I went to Zante for a week in June 09, staying in St Nicholas, a
little port in the north east of the island, at a bed and breakfast advertised
in a Daily Telegraph article the previous autumn. I was travelling solo, and
spent about 600 euro all inclusive. St Nicholas will provide for most of your
holiday needs and has a supermarket and restaurants, plus a little beach, although the beach
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| Panorama Studios |
isn’t
the best, and you’ll have to travel southwards to the east coast for more
substantial beaches, or get the boat to ‘Navagio’ beach. Don’t rely on public
transport either, the bus service is decidedly non-regular. I had to get a taxi
up the coast the first night after being dumped at the last hotel for airline
passengers up the east coast. If you’re in the north east, you stay there for
the holiday unless you hire a car.
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| St Nicholas - just down the road from Panorama |
Zante, or Zakynthos, is a small island off the west coast of
Greece just south of its larger neighbour, Kefalonia of Captain Corelli’s
Mandarin fame. It’s greener than its cousins in the Aegean with the ubiquitous
olive trees covering the landscape. It is small enough to do in a day by car to
get a good overview of the island, although it would be a whistle-stop tour
often on minor and isolated roads. The
main action takes place on the east and south side of the island which have the
lion’s share of the settlement, whilst the north and west coasts are far more
isolated. If you don’t like being with lots of Brits abroad it’s probably
better to avoid the south and find yourself a quieter spot up north as I did,
or perhaps somewhere like Keri on the south coast which is very attractive but further
away from the crowds. The famous Shipwreck beach, ‘Navagio,’ is worth a visit
but is at the northern end of the island and only accessible by boat, so unless
you have a private yacht you have to make do with catching a local boat from a
nearby port like St Nicholas. As far as beaches generally go, if you are a sun
worshipper your best bet is the east and south coasts, from what I saw the west
coast is hilly, craggy and indented, although we did find at least one stretch
of beach. The eastern and southern parts of the island are relatively flat
whilst the northern and western parts are quite hilly so bear that in mind if
you are cycling or motoring.
Day out at Shipwreck Beach
Where is my boat back home? I mused as I observed the dwindling
souls on the beach. Out of the myriad of boats that had disgorged their
sun-worshippers throughout the day, I had managed to miss the one that might
have returned me to civilisation, although I hadn’t spotted it! That sinking
feeling was not just with the anchors out there in the bay. Shipwreck Beach on Zante is a top ten spot to get
marooned, a semi-circle of white limestone cliffs, sentries to a curve of
volcanic sand sloping into an impossibly translucent blue sea. Nevertheless,
there is only so much swimming, sunbathing and clambering over the ochre and
brown tinted rust bucket of a wreck you can do in one day. Not being Spiderman,
I couldn’t ascend those cliffs. A pleading call for help to one of the young
boatmen from another port soon yielded a telephone call on my behalf; the
afternoon was crowned with the sight of the fastest response craft I’d seen
that day shooting into sight like a swimmer out of a waterchute, all for my
benefit, notwithstanding the fact that when we were nearly home, the engine
conked out and we limped into port like Popeye back from an afternoon out with
Olive.
Note – boats from St
Nicholas will take you up round the northern coast and drop you at the beach
for about an hour, then pick you up. I did this at least twice. When they got
to know me they offered to drop me off for a longer period, but there was a
communication breakdown and thus the story above!
Trip to
Kefalonia.
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| Kefalonia shoreline |
A ferry trip to Kefalonia
on clunking Angela from the port of St Nicholas (Agios Nikolaos), just down the road from my very cosy bougainvillea strewn, red tiled
bed and breakfast (Panorama Studios), yielded a taxi ride to Argostoli; the
pretty capital of Kefalonia, sprawls around the substantial harbour surrounded
by green mountains. Sharing with a Belgian couple cut the price, but I resisted
the offer of a 90 euro whistle-stop tour of the island, and lazed the rest of
the afternoon in a delightful cove encased in a half drum of rock, enjoying the
kaleidoscope of greens and blues lapping the shoreline.
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| Kefalonia - south shoreline |
Holiday highlight
On my return ferry ride I
managed to acquire a further two companions in the shape of an American lady
and a South African man, who proved to possess the very thing I had left in
Blighty, a driving license. He invited me to join him in exploring Zante for a
day; the only thing that cast a blot on the landscape was the truly medieval
and agricultural specimen that they hired us for 30 euro, a rude blast from the
early nineties. Yet despite its appearance we were able to cruise the lush green hills and
valleys of northern Zante, spotting the odd snake skin on the road, and checking
out the view of Shipwreck Beach from the top of the cliff. Carving Zante in two as we cruised across the northern hills, we
motored down the main road into Zakynthos, a road with more petrol stations per
km than anywhere else on earth. In Zakynthos my friend checked the ferry times
and we motored swiftly on. The road took us to Gerakas Beach in the
south east, one of the finest on the island, and a turtle sanctuary, then south
west to Keri village amidst its sumptuous olive tree and vineyard covered green
hills. Via a snug
snorkelling spot on the west coast we progressed on to
sleepy Exo Chora, hidden in the verdant western hills, site of the oldest olive
tree in the world, and stopping off point for Iron Maiden when their bus once
broke down! Sit
in the centre of the village and enjoy a chilled coffee. This was all capped by a visit to Kambi on the wild rocky west coast to
bid the day goodbye with a glorious sunset, before a welcome evening meal back
at La Storia in Agios Nikolaos.
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| View of Shipwreck Beach from the top |
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| The oldest olive tree in the world! (supposedly) |
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| Sun sets over Zante Kambi |
Holiday lowpoint:
Getting marooned on Shipwreck Beach after being dropped off in the morning
by a friendly skipper and assured I would be picked up later. Not seeing the
same boat return, the one I was eagerly expecting, virtually the whole fleet of
their boats steamed in through the day and I missed them all. As the massed
crowds disappeared, late afternoon meant the remaining occupants of the beach
could be stuffed into a telephone box. A phone call saved me, and a
supercharged dinghy was sent out to save me.
Top tips:
Excellent, clean accommodation with Stephano at Panorama studios,
25 euro/night for large room with twin beds, self catering facilities, ensuite
shower and toilet facilities and own balcony with super view.
Ferry to Kefalonia about hour and a quarter trip, seven euro each
way leaving at c half nine in morning and returning from Kefalonia at half five
to arrive about 7pm. Taxi or hired car needed at other end as no bus service at
port.
La Storia restaurant in St Nicholas for a truly Greek eating
experience; down salmon and kalamari at a table literally on the beach. Greek
night on a Friday with magical views over the harbour
Shipwreck and Blue caves tours with Actipis cruises, 15 euro for
the round trip stopping at Shipwreck for about an hour, then the Blue Caves for
a swim and an ogle (at the caves!)
NB Prices might need updating, but with Greek crisis they may not
be much different!
Holiday rating: 5/5
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