Zante, Greece Travel Guide (Zakynthos)

Zante is the third largest island in the Ionian Sea, rich in beautiful landscapes and tradition, Zante is the "ideal" of any traveller with an exploring mind.  Visitors to Zante wishing to spend a historical and cultural holiday on this Greek island will not be disappointed.  Zante offers something for everyone, whether your ideal holiday is laying on a beach, dancing in night clubs till the early hours, scuba diving in clear blue seas or walking through traditional villages, Zante will cater for your needs and will keep you wanting more.

The capital of Zante, Zante Town is the only place on the island where local residents outnumber tourists.  Most of the island's population of 35,000 live here.  It's an interesting mix of houses, shops and bars surrounding a large busy harbour.  Most of the town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1953 and the buildings have been rebuilt in the traditional Venetian style.  Although it is never listed in the main holiday brochures, it would make a good alternative destination for the independent traveller.  There are a good variety of hotels along the main road surrounding the harbour together with a local beach.

Zante Town is well worth a days visit to walk around its winding roads and small shops.  If you arrive to Zante by ferry rather than plane, it feels as though you enter the port of Venice, even more so at dusk.  On the one side you will see the lit church bells of the St. Dennis Cathedral and on the other side the picturesque main town with the snake like road to the hill of Bohali and the Venetian Fortress.  Views of the port and the town from above are simply breathtaking and even more enjoyable when you are seated at one of the many open air cafes or local tavernas.

All the major religious and folk festivals are celebrated in Zante.  The major festival celebrated during the summer is St Dionysios' Day, the patron saint of the island.  On 24th August his body is brought out of the church in Zante Town and paraded around the streets in a glass coffin.  Other festivals celebrated in Zante include, Labour Day in early May, Assumption in mid August, and Ochi Day in late October.

Zante is the same as most other Greek destinations and is generally not suitable for anybody travelling and using a wheelchair.  The larger hotels may make concessions to the disabled, but largely their needs are ignored.  It is best to contact the hotel directly or speak to your travel company prior to booking.  If you have any experience of travelling to Zante with a disability and have found a problem, then tell both your hotel and travel company as without you highlighting the problem nothing is likely to change.

The Airport

The airport has recently been undergoing improvement, but unless they make it twice as big it will always be overcrowded.  Anyone who has flown from there will remember the chaos as around 1,000 people queue up at three check-in desks.  Trolleys are in great demand so you'll need to be quick to get one.  You can expect to be stood outside for at least an hour before you get inside the terminal building, so please remember to apply the sun cream prior to queuing.  You can buy water inside at a reasonable price, but the sandwiches and other foods are expensive, it is always worth bringing a snack and drink with you for the wait.  Don't bother rushing to be at the head of the queue as seats are allocated in a haphazard manner as with most Greek procedures, logic is never used. 

Make sure your plane has landed before going through passport control.  If your plane is delayed, the last place you want to be is in the overcrowded departure lounge with hundreds of other people struggling for the few seats in the place.  Although there is no duty free any more, the prices in the airport shop are attractive and there is a good selection of spirits and tobacco.  Prices in June to August 2004 for 200 "brand name" cigarettes was about 25.00 Euros, cheaper local brands were available too, starting at about 8.00 Euros per 200.  Flights to Zante on Sundays tend to be more crowded than other days and the flights travelling via Athens get used by locals and they too arrive and depart at the quiet times.

Avoid night flights if you possibly can.  It's not too much of the problem on the way out to Zante, it's on the return journey that you might regret it.  The airport closes at night to protect the nesting sites of the Loggerhead Turtles, so a night flight will result in flight back home at about 7.00am.  The big problem is that you will usually be asked to leave your room at midday the day before as they need to clean it before the new guests arrive early the next morning.  Your luggage will be taken to a nearby hotel for safe keeping.  Unless you are a real party animal or have arranged with someone else not leaving then to use their room, you will probably just end up hanging about in the hotel lobby until you get picked up about 4.30am.

What to See

The Byzantine Museum of Zakynthos is situated in Solomou Square in Zante Town. Here you can admire a rich collection of hagiographies from the Byzantine times to the 19th century, Hellenistic and Byzantine sculpture and statues and some beautiful icon-stands from the island's churches. The Museum houses the works of great Zakynthian hagiographers such as Doxaras, Koutouzis, Tzanes, Kandounis and Damaskinos.

Smugglers Cove also known as Navagio has to be the most famous beach on the island if not in Greece.  On the North West of the island over 20 years ago a coaster carrying contraband cigarettes was wrecked and washed on the beach that formed smugglers cove.  Well that is the story the tour companies stick to, my personal opinion is that the shipwreck is far to central and well placed on the beach and is possibly the handy work of a local tour company, either way this is a beautiful and highly photogenic place.  The sandy and pebbly beach is only accessible by boat but in Zante there is no shortage of tour operators offering trips here.

