So you are trying to find somewhere in Zante to go and stay in this summer? Allow us to suggest Kalamaki, which could just come as a pleasant surprise to you.

Zante is sometimes seen as a pleasant and lively place to go on holiday. Lots of families tend to come here, making it a good bet if you happen to have young children.

But suppose you want a more laid back holiday with your partner and you don’t have any children to worry about? In this case Kalamaki could be the best possible place to try. It is laid back in itself, offering a superb place to go to find a relaxing holiday away from the crowds. You won’t exactly be on your own here but it is definitely a bit more chilled out than if you were to stay somewhere like Lagana.

Some people do enjoy going out at night and there are possibilities for you in Kalamaki. But again they are of the more laid back kind. Can you imagine sipping a glass of wine and watching the sun go down while sitting outside at a top restaurant? This is what the nightlife in Kalamaki is all about, although Lagana isn’t too far away if you feel the pull of something a bit livelier.

You should beware though that looking for accommodation on the western side of Kalamaki may not be a good idea. Stick to the eastern side unless you want to have the sound of aircraft waking you up first thing in the morning. With this aside, the resort is a delight waiting to be discovered. And if you choose the other half of the resort to relax in, you don’t even have this to worry about, so bear this little tip in mind.

The beach itself is a delight and you will be able to spend many a day simply lounging around soaking up the sun. There is much more to Kalamaki than meets the eye though; you can explore many of the streets that lead away from the beach to discover still more while you are there.

Zante has plenty of great destinations to offer anyone who is planning to take a holiday on the island. But Tsilivi may not be one of the first names that come to mind when you are thinking of holidaying on Zante. In fact you may not even have heard of it.

Don’t worry though, because this does not mean you will be missing out on anything. In fact you might be in for a surprise because Tsilivi has plenty to offer and the fewer people who know about it, the better!

This is very much an emerging resort in Zante, because it has only recently been developed to a larger extent. Many families tend to come here, even though the area also has a nightlife scene that is worth exploring for those who like to go out and about during the evenings.

This used to be a quiet place to come on Zante, but all that is changing now. The longer you leave it to see Tsilivi, the more likely it is that it will be more crowded when you do finally get there. Its expansion has led to more room and space for everyone to enjoy, so don’t be discouraged even if you are opting to visit during the height of the holiday season.

One of the main attractions of Tsilivi is the setting you will find it in. This is a relaxed resort nestling among a plethora of olive groves – the perfect setting in fact, for a holiday of relaxation and chilling out on the beach. There are vineyards nearby too, giving you the perfect opportunity to search out some locally produced wines to enjoy during the evenings.

The beaches here are just about as safe as you could want them to be. The sea slopes gradually away from the beach, so gradually that the children will have plenty of water to play in without fear of any sudden drops into the sea. This is just one of the reasons why so many parents choose this as their ideal holiday destination – it is truly a jewel among the delights that Zante has to offer.

Lots of people tend to think they have found the best beaches in the world, regardless of where they have been to on holiday. But if anyone mentions Navagio Cove and its accompanying bay in Zante as a potential contender for this title, they may well be right.

This cove is famous among those who have been lucky enough to find it, and it would certainly be rather a shame to arrive in Zante and enjoy a holiday there without seeing it for yourself. Lots of people take countless pictures of this beach and its cove when they find it for themselves, and when you see it you will realise why this is the case. It looks wonderful, with rocky heights almost caressing it on all of three sides. The beach itself flows down to meet the waves, with the deep blue waters lapping up to meet it from the opposite direction.

To be honest it is hard to find the best words to really adequately describe the sights that will see you when you find the bay. Navagio Cove is normally reached via boat, because you cannot scale the rocks to get down to the beach from any other position. It has also earned the name of Smuggler’s Cove because of the pirates that once used it to smuggle in cigarettes. As you might imagine the name has stuck because of the dramatic connotations it has. The ship that was responsible for the smuggling is actually still there, because it sunk just outside the cove itself.

If you are booking a holiday in Zante, make sure you ask about the possibility of visiting Navagio Cove on a day trip. It is simply not to be missed and while it is a popular destination and you are unlikely to have it to yourself, you should take the time to see it anyway because of the beauty it has to share with you.

One thing to bear in mind is the lack of shade on the beach, which means you must be prepared with an umbrella and sun screen. The last thing you want is to return to your hotel or accommodation with sunburn.

It does sound unlikely but you can do just that if you’re heading to Zante on holiday in the near future. Even more surprising is the fact that you will be heading to a miniature golf course in the process.

The World Tour Mini Golf course is a popular attraction for adults and kids alike. As such it is a nice way to spend some time out in the sun while trying to beat the people you came on holiday with! Who will try for a hole in one or manage to get the golf ball in the hole in the least number of shots?

The course itself is fairly new, having been opened originally in 2007. Sometimes with mini golf you only get nine holes to play, but here they have pulled out all the stops to make it the best course on Zante. In fact it’s two courses, not one – and they have both got eighteen holes.

