Guide · Where to start

Buggy hire in Laganas, Tsilivi or elsewhere on the island

Buggy hire in Laganas is the simple case: the operator is based there and the day starts a short drive from its office. Staying in Tsilivi, Zakynthos Town or Argasi works too, with a little planning for the early start.

Check availabilityfrom $403 · free to cancel

Editorial team, buggyrentzakynthos.comUpdated October 19, 2026read in 6 minutes25 sources

The matching tour Off-road buggy day from Laganas with lunch 5.0 (306 reviews) 6 hoursYou drive your own Polaris RZRSwim stop and farmhouse lunch from$403per person Check availabilityFree to cancel until one day before

Quick answer

01Base: The operator is in Laganas; the start is 3 minutes by car from its office.¹
02Time: Be at the starting point at 8:00 for the briefing.
03Pickup: The buggy listing names no hotel pickup; the jeep day includes one.
04From Tsilivi: Plan your own transfer to the start, or choose a land day with pickup.
05Back: At the starting point at about 15:00.

Why the day starts in Laganas

Zante Off-Road Tour, the operator of the guided buggy day, is based in Laganas.¹ Its starting point is 3 minutes by car from its main office, and the operator's own page names the meeting point KS Storage.² For buggy hire in Laganas, then, you are already in the right place.

The location makes sense for the route. From Laganas the group drives about 20 minutes to Keri, where the off-road part begins, and the whole loop of about 80 km stays in the south-west of the island.³ ⁴ Starting anywhere else would only add tarmac to a day that is meant to be dust and tracks.

Laganas itself sits on the bay of the same name on the south coast, a place the Region of the Ionian Islands describes as popular for nightlife, with crowded bars, nightclubs and restaurants.⁵ That is worth remembering the night before an 8:00 start. Set an alarm, lay out the shoes and the swimwear, and keep the license next to the room key so nothing is left behind in the rush.

A morning from your hotel

Getting to the start on time

The evening before

Book a taxi

The buggy listing names no hotel pickup.
Before 8:00

Arrive at the start

3 minutes by car from the operator's office.
8:00

Briefing

Eyewear and bandanas, then the safety talk.² ⁶ ⁷
8:30

Departure

Behind the guide's buggy toward Keri.³
About 15:00

Back at the start

Time for a swim at your own beach.

Staying in Laganas or Kalamaki

If your hotel is in Laganas, the morning is easy: a short taxi ride or a lift gets you to the starting point in good time. Aim to arrive a little before 8:00, because the briefing, the eyewear and the bandanas come before the 8:30 departure.³

Kalamaki, the next resort along the bay to the east, is in the same position: close to the start and on the same side of the island. Both resorts face Laganas Bay, where the view takes in the small islands of Pelouzo and Marathonisi.⁸ You will see Marathonisi again from the hills of Marathias at the first stop of the day.⁹

Staying on the bay has one more advantage for the end of the day. The tour is back at the starting point at about 15:00, which leaves a whole afternoon for a shower, a swim and a nap before dinner. Shake the dust out of your clothes before you bring them back into the room.

Pickups

How each land day gets you there

Land day	Getting there	Good to know
Buggy day	Your own way to the start	Start near Laganas at 8:00
Jeep day	Hotel pickup included	Pickups up to 1.5 hours early
4x4 sunset	Hotel pickup on set days	North-east or south by day
Van to Myzithres	13 pickup locations	Start follows the sunset
Land-and-sea day	Free pickup in main resorts	Surcharge in far areas

As each GetYourGuide listing states it.

Three ways to start

Drive yourself, or be collected

Laganas: Off-Road Buggy Adventure in Zakynthos with Lunch

You drive

Buggy day

Start near Laganas

Meet: 8:00
Pickup: Not listed
Price: from $403

See details

Pickup included

Jeep day

From your hotel

Length: 7 hours
Group: Up to 6
Price: from $76

See details

Zakynthos: Keri Lake Romantic Sunset & Myzithres Viewpoint

Many pickup points

Van to Myzithres

Sunset viewpoint

Pickups: 13 locations
Length: 4 hours
Price: from $52

See details

Decision helper

Where are you staying?

Pick your base and see what fits

Laganas or Kalamaki Tsilivi or Zakynthos Town Far from the bay, no car Want an evening out Arriving tomorrow night

The buggy day, easily

The start is near the operator's Laganas office.¹

Buggy plus a taxi

No hotel pickup is listed for the buggy.

The jeep day

Hotel pickup is included.

The van to Myzithres

Its start time follows the sunset.

Book the buggy for later

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

The bay of Laganas, on the south coast of Zakynthos, is a popular destination for visitors in search of nightlife and entertainment and notable for its crowded bars, nightclubs, and restaurants.

Region of the Ionian IslandsSource 5

Coming from Tsilivi, Zakynthos Town or Argasi

Visitors who look up buggy hire in Tsilivi will find the same answer: the buggy day still starts near Laganas, so the job is to get there for 8:00. Tsilivi lies on the east coast north of Zakynthos Town, so the trip crosses the town or skirts it before heading south to the bay.

Zakynthos Town spreads out at the head of Laganas Bay and was rebuilt with care after the 1953 earthquake.¹⁰ From there, and from Argasi on the coast to the south-east of the town, the starting point is a short drive away. Book a taxi the evening before, because an early morning car is easier to arrange in advance than at the door.

