Zante - things to see, please
Discussion
The jiffle king said:
It's a few years, but the Zakfari was very good. Avoid Retsina wine and Laganas and the world will be very good.....
Beautiful island, peaceful in the right areas, laganas should be avoided like the plague
T-J-K
Laganas is the only place to go! Cheap drinks, cheaper women and lots of vomit. Brilliant :-)Beautiful island, peaceful in the right areas, laganas should be avoided like the plague
T-J-K
Seriously though, we did a boat trip around the island which was reletivly interesting, a trip across to kefalonia (sp?!) is worth it too because it is beautiful!
Other than these two i was paraletic for the rest of the trip.
gs of either sex? 
Mr Will said:
If the time of year is right then make sure you go swimming with the turtles!
Don't bother with an expensive turtle spotting trip, just wade out from the beach in the late afternoon and they will swim over to investigate you!
I found Laganas OK....make sure you definitely do a round the Island trip....Don't bother with an expensive turtle spotting trip, just wade out from the beach in the late afternoon and they will swim over to investigate you!
Found these fascinating.....
http://www.zanteguru.com/turtles/turtles.htm
Hire a jeep...head north to Ano Volimes for all your lace/curtains/carpets etc...the road is lined with the things!
Further north are the 'Blue Caves' always worth a look-see...Hire a boat locally in Agios Nikolaos rather than via the tour op as it takes forever to sail there from the South and rounding the headland can be pretty scary if the sea is choppy so choose a fairly substantial craft!
Don't bother with the 'shipwreck'...it really isn't. Just a purposly beached rusty old coaster half buried in sand that every Man U. fan has inscribed their initials upon and nothing much else.
Head South west from there towards Kampi...this is where a 4x4 comes into its own as you traverse the mountain track.
At the top is a restaurant and a magnificent marble cross erected in memory of those islanders thrown to their deaths from the cliff tops by the occupying German forces during WWII.
Best sunset spot on the island...take your camera!
Further north are the 'Blue Caves' always worth a look-see...Hire a boat locally in Agios Nikolaos rather than via the tour op as it takes forever to sail there from the South and rounding the headland can be pretty scary if the sea is choppy so choose a fairly substantial craft!
Don't bother with the 'shipwreck'...it really isn't. Just a purposly beached rusty old coaster half buried in sand that every Man U. fan has inscribed their initials upon and nothing much else.
Head South west from there towards Kampi...this is where a 4x4 comes into its own as you traverse the mountain track.
At the top is a restaurant and a magnificent marble cross erected in memory of those islanders thrown to their deaths from the cliff tops by the occupying German forces during WWII.
Best sunset spot on the island...take your camera!
I went back in 1995-ish and thought it was quite lovely. It's small-enough that you could just about cover the entire island in a Suzuki jeep-thing over the course of a week.
We took 2 boat trips. 1st one went round half of the island clockwise. The 2nd one went round half of the island anti-clockwise. Both started from the same point. One of the boat trips took us to that beached ship. That beach is very white, and despite the extremely hot weather, the water was exceptionally cold. People enjoyed a bit of rock climbing there too.
Laganas wasn't so bad, but we went out of season - in fact I recall we went a little after Easter. I'd walk to the beach in the morning, stop to buy a cup of chopped fruit, and a bottle of water on the way back. It was quite peaceful.
The Suzukis were knackered but tough. They must suffer at the hands of very many tourists. Both of ours (I was in a party of 8) had lost any ability to self-centre, so going round a corner involved winding OFF the steering. The first time you discover this is amusing in a "close to death" manner. But they were tough. A road in the mountains ended up being made from nothing more than millions of half house bricks, but the Suzis made it up there (you could see the airport which was many miles away from up there).
The only thing I dislike about Greece though is its plumbing. I don't like putting toilet paper in a bag by the toilet because the plumbing can't cope with it.
We took 2 boat trips. 1st one went round half of the island clockwise. The 2nd one went round half of the island anti-clockwise. Both started from the same point. One of the boat trips took us to that beached ship. That beach is very white, and despite the extremely hot weather, the water was exceptionally cold. People enjoyed a bit of rock climbing there too.
Laganas wasn't so bad, but we went out of season - in fact I recall we went a little after Easter. I'd walk to the beach in the morning, stop to buy a cup of chopped fruit, and a bottle of water on the way back. It was quite peaceful.
