This old man has dumped the blog onto a website - please see
http://www.findmeafact.com/holidaysinzakynthos.htm
and
http://www.findmeafact.com/scubadiving.htm
It's our favourite place to go so if you would like to make inquiries about holidaying in Amoudi, Zakynthos (Zante) please follow
http://www.findmeafact.com/amoudi_hotel.htm
Thanks.
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Scuba Diving in Zakynthos
Learning to dive - Written by Sam Wright
Ever since I can remember I’ve fancied learning to Dive and so my very kind hubbie paid for me to do my Open Water PADI course a month before we went on holiday in Zakynthos.
I did the whole course through Aquanaut Scuba and Snorkelling Centre in Kingston upon Thames. They were absolutely brilliant as I phoned up and enquired quite literally the day before the course started, picked up the pack and spent Friday night studying madly to get a grip on the literature before going to their shop on Saturday morning to do the classroom sessions. Fortunately, given the tight timelines, Aquanaut include full scuba diving equipment hire in the cost of the course so I didn't need to have any of my own yet. The instructor was Laura Parker - she’s a genius and I honestly credit my pass entirely due to Laura’s help and support during the 2 following weekends.
I found the confined water dives quite strenuous with all tasks that had to be completed and on occasion found myself panicking slightly at the claustrophobic feel of the whole experience. However this went completely the minute we were allowed to swim around the swimming pool and I realised how completely wonderful it was going to be when we hit open water.
The Open Water section was done at Wraysbury Lake in Middlesex on a weekend in Mid May, not the warmest time of the year to be plunging into British Waters even if they are inland! My first attempt at diving was awful. The moment I got more than a couple of feet under I would start to hyperventilate and just felt as if I couldn’t breathe. After three attempts I gave up and swam to shore. It was only whilst on land and trying to breathe again that we realised the problem was not me but actually the regulator!
You cannot believe the relief I felt; I was sure that I’d wasted all that money on the course and wasn’t going to complete it because I was too claustrophobic (a problem which I do suffer from but not badly). The regulator was set to minimum because it was new and we all assumed that the air intake would be sufficient. Once this was adjusted I was able to dive with no problems at all and in fact thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the course despite getting absolutely frozen!
Having got my certificate I set about doing some research on the internet to find some Dive Shops in Zakynthos, and get some information on the local waters. There were a number of possibilities but I finally settled on Euro Divers in Laganas because their website looked incredibly professional and also because their responses to my enquiries were quick, very helpful and extremely friendly.
Maybe I'd get a chance to see some of the famed Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles that breed along the Zakynthian coastline... Off to Zakynthos we go!
(To be continued...)
I did the whole course through Aquanaut Scuba and Snorkelling Centre in Kingston upon Thames. They were absolutely brilliant as I phoned up and enquired quite literally the day before the course started, picked up the pack and spent Friday night studying madly to get a grip on the literature before going to their shop on Saturday morning to do the classroom sessions. Fortunately, given the tight timelines, Aquanaut include full scuba diving equipment hire in the cost of the course so I didn't need to have any of my own yet. The instructor was Laura Parker - she’s a genius and I honestly credit my pass entirely due to Laura’s help and support during the 2 following weekends. I found the confined water dives quite strenuous with all tasks that had to be completed and on occasion found myself panicking slightly at the claustrophobic feel of the whole experience. However this went completely the minute we were allowed to swim around the swimming pool and I realised how completely wonderful it was going to be when we hit open water.
The Open Water section was done at Wraysbury Lake in Middlesex on a weekend in Mid May, not the warmest time of the year to be plunging into British Waters even if they are inland! My first attempt at diving was awful. The moment I got more than a couple of feet under I would start to hyperventilate and just felt as if I couldn’t breathe. After three attempts I gave up and swam to shore. It was only whilst on land and trying to breathe again that we realised the problem was not me but actually the regulator!
You cannot believe the relief I felt; I was sure that I’d wasted all that money on the course and wasn’t going to complete it because I was too claustrophobic (a problem which I do suffer from but not badly). The regulator was set to minimum because it was new and we all assumed that the air intake would be sufficient. Once this was adjusted I was able to dive with no problems at all and in fact thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the course despite getting absolutely frozen!
Having got my certificate I set about doing some research on the internet to find some Dive Shops in Zakynthos, and get some information on the local waters. There were a number of possibilities but I finally settled on Euro Divers in Laganas because their website looked incredibly professional and also because their responses to my enquiries were quick, very helpful and extremely friendly.Maybe I'd get a chance to see some of the famed Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles that breed along the Zakynthian coastline... Off to Zakynthos we go!
(To be continued...)
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Holiday on the beautiful island of Zakynthos
My view of a holiday
I've never really been one for travelling. Not any sort of distance, anyway. The prospect of sitting for hours and hours in 'cattle-class' on a plane, doesn't really rock my boat, if you pardon the comparison!
For this reason I tend to favour foreign holidays that aren't too far away, whether that be by road, rail or air. For those reasons it kind of restricts destinations to western Europe and the north-east of England from where I hail, incidentally, which is a bit like Europe anyway - only much colder and with the exception of Naples, where you're most likely to get your car pinched. But I digress...
Many would say I'm not very adventurous with my holiday destinations but to be honest my idea of a vacation is not to have an 'adventure'.
I want to know where I'm going, what to expect and where to find it. Then take it e-a-s-y and relax. And if I then fancy a bit of a change I'll seek it on my own terms.
On Zakynthos I can do exactly that...
