Zakynthos



Zakynthos (Greek: Ζάκυνθος), also called Zante (its Italian name), is the third largest island in the Ionian Sea, off the west coast of Greece. The island is named after Zacynthos, son of legendary Arcadian chief Dardanos.

While Ios and Kos are associated with partying, and Rhodes and Crete with families, Zakynthos is something in between. The majority of beaches and towns are along the south and east coasts, as the west and north coasts are extremely mountainous often with cliffs dropping many hundreds of feet straight into the sea.

Understand
Zakynthos, due to mild winter rainfall, is an extremely lush island. The Venetians, who conquered it, referred to it as Il fiore del Levante, the flower of the Levant. March-May is a particularly rewarding time to visit; the island has relatively few tourists, the Easter parade takes place, and the island blooms spectacularly with a myriad of colorful flowers and lush green hills.

Zakynthos, like its neighbour Kefalonia, was heavily affected by the massive earthquake of 1953 and subsequently a lot of its stunning Venetian architecture was sadly destroyed. Ruins still lay in some parts of the island due to this. The main town was completely rebuilt and still has an uncanny resemblance to Venice's San Marco Square. It is well worth taking a look at.

The beautiful white cliffs that plunge into azure seas towards Keri have to be seen to be believed; the water is wonderfully clear and it is worth hiring a boat to see such sights.

History
Archaeological excavations have proved that Zakynthos was inhabited from the Neolithic Age. The island is first mentioned by the Greek poet and writer Homer. In his masterpieces, the Iliad and the Odyssey, he stated that the first inhabitants of Zakynthos were the son of King Dardanos, Zakynthos (which the island has been named after), of Troy and his men who settled around 1500-1600 BCE.

Over the years the island was conquered by King Arkeisios of Kefalonia, and after him Ulysses from Ithaca. Later on Zakynthos became the first independent democracy in the Hellenic area, as a treaty was signed and it lasted over 650 years.

In the summer of 1953, Zakynthos was hit by two severe earthquakes, resulting in the total destruction of the islands infrastructure and most of its state archives. The most powerful of those quakes registered 7.3 on the Richter scale occurred on 12 August and was felt throughout almost the entire country. In Zakynthos Town only three buildings were left standing: the St. Dionysios Cathedral, the National Bank building, and the church of St. Nicholas "tou Molou". The rebuilding of the island was subject to a very rigid anti-seismic code, and has thus withstood several moderate and powerful earthquakes with a minimal amount of damage, including one in 2005.

Mining has been common on the island. Today, however, the only activity is two quarries on the mountain range in the western part of the island. A small mountain on Zakynthos west side was mined during the late 20th-century, though it is no longer in use. Today tourism is the most important source of income and Zakynthos is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece.

Towns and villages



 * - capital, on the east coast. This has the main shops, piazza, and harbour from which the frequent ferries to the mainland port of Kyllini depart and arrive.
 * - (northeast) although the small village has only around 30 year-round inhabitants, it is the second most important port on Zakynthos, as the ferry to Kefalonia departs there. The bay is fairly sheltered by the tall mountains and island in the bay and has many sea front restaurants along with a local coastguard station. Boats running trips to the blue caves slightly to the north depart from here and although quiet it can get busy at certain times of day when busloads of tourists arrive to get the ferry to and from Kefalonia
 * and - a closely linked pair of family resorts on the east coast north of Tsilivi.
 * - A few kilometres south of Zakynthos town on the Vassilikos peninsula. No real beach and consists of a few streets with hotels and more across the main road that runs up the peninsula. It has some bars and clubs but not a lot else to recommend it.
 * - To the east of Laganas past the turtle "no build zone". Although a busy resort, it's less of an all-night party area than Laganas and is more suited to families.  Most of its buildings and shops are on the main road that runs between this resort, past the airport and towards Laganas.  Like Laganas it shares a very long sandy beach that stretches for many kilometres across the south part of the island.
 * - There are 3 parts to Keri. The pebble beach and coast area at Limniou Keri, the village of Keri in the mountains, and further west the lighthouse of Keri which is popular with tourists who want to see a sunset.
 * - The infamous resort of Laganas. This is the main "party" town on the island. The main street consists almost entirely of nightclubs, bars, and fast food outlets. It's very popular with the 18-30 set, particularly young people from England. The beach itself has some nicer bars and restaurants along its length.
 * - A family-oriented resort north of Zakynthos town. It has some late night bars and near nightclubs but on the whole is a bustling family resort with all the usual hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and so on. It has a very wide and long sandy beach along with watersports available from it.
 * - A quiet village in the south east on the Vassilikos peninsula. Here there are now no major hotels and just apartments, villas along with restaurants and tavernas. It has much more of a small village feel to it, has no nightclubs or other entertainment, as is the place to look for a more relaxing, quiet holiday. In this area are the turtle nesting beaches of Gerakas and Dafnia. Slightly to the north is Agios Nikolaos (not to be confused with the one in the north) where there are many watersports, basic scuba diving and a busier place.