The Suzukis were knackered but tough. They must suffer at the hands of very many tourists. Both of ours (I was in a party of 8) had lost any ability to self-centre, so going round a corner involved winding OFF the steering. The first time you discover this is amusing in a "close to death" manner. But they were tough. A road in the mountains ended up being made from nothing more than millions of half house bricks, but the Suzis made it up there (you could see the airport which was many miles away from up there).
The only thing I dislike about Greece though is its plumbing. I don't like putting toilet paper in a bag by the toilet because the plumbing can't cope with it.
Mars said:
I went back in 1995-ish and thought it was quite lovely. It's small-enough that you could just about cover the entire island in a Suzuki jeep-thing over the course of a week.
We took 2 boat trips. 1st one went round half of the island clockwise. The 2nd one went round half of the island anti-clockwise. Both started from the same point. One of the boat trips took us to that beached ship. That beach is very white, and despite the extremely hot weather, the water was exceptionally cold. People enjoyed a bit of rock climbing there too.
Laganas wasn't so bad, but we went out of season - in fact I recall we went a little after Easter. I'd walk to the beach in the morning, stop to buy a cup of chopped fruit, and a bottle of water on the way back. It was quite peaceful.
The Suzukis were knackered but tough. They must suffer at the hands of very many tourists. Both of ours (I was in a party of 8) had lost any ability to self-centre, so going round a corner involved winding OFF the steering. The first time you discover this is amusing in a "close to death" manner. But they were tough. A road in the mountains ended up being made from nothing more than millions of half house bricks, but the Suzis made it up there (you could see the airport which was many miles away from up there).
The only thing I dislike about Greece though is its plumbing. I don't like putting toilet paper in a bag by the toilet because the plumbing can't cope with it.
You don't HAVE to...but it is a sure fire way of 'getting your own back' if you neglect to!We took 2 boat trips. 1st one went round half of the island clockwise. The 2nd one went round half of the island anti-clockwise. Both started from the same point. One of the boat trips took us to that beached ship. That beach is very white, and despite the extremely hot weather, the water was exceptionally cold. People enjoyed a bit of rock climbing there too.
Laganas wasn't so bad, but we went out of season - in fact I recall we went a little after Easter. I'd walk to the beach in the morning, stop to buy a cup of chopped fruit, and a bottle of water on the way back. It was quite peaceful.
The Suzukis were knackered but tough. They must suffer at the hands of very many tourists. Both of ours (I was in a party of 8) had lost any ability to self-centre, so going round a corner involved winding OFF the steering. The first time you discover this is amusing in a "close to death" manner. But they were tough. A road in the mountains ended up being made from nothing more than millions of half house bricks, but the Suzis made it up there (you could see the airport which was many miles away from up there).
The only thing I dislike about Greece though is its plumbing. I don't like putting toilet paper in a bag by the toilet because the plumbing can't cope with it.
Many years ago (early 90s)I stayed at Kalamaki, which was a quiet resort next to Laganas. I enjoyed it there and saw the turtles heads bobbing in the sea. From memory, part of the Kalamaki beach was fenced off during egg-laying season.
I hired a trials bike for a few days and went all round the Island...was good fun too
I hired a trials bike for a few days and went all round the Island...was good fun too
Thanks all - keep 'em coming. Any recommendations for actual companies to do boat tours / jeep hire with?
What I can't seem to find out is whether the turtles will be swimming about in the sea in October (I know they won't be laying). It would be nice to at least see one paddling about, even if you're not allowed to come within x metres of them.
What I can't seem to find out is whether the turtles will be swimming about in the sea in October (I know they won't be laying). It would be nice to at least see one paddling about, even if you're not allowed to come within x metres of them.
When I went some years ago we stayed in Alikes (opposite end of the island from Laganas). Back then it was quite small with a nice quiet beach and a few decent bars and restaurants. Would also recommend going to see the blue caves and there is a boat that goes from very near where they are, I think it's close to a lighthouse but I could well be wrong!
Doesn't take very long to go around the island on a moped but I would suggest a 4x4.
We had a hire car that we took on the ferry to the mainland in order to go and see Olympia. Easily done in a day and well worth it.
Doesn't take very long to go around the island on a moped but I would suggest a 4x4.
We had a hire car that we took on the ferry to the mainland in order to go and see Olympia. Easily done in a day and well worth it.
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