Zakynthos, 'Flower of the Levant'
Zakynthos, or Zante as it used to be known back in 15th-18th centuries when Venetian influence extended widely over the Mediterranean and Italian was the prevalent language, is one of the largest islands in Ionia, though it's not a big one, being about 40 km x 20 km at its widest points.
About 70% of the island is what you'd call 'mountainous' or at least extremely bumpy, especially from the northern to the south-western tips! That said, the climate is a mild Mediterranean one, nothing like as oppressively hot as maybe Athens or Crete can be.
Average temperature in August is about 28c which is very comfortable for children and 'wrinklies'!
Zakynthos Town is the only really large town on the island. After the earthquake and ensuing fire which destroyed the old town in 1953, it was rebuilt, attempting to maintain its original style; a mixture of neo-classical and Venetian. Also known as by locals as Chora, it is well served by a huge harbour and equally impressive ferries to the mainland which is 20 km to the east.
The airport with its single runway and, thankfully, recently revamped terminal building (trust me, it was dire....) lies 5 or 6 km due south of Zakynthos town environs which means transfer times to any of the main resorts are less than 30 minutes.
Most of the resident population of the island live in and around the capital, though there are many small villages spread around the island, many devoted to farming olives and citrus fruits.
If what you want from a holiday is rest, relaxation, secluded beaches, quiet tavernas and maybe just a little exploring to find them, the island caters for you.
It should be mentioned at this point that the Greeks love kids so you'll be well looked after. If on the other hand, you want a wild time getting drunk and clubbing all through the night, you can do that too, in Laganas and Kalamaki, mainly.
Making plans
At the time of our first trip out to the island, back in 2003 Thomas Cook under the guise of JMC, were doing packages there. "Great", we thought, "that sounds perfect."
Then we started looking at booking the flights and accommodation separately and worked out that if we travelled on a Sunday night from Gatwick, we could travel for £125 each (obviously prices vary according to season). We also discovered we could get accommodation in an apartment for 25€ a night (when the £ was worth €1.60!). This was achieved by contacting the management of the Amoudi Villa, directly.
(As it happened, Sakis and Pepi were so helpful we had nothing to worry about. So much so, in fact, that we've been there three times so far and look forward to our next visit!)
So within an hour we had booked a 10 day holiday in Amoudi, Zakynthos, for just over £450, including the taxi fare to and from Gatwick from home.
As I say, flight costs depend on season and whether or not there's a UK Bank Holiday whilst you're there - we went late May the first time, then again in September. The latest trip was end of June last year.
And off we went...
To be continued...
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For this reason I tend to favour foreign holidays that aren't too far away, whether that be by road, rail or air. For those reasons it kind of restricts destinations to western Europe and the north-east of England from where I hail, incidentally, which is a bit like Europe anyway - only much colder and with the exception of Naples, where you're most likely to get your car pinched. But I digress...
Many would say I'm not very adventurous with my holiday destinations but to be honest my idea of a vacation is not to have an 'adventure'.
I want to know where I'm going, what to expect and where to find it. Then take it e-a-s-y and relax. And if I then fancy a bit of a change I'll seek it on my own terms.
On Zakynthos I can do exactly that...
Zakynthos, 'Flower of the Levant'
Zakynthos, or Zante as it used to be known back in 15th-18th centuries when Venetian influence extended widely over the Mediterranean and Italian was the prevalent language, is one of the largest islands in Ionia, though it's not a big one, being about 40 km x 20 km at its widest points.
About 70% of the island is what you'd call 'mountainous' or at least extremely bumpy, especially from the northern to the south-western tips! That said, the climate is a mild Mediterranean one, nothing like as oppressively hot as maybe Athens or Crete can be.
Average temperature in August is about 28c which is very comfortable for children and 'wrinklies'!
Zakynthos Town is the only really large town on the island. After the earthquake and ensuing fire which destroyed the old town in 1953, it was rebuilt, attempting to maintain its original style; a mixture of neo-classical and Venetian. Also known as by locals as Chora, it is well served by a huge harbour and equally impressive ferries to the mainland which is 20 km to the east.
The airport with its single runway and, thankfully, recently revamped terminal building (trust me, it was dire....) lies 5 or 6 km due south of Zakynthos town environs which means transfer times to any of the main resorts are less than 30 minutes.
Most of the resident population of the island live in and around the capital, though there are many small villages spread around the island, many devoted to farming olives and citrus fruits.
If what you want from a holiday is rest, relaxation, secluded beaches, quiet tavernas and maybe just a little exploring to find them, the island caters for you.
It should be mentioned at this point that the Greeks love kids so you'll be well looked after. If on the other hand, you want a wild time getting drunk and clubbing all through the night, you can do that too, in Laganas and Kalamaki, mainly.
Making plans
At the time of our first trip out to the island, back in 2003 Thomas Cook under the guise of JMC, were doing packages there. "Great", we thought, "that sounds perfect."
Then we started looking at booking the flights and accommodation separately and worked out that if we travelled on a Sunday night from Gatwick, we could travel for £125 each (obviously prices vary according to season). We also discovered we could get accommodation in an apartment for 25€ a night (when the £ was worth €1.60!). This was achieved by contacting the management of the Amoudi Villa, directly.
(As it happened, Sakis and Pepi were so helpful we had nothing to worry about. So much so, in fact, that we've been there three times so far and look forward to our next visit!)
So within an hour we had booked a 10 day holiday in Amoudi, Zakynthos, for just over £450, including the taxi fare to and from Gatwick from home.
As I say, flight costs depend on season and whether or not there's a UK Bank Holiday whilst you're there - we went late May the first time, then again in September. The latest trip was end of June last year.
And off we went...
To be continued...
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