Zakynthos, or Zante as the visitor more commonly knows it, is also referred to as the “Flower of the Orient” for it truly is an island of exceptional beauty.

The locals are renowned for their true Greek hospitality, which probably accounts for why so many holidaymakers return to the island time and time again.

Geographically the island is the most southern of the six Ionian Islands located off western mainland Greece. It is approximately 40km long and 17km wide giving an area of over 400 sq. km and hosts a population of approximately 45,000 with an extra 300,000 holidaymakers during the summer months.

The island has a Mediterranean climate providing long hot summers and warm wet winters. Zakynthos gets a lot of rainfall during the winter months and this is the reason it is very green and fertile. The countryside is covered in wildflowers, especially in the spring, and the island has rich vegetation including raisins, olives, vines and citrus fruits.



Zakynthos is well known as one of the favourite nesting sites during the summer months of the Loggerhead turtle Caretta Caretta.

The poet Dionysios Solomos wrote the Greek National Anthem from the hilltop of Lofus Strani while visiting the island and you will see a statue in his honour in the main square of Zakynthos, which has hence been named Solomos Square.

The main town Zakynthos was destroyed in the earthquake of 1953 and since then the town has been rebuilt in a similar style of its former architecture. Today design and construction of buildings in the whole of Greece have to comply with European standards and there are stringent regulations regarding earthquake protection.