This place is full of wonderful surprises (Zakynthos)

Member Name: Angela F

Product:	Zakynthos
Date:	31/03/04 (3281 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Beautiful, Quiet

Disadvantages: None

I had never even heard of this place until Thomas Cook decided to sell off a load of holidays half price in January 2001. Well, who would want to miss an opportunity like that? They had several destinations available, but I didn't have anywhere in particular in mind. Having already been to Turkey twice and not really being all the keen on the idea of Spain I decided it had to be Greece or Portugal, although preferably Greece.

So, I went into Thomas Cook and they gave me a brochure and explained to me which resorts were included in the deal, so I took it home to have a good browse. Not having a great deal of money, we wanted to go for the cheapest deal possible, but with a nice look and facilities close by, and there it was Tsilivi Beach Hotel and Studios, Zakynthos (or Zante as it is commonly known). A fantastic deal at the end of September, one week, self-catering was £400 per person - so at half price, only £200! My husband and I decided to ask my parents if they wanted to come with us, having enjoyed our last holiday with them, and of course, at that price they agreed.

I noticed in the brochure that there were lots of extra offers available on this particular resort, but assumed that as we were only paying half-price, they would not apply. However, when I telephoned Thomas Cook they told me that yes indeed, we could have a second week for a extra £20 per person!!!! AND, we could even have a third week for free if we wanted!!!!

We decided to go for the two weeks instead of just one, as one never seems long enough to really wind down from the stresses of work and everyday life, three would have been nice, but just not feasible with work. Mum and dad however opted for just one week (mainly as my dad is self-employed and could not afford to not be working for any more than a week). We paid our 20% deposit and put the holiday to the back of our minds, knowing that it would be some 8 months away. Then, six weeks before the holi
day we paid the remainder.

So anyway, we got into September and the excitement started setting in, a holiday! Until CRISIS, September 11th hit us. Shock enough for everyone, but then the whole thing happened where flights were being cancelled here there and everywhere, there was mass panic about flying and the threat of more attacks. And then of course there were army troops being sent out all over the place. What would we do? We were frightened.

I called the travel agents to see what was happening and what choices we had. They said that flights were still going ahead and that our resort wasn't affected, but that we could have a refund if we wanted to.

We thought long and hard about it, and decided that we wouldn't let them get to us, damn it! We were defiant, and we wanted that holiday! So off we went.

After a short flight (3 hours or so) we arrived in Zakynthos, and even though it was the end of September, it was absolutely baking. The airport was very small and seemed to be miles from civilisation, but functional. We boarded the coach to take us to our apartments and gradually, one by one, everybody else got dropped off at their resorts. When it was only the four of us left the coach took us out to the middle of nowhere, it seemed really baron, and we started to get concerned. What had we done? It had said in the brochure that the complex would be going through some major renovation and building work during the end of 2000 begininning of 2001, and it had been set to end in May 2001. But, had it finished?

Finally, we arrived, and there it was, a fantastic, clean and attractive looking complex with hotel and apartments, right on the beach (literally on the beach, there was no walk involved), with 2 large swimming pools and a restaurant. Fantastic.

The first evening we explored a little on foot, we went up into the village of Tsilivi to see what was there, and there was plenty. Shops, rest
aurants, bars - all the usual stuff, but not crowded with masses of people. And we found that if we thought we had got lost at any point we could jut head for the beach and walk along it until we ended up back at the hotel. Interestingly, from the beach you could see the neighbouring island of Kefalonia (or Cephalonia depending on where you come from), where Captain Correlli's Mandolin was filmed.

We had a very relaxing first week, sampling many of the restaurants, going for walks and a boat trip. The people of Zakynthos were all so friendly and obliging, and any tips given to them were so gratefully received. The scenery was beautiful, the place wasn't at all built up and there was little traffic on the roads. The boat trip we chose took us all the way around the island, stopping off at points of interest and the occasional dip in the beautiful sea, which close up was crystal clear, and from a distance varied from aqua, turquoise, and several shades of blue.

At the end of the first week we waved my parents off and decided that, as we seemed to have quite a bit of spending money left (largely due to a 3 course meal costing no more than £5 in most places), we had had enough of relaxing and we would blow the rest on exploring and having some fun. So, the first thing we did was hire a moped. We spent the whole day riding around the island (as much as we could with two of us on a 125cc moped). We rode down to Limni Keri, right on the tip of the island and hired a small motor boat. The locals had told us about how the sea turtles came in here at this time of year to lay their eggs, and pointed out "Turtle Island" to us, which was a large rock that could be seen from the shore. This is the island the turtles go to to lay their eggs, and there is a conservation area there to stop people being able to get to the eggs.

We took the boat out and had a look at some caves and did a quick tour around Turtle Island, which was
covered in sand and long grasses with look out huts that were used by the conservationists. You could see one or two tracks in the sand where the turtles had dragged themselves across it.

We returned home, stopping off briefly at both Laganas and Argassi, both of which made us realise how lucky we were that we had chosen Tsilivi, which is far less busy or built up than these two other towns.

The following day we took another boat trip, this time we chose one that had been set up by the Turtle Conservation Society. We were given a talk during the trip about the sea turtles and their lives, and the dangers they face living with us polluting their water and leaving rubbish around that can pose such a danger to them. The talk was very informative and we were taken out to see if we could see any turtles, which we did. One particularly large one happened to be swimming around about 1/2 a mile off the beach. We managed to get close enough to see it's face as it came up to the surface for air and then dived back down again. Unfortunately, whilst we were there, observing from a respectable distance, another boat running trips to see the turtles came in and decided to take a closer look. Their boat had a glass bottom, and they were trying to get the boat over the top of the turtle, which angered our guide immensely. However, their harassment was short-lived and our enjoyable trip resumed.

A couple of days later we decided we wanted to see a bit more of the island, this time hiring a jeep for the day (which was far more comfortable and practical than the moped!). This time around we got to travel around the whole island, following the coastline and travelling inland every now and again when we saw anything of particular interest, including a most beautiful monastery.

All in all, I would say that this holiday is the best holiday I have had (on a par with Florida although that was a totally different type of holiday). We had a
fantastic time. We relaxed and had fun, we ate wonderful food, saw beautiful scenery and met some very polite and helpful people. Having spent two whole weeks there, and seen and done many things, I think I can honestly say that there was not one thing that I did not like (except maybe some of the fellow tourists, but that can't be helped). I really would not hesitate to recommend the island as a nice place to have a holiday, although I would say to be careful which resort you choose. If you like lively then go for the larger resorts, otherwise Tsilivi is quiet, very pretty and still has all you will need within easy reach.

I desperately want to go back, but unfortunately the bargains aren't as great as they were three years ago. :0(

Maybe next year.

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