Travel Guide to Zakynthos
In April 2019 I visited Zakynthos for the first time. I was especially amazed by its beauty at sea and the amazing food (love goes through the stomach). The island, shaped up from hills, olive trees and steep, sharp cliff has unbelievable beautiful views, clear waters and blue caves. The food was amazing everywhere and there was a lot to do and to see. With this guide I’d like to help you have a wonderful vacation in this amazing region.
Where to stay?
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My number one tip, USE AIRBNB! I've been using AirBnb a lot lately, there are such beautiful and cute houses for rent on this app! And... Often they are cheaper than hotels + you can search on having the home for yourself, so you have a whole home, for less money, for yourself!
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I have seen many hotels on the way, but I didn't stay there myself, I suggest you use booking.com to get reviews and the best hotel price/quality wise :)
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There are also sites as TUI, Voyage Privé, Trivago and Corendon which offer trips/hotels for a lower price, at some websites sometimes up to -80% discount off the normal hotel price.
Where to eat? My 3 fav restaurants!
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PANOS! My all time favourite restaurant on Zakynthos. Panos is a delicious, cute restaurant in Laganas with the BEST traditional Greek food. Furthermore the service is exceptional. The restaurant is from a local Greek family who makes sure you will have a great experience, they are so welcoming!
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Latas, a restaurant which is located near the Venetian Castle of Zante, it is located a bit higher than the city itself which leaves you with amazing views over the city and sea while enjoying great Greek food, thee Greek pizza here rocks ;)
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La Grotta restaurant. La Grotta has good Greek fish dishes. The restaurant mainly has its place in my list due to its location, the restaurant is really located AT the beach, the front of the concrete ground meets the waves of the sea, making it the perfect location for a beachy fish restaurant, looking directly into the little port and at the beautiful ocean and little island.
Where to go?
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Porto Limnionas. Porto Limnionas is a cute tavern in a cove of the amazing cliffs. It has the possibility to take a swim and work on your tan, and it has a little rocky beach, oh and, definitely a Insta-worthy place!
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Agios Nikolaos. Agios Nikolaos is a beautiful little beach village in the North of the island. Beautiful views, good food, a nice beach and a lot of little things to visit in the area.
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Zante city. Zante is a nice day-trip, sit on the terras and eat some nice greek food in the Greek city life while watching the little waves rock the old fishers' boats, and of course, do not forget the (souvenir) shopping!
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Old Windmill. Zakynthos has an old windmill, located close to Agios Nikolaos. The windmill has the traditional blue and white Greek colours and has AMAZING views over the sea, the light blue, clear waters meeting the sharp cliffs.
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Keri. Keri is a beautiful little village in the south of Zakynthos, where you can eat delicious food and do boat trips. Keri has a view on Turtle Island (Marathonisi), which is called like that because, from the point of view Keri it is shaped as a turtle, the island is partially closed on special seasons/in specific areas because turtle's lay their eggs on the island.
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Navagio beach view point. The viewpoint of Navagio beach is on top of the cliffs and overlooks the famous shipwreck (Navagio) from the high cliffs. Next to that it also offers amazing views from over the cliffs to the sea, and the beautiful clear water.
Activities
Many activities can be done on Zakynthos, but surely the most popular one is the boat-trip around the island or to the shipwreck.
There are many organisations who do boat trips, to the blue caves, the shipwreck, turtle island... And many boat trips are proposed on bigger boats, with groups. As we have seen from our boat, those are quick trips, cheap, but I'm going to advise you something extra-ordinary.
Me and my family chose to go with Seascape VIP, which is an agency that proposes VIP (private trips) on a fast boat, with a sandwich, something to drink and an amazing captain. The captain took us to the most beautiful places, in the early morning we went on the boat, with the morning sun we saw the island on its best from the sea, we went into the blue caves. Julio, our captain for sure knows how to drive, and made us all amazed by his driving skills in the astonishing blue, small caves. We went to Navagio beach (the shipwreck), Xigia beach (with collagen and sulfur --> good for the skin!) and to a warm beach. We saw the most beautiful things, water that blue that you could not even believe it in your dreams. A private boat is more expensive than a group boat, but it is so worth it!
