Porto Zoro Beach Bar — Lunch on a Turtle Beach

Porto Zoro is one of the best beaches on the Vassilikos peninsula: a sheltered cove with sand that goes deep enough to be comfortable, water that shifts from light green to deep blue as the bottom drops away, and pine trees at the back that provide shade in the afternoon when the sun comes around. It’s quiet compared to Laganas — because the Vassilikos peninsula doesn’t do package tourism at volume — and the water is considerably clearer.

The beach bar occupies a simple wooden structure at the northern end of the cove and has been there in various forms for as long as the beach has had sunloungers. It does its job.

The Food

Greek salad — made the way it should be: ripe tomatoes, cucumber, Kalamata olives, green pepper, red onion, a slab of feta (not crumbled), olive oil, and dried oregano. Nothing else. The tomatoes come from a farm on the peninsula.

Club sandwich and grilled chicken wrap are the concessions to beach hunger — practical, filling, made without fuss. Order when you’ve been snorkelling and need something more substantial than fruit.

Fresh fruit plate — chilled watermelon, melon, and seasonal fruit from the central Zakynthos produce market. In July, the watermelon is remarkable.

Cocktails and cold drinks — the bar is functional, not inventive. A proper gin and tonic, a cold Mythos beer, a freshly made lemonade. The cocktail list exists for the afternoon hours.

The Beach

The reason you’re here. Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) nest on Porto Zoro between June and August — look for the roped-off sections of sand, which mark active nests. The beach management system exists to protect the nests and is worth understanding before you visit (the beach bar staff will explain it). Early morning visits — before 09:00 — occasionally reward you with glimpsing a turtle returning to the sea after a night of nesting.