Shipwreck Viewing Platform

Absolutely amazing!!

We drove up there from Laganas on our quad bikes - was fantastic and a great day!  Went through some lovely places and stopped for a few drinks on the way!

The viewing platform is pretty scary but went onto it and took some fantastic photos!!

Definitely worth a visit!

Amazing but terrifying - and thats just the road to get there.  We had a car so went our selves.  The view was amazing - the colour of the sea - never seen anything like it before, beautiful turquiose.  The cliffs and beach bright white. Breathtaking view.

We were told on a tour that the reason why the cafe is shut is because the owner built it and the platform with no planning permission!!!  It's worth the walk round the coast path to get a much better view and when you see how thin the platform is, using your camera zoom etc, you'll probably be thankful you didn't stand on it.  Having had many people stand on the platform I'm sure it's perfectly safe but I didn't feel that confident.  Go walk the coast path for 5 mins instead - it's worth it.

the shipwreck is stunning from any view! its best to go onto plarform when no one else is there (not very often though,)you can get stunning pics from around the cliff edges if you are careful.this is the most beautiful spot on the island,looks just like in the brochures and so will your pics.pity the cafe is never open.

Weighing 15 stones you can imagine my initial reluctance on stepping onto this platform! However,it is a beautiful view of the shipwreck even though the slightest amount of wind sent the platform shaking like crazy (Yes,even with ME on it!)
I have never felt so unsafe in my entire life,but I am pleased I did it.

I agree with all those people who tell you how dodgy the platform is. I refused to go on it, especially after we walked further round the cliff and got much better views of the shipwreak and also watched a coach ful of people (about 30) going on the small platform. Plus I hate heights and refused to get too near to the edge anyway.

The views are well worth the walk further round the cliff.

Swings and roundabouts really. Should point out that platform is also on cliff edge so is also likely to disappear if cliff falls away in tremor! Platform is easy to get to, but only gives half the view. Walk gives full and better view, but is 10 minute walk on stony track.

We weren't warned of the maximum weight of the viewing stand but were explicitly told NOT to walk along the edge of the cliff. There is no fence between you and the cliff-drop and as the island is prone to tremors even a slight one could cause the land to slip. I say wait your turn and go on the stand.

we were told not to go on this platform.it has been stressed tested and the maximum amount of people that should be on it is two at a time... we saw a whole coach full of people on it!! i would recommend to walk the rocky trail further on to see the best view of the shipwreck. the view that is is featured in all the magazines!

What an amazing view!!!! By far one of the best views I have ever seen in my entire life!! The platform is perfect for taking the most perfect pictures. The sea is not blue it is the most wonderful tercouise (sorri about the spelling) you will ever see. Zante is my favourite island because it has so many things to offer no matter what age you are. I also highly advise you that if you want to see the ship wreck then go on a boat trip on a GOOD DAY, because when the weather is nice they stop the boat at the ship wreck and let you jump off to swim to it. If you dont like swimming then they drop you on the beach which the ship wreck is on. Oh and remember TAKE YOUR CAMERA coz the picture are beautiful. Love beckie xxx

View from platform was very good. Go up yourself (easy to find), not with coach as this avoids the rush. Definitely do not take the path to the left as suggested by 'phil'. Really steep and rocky and in summer very very hot, no wind at all.

when you go up there you have to be careful but well worth the view. if you are scared of heights make sure you go with others

Felt perfectly safe to me. Great views including a lovely turquoise sea - not like the UK's coast !

well worth the trip hire a car and take in the lighthouse at the very northen point too. platform looks dodgey but its ok if you take care, excelent views ideal pics to remember hol by..

AS OTHERS HAVE SAID PLEASE TAKE CARE ON VIEWING PLATFORM TRY TO GO ON WITH AS FEW PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.THE VIEW IS THE MOST TOOK PICTURE ON ZANTE SO GET IT RIGHT BEST TO VIEW FROM HERE AS IF ON BOAT TOUR ONLY LOOKS LIKE A RUSTING HULL WHICH OF COURSE IS WHAT IT IS.

For Gerry and everyone else - Platform and surrounding buildings are built on church land, but not owned by church. Legal battle is ongoing as to use of buildings on this land. Platform was erected by owner of closed restaurant there, but has no official loading / stress figures (basically just knocked up locally so coach companies would stop at restaurant). Sign with 3 people maximum was put there by a coach tour guide to try to control numbers on platform.
Nobody knows how safe it is, or how long it will last, walls next to it though have fallen away!
Decent half view of wreck beach though for those who dont want to walk to better viewpoint.

we hired a car and visited here. its great view and the actual ship looks more picturesque from here than it does close up. it didn't seem that unsafe to me although it is essential to sup**vise your kids, and i wouldn't want to have been stood on it at the same time as the coach trip that arrived as we were leaving. when you look up at the platform from below on a boat it does make you feel a bit queasy tho to think you were stood on it as it's so high up.

Visited Zante for the first time 24/05/04....31/05/04...and will definetly go there again.

Anyone who visits the place must make a point of going on the boat trip too the shipwreck...It was the most beautiful setting imagineable...The shipwreck was ok,but I was captured by the white cliffs and stoney white beach reflecting the deep deep blue sea...it was heaven...I loved it so much that it made me want to cry with emotion.Please go there and see for yourself.

