Short Travel Guide To Zakynthos Island Greece

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“OMG, is it really like this over there?” That was my reaction, when I saw the photo of the island on the web, when we booked our vacation in Greece. Now being here for more than ten days I can confirm – yes, Zakynthos is THAT beautiful in reality (and perhaps even more). I am utterly blown away by our vacation and anxious to share with you my impressions. In fact the island is huge and it is difficult to make a short guide of it as there are so many interesting things you can see. That’s why I thought I will give a short overview of the places we have been to, with some tips on where to go and which places to avoid.

DAY 1 and 2

As you know from my previous post, we flew to Zakynthos through Prague, stopping over there for one night. We arrived to the island still in the morning after only two hours of flight. We decided to start our vacation slowly and first couple of days just stayed in our bungalow and enjoyed the sun and the sea. We booked a very cozy and nice house on the south of the island, near Keri Village with a stunningly beautiful sea just thirty meters from us. The shore is very rocky and you can only access the sea from a little pier. Because of that, the water here is incredibly transparent and clean. During our stay we spotted turtles almost every day. We had two wonderful greek tavernas just few meters away from our house so there was no problem to find good food.

DAY 3

We hired a quad bike for moving around the island. Now we were able to go to a nearby village to buy some fruits and fresh seafood (directly from fishermen). That day we made a barbecue in our house and I must tell that this was a fantastic experience. Before dinner we went to see the sunset to a light house (about fifteen minutes driving from us). There is a restaurant over there with a marvellous view on cliffs and sea and it is just perfect for having romantic apero before dinner.

DAY 4

Excursion time! Marathonisi is a tiny island just very close to Zakynthos. In fact, I think I could swim over there if wasn’t scared to be hit by the motorboats. That’s why we decided to go there with a boat excursion from our village. Marathounisi is known as a “turtle island” and there is a big chance to see them while doing snorkelling. When we arrived to the beach we saw many turtle nests which were marked and fenced. The beach has beautiful white sand, turquoise shallow waters and is perfect for swimming and sunbathing. Behind the island we saw picturesque grottos and underwater caves – some of the most favourite diving spots are located here.

DAY 5

Searching for rugs. If you follow my blog, you know that I have a thing for handmade rugs. We were surprised to learn that on Zakynthos they do them too! In fact, they look more like mats and are made of cotton stripes which are woven on a loom. Colourful and rustic they would look perfect in a kitchen or a bathroom. Plus they are very practical too – you even can wash then in a washing machine. When I saw them I just thought it would be wonderful to purchase them for my boutique. We visited several villages before we found what we liked. I will make a separate post on this and watch these runners pretty soon to appear in my shop.

DAY 6

The picture you saw in the beginning of this post is made on the shipwreck beach – the most famous on Zakynthos Island and perhaps in the whole Greece. We needed to drive more than one hour to get there and I must admit on the quad bike is wasn’t that easy (we even regretted we didn’t have a car). However, when we arrived to the view point we remained completely speechless from the beauty we saw… It’s hard to explain but it belongs to those moments when you are in the utter delight and admiration of nature and its wonders. This particular beach is accessible only from the sea and when it is calm it gets really overcrowded. We were lucky and unlucky because it was really windy and we couldn’t go there, but at the same time, we managed to make some amazing photos with the beach completely empty! Close to the view point there is a monastery of the XVI century – one more must-see place if you are in that area. From there you can also drive to Blue Caves – we heard it is very beautiful too, but we hadn’t see it so far.

DAY 7 and onwards

enjoying vacation in our bungalow – very quite and relaxing.

Oh, yes, and one more tip – if you travel to Zakynthos, don’t miss the opportunity to hire a boat to go around the island. You can get access to some small and secluded beaches, grottos, do snorkelling in the open water and most probably see the turtles. One place to avoid on Zakynthos island is Laganas village – it is very busy, has lots of nightclubs, bars, as the result drunk people, fights and accidents. Also try to avoid very touristic places, instead look for secluded private beaches and bays – they are the most beautiful!