The small uninhabited island of Marathonissi is situated opposite Laganas Beach and Keri Bay and is only accessible by boat.  Its amazing greenery, stunning rock formations, caves and beautiful sandy beaches will make you feel as though you are on an island in paradise.  Some tour operators offer picnics to this island and most scuba diving companies will visit the various dive sites around Marathonissi.

Greece is the only European country where the Loggerhead turtles nest and Zante is the most important nesting area in the Mediterranean.  To protect these beautiful creatures Zante created a national marine park near Laganas Beach, Marathonisi Island and the resort town of Kalamaki.  This national parks objective is to preserve the natural environment and allow the Loggerhead Turtles to come back each year and nest in safety.  If you are in Zante in June, July and August you may be fortunate enough to see swimming adult turtles off Laganas Beach and occasionally in the evening baby turtles hatching.

Weather

During the summer months and especially in August, rainfall is very rare, while north winds are very common in this month. These winds, known as "Meltemia" blow from north to south usually starting after 14:00 hours.  If you prefer calmer waters for swimming, it is recommended that tourists use beaches on the south side of the island.  Average temperatures for the summer are show below:

Visiting Zante in the winter months is not recommended.  The islands tourist attractions and tour operators close for this period, (late October to early April).  Most of the locals will also leave the island for a second home on the Greek mainland and return again once the winter storms finish.

Nightlife

If your idea of a night out begins at midnight and ends long after the sun comes up then Laganas is the only place for you.  It's the only place on the island that has a wide choice of late night entertainment.  Clubs on Zante and in Greece generally, do not charge for entry and make their money by charging more for drinks, so you have no excuse for not trying them all.  Some clubs will give you a free shot with every beer.  Most bars have a happy hour which ends around 11.00 pm.  Avoid going into a bar when there is an organised bar crawl inside.  The bar prices will be inflated as the bar owner has to pay the holiday rep.  Bar prices vary but as a rough guide, a local beer is around 1.5 Euros, a shot around 2 Euros and a Cocktail 5 to 7 Euros. 

The police keep a low profile and drunken behaviour is generally well tolerated provided it is good humoured.  Violent behaviour, vandalism, drug possession or theft on the other hand, will get you arrested and may result in a surprisingly harsh prison sentence.  If you behave yourself in Zante you will have no problems from the police or locals at all.  Crime is much less of a problem than here in the UK.  What crime there is usually blamed on migrants from Kosovo and Albania.  You'll see them selling roses and various trinkets around the bars and restaurants.  Tourists make easy target for criminals so take sensible precautions but don't worry about it.  If you just say no to them they will usually walk away and not pester you for the rest of the night. 

See the Nightlife in Laganas, Zante page for more detailed information including a list of clubs and bars in Laganas worth a visit.

Getting Around

On Zante, there is only a limited bus service but taxis are easily available and there is a taxi rank in most resorts.  They are usually good value and quite a bit cheaper than in the UK.  Ask how much it will cost before getting in as there normally is a fixed rate for the popular journeys.  If the fare sounds too much then you are probably being ripped off and all you need to do is say no its too expensive.  If your not one for haggling then try walking off and going back ten minutes later and try a different taxi driver.  Be positive about where you want to go and don't let the taxi driver persuade you that you want to go somewhere else.  Every taxi driver has a relative who runs a taverna, apartments or car rental business and some will try their best to get you there, even if it's in a different place to where you want to go.

The other option is renting a moped.  This is fairly easy to do and there is no shortage of places throughout the island to rent mopeds, quads and motorbikes.  To rent anything over 80cc you will need to have a full motorbike license, anything under 80cc you can rent with a full (car) driving license.  I was happy on an 80cc moped and the cost of fuel is so cheap at around 2 to 4 euros per tank.  Renting a moped will give you the freedom to explore the island whenever you wish. 

Be aware though that helmets are a legal requirement in Zante, anyone stopped by the police without one could be liable for a fine (around 60 euros). Please be aware that if you are involved in an accident and are not wearing a helmet your travel insurance provider is unlikely to pay out.  The problem with the helmet law is that most rental companies only have about 3 helmets compared to the 50 bikes available for rent.  Most visitors just don't bother to wear one and police only stop you if your riding like an idiot or they are short of money.  To ensure a helmet is available shop around, not only can this save you money but means that you have the safety of a helmet. 

Drink driving is also illegal in Zante with heavy penalties if caught.  Laganas beach has a bit of a drink driving problem with so many night clubbers and so few police, people take the risk and use mopeds to transport themselves from club to club and back to the hotel at the end of the nights session drinking.  This can make the main road to the beach hazardous and with limited paving areas a danger to pedestrians. I would not recommend taking small children into Laganas at night.

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