The buggy listing names no hotel pickup, so this part is yours to arrange. A guest review mentions help from the hosts with transport to the meeting point, but that is a kindness, not a promise; ask through the booking if you need it, and keep a taxi number as a backup.

Map

From Laganas to Keri, Korakonisi and Loucha

The buggy route across the south-west of the island, then the resorts along the south and east coasts, where visitors stay.

Map of south-west Zakynthos from Laganas and Keri to Korakonisi, Agios Leon and Loucha — The buggy route

Map of the east side of Zakynthos with Laganas, Kalamaki, Zakynthos Town, Argasi and Tsilivi — Where visitors stay

1
Laganas
The operator of this site's tour is based in Laganas, on the bay known for its nightlife.¹ ⁵
In Google Maps ↗
2
Keri
The off-road part of the day begins here, about 20 minutes after the start.³
In Google Maps ↗
3
Marathias
The first stop, for photos of Marathonisi, before a drive through the Marathias forest.⁹
In Google Maps ↗
4
Marathonisi
Turtle Island, one of the islets inside the National Marine Park.¹¹
In Google Maps ↗
5
Mizithres
The second stop: a viewpoint above the Mizithres rocks.¹²
In Google Maps ↗
6
Agalas
The Andronios wells, named in a local legend about a dragon.¹³
In Google Maps ↗
7
Korakonisi
The swim stop, with 1.5 hours to swim, snorkel or rest.
In Google Maps ↗
8
Agios Leon
The route passes through here, on and off road, on the way to lunch.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
9
Loucha
Lunch at an old farmhouse under the trees, then the drive through the Loucha Valley.
In Google Maps ↗
10
Kiliomenos
The village the route comes down through on the way back to the start.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
11
Kalamaki
One of the resorts inside the free pickup area of a land-and-sea day tour.
In Google Maps ↗
12
Zakynthos Town
The island's town at the head of Laganas Bay, rebuilt after the 1953 earthquake.¹⁰
In Google Maps ↗
13
Argasi
Another resort inside that tour's free pickup area.
In Google Maps ↗
14
Tsilivi
A resort on the east coast, also inside that free pickup area.
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

The morning of the buggy day

Getting there

A taxi booked the evening before
Arrive before 8:00
Driver's license in your pocket

In the bag

Swimwear and water shoes
Sunscreen and sunglasses
Clothes that can get dirty

Video

Zakynthos (Zante): the best areas to stay and visit

Nothing is fetched from YouTube until you press play.

Land days that come to your hotel

If the transfer puts you off, choose a land day that picks you up. The jeep tour includes hotel pickup, and its listing warns that pickups can begin up to 1.5 hours before the tour departs. You lose the wheel but gain a door-to-door day of 7 hours.

The 4x4 sunset run also picks up at hotels, but on set days: the north-east on Monday and Friday, the south on Tuesday. Check which day matches your resort before you book, because the area decides the date.

The van tour to the Myzithres viewpoint offers 13 pickup locations, and a land-and-sea day tour lists free pickup from Laganas, Kalamaki, Argasi, Tsilivi, Zakynthos Town and several other resorts. For hotels farther out, around Keri, Marathias or Vasilikos, that day tour adds a pickup surcharge.

Arriving on the island the day before

If you fly in via Athens, the flight to Zakynthos takes 1 hour.¹⁶ If you arrive late, do not book the buggy for the next morning: the 8:00 start and the 6-hour day are better on a rested head.

A sensible plan is to book the buggy for your second or third full day. The listing lets you cancel for free up to 24 hours before and reserve now while paying later, so an early booking still leaves you room to move it. That flexibility also helps if a trail closure or the weather shifts the plan.¹⁷

Take the license with you from home, not a photo of it. The operator asks every driver to have it on them at the meeting point, and without it you will be a passenger for the day.² Pack it with your passport so it cannot stay behind in the hotel safe.

A rental desk in your resort, or the guided day?

Walk along the main street of any big resort and you will see vehicles for hire, from scooters to quads. That is a different purchase from the guided buggy day, and the difference shows in the small print. UK travel advice warns that insurance sold by a hire company usually covers only third parties, and that the company is likely to charge you for any damage to the vehicle.¹⁸ ¹⁹

On a quad you also take on the helmet rules and the traffic. Drivers and passengers must wear helmets, and inexperienced riders share the roads with larger and faster vehicles, the same advice says.²⁰ ²¹ The south-west tracks the buggy day uses are also not the kind of route you find on your own on a first visit.

The guided day turns that around: full liability insurance and fuel are included, the guide knows the tracks, and the route avoids the busy coast road. What you give up is the freedom to stop wherever you like. For a single day in the back country, most of the reasons to hire alone fall away once the insurance question is on the table.

Respecting the bay while you are there

Laganas Bay is part of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, together with the islets of Marathonisi and Pelouzo.¹¹ Loggerhead turtles come to the bay to mate and nest on its beaches from mid-May to late August.²²

That changes how the beaches work in summer. The public may be on the nesting beaches from 07:00 until sunset, and the park asks visitors to keep their activity within about 5 metres of the sea.²³ ²⁴ Cars, motorbikes, bicycles, horses and dogs are not allowed on the nesting beaches at all.²⁵

None of that touches the buggy day, which drives in the hills and looks at Turtle Island from above. But it is worth knowing if you are tempted by a vehicle of your own for the rest of the week: the beaches of the bay are for walking, swimming and turtles, not for wheels.

Your day off road