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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