Zante: Blue Caves Boat Trip & 14th-Century Monastery Tour

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Free cancellation

1/16

Duration4h–8h

GroupUp to 40

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

The Blue Caves of Zante: Boat Trip, Monastery & Island Tastings

You start in old-town Zante and climb to Bochali for sea views, then move through olive groves to taste organic oil at a family mill and a traditional sweet in Kampi. In the afternoon you board a boat at Cape Skinari to explore the Blue Caves — with a swim stop in high season — before visiting the 14th-century Anafonitria Monastery. A local guide handles the route and timing, and tastings of wine and local honey are included along the way.

4h–8h

Step-by-step itinerary

Zante villages, monastery, and Blue Caves

Start at Solomos Square, Zante old town
Visit Bochali lookout point views
Tour family-owned olive oil mill
Taste olive oil in Lithakia village
Enjoy traditional sweet in Kampi
Visit Anafonitria 14th-century monastery
Taste local wine and honey
Boat trip to Blue Caves
Swim stop near Blue Caves (seasonal)

The Experience

The boat leaves Cape Skinari in the afternoon, and when you round the first white cliff face, the water turns a blue you didn't think was real. The Blue Caves sit carved into limestone that's been smoothed by centuries of sea, and the light bounces off the walls in a way that photographs don't quite capture. In high season there's a swim stop, so you can float in that water yourself — but the caves are the thing you'll think about later, the image that sticks.

The day starts in Solomos Square, the old town center of Zante, where Venetian-style buildings line the streets. From there you climb to Bochali lookout point for views across the Ionian Sea, then head inland to the countryside. A family-owned olive oil mill in Lithakia village is next — you'll learn how they press their organic oil and taste it straight, the way locals do. After that comes a traditional sweet in Kampi, a small hamlet tucked into olive groves on the west coast, and the cliff views from there are steep and sudden. The Zante tour includes a local guide who knows which stops matter and which are just photo ops, which makes a difference when you're moving through villages most tourists skip.

Before the boat trip, there's a village shop stop for wine, honey and other local specialties — the kind of tasting that happens off the main road. Then you're at Cape Skinari, the island's northernmost point, where the boat is waiting. The Blue Caves themselves are one of the deepest points in the Mediterranean, and the sea-smoothed walls reflect the water like a mirror. If high winds cancel the boat trip, there's a coffee stop instead, so the afternoon doesn't collapse. The last stop is Anafonitria Monastery, a 14th-century stone building famous for its frescoes, sitting in a rural setting that feels genuinely removed from the rest of the island.

Bring bathing gear and sunblock if you're going in high season — the swim stop is optional but most people take it. The whole day runs long enough that you see both the tourist Zante and the working one, the villages where people actually live and the caves that made the Venetians call this place the Flower of the East.

What’s included

Local guide.
boat trip to the Blue Caves with swim stop in high season.
entry to Anafonitria Monastery.
olive oil tasting at a family mill in Lithakia.
traditional sweet in Kampi.
wine and honey tasting at a village shop.
Bochali lookout point visit.
village stops in Lithakia and Kampi.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by TUI HELLAS

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see both the famous Blue Caves and the quieter villages of Zante in one day without arranging your own transport or timing — the local guide handles the route and knows which stops give you the real island, not just the postcard version.