General Information:

Zakynthos, commonly called Zante by the past poets, is the southern and third biggest island belonging to the Ionian group of islands.

It covers an area of 405 squared kilometres where a bit more than 35.000 inhabitants live and is located 300 km west from Athens and 9,5 marine miles from the Peloponnese coast from where it is reachable by a regular ferry service.

Zakynthos, island of big contrasts for the presence of golden beaches and massive rocky coasts, benefits from a Mediterranean temperate climate with mild winters and cool summers; the generous winter rains favour the growth of thick vegetation and assure a remarkable water reserve.

That is why the island is very “green” and in the past both Homer and the Venetian rulers used to call it “wooded” and “Levant flower”.

The very warm waters that wash the coast favour a particularly long tourist season (from May till the end of October) made Zakynthos an object of international interest especially because in the southern part of the island the CARETTA-CARETTA turtles breed; they are a rare specimen protected by the Greek legislation with a new marine park. 

Along the rocky, western coasts the seals Monachus Monachus breed too and they are also protected by the local administrative authorities. 

In addition to the wonderful natural landscape, Zakynthos offers the possibility to visit numerous deserted small islands that surround it like Pelouzo and Marathonissi in the Lagana's Bay, St. John in front of Porto Vromi and the Strofades. 

The latter are two small islands 27 nautical miles south from Zakynthos which are part of the marine park due to their beauty.

In the last years the island has undergone a progressive development to offer tourists modern infrastructures keeping its traditional aspect still visible both in the restaurants along the seashore and the small villages in the outback; this traditional aspect of the past together with the joy of life and hospitality of its inhabitants will touch you from the very first day.