- DESTINATION Greece
Zante (Zakynthos)
Zante (Zakynthos) or according to the Venetians the “Flower of the Levant” of the island in the Heptan Islands of the Ionian Sea.

Zante (Zakynthos) or according to the Venetians the “Flower of the Levant” of the island in the Heptan Islands of the Ionian Sea. Τook its name from the first person who colonized the island, Zakynthos, who was the son of the king of Phrygia, Dardanos. Κnown worldwide as the island of the sea turtle Caretta Caretta.The trademark of Zante is the scenic Navagio (Shipwreck) beach. Only accessible by boat, Navagio beach has magical turquoise waters, white sand and is backed by dramatic towering cliffs. There are many wonderful beaches you should visit, such as Laganas, Gerakas, Vasilikos and Spiantza. he main Town has many hidden gems to explore, Saint Mark Square, the Venetian Castle, Solomos Square and the Post-Byzantine Museum, are some of the best places to visit. Partying, scuba diving, tours, and water sports will keep you entertained during your holidays.
Despite the lack of many buildings over sixty years old thanks to the terrible quake, the island capital still manages to project a certain grandeur and preserve some sense of its former description by the Italians as “the Venice of the East”. It is dominated by the extremely long seafront that extends in angular fashion from the main port with its wide open quay to the squat pre-quake church of Agios Nikolaos tou Molou at the northern end. An almost unbroken string of cafes, restaurants, the odd hotel and a bunch of travel agencies, this is the town’s hub by day or night, with just a couple of commercial streets running parallel inland to rival it. The vast modern church of Agios Dionysios abuts a sizeable park towards the southern end. The delightful murals that cover the whole interior are well worth a peek, although you might find the collection of ecclesiastical garments and paraphernalia in the attached museum a little too, well, Orthodox, for the casual visitor.
Just inland from Agios Nikolaos tou Molou, the huge square of Agios Dionysios is dominated by the island’s unmissable Byzantine Museum, now known as the Museum of Zakynthos, at the rear end: as well as containing some important works of iconography by members of the Ionian School of Painting and fantastic murals from Agios Andreas church in Volimes, perhaps the most moving exhibit is the pre-quake model of the town. Towards the sea, an attractive statue of Eleftheria (the island’s very own Statue of Liberty) is inscribed with a stanza from Solomos’ Hymn to Liberty. The back end of the square leads onto a smaller platia named after Agios Markos, surrounded by cafes and restaurants and home to the pleasant Solomos Museum, dedicated to its namesake and other prominent Zakynthians.
Other attractions include the quiet Repara district north of Agiou Markou Square but don’t let the signs to the town beach get your hopes up – it’s a pretty dull patch of stony sand. Towering two kilometres above the town is the suburb of Bohali, where you can visit the sturdy remains of the castle and enjoy brilliant views across the concrete jungle and bay to the outline of the Vassilikos Peninsula.
Unsurprisingly, Zakynthos Town offers the classiest range, if not the greatest number, of accommodations and restaurants on the island. It’s a good place to base yourself for touring the island and the only base if you’re relying on the skeletal bus service. the stand-out place to stay is the Palatino. The best restaurant in the vicinity of the capital is Malanos, tucked on a quiet cul-de-sac in the suburb of Kipi, off the Kalamaki road. The traditional food is superb and there is live acoustic music at weekends and nightly in peak season. For a posh and somewhat expensive fish blowout, head for Komis in the corner of the quay, which serves fresh seafood of all kinds, including some of the more unusual dishes such as sea urchin and razor clams. Best of the many restaurants that line the long seafront is Varkarola, which does good lunch deals and has nightly traditional kantades (folk ballads).
On the opposite, north side of Zakynthos Town, it is barely 4km to the conjoined resort of Tsilivi and Planos. If you can work out where one ends and the other ends, you deserve a prize. The truth is there’s nothing much to write home about in either of them but they do form the gateway to some pleasant little beaches just to the north, such as Pachys Ammos and Drossia. Although the most direct route to the region is via the main road north and inland from the capital, it is far nicer to follow the coastal road out of town and up round the promontory of Akrotiri, where the eponymous restaurant offers a spectacular view.
Further down the relentlessly rugged and mountainous western side of Zakynthos, a couple of monasteries and handful of villages stand out. The monasteries are those of Agios Georgios ton Kremnon and the more rewarding Anafonitria, which boasts some fifteenth-century frescoes, a few kilometres further south. Villages worth a peak include Orthonies, Agios Leon and, most notably Kiliomeno, home to the imposing church of Agios Nikolaos.
In 2000 the Zakynthos National Marine Park (ZNMP) was created to save the endangered Mediterranean loggerhead turtle known as caretta-caretta. The turtles have been laying their eggs in Laganas Bay since antiquity and the beaches of Zakynthos are their last stronghold. Despite good intentions the ZNMP received little funding from the ministry of the environment, public works and urban planning and battled with greedy locals who saw the protection of the turtles as an obstacle to developing the beaches for tourism. Although the beaches have been protected to some extent and restrictions imposed on construction and the speed of boats within the bay, these rules are all too often flaunted.
Where to head next?
Keep exploring the best of Greece! After Zakynthos, the top destinations to visit are Kefalonia, Ithaca, and Lefkada.

Agalas Sunset Tour

Sunset Cruise

Off Road Zakynthos

Waterpark with Transfer

Popolaros Evening

Kefalonia Highlights

Turtle Island Cruise

Zakynthos Highlights

Greek Style Cruise with Lunch
