One Week in the Ionian Islands: Day 4 – Full Day in Zakynthos

A Week in the Ionian Islands: Day 4 – Full Day on Zakynthos Island

Over the last several posts, we’ve been sharing the itinerary for our Greek sailing trip around the Ionian Islands. For the most part, we visited a new island every day. However, when we drafted the schedule we couldn’t help but feel the island of Zakynthos warranted two days. We were so right! Zakynthos island is so diverse place, you just can’t see everything in one day! Spoiler: you can’t see everything in two days either!

Needless to say, we packed in as much as we could during our time on the beautiful island of Zakynthos, referred to by some as just “Zante.” On our first day we got a look at the famous shipwreck, swam under the dramatic white cliffs, and had one of our favorite meals of the trip. Here’s a look at how we spent our second day on the island:

Getting Around Zakynthos

First things first, let’s tackle the best way to get around. If you want to explore the full island of Zakynthos, car is definitely the way to go. We scheduled a one-day rental through Argus Care Hire with 9:00 am “meet and greet” pick-up at the port. The port was about a 15 minute walk from where our boat, the Aegeotissa II, was docked. WC walked to pick up the car and planned to drive back to the boat to snag me, and our friend, Kelly, who was riding with us. Our friend, Harah, also rented a car and was driving three of our other friends. We decided to go the route of two cars rather than trying to rent a van because we weren’t sure how roads and parking would be.

Tip: check the ferry arrival schedule before booking your car. A ferry had docked just before our rental pick-up time. With the huge influx of people, WC waited almost an hour after our scheduled time to get the car. Fortunately, they were flexible about the return time so it worked out but we would have liked to get on the road earlier to beat the crowd at our first stop.

When WC got back to the boat to pick us up, our friends Kris and Michele were about to depart on ATVs. I’m a wimp and scared of those, but wanted to share since that’s another option to explore the island. Renting a scooter or a small boat are other alternatives.

We waved bye to our friends and set off for our first destination: Cameo Island!

Exploring Zakynthos Island By Car

Cameo Island is a small little piece of paradise that’s reached by a wooden pedestrian bridge to the island. Upon arrival, park in the sandy lot beside the water and then make your way across the bridge (of course stopping for photos along the way).

Once across the bridge, you’ll take short set of stone stairs up to the entrance where you’ll pay a €5 entrance fee. The fee comes with a free photo keychain per person which was a nice unexpected surprise. You pick up the keychains as you leave, and can also purchase a frame to go with it.

Our first stop on Cameo Island was the swimming area. At around 10:30 am, it was already in the 80s and humid, and the water was so refreshing. You’ll want to pack some swimming shoes as the sea floor is covered with rocks. They’re pretty smooth, but even in my swim shoes I found myself limping across them until I got further out in the water. They’re also a bit slippery but definitely manageable.

Cameo Island is quite a small tourist attraction, so after a swim and a snack break, we headed back to the car for our next stop. Mizithres viewpoint, in the Keri area, is absolutely stunning. The Mizithres are two rocky peaks sticking out in the sea and towering over the beach in the southwestern corner of Zakynthos.

It may be an unpopular opinion but we’ve found the Ionian islands of Greece to be so much more interesting and beautiful than the more popular spots of Santorini and Mykonos. Don’t get me wrong, those are definitely worth visiting. But I don’t recall seeing anything as rugged and spectacular as what we experienced in the Ionians with this spot in Zakynthos being a prime example.

If you Google how to get to this spot, you’ll find a bit of a mixed bag. Some say there’s a parking area to walk to a viewpoint. Some recommend visiting Keri Lighthouse restaurant or Ionian Sunset Cafe to get the view.

What we found when we arrived is a brand new “cafe” called Mizithres Summer Vibes with a private parking lot. To use the lot you’re expected to make a purchase at the cafe which is really a food truck selling snacks, coffee, and cocktails. They honestly weren’t checking whether you made a purchase but the drinks were delicious so I highly recommend it! There’s some tables around the food truck or you can take your food and drinks down near the viewing platform to enjoy the atmosphere.

I ordered the Oasis, a combo of earl grey vodka, cherry, sage, and lime. The cherry-vanilla foam on top is what makes this drink though. It was SO good! With cocktail in hand, I wandered down to the viewing platform to get my first good look at the . There is quite a breeze so hold on to your hat!

After spending some time admiring the view, we were starting to get hungry. This happened to time perfectly with the 12 pm opening of Keri Lighthouse Restaurant which is a minute’s drive from the cafe. We didn’t have a reservation but we got in line and it worked out perfectly. Our group was seated at a large table with a stunning view 150 meters above the sea and the Mizithres.

Keri Lighthouse restaurant is so much more than the view, though! All the food we shared was delicious: a trio of dips, Greek salad, grilled Octopus, and crisp local wine.

After lunch, the next stop on our Zakynthos road trip: Damianos Cave. As we drove, we got our first look at the cave from across the canyon so we pulled over to snap some photos.

Once you get closer, you’ll drive through the quaint town of Agalas, eventually parking outside Cave Damianos Restaurant. We had no problem finding parking during the day, but keep in mind it gets very busy at night for the sunset. Walking from the parking area, you’ll follow a dirt path for about five minutes to the cave entrance.

After the cave we had big plans for another couple hours of sightseeing but unfortunately the weather had other plans for us. Due to high wildfire risk, firefighters had a lot of roads closed after we left Diamianos. Below is a list of the viewpoints and stops we had to leave off our Zakynthos itinerary. Some of these we attempted and couldn’t get there; others were too far to attempt since we didn’t know if roads would be closed when we got closer.

Viewpoint Agalas
Korakonisi/Alitzerini Cave
Porto Roxa (some deck-chairs placed just over the water and a trampoline)
Porto Limnionas Beaches (larger and colorful with evocative sea caves in the vicinities)
Porto Vromi beach
Gramspas Winery

Evening in Zakynthos

We returned the rental car at the port and walked back to the boat (about 15 minute walk to where we were docked). After a long day touring the island, we were ready for showers and a cocktail on the boat deck before dinner.

For dinner, we didn’t have any plans so we wandered the town and chose Spartakos Taverna. The meal was fine but definitely didn’t compare to our lunch at Keri Lighthouse or dinner on our first day in Zakynthos at Utopia.

And now for the fun part! Zakynthos aka Zante is renowned for its club scene. I’ve seen the Laganas area referred to as a “little Vegas” and it definitely has the same bright lights and flash. Laganas is definitely a younger age group than Vegas — we were the oldest group by far — but that never stops us from having fun! In fact, at midnight one of our friends, Mike, turned 70 so we got to celebrate his birthday!

We wandered in and out of several clubs but spent most of our time at Rescue which is exactly as the website describes it: vibrant, top-notch music, and dancing til dawn. We didn’t make it til dawn but you get the picture haha. It was PACKED.

When we’d had enough of the crowd, we headed across the street to Flavors bar for a frozen drink to cool off. By then it was almost 3:00 am and I think some of the partygoers out in Laganas were just getting started! For us, it was time to call some cabs and get back to the Aegeotissa II for some rest before the sail to our next Ionian island.

And that’s a wrap on Zakynthos! The next morning we set sail for Ithaca, one of the most surprising destinations of the trip… can’t wait to share in our next post!

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