A Sunny Getaway to Zakinthos

Given how unpredictable the English summer is (and usually not as hot as the heatwave last year), we decided a summer trip somewhere in Southern Europe would be a good idea. Neither Asher or I had been to Greece before so we decided to give a Greek island a go. There are obviously a lot of different islands to choose from but we narrowed our search down to those that we could fly direct to due to a limited amount of time (we have a long trip home to Australia planned in September). Crete was also very high on the list but in the end, we chose Zakinthos for its beautiful beaches and manageable size. With only a 5 day trip, we would barely scratch the surface of Crete!

We had five days in total, flying out on a Friday and returning on a Tuesday. Being an island, there isn’t the same frequency of flights as mainland cities but we managed to find ok Easyjet flights direct from Gatwick to Zakinthos.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon to beautiful sunshine, 29 degrees celsius and a clear sky. Our hotel was in Bochali, and area on a hill above Zakynthos town. We chose the Avalon Hotel for its absolutely amazing view out across the bay and over the town - and the view really did live up to its reviews! This is one of the first hotels I’ve stayed in that is inclusive of not just breakfast but also dinner. While the food wasn’t anything to get too excited about (the usual buffet), the service was great and the experience of sitting on the terrace with such a stunning view felt so far from London.

I set out wanting to really unwind on this holiday and that meant no museums and no shops. This is a rather unusual achievement for me but I actually succeeded! We did wander into the town on the first afternoon to have lunch but otherwise, spent our days beach hopping and relaxing.

The hotel offered a free shuttle to Tsilivi Beach, so we took this up on Saturday. I’m not usually one for spending whole days at the beach but somehow time passes very quickly when you’re relaxing on a lounger under an umbrella with food delivered straight to you. There were a lot of small shops selling inflatables nearby so we decided to buy one and relax in the beautiful, calm water. I was very impressed by the beaches in Zakinthos - the water is the most bright blue and crystal clear that I have ever seen and it’s so amazingly calm. It would be terrible if you’re into surfing or bodyboarding but perfect for swimming and relaxing!

We had pre-booked a private tour for the Saturday evening through AirBnB Experiences. Our tour guide drove us around the island to see the natural landscapes and main towns. The absolute highlight was when we stopped at the cliffs overlooking Navagio, a secluded beach only accessible by boat with a shipwreck on the beach. Our guide had prepared a delicious picnic of Greek food and champagne, which we ate while we watched the sun go down. The scenery is just so stunning. We also revisited this beach on Monday by boat but nothing can compare to the view from the cliff. The tour also took us past a 2000-year-old olive tree and we stopped at an old monastery - somewhat eerie after dark!

Our tour guide had recommended St Nicholas Beach Club to us so we decided to check it out on Sunday. This beach is a bit more upbeat with music than Tsilivi. We hired loungers again and spent several hours relaxing at the beach and swimming. Unfortunately, the service at this beach left a lot to be desired and our lunch never arrived, so we moved on to the neighbouring Banana Beach for lunch, where we sat in the cafe and had an amazing platter of Greek food. I especially enjoyed the zucchini balls!

We hired a car for two days to get around as public transport is limited and taxi fares can be very expensive. This was the first time that I had driven on the right-hand side of the road so it was quite an experience! The roads around Zakinthos are very narrow and winding, requiring a lot of manoeuvring around parked cars, but the low level of traffic made it manageable.

On our final full day, we drive up to the other side of the island to get a boat to the blue caves and Navagio. I’m glad we didn’t pre-book this boat trip - it was really easy to get a ticket for a small boat and definitely preferable to getting on one of the larger boats. The view along the coastline was the best part - there are a lot of caves along the way and the colour of the water is just spectacular. The boat also stopped at Navagio Beach for a swim. The water there is really nice but the huge number of boats going in and out makes it very crowded and frankly, a bit stressful. I would definitely recommend seeing Navagio from the cliffs and avoid the boat ride there. On the way back, we stopped for a quick ten-minute swim near the blue caves and this was much nicer than Navagio. There were hardly any other boats around and the water was once again, so amazing. Asher had brought a snorkel and we could see straight to the bottom of the ocean - no seaweed or anything else to obstruct the view.

After the boat tour, we had lunch at a picturesque cafe by the beach and then made our way to Xigia, a highly rated sulphur beach. There are two sides to Xigia - we initially went down to the wrong one and then drove down the road to the other side. They are both rocky beaches, so quite different to Tsilivi and St Nicholas, which are sand beaches. Xigia is a much smaller beach, so it’s a nice spot to relax without hordes of other tourists and there are also some rocks where you can snorkel.

Before we knew it, the trip was over and it was time to fly back to London. I think we had just the right amount of time relaxing by the beach in Zakinthos but next time, I would like more time away!