Gail Sims West Wales...

We saw the shipwreck from 3 places and the viewing platform was good but not the best. For the best experience you have got to get a boat out there (you cant get to the ship by road). you jump off the boat onto the beach and can go IN the shipwreck. fantastic. the second best view was with the ZAKFARI jeep guys who take you to the viewing platform and then on a 10minute walk along the rocks to a great viewing place and they'll take a photo of you with the wreck in the background. Yeah the viewing platform was ok but there are better and safer ways to view the shipwreck.

Fantastic views.
The shipwreck itself is a bit naff, but the sea has to be seen to be believed!
Best to hire a car and go, as that platform is not up to holding a coach full of people!!

The shipwreck and cove on Zakynthos is a beautiful sight to behold,from afar that is! Take a trip down to the the cove and enjoy the rusting hulk of an old cargo ship that was strategically placed there as a tourist attraction in its full glory,and you will wonder why it appears on every calendar from Greece!
Even so, I still love you Ellas!

I hate to see people "scare mongering" - the building next to the platform, and the whole area are owned by the church. They closed the cafe down and there is an ongoing legal battle between the church and the parties involved. The platform was designed to be safely used by three people at a time. There used to be a sign to say this but as the whole area is in disrepair it has long since gone.

We went to Zante in October and visited the platform as part of the Island Coach Tour. The views are fantastic from there. I'm not that keen on heights if they are not steady, but I had no problems here. You cannot visit Zante without going on the platform.

I have been to Zante 4 times, and have been told that the viewing platform is unsafe. According to a ZAK tour worker, it was built by the same people who built the building next to it which aparently was closed down by the Zante Authorities.

The problem is not linked to the plate floor or railings but its fixings to the rock...

Is it not about time tourist were told the truth!

Our "Direct Holidays" Rep confirmed we would not be covered by our holiday insurance if we booked a coach or boat trip via a street vendor but on the Direct Holidays trip to the cliff top sent 30+ people out on to the platform.

In closing, however you can obtain better view and photos if you follow the cliff top path to the left. It's safe and the views are amazing.

The view was magnificent -platform was perfectly safe, I dunno why people say it's not, when we were there one guy was sitting on top of the the railings,(we thought that was a bit much).
I felt more unsafe going down the gravely steep steps from the coach to the platform.
Platform is much safer than the die hard David Bailey's who are hanging over the cliffs to get a shot.
When we were there a film crew were shooting promotional scenes for the Athens 2004 Olympics.
If you do not go to platform 1st you would not know it was there by looking up from the shipwreck beach.

Great view!

The viewing platform is visited by many of the coach tours but you can just as easily get there by car. The views are fantastic and well worth a look.

Enjoyed visiting the platform for the shipwreck,but not for the faint hearted.Worth the visit.

I hate heights, but even I could not resist this - it was stunning. The big shock however was when we went on the boat a week later and looked up at the platform from the sea - that is when you realise how precarious it is!! Take my advice - go on the platform first, I'm glad I did because had we gone the other way around I would never have got on it and I would have missed those stunning views. I think that heaven must look very like the coast of Zante.

The views are magnificent. For photographs, the classic one directly down into the Smuggler's cove of the shipwreck is excellent. I got some brilliant results on a very hot afternoon in August 2002 and so did my daughter. I will return again this September and take some with my new digital camera. The light should be even better later in the year. Well worth the journey.

I am still on my Hols in Zante & I went to see the shipwreck Yesterday
We walked round the cliff edge & the view there is MAGNIFICENT! I agree with the last message posted & thought that the platform did not look very safe, sturdy enough but I would certanly not go on it again.

There are views and there are views, but this one really does make you say "Wow!" The colour of the sea is beyond belief. Walk along to the right for about 400 yards and you get an even better view. Bad news when coaches arrive en masse and even worse news when juvenile delinquents start lobbing stones over the edge. 800 feet up or whatever with people and boats below...nobs or what? And what did their mummys and daddys say? Nothing. Bless.

just wondering if anyone knew that at one time only 3 people were allowed on there at a time ,it isnt actually sturdy and it was built illegally. I wouldnt risk my life on there! i saw it from the other side of the mountain and you can see that it isnt sturdy and you get a better view as well.

Go to this so u can get a great view of the beach. Hire u'r own car so u can avoid the coaches which get there midday.

wicked place...........if you are in the area go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bit of a queue as 3 coaches turned up at the same time. That said it was one of the real highlights of the holiday. It is just so beautiful it's breathtaking. P.S. I'm not a great fan of heights but the platform is sturdy and the rails are high so...get on out there any enjoy probably some of the best views you'll ever see!

would recommend hiring a car so you can see the sites at your leisure, the view is fantastic, exactly like the photos, crystal blue,second best attraction on the island only beaten by watching the suset at kambi, sitting on the edge of a cliff eating you tea!

There are only a maximum of 4 people a time allowed on the viewing
platform. The view is amazing and the sea really is that turquoise!
It takes your breath away. Its a long way down so maybe not for those with a fear of hights! But go on, risk it, you wont be dissapointed.

dear abby,
we had a great day out whould not miss it for the world!, going back this year in june well worth the monney.

is the sea blue like in the picture,and what about the boat trip is it a nice day out? and are there any drink on boat. let me know!!!
thanx abdul