strip sales office
In hindsight, our biggest mistake was that we rented a boat from a sales office on the Laganas strip, and not directly from someone at the harbour.Β They might quote a cheaper price on the Laganas strip, but what we were sold at the Laganas strip sales office was definitely not what we received from their team at the harbour.
It is unbelievable how many miscommunications there were between the sales office and the team at the Port Agios Sostis harbour, but I’m trying to list them all here:
- Ice Pack missing
First of all, we were promised that our boat would have a cool box with ice pack, and we were encouraged bring drinks and snacks for our 4-hour boat rental. So when we had to wait at the sales office for someone from the harbour to come and pick us up, we went to the shop next door to buy drinks and snacks.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at our boat in the Port Agios Sostis harbour, there was no ice pack in sight. When we asked the team about it, they simply said that their sales office didn’t give them an ice pack and they couldn’t drive to the Laganas strip and back just to get us an ice pack.Β
As it was a sunny day and we rented the boat for 4 hours, this meant that our fresh fruit juices and fruit snacks went to waste very quickly. When we confronted the sales guy about this once we returned, he got all defensive saying that we should have reminded him about the ice pack. Like our shopping bag with newly bought drinks and snacks wouldn’t have reminded him?!
- Instructions included in rental time?
The second miscommunication wat around the briefing instructions we would receive from the team at the harbour, and whether this was included in our rental time.
When we agreed a price for the 4-hour private boat rental, we were told by the sales office on the Laganas strip that we would get briefing instructions for about 10-15 minutes to show us how the boat works, but that our time would only start running once the instructor had left our boat.
Obviously this was not the understanding of the team at the Port Agios Sostis harbour, who started counting our time from the moment we stepped into the boat.
So when we returned the boat 4 hours after the instructor had left our boat (as we were told to do by their sales office), the team at the harbour started shouting at us for returning the boat late. This even got to the point where they claimed that because “we were late”, they didn’t have time to bring us back to the Laganas strip. They left us stranded in a place where there is no public transport!
Also, it would have been really helpful if their instructions included a quick lesson on how to anchor the boat and pull the anchor back up again. We weren’t told that the anchor of the boat could get stuck between the rocks on the bottom of the sea, which cost us another β¬30 (more on this in point 2).
- We did not reach the Keri Faro lighthouse
One of the unique selling points of the Laganas strip sales office where we rented our boat was that they are “the only boat rental company that will let you go all the way to the Keri Faro lighthouse”.
We were told by the sales guy that authorities at the sea would likely try to stop us when we reach a certain point, but that all we had to do was show them a piece of paper when that happens. The paper was in Greek, but I’m guessing it was some sort of license to enter the area.
Sure enough we got stopped by lifeguards on our way to the Keri Faro lighthouse, so we showed them the piece of paper we were given by our boat rental company. The lifeguards started laughing at us, saying we cannot go any further because it is too dangerous because of the high waves. As such, we did not make it to the Keri Faro lighthouse.
Assuming it was true that there were “high waves” stopping us from going as far as the Keri Faro lighthouse, we feel like the sales guy should have told us that there are waves today and that it wouldn’t be possible to go as far as Keri Lighthouse before we were taken to the boat in Port Agios Sostis.
When we confronted the sales guy about this once we returned, his excuse was that he is not Poseidon and therefore he cannot predict the weather. I guess he doesn’t realise that technology has moved on since the days of Poseidon *facepalm*. Any self-respecting boat rental company should know about the situation at sea and inform their customers about it, but that’s just my opinion.
Conclusion:
So if you decide to rent a private boat from a sales office on the Laganas strip (I do not recommend it), make sure that you go over the rental agreements again as soon as the team from the harbour arrives to pick you up. That way, it should be clear to both the sales team and the operational team what your rental includes.
I feel like all of these miscommunications would have easily been prevented if we had just rented a private boat from someone at the Port Agios Sostis harbour directly.
2. Make sure your anchor doesn't get stuck at the bottom of the sea
Your boat rental company probably won’t tell you about this, so that’s why I do (you’re welcome :)). The bottom of the sea between Port Agios Sostis and Keri Lighthouse is full of rocks, and we found out the hard way that your anchor can get stuck in between these rocks.
We were just chilling in our boat enjoying the amazing views, so we threw out our anchor to the bottom of the sea and turned off the engine of our boat. Without a care in the world, we enjoyed the few drinks and snacks that hadn’t gone off because of our missing ice pack. That was until the lifeguards came around and told us we had to go back to Port Agios Sostis again.
Wanting to listen to the lifeguard’s instructions, I tried to pull up the anchor. But no matter how hard I pulled, the anchor just wouldn’t budge. Jordi was making fun thinking I was just being weak, so he tried as well. Still nothing… Even when we pulled the anchor together, it just stayed stuck at the bottom of the sea.