The name of the course – World Tour – should give you a clue to what you should expect once you get there. The holes are based around different locations in the world. Even though you are in Zante you will see Big Ben from London, as well as other sights such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower. There is no telling where your golf ball will take you next.

There is also an opportunity to enjoy a drink before or after you have played, as you go to the bar on site – perhaps to celebrate your win? There is more room for the children to play too if you want to sit back and relax for a while. There is no doubt that the World Tour Mini Golf course is a firm favourite among holidaymakers in Zante. It also offers you more entertainment than just an hour or two of play as well. Allow half a day at least here and you’ll be able to make the most of it.

The course is located in Argassi, so make sure it’s close enough to your accommodation to reach it easily.

Zante is a popular destination for families in particular, as it offers plenty for people of all ages to get their teeth into. It’s not all beaches and partying, and nowhere is this more relevant than when you take a trip to their Marine Park.

If you happen to be staying in the southernmost part of Zante, you’ll be in the ideal place to see something of the Marine Park itself. You may initially think this is just another main attraction on the island, but there is more at work here than you might believe. One of the main purposes of the park being here is to protect the loggerhead sea turtles. In fact the park plays host to what is known as a rookery. This is where the turtles nest and stay safe from potentially harmful situations.

As such the park offers a chance to learn more about the turtles, not to mention the habitat they live in on the island. This is the most important nesting habitat in the entire Mediterranean, so you can see they rely on the development of the Marine Park on Zante to stay safe and develop for the future.

The best part of the park for many people is actually the museum. It is known as the Thematic Exhibition Centre and it is responsible for educating the many visitors about the plight of sea turtles and what their life is like.

But the park stretches way beyond the museum. It reaches out to encompass the beaches and islets as well, not to mention much of the land in the area. It is a truly amazing place to visit and fully deserves a whole day spent observing what goes on here.

It may be prudent to avoid taking younger children to the area though. There is a strict set of rules in place to ensure that the turtles and other wildlife living in the area are kept free from harm. These rules also extend to what you can and cannot do in the area, so be sure you familiarise yourself with them.

This shouldn’t put you off though. If you respect the world around you, you’ll love every inch of the Marine Park of Zakynthos.

If you’ve ever been to Zante before you have probably gone straight for the south eastern part of the island. This is where some of the main beaches are, dotted along the smaller and narrower part of the island.

But this is just one of the things that Zante has to show you, if you are prepared to go beyond the obvious and the familiar and explore elsewhere as well. If you head away from the beaches and go diagonally across Zante to the north west region, you will find yourself in mountainous territory instead. Here there are villages which are able to show you a slice of the more traditional side of Zante.

Take Volimes for example, and Anafonitria, which is home to Zante’s oldest monastery. Navagio Beach is also very close to Anafonitria, and indeed you can go to the look out point to get an amazing view down to this famous Shipwreck Beach.

You will remember from the title of this article however that we mentioned the three faces of Zante. We’ve seen two of them already, so what is the third one?

The answer lies in the central part of the island. Sandwiched in between the more rustic and traditional north west and the beach venues of the south east, you’ve got olive groves and lush green scenery galore. Tragaki is a village that lies quite near to the coast, but it has been blessed with many olive groves and is also home to more than one vineyard. Katastari is another excellent example of what the greener side of Zante looks like, with lush scenery wherever you look.

As you can see there are three distinct sides to this particular island. If you are visiting for a week or more you should definitely take the time to explore each area in turn. Zante is much more than just sensational beaches, and it would be a shame to see these and nothing else. If you love to see what an island is really all about, you should make time to see all that it has to show you.

Sometimes visiting an island like Zante can make it seem as if you are surrounded by the tourist industry and little else.

But in fact this is rarely the case. It is truer to say that you just have to look a little more closely to see the more natural areas that are there to be explored.

For example, when you visit Zante you probably head for one of the most popular areas of all – Zakynthos Town. This is situated along the eastern most side of the island.

But if you head further north and move inland slightly you will find the area called Volimes. There are some thirty kilometres between Volimes and the capital of Zante, and yet in many ways they can seem to be a million miles apart.

In Volimes you won’t see much in the way of tourism – much the opposite in fact. There is a local market here and you won’t see all the traditional kinds of souvenirs either. Instead you will see local produce and items that are made by those who live in the area. You can taste local honey for example, knowing it has been collected from hives that are just a stone’s throw away – literally.

If you want a more traditional gift to take back home with you once you leave Zante, look out for lace, rugs and other similar items that are all beautifully made with care and attention. This is in many ways the real Zante, and it is unfortunately a side of the island that many people coming here do not see. The clubs and bars and nightlife may be enjoyable in itself, but wouldn’t you also like to see the real side of Zante that is hidden away in places like Volimes?

Volimes may be a little too much on the quiet side for you to spend your whole holiday there. But having said this, it could be that you are looking for something a world away from the busy nature of Zakynthos Town itself. Perhaps Volimes is just what you need for that quiet and peaceful break away.