Kalamaki; Sunday, 05 October, 2025

I had a relatively early breakfast as my booked tour had an early start, to pack everything in before lunch. Pickup was on time from outside the hotel and we headed off to our first stop of the Olive Oil Press Museum just north of Laganas.

The museum was only a brief pitstop to give the museum the opportunity to let us sample, and buy, their products and to make use of the toilet as there wouldn’t be any more opportunities until we got back to the hotels.

From the museum we hopped back on the bus and drove down to Laganas harbour and had a quick detour to visit Cameo Island, a small stub of rock linked to the mainland by a wooden bridge, and home to a very picturesque small beach that is also one of the most popular wedding venues on the island.

After a quick look around the island we headed over to our boat for the rest of the tour and headed out into the bay, first to see if we could see any of the turtles that come back to this part of the coast every year to lay their eggs, and sure enough we were able to spot a couple surfacing, though given they can hold their breath for a good 10 minutes, and only need a quick top-up the views were fleeting and at a speed that made taking photos impossible.

With the turtles accounted for we then headed out along the coast to the headland at Keri and the numerous caves at the foot of sheer cliff faces here. There was a 20 minute stop here for anyone who wanted to take a dip in the azure blue waters. From Keri Caves we headed back towards Laganas before reaching our main stop of the tour the Island of Marathonisi, also known as Turtle Island as from the sea it looks much like a turtle with it’s head and shell out of the sea, and also because it’s a nesting site for the local population.

There was a 50 minute stop on the island which was more than enough time to explore the thin strip of beach that is open to the public, the rest closed off to protect the turtle nests and eggs, and to have a very pleasant swim in the warm shallow waters off of the island.

Swim completed we headed back to the boat and then back to Laganas harbour to be picked up again by the tour bus and taken back to the hotels for drop-off. It meant that I was back with more than enough time to have lunch in the hotel before having a relaxing afternoon heading down to the beach and having a long swim in the shallow warm waters of Laganas bay off of Kalamaki Beach before heading back to the hotel to have a shower and freshen up before dinner.