When the lifeguards passed us again, they were a bit pissed off that we hadn’t moved since they told us to go back. So we explained that we wanted to move, but that we were unable to pull up the anchor because it is stuck.
That’s when the lifeguards called their diver colleague, who offered to dive up our anchor from the bottom of the sea for β¬20. Our 4-hour boat rental was almost up, so we just wanted to get back as quick as we could at this point. We agreed with the diver that we would pay him β¬20 if he could bring back the anchor.
Sure enough the diver took a deep breath and made his way to the bottom of the sea. But when he came back up, he didn’t have the anchor. He told us that our anchor was really deep in the sea, but he would try again. So he went down again, and this time he returned with the anchor *yaaayy*.
But because our anchor was “so deep in the sea”, the diver insisted that we owed him β¬50 instead of the β¬20 we agreed to pay him. Obviously we told him he cannot just change the price without our prior approval, which he didn’t appreciate at all. In the end, we paid β¬30 because we didn’t have any more cash on us in the middle of the sea, and the lifeguards let us go.
On our way back to Port Agios Sostis, we saw the lifeguards doing the same thing to other boats, so it must be something quite common. To avoid all this hassle, make sure to check the bottom of the sea for any rocks before throwing out your anchor. Or maybe check with your boat rental company how much it would cost if you returned without the anchor.
3. Arrange your own transport back to Laganas
Perhaps the worst thing of all is that our boat rental company left us stranded in Port Agios Sostis when we returned our boat!
Despite our ordeal with the stuck anchor, we managed to return our boat 4 hours after the instructor left our boat. However, due to a miscommunication between the sales team in Laganas and the team in the harbour, the team at the harbour expected us to return the boat earlier.Β
So when we arrived, the team at the harbour shouted at us that we are “20 minutes late”, and now they have no time to drive us back to Laganas. Seeing that there is no public transport in the area, they told us they will call us a taxi who would bring us back to Laganas at their cost.
The team then disappeared inside at sea with the boat, and we waited in the parking lot for a taxi to arrive. After an hour of waiting, a shuttle bus arrived and I asked the driver if he goes to Laganas. Assuming that this was the “taxi” that was called for us, we entered the shuttle bus. But when we arrived at the Laganas strip, the driver suddenly asked us for β¬8 per person. That would have been another β¬16 lost! We told the bus driver that the boat rental company would pay, and thankfully he let us go.
What’s especially frustrating about this is that we offered the boat rental company to drive to Port Agios Sostis ourselves with our rental car, but the sales guy insisted that we leave our car parked at the Laganas strip and that they would drive us. Next time I know better than that!
So between the β¬30 fee we had to pay to retrieve our anchor, the wasted food and drinks because of the missing ice pack, and the β¬16 we almost had to pay to the shuttle bus driver, there were a lot of “hidden costs” to our Laganas private boat rental. On top of that, we didn’t even reach the Keri Faro lighthouse as we were promised.Β
I hope you learnt from our experience and have a much more enjoyable time renting a private boat in Laganas (or even better, Port Agios Sostis)!
Hi there! I did the same boat rental but the company gave us all the instructions we could need like the anchor being stuck, lack of fuel and pumping the fuel etc
When we arrived at Myzitres the lifeguard told us where to stop and throw the anchor, we did although we thought it had a lot of rocks there. When we tried to leave it was stuck and, same thing, he offered to dive and get it for money, my friend was desperate and almost paid him when I told her we learned how to release it going slowly back and forth with the boat, the lifeguard was laughing at us and saying it wouldn’t work. He stopped laughing when after 3 minutes maximum we managed to move and we left. We realised it was a thoroughly thought scam! Terrible!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience Tais. Lucky that your boat rental gave you clear instructions on what to do when the anchor gets stuck, because ours didn’t. I hope your tip about moving the boat back and forth will help my readers from falling for this scam!
Your report is so useful so that people can be prevented from the so many scam companies being advertised in the offices. But I have to add that Agios Sostis is full of new professionals that are not experienced enough, also trying to get your money under any circumstances.
Indeed trust companies at the left side of Laganas Bay (not Agios Sostis messed small Harbour) where professionals in the boat Rental Services are there for many years and can commit with any agreement. You actually pay your boat Rental more expensive because most offices are independed and don’t belong to your rental company. They just get you to pay extra (it’s on you) commission 30% on the cost.
Some companies are in Laganas Bay-Left side, for over 40 yrs. Look for them.
Thanks so much Rita for sharing this helpful information! I really hope it prevents my readers from falling for this scam.