Get in your car and drive! The bits of Zakynthos you won’t see from your sunbed
August 15, 2012 
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Subscribe to the RSS FeedDespite the popularity of its gorgeous beaches, the Greek island of Zakynthos has plenty more to offer when you’re ready to peel yourself off the sunlounger. Hiring a car is likely to be a good option if you want to explore the island, as public buses only run a few times a day and the cost of taxis can add up. Here are a few of the places I’d recommend around Zante that you can easily reach by car if you fancy a half day exploring more of what the island can offer.
St Denis Church in Zante town, Zakynthos, Greece
See the sights of Zante town
If you arrive on the island by ferry from the mainland, Zante Town will probably be your starting point, or if you are based in one of the beach resorts it’s worth taking a look around the island’s capital. The shops are normally open in the morning, close after lunch and then re-open in the late afternoon and evening. During shop opening hours parking is at a premium but the atmosphere is more lively. If you prefer things a little quieter then visit Zante Town when the shops are closed.
The harbour frontage is full of interest and the road is busy with a constant stream of tooting cars and motorbikes as the locals go about their business. At one end of town, close to St Mark’s Square, is the long pier where the cruise ships dock. I’d recommend walking right to the end of this pier to admire the yachts from all over the world, from beautiful wooden boats to the glitzy gin palaces chartered by some wealthy Russian businessman. You’ll probably see a lone fisherman at the end and there’s a pleasant small taverna where you can get a good lunch.
From this end of town you can walk right along the harbour front and see the fishing boats with their yellow nets, moored up in the morning selling their catch direct from the boat. At the other end of town is the church of St Denis, richly decorated with frescos and golden icons. St Denis is the patron saint of the island and in a small chapel to the fight of the altar is his silver tomb which is opened twice a day in summer to reveal his mummified body and allow pilgrims to kiss his feet. Beside the church there’s also an ecclesiastical museum full of beautifully embroidered robes, painted icons and figured silverware from monasteries around the island.
Back at St Mark’s square, you’ll find plenty of cafes waiting to invite you in, as this is prime tourist spot but I prefer to walk down the main street and find the smaller cafes in the side streets where the locals go for a hot cheese pies or a selection of glika, the honey drenched sweet pasties that the Greeks serve with tiny cups of strong, sweet Greek coffee. In the side streets you’ll find several shops that make and sell the traditional nougat of sesame seeds, almonds and honey as well as other local sweets, wines and olive oil. The museum in St Mark’s square is also worth a look if you’d like to see beautiful religious art and icons that were saved from the terrible earthquake of 1953.
Take your car and drive up to Bohali, the cliff that’s set above the town overlooking the harbour where you can sit on the terrace in one of the cafes with a frappe to admire the view or visit the Venetian fort on the hill top.
Zante town is a good alternative location to the airport to pick up your hire car if you’ve booked through a car hire comparison search engine like Carrentals.co.uk, who provided our hire car.
Machairado in Zakynthos Left: Oenolpi Winery, Right: Sigouros Pottery
Wine tasting and pottery at Machairado
From Zante town you can drive out on the road to Machairado and within 15 minutes (if you don’t get lost or miss the turning) you’ll find a couple of other interesting places to visit;
When I’m on Zakynthos I aways stop in at the Oenolpi winery run by Timotheos and Christina-Maria, who have started a boutique winery that you can see from the road. Their wines mix local grape varieties and mainstream varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, and the estate also includes olive trees and Korinthian grapes for raisins. They are happy to show visitors the modern winery and they also have wine for tasting in the front reception area, although if you’re a serious wine coinesseur you may want to ring ahead to be sure they’ll be there.
I can recommend the delicious Augostoustiatis Liastos wine, with concentrated sugars and alcohol made with the local Augostoustiatis grapes which are harvested and then laid outside on a cloth to be ‘burnt’ in the sun, giving it the Liastos name, ideal to be drunk at the end of a meal with coffee or desert.
A little way down the road there’s the Sigouros Pottery Workshop where painted pottery is made that’s also sold in their shop on the main street in Zante town. I’ve been collecting the Sigouros pottery over the years and I love the soft colours and abstract motifs inspired by the natural beauty of Zakynthos, with blue fish, green olives, lemons and pommegranates, that grow everywhere on the island.
At the workshop you’ll find the shop downstairs and upstairs the owner and potter, Sigouros Golemis is working at the window at his potter’s wheel. You can see the pottery laid out to dry and waiting to be painted before it’s fired in the kiln in the garden. We watched Sigouros as he threw pot after pot, and then an equally skilled lady etched the designs onto the bowls ready for painting. There are plenty of wonderful painted bowls and jugs but even if you don’t have much room in your luggage a mug or small dish will make a unique hand-made souvenir from your stay on Zante.
After visiting Oenolpi winery or the Sigouros pottery it’s worth driving on the the village of Machairado itself where there are a few small cafes to get a feel for life on the island well away from the tourist resorts.
