Zante

This year's summer holiday was in Zakynthos or what is commonly known as Zante.

When Kelly and I booked this holiday, we were totally unaware of Zante's reputation as a bit of a clubbing resort. We were staying north in the island away from the hustle and bustle of Laganas in a quiet coastal village called Alykes.

I took my Nikon Zf and my trusty 40mm ƒ2 and the 50mm ƒ1.8

Alykes

Alykes was our base whilst in Zante. It was a quiet village with a few hotels, apartment blocks, shops and restuarants. Along the road where our apartment was, there was a gang of cats that Kelly enjoyed feeding as we walked past on an evening.

A white apartment building with balconies, olive trees in the forecourt and mountains behind.

Portamitis apartments

A white apartment building with balconies behind a paved forecourt, hills rising behind. A Greek flag and a Union flag on poles beside a wooden fence. White wooden chairs and a table on a shaded terrace, under vines and orange flowers. A rusting yellow JCB digger standing in long grass. A small white house with a red tiled roof and blue shutters, behind overgrown grass. The rear of a rusted yellow Datsun pickup truck parked under a tree. A wrought iron gate in a stone wall, with bougainvillea growing over the entrance.
A white and tabby cat crouching on a stone wall.

There were stray cats all around our apartment.

A quiet residential street with houses either side and mountains beyond.

Zakynthos

After foolishly leaving my phone on the bus that transferred us from the airport to our accommodation, I had to go retrieve it. The most cost effective way to do this was to hire a car. The airport is near to the largest city on the island called Zakynthos.

A yacht propped up on the quayside of a marina. A small white boat on turquoise water, with the harbour town behind. A focacceria with red shutters, and people sitting at tables outside. Two people looking at a souvenir shop under an archway, goods hung outside. A red and white corner building with awnings, souvenir stalls set out beneath. A stone church bell tower with a clock face, market stalls below. A green-framed window with old shutters, and a wooden table and chairs on the terrace. A colonnaded arcade with hanging lanterns, people walking through. Road signs in Greek and English pointing to the airport and the port. A turquoise beach buggy parked on the harbour front. A yellow Levante Ferries catamaran on the water off a low shoreline.

Myzithres

Myzithres was a scenic view we stopped at on our way to dinner one evening in the hire car. The view was great from the vantage point and also had a small cafe where we had a drink.

A café terrace built out over the edge of a high sea cliff. Two limestone sea stacks rising out of deep blue water.

Blue Caves & Agios Nikolaos

We went to visit the blue caves at the north of the island. Here people would jump in off the rocks. We spent a few hours here before heading back to Agios Nikolaos for lunch.

Three people sitting on rocks beside a diving board above clear water.
People eating at a beachside taverna under an awning, with an islet beyond.

We ate lunch at a lovely restaurant on the sea-front.

Small boats with canopies moored in a shallow bay below a scrubby hillside. Children playing in clear shallow water, with boats moored further out. A busy beach and bay seen past a prickly pear in the foreground. Two women standing on a promenade above a bay, with an islet offshore. A couple looking out to sea from a taverna terrace shaded by trees. An old David Brown tractor parked in front of a rough stone wall.

Turtle Island

When we arrived at Zakynthos, we saw lots of turtle related souvenirs and merch so I was excited to seek out a trip. In the local town where we were staying, there was an operator that offered a trip to see an island where turtles nested.

We set off from a port on the south which was very busy with tourists and boat operators all carrying out the same trip. As soon as we set off on the boat, we approached a couple of other boats that had found a turtle. The boats circled the poor turtle. It must have been scared with the noise and movement. This was the only turtle we saw on the entire trip but I was honestly happy about that as I didn't want it to be hunted like this again.

A loggerhead turtle surfacing in green water.

The only shot I got of the poor turtle.

Passengers sitting on the open deck of a boat, with a Greek flag behind them. A yellow excursion boat pulled up to a beach with passengers on board. A motor cruiser under way, throwing up a wake. Small boats on turquoise water beneath white cliffs and a sea cave. A passenger photographing the cliffs from a boat, with a Greek flag flying. Passengers on a boat passing close beneath white limestone cliffs.
Photoset Zante Greece Holiday