24 hours in Zakynthos!
From the first time I landed in Zakynthos in 2015, I promised myself I would visit the island some day. That some day turned out to be 9 years later, but I finally got to visit this beautiful island that I had often admired from above, full of green mountains, high cliffs and crystal blue water.
So it finally happened, I had a two days off and saw direct flights to Zakynthos two days in a row, giving me exactly 24 hours to explore the island!
I landed in Zakynthos around 4pm and walked directly to the scooter rental where I had booked a scooter online. Turned out in Greece, with a foreign driver’s licence, to rent a 50cc scooter you need to have a A1 licence, the B isn’t sufficient. However, with my B driver’s licence I was able to rent a quad, which turned out the best thing I could have wished for to explore the island!
So off I went, trying to get a hang of driving a quad and finding my hotel in Argassi which was on a 30 minute drive from the airport, on a lovely mountain road south of the Zakynthos Town.
On my way I spotted some donkeys and I realized my 24 hour Zakynthos adventure had officially started. I checked in, dropped my luggage and went out again with a plan: Eating pita gyros on the beach during sunset. Then headed to a rooftop terrace to have a cocktail and then returned to the hotel. The day after I had a big roadtrip planned. After all, I wanted to see most of the island in just one day!
The next day I woke up early and just started driving. Stopped at a lovely cafe next to the mountain road to have a Freddo Cappuccino, a typically Greek beverage and just gives a kickstart to the day!
At 9am I arrived at the turtle sanctuary which was really lovely. Very informative and lots of turtles to see from close-up. I didn’t spend more than half an hour there though, still had a lot to explore!
I turned around to find my way to the port, via the Laganas, which is the most touristy (and loud) area of the island, wouldn’t really recommend to go there, unless you’re coming here to party with other tourists.
At the port I had only one goal: find the famous turtle that’s often found in the port as there is a fisherman who feeds him. I was super lucky because as I arrived, the huge turtle was there for about 15 minutes, after which he swam away and many other people who arrived after me didn’t have the chance to see him.
I then passed by the olive press museum which was cute to see, tasted some bread with delicious olive oil and then continued to Keri to find the Myzithres rocks. I did stop on the way for a milkshake at the Windmill Taverna which was the cutest little place with a beautiful view!
I parked the quad near the Keri Lighthouse Restaurant, where you also find the largest Greek flag in the world. I then walked for about 15 minutes to the viewpoint of the Mizithres rocks. It was on top of the cliff and it was breathtaking. The colors of the sea on photos and videos don’t do justice. You just have to see it!!!
After walking back to the quad, I had about an hour drive ahead of me to reach Porto Steniti. Wow, wow, wow, the cutest little ”fjord”, it’s quite an isolated location so it wasn’t too crowded. I took a swim there and relaxed a bit getting some tan on!
I then drove further up north to find the shipwreck beach, but as I arrived to the parking lot, it turned out that for the year 2024 it was decided not to allow any visitors to the shipwreck beach, neither from sea nor from the viewpoint up on the cliff. A pity, but it did give me time to drive a longer way back to the airport and have another Greek lunch at a town called Alykanas.
It was around 16:00 when I started to head back to the airport, to leave the quad, take some gyros for my colleagues and hop on the plane back home!
An amazing 24 hours in Zakynthos and I’m sure I will be back soon! Lots of things left undiscovered!