Zante Water Village at Sarakinado on Zakynthos
The Water-park at Sarakinado
Not too far from Machairado and a complete contrast from the gentle pleasures of wine and painted pottery is the adrenelin inducing Zante Water Village at Sarakinado. This could be the place if you have older children who will enjoy the five or so different water-slides. There’s a lazy river and a shallow octopus lagoon for little children with several snack bars, but it’s not a problem for you to take your own snacks and water if you’re watching the budget. The park is all outdoors and there is plenty of room to relax on a sun-lounger in the shade of an olive tree while the kids exhaust themselves.
The cost is 18 Euros for over 12s and 14 Euros for under 12s and it will probably suit older children, as little ones will be just as happy pottering about on the beach or by the hotel pool. There are excursions arranged to the water park from many resorts, but having a hire car will mean that you have the flexibility to arrive and leave as it suits you.
Porto Limnionas, Zakynthos, Greece
Rock swimming at Porto Limnionas
If you are a lover of natural swimming rather than the artificial thrills of waterparks, then you will love Porto Limnionas, on the rocky, arid north-west coast of Zakynthos. You will definitely need a car to find this place, driving through the mountain villages where you can see the old stone houses from before the earthquake. Driving through the scrub and pines, stunted in the wind and blackened by forest fires, you’ll see the cliffs and sea ahead of you and reach a car park with a taverna overlooking an inlet of turquoise blue sea. Here paths have been made down to the sea where you swim from the platform of rocks or can jump from the concrete structures. There are no sandy shallows here, so it’s not really suitable for younger children, but you can swim across the inlet and snorkel by the sea caves or jump off the rocks on the opposite side. Below the taverna are sun terraces laid out where you can hire a sun-bed and order drinks from the bar or go up and have lunch or snacks on the terrace. This was my new discovery from my recent trip and one of my favourite places to swim on the island.
St Denis Monastery near Volimes Zante
The Monasteries to the north of Zakynthos
I highly recommend that on your driving tour of Zakynthos, you spend some time in the northern part of the island where the landscape becomes barren and covered with gorse and wild thyme. The main village in this area is Volimes, known for its honey and lace-making where you’ll see hand-made lace tablecloths and bedspreads for sale, hung outside many of the houses and shops. This is also the location of the well known St Denis monastery or Monastery of Theotokos Anafonitria where St Denis, the archbishop and patron saint of the island lived in the 16th century. You enter the walled courtyard with its defensive bell tower, through a stone archway to reach the small church. The 15th century church is quite bare apart for some painted frescoes, the decorative altar screen and the painting of St Denis. There is also a golden icon of the Madonna and child, with gold jewellery left by those who no doubt had their prayers answered.
Further along the road is the monastery of St Georgios Krimnon built of stone with a defensive tower, church and cloisters, with large church bells hanging from the olive trees outside. If you plan to visit these monasteries or any churches on the island, you should plan to be modestly dressed, ladies covering your shoulders and knees and men wearing long trousers. In the northern part of the island, you’ll also find the viewpoint for Smuggler’s cove or Navagio, with the rusty old wreck on the sand. The beach is only accessible by boat and is one of the most photographed beaches in Greece, so this is the chance to get that iconic postcard shot.
Beautiful Beaches of the south
From the rocky north of Zakynthos island you’ll want to explore the Eastern and South coasts where many beautiful beaches are to be found. Some of these are accessible by local bus, but you’ll have more flexibility on your timings and access more if you have a car. My favourite beaches in this part of the island are;
Gerakas beach is located on the south-east corner of the island and protected from development because of the loggerhead or Caretta Caretta turtles that nest here. The land above the beach is undeveloped and sun loungers are kept away from the turtle nests that are marked with wooden cages. At the top of the path down to the beach are a couple of bars and tavernas where you can have a nice lunch or drink in the shade. Visit the turtle information centre at Gerakas, run by Earth Sea and Sky organisation, for more information about how to interact with the turtles in a responsible way that preserves them for the future.
Dafni beach is another gorgeous beach to visit but you do need a car to get there down the the steep and winding dirt road. The beach is a turtle nesting site and as the sun loungers are kept at the back of the beach, there’s a wide expanse of warm send to enjoy. With warm shallow water, this is an ideal beach for families, so long as you don’t mind the steep drive down and when we were there some of the beach bars don’t charge for their sunbeds so long as you buy drinks and snacks at their bar.
Beaches in Zakynthos Hover for more details
Porto Zoro is a smaller beach with easy road access near Vassilikos with a couple of beach bars, one a traditional taverna and the other a trendy beach bar. The thing that has drawn us back to this beach are the large rocks at the end that are perfect for swimming around and snorkeling.
Vassilikos beach is one of the longest beaches on the south-east part of the island and can be accessed from different places along the coast road. At one end is a stone taverna, half way along a trendy beach bar and at the far end is Banana beach, where there’s a watersports centre and you can hire jetskis or go paragliding. This is a long beach backed by dunes where you can get away from the crowds if you want.
Car Rentals on Zakynthos
If you want to seek out the hidden spots on Zakynthos where the tourists don’t normally go, then you will need to hire a car and we booked ours through the car hire comparison search engine, Carrentals.co.uk . On their website you can search for the best car hire deals on-line from suppliers such as Europcar, Hertz, Avis, Thrifty, Sixt, Alamo, and Carhire3000 and they offer in-house customer support should you have any problems. Thanks to Carrentals.co.uk for providing our hire car while we were on Zante.
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