Things to Do in Zakynthos (Zante) in December
December weather, activities, events & insider tips
December Weather in Zakynthos (Zante)
Is December Right for You?
Advantages
- Genuine solitude at major sites - Navagio Beach (Shipwreck Beach) and Blue Caves are essentially yours. The tour boats that carry 50+ people in summer might have 8-12 passengers in December, and some days operators cancel entirely due to low bookings, which actually tells you something about crowd levels.
- Accommodation costs drop 60-75% compared to July-August rates. A seafront hotel in Laganas that charges €180/night in peak season goes for €45-65 in December. The catch is that maybe 20% of properties stay open, but the ones that do are usually the better-managed, year-round operations.
- You see how locals actually live here. Zakynthos Town's Agios Markos Square fills with Greek families on weekend evenings, not tour groups. The kafeneia (traditional coffee houses) along Lombardou Street are full of older men playing tavli (backgammon), and you can actually have a conversation with restaurant owners who have time to talk.
- Olive harvest season runs through December, and several working farms around Macherado and Lagopodo villages let visitors watch the process and taste fresh oil. This isn't a packaged tourist experience - you're genuinely seeing the agricultural side of the island that supports many families outside the tourism months.
Considerations
- Most beach clubs, water sports centers, and tour operators close entirely from November through March. If you're picturing jet skis and beach bars, December is the wrong month. The island economy essentially hibernates, and roughly 70% of tourism infrastructure shuts down until April.
- Sea conditions make boat trips unreliable - the crossing to Navagio Beach gets cancelled maybe 50-60% of December days due to wind and waves. When boats do run, expect choppy 45-minute rides that aren't pleasant if you're prone to seasickness. The famous Blue Caves tours face similar cancellation rates.
- Weather genuinely limits outdoor plans. Those 10 rainy days tend to bring proper downpours, not light drizzle, and temperatures around 11-16°C (52-61°F) with 70% humidity feel colder than the numbers suggest. You'll want indoor backup plans, but museums and attractions also run reduced winter hours.
Best Activities in December
Zakynthos Town Walking and Museum Tours
December weather is actually ideal for exploring Zakynthos Town on foot - cool enough for comfortable walking without the summer heat that makes climbing to Bochali viewpoint genuinely unpleasant. The Byzantine Museum stays open year-round with extensive post-Byzantine religious art collections, and Solomos Square's cafes have indoor seating where you can watch winter storms roll in over the harbor. The town feels authentically Greek in December, with locals doing their actual shopping along Alexandrou Roma Street rather than the tourist-focused summer scene.
Mountain Village Exploration and Agrotourism
The interior villages like Keri, Exo Chora, and Loucha are at their most authentic in December during olive harvest. Temperatures in the hills run 2-3°C (4-5°F) cooler than the coast, so you're looking at 9-14°C (48-57°F), which is perfect for hiking the traditional stone-path trails between villages. Several family-run farms offer informal olive oil tastings and explanations of traditional production methods - this isn't polished tourism, it's actual working agriculture. The mountain views are clearest in December's cooler air before summer haze sets in.
Caretta Caretta Sea Turtle Conservation Learning
While you won't see nesting (that's May-August), the National Marine Park of Zakynthos runs its research and conservation programs year-round. December is when staff actually have time to do educational talks and facility tours without the summer rush. You learn about tracking, rehabilitation, and the challenges facing loggerhead turtles without crowds of tourists. The information center in Dafni stays open reduced hours, typically 10am-2pm weekdays. It's a completely different experience from summer's beach-focused turtle watching.
Traditional Taverna Dining Experiences
The tavernas that stay open in December are the ones serving locals, not tourists, which means you're getting actual Greek home cooking rather than the international menus of summer. Dishes like stifado (beef stew), pastitsada (pasta with rooster), and revithada (chickpea stew) show up on winter menus but disappear in summer when tourists want grilled fish. Indoor dining with fireplaces feels right at December temperatures. Zakynthos Town and larger villages like Kalamaki maintain decent restaurant options, though beach resort areas go mostly dark.
Coastal Hiking and Lighthouse Routes
The 8km (5 mile) coastal path from Porto Vromi to Navagio viewpoint is genuinely better in December than summer when 35°C (95°F) heat makes it borderline dangerous. At 11-16°C (52-61°F), you can actually hike comfortably, though you'll want to check weather before setting out since exposed coastal trails get unpleasant in December's occasional strong winds. The Keri Lighthouse area offers shorter walks with dramatic cliff views, and you'll have the paths essentially to yourself. The vegetation is still green from autumn rains, unlike summer's brown scrubland.
Winery Tours and Winter Wine Tasting
December sits between harvest (September-October) and bottling season (January-February), so wineries have finished the intense production work and can actually host visitors properly. Several estates around Macherado produce Verdea, a traditional Zakynthian white wine, and you tour facilities without the crowds that descend May-September. The cooler temperatures mean you're tasting wine at proper serving temperature rather than in overheated summer tasting rooms. Most wineries require advance booking year-round since they're working estates, not dedicated tourist venues.
December Events & Festivals
Agios Nikolaos Name Day Celebrations
December 6th is the feast day of Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nicholas), and multiple churches across Zakynthos hold special services and small festivals. The church in Volimes hosts one of the larger celebrations with traditional music and food afterward. This isn't a tourist event - it's genuine local religious observance, but visitors are welcome to attend services and the community gatherings that follow. You'll see how Greek Orthodox traditions actually function in island life.
Christmas Market in Zakynthos Town
The main square in Zakynthos Town typically sets up a small Christmas market mid-December through early January, with local craftspeople selling handmade goods, traditional sweets like melomakarona and kourabiedes, and warm drinks. It's modest compared to Northern European Christmas markets - maybe 15-20 stalls - but it's where local families gather on December evenings. Live music on weekends, usually traditional Greek rather than Christmas carols.