Travel Guide: Zakynthos, Greece

When thinking back to Greece, the first thing that pops into both mine and Caleb's mind is Zakynthos. The natural beauty of this island is honestly like no other. While our time on the island was an absolute blast, planning for it was not the most fun. This small island is exploding with beautiful beaches, great restaurants and plenty of olive trees. While our trip here was short, we were able to make the most of it. We landed in Zakynthos early September 16th and were heading to Santorini early September 18th. Though short, we felt like this was the perfect amount of time.

History

Homer actually first mentioned the island in the Iliad and The Odyssey where he says the first people to inhabit the island were the song of King Dardanos of Troy who was called Zakynthos and his men. Homer goes on to say they first came to the island around 1,500-1,600 B.C. Throughout history, Zakynthos and the other Ionian Islands were ruled by many different countries before fighting against British rule and aligning with Greece after their independence from Turkey. On August 12, 1953, a devastating earthquake struck in Keflalonia, but it was so strong it left Zakynthos in ruins. It was four earthquakes, but the biggest one was a 7.3 magnitude . Just three buildings survived the devastation in Zakynthos meaning most of the buildings on the island were built after 1953.

Zakynthos Island

At just more than 12 miles wide and right under 25 miles long, the island is an easy one to see in just a couple of days. When we arrived at the airport, we were the only flight landing and there were none taking off at that time. Zakynthos does have a public bus system, but we did not use it. When we got off our flight, there were plenty of taxi drivers waiting to take us to our Airbnb. We did not rent a car mostly because we made the mistake of not planning that far ahead. We looked at rentals for cars and ATVs when we were there, but most places required you to rent it for multiple days and the prices were way more than what we were wanting to pay.

There are two major "towns" in Zakynthos if you will. One being Laganas, the other Zante Town. Laganas is more of a village and beach resort in Zakynthos. There are plenty of beach side bars and restaurants here. There is a small island off of this beach called Cameo Island. It is connected to the mainland by a small wooden bridge. There is a fee to get into the island, but once you're there, you can enjoy a small beach and bars. We did not actually go on the island, but we did see the island and even spotted a turtle swimming nearby! This section of the island is more known for their nightlife and beaches. Zante Town on the other hand is quieter at night. This is a little harbor section of the island. There are no beaches, but there are plenty of restaurants. Each destination is less than 15 minutes from the airport.

Where we stayed

We opted to stay near the harbor since Caleb and I are not big party or nightlife kind of people, but looking back on it, we would have definitely stayed in Laganas. We were not super impressed with our Airbnb we had during our stay. The check-in process was confusing and a little sketchy, the beds were incredibly hard and the shower was not ideal, but the views were beautiful. It was a short 10ish minute walk to get to where you would wait for a taxi. You can read a full review of that Airbnb here. We eventually got checked in and the first thing we did was get into our bathing suits and take a taxi to Laganas Beach. This is the one reason why we wish we would have stayed in Laganas instead. but hindsight is always 20-20.

Along Laganas beach is ample restaurants and bars. My favorite part was you could walk down the beach and find beach loungers with umbrellas and tables. We chose to keep walking past the first few just to see what was on down the beach and we are thankful we did! We ended up stumbing upon Hamsa. It was one of the last restaurants on the beach, but not nearly as crowded as the others we passed before. Beach chairs were 5 Euro per person, but you don't have to order food or drink if you don't want to. When people ask us about the food and drinks, this is easily one of the first places we talk about simply because we enjoyed it that much.

Island Tour

The best decision we could have made was booking a tour. We decided to book our tour through Abba Travel & Rentals. We booked the North Zante Full Day Tour. At the time we booked, the price was 55 Euros (it has now gone up to 60 euros) per person. Because of this tour, we felt like we were able to see every part of the island we really wanted. Our tour guide (shout out to Spiros) was charismatic, knowledgable and you could tell he really has a passion for where he lives and what he does.

Our tour guide picked us up from a spot near our Airbnb however, if you're staying at a hotel, you can be picked up there! Our tour started at an old church in Bohali village that overlooks Zante Town. This is where we learned about the history about

the earthquake that destroyed the island. After our stop there, we drove around to the northwest side of the island where we went the cliffs around Navagio Beach. It was a small hike to the actual cliff (don't be like me and wear Berkinstocks). We spent about 30 minutes at the top of the cliff where we saw the most gorgeous views of our entire vacation. After our visit at the top of the cliffs, we stopped in a small village to get some snacks, drinks and use the restroom since we would not see one for a while! In this small village was the cutest donkeys that got all of the love! After the snack/ coffee break, we went to the boat. The boat ride took us around a large portion of the island. The sides of the island are limestone cliffs just like around Navagio Beach. I can't even being to put into words how beautiful it was.

Once we got to Navagio Beach, better known as Shipwreck beach, we were able to get off the boat and hang out on the beach for an hour. This was the biggest selling point for us since the only way you can access the beach is by boat. You can read more about the beach itself later. Following our visit to the beach, we got back on the boat where we were taken to the blue caves. We were able to jump into the water and swim for a bit, but I happily stayed on the boat. After the boat section of the tour, we went to another small village where we could try local cheeses, wines and olive oils. We also got to see the oldest olive tree. It is said to be more than 2,000 years old. We also stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Our final stop took us outside of Cameo Island. This is where we got to see a sea turtle! Spiros dropped us off back where we were picked up at. The whole tour was about nine hours long, so definitely worth the money we spent on it. If you feel called to do so, be sure to tip your tour guide at the end so they know how much you enjoyed the day!

We literally got to see every part of the island in just one day, so unless you want to spend an entire day on the beach, I genuinely feel like one full day is all you need to make your trip to Zakynthos feel like it is totally worth it!