By plane
Zakynthos is served by one airport (ZTH), towards the south end of the island near to the resort of Laganas and Kalamaki. It receives both international and domestic flights. Almost all international flights are chartered flights from other European cities during the holiday season (May-October). Domestic flights are available between Zakynthos airport and Athens, served by the national airline Olympic Airlines. There are usually two flights a day to Athens. The journey time to Athens is approximately 1 hour. EasyJet flies to Zante from nearly all UK airports and flights are usually Thursday to Sunday (2010). There are also flights by WizzAir to Budapest every Tuesday.

The airport is closed during the night. Queues are very long, so arrive early. Free Wi-Fi. A lot of electric sockets. No public buses go to the airport from the city. Taxis can be ordered, which cost €10-15. The airport can be reached from the city centre by foot in approximately 1½ hours. Quite easy to find the way, but beware of the dogs on the way (especially close to KTEL bus station).

By ship
Zakynthos has ferry links to Kyllini on the Greek mainland from Zakynthos Town. €8.20 per person and €38 per car. Ferries to Kefalonia can be boarded at Aghios Nikolas, on the northeast tip of the island.

By public transport
There are buses that go between the most crowded areas of the island. Ask around and there will be no pain in finding the bus stops. However, bus services on the island are rather infrequent and sometimes unreliable. Taxis, however, are not too expensive.

By car
The best way to get around is by rental car. There are literally dozens of rental agencies on the island besides the big ones. Preferably get a 4WD car, as some attractions are off the main roads. Beware of the condition of some of the roads. The smaller roads may well have pot holes and even the "better" roads are extremely slippery. Also beware of other drivers. If you assume everyone else on the road is out to get you and drive accordingly it's probably the best way of dealing with it. Due to the island being fairly small and only a few major towns it's quite hard to get lost as most roads either go eventually to Zakynthos town or to Volimes in the north and you can work it out from there. Road signs are sporadic and some are bi-lingual with English and Greek, some are Greek alone.

Also watch out for scooters, especially in the main tourist areas.

By motorbike/scooters
Rental agencies abound. However, scooters may be somewhat painful to ride around the island, because it is very hilly, so get something with a little bit more power.

By bicycle
Cycling is a pleasant way of navigating the southern and central parts of the island, if somewhat impractical in the rougher, hillier terrain of the north. Bike hire is available in all but the smallest of resorts, costing around €4-8 per day, with discounts available for multi-day hire periods. A basket and a lock will usually be included but hire shops are very unlikely to rent helmets, so bring your own if required. Bike Ride Zakynthos offers tours of the island if you don't fancy doing it alone.

By private boat
Visit the famous shipwreck "Navagio", the blue Caves, the Keri Caves, Marathonisi island, the Mizithres Rocks and many hidden beaches by renting a private boat. Available at Zakynthos main port, at Ag.Sostis port or Ag.Nikolaos port, there are many companies that offer boat rentals with or without skipper.

See












Beaches


Some beaches in Zakynthos are also unofficial nudist beaches.

Do
Zakynthos is not so much an island for children. The water park here is small and rather hard to get to as compared to that in Corfu. Most resorts there are relatively low-key and tourist booths are more likely to offer excursions to neighboring islands or the Greek mainland rather than concentrating on Zakynthos' beauty. This is a shame, because it is still an island where mountainside villages and hidden coves await discovery by the discerning traveller. It is well worth hiring a car.





Eat
Traditional agricultural products are olive oil, thyme honey, currants, and wine, which can be purchased at roadside stalls or in the villages.

Zakynthos is a growing tourist island, and hence along with traditional Greek fare, one will find Anglicized cuisine. In Laganas, travellers would be more hard-pressed to find baklava than an English-fry up, but there are some very good places to eat Greek cuisine, and at very reasonable prices.



Drink
Bars are found in abundance on Zakynthos, from the lazy beach bar to clubs to British-run establishments. The beers of choice are the Greek Mythos, Alfa and Fix, though Amstel comes a close second. Drinkers looking for a more sartorial experience are advised to check out bars in Zakynthos town. There are also the local village wines (beware: strong!), the Metaxa brandy along with the standard ouzo.

The bars of Laganas can serve pretty much anything else and caters to the young drunk tourist.

Go next

 * Athens overnight trips are available through organised tours or using scheduled KTEL bus services and the Kyllini ferry.
 * Day trip to Kefalonia - the ferry leaves Agios Nikolaos to and from this island several times daily and there are many official guided tours allowing you to visit and return. Unfortunately the scheduled bus service to Agios Nikolaos is virtually non-existent, so if you don't want to sign up with an organised tour then you will require a taxi or your own transport to link up with the ferry.
 * Olympia - There are many organised tours using the ferry from Zakynthos town to Kyllini on the mainland to visit the ancient site of the original Olympic Games (about 45 min drive from the port).