ZAKYNTHOS

Personally, I went there in April, it wasn’t the season, the weather was cold and places were still closed, however, the island was MAGICAL

I would advise going not in the very high season (as I always advise) because it would be crowded, everything will need a reservation, and pictures will have tons of people and feet in them instead of the golden sand and Crystel water, I advise to go between the middle of May to end of June

Transportation

Around the island, we rented a car; it is very useful to do so. I am not a fan of car renting but in such islands where some beautiful beaches can be hidden, mountains and views to be seen at exact sunset, and buses don’t work that often then a private ride is a good option.

Get there

1. Fly, there is an airport in Zakynthos (ZTH)

2. Ferry, you can only take it from Kyllini in Greece, which is 287 KM from Athens

How I went:

I used to live in Thessaloniki but the flight was not an option for us we decided to go for a 10-hour bus to Kyllini and then got a ferry which is 1 hour only, and we bought the ticket from the ticket office at the port but you can also check online through the Ioanian group and kefalonian lines. Then we picked up our car from Zakynthos’s port. Plenty of transportation for one day but it was fun.

As you might know, I am not a hotel person and we were 5 people. We got a beautiful Airbnb (Use the link to get a discount), and it was a family owned guest house, the son and his mother run the place, the atmosphere is so friendly and the mother baked us some cakes after we had dinner in the restaurant. (The picture is the actual view of our rented place)

You can also use Booking.com (get 10% back on your booking by using this link), they offer plenty of apartments but also hostels, hotels and all kinds of accommodation.

1. Shipwreck Beach, Navagio, there is nothing like it.

First got to the shipwreck view, be amazed how this beach has been created and watch it from the very top. Next day go to the beach with a boat, enjoy the fantastic beach with the wrecked ship in it and look up see where you were standing the day before.

I have swum in the coldest water in my life but didn’t care for one second after seeing how crystal the water was and how amazing the entire scene looked.

 THE BEACH WAS OURS.

As I mentioned we went in April, no tourists, no people interested to swim in while it was less than 20 Celcius degree, but we were, most of us thought we will never have the chance to come to this magical place again, so we tried our best to find a boat to take us there, we got our private boat, the beach was completely empty and waiting for us, and the sweetest guide on the boat showed us the around. About the caves, don’t forget to see them too, and you can also Kayak there. 

2. The center around the port

It is a nice walk for the evening, they have some taverns and shops, we used to drive there to get what we needed as the rest of the island was mainly beaches and resorts, I hope the time you go there, things would be more open.

3. Porto Vromi Beach

The way to it, the views, the nature, everything. It’s tricky to go down, kind of deep slope but when you get there you'll know why people talked about it, we couldn’t swim there, the water was even colder than the first beach but managed to stay for a while, enjoying the breeze.

4. Go hiking, and get lost between beaches

We went for a small hike in the mountains, saw the castle up the hill and discovered around. The more interesting was getting lost between beaches, along the way, if you see a nice beach, stop, dig in, have an apple and hit back on the road, it was a pleasure and fantastic experience.

Zante is famous for its Caretta Caretta  (the sea-turtles) many people go to look for them, personally, I haven't seen any and they told us it is not the season.
I know some people who have seen only one for seconds, so if you are planning to go for the turtles, make your search well to not be disappointed.