Don't go there... (Laganas)

Member Name: buttonman

Product:	Laganas
Date:	17/09/01 (3108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, sunbathing lovelys, weather

Disadvantages: Worst airport on Earth, dangerous streets, poor food

I’m just back from a week in the sun soaked island of Zante and despite events in America I had a pretty good time. The island is as near to Britain as Greece gets with a flying time of 3 hours 40 minutes from Glasgow. But wait seeing as I’ve recently learned bullet points I’ll list this in easily accessible (and updateable) portions…

 Getting there

The island’s main or at least local airport to our chosen resort of Laganas is Zakynthos airport and it is , unreservedly, the worst airport I have ever visited .It is so small that my local taxi rank would dwarf it but despite this they have at least three flights an hour.

To be exact it has three check-in desks,three gates and one microscopic baggage carousel .When we arrived we struggled to get into the building , not because of rigorous security but because the previous three flights were still awaiting their cases.All told it took two sweaty hours to get our bags which was outragous.

One solitary poor sod had the job of loading and unloading all flights with none of the Reps having the thought to muck in.Our rep said this was unusual but we had a similar experience on departure.This time three flights were leaving within the same hour and we had one desk each – some scheduling !.If you want a vision of Hell visit this dump – not even the Wright brothers would have tolerated this!

 Accommodation

We stayed at the Olympia hotel which is (thank God) the first drop off from the airport.As with the whole resort it is new and still sparkles.Built to a high standard (except for the plumbing – paper in the bin please) it has a nice pool,bar and snack bar area.

Only two floors high with nice views it was a good choice.The brochure did say “breakfast provided” but discount this unless DIY toast and orange coloured drink is your repast of choice.They do offer cooked breakfasts at a price s
o the whole ‘free’ thing is little more than a marketing scam.The are strict on the no outside food or drink policy at the pool side but the loungers are free and the bar reasonable.

 The Resort

Similar to Sidari on Corfu (see last year’s review!) the town is new and has the air of a frontier village.There is hardly any pavement and the meagre road space is taken up with fast cars and scooters as well as pedestrians .It is dangerous when dark or drunk and my good lady nearly had her bag snatched by a moped desperado!.

The entire length of the town is taken up by bars and tatty souvenir stands interspersed by Gyros sellers and excursion salesmen.The resort has no redeeming cultural features so I fitted in well.The beer is cheap with the local brew ‘Mythos’ costing about 550 drachma – about £1.Prices are already quoted in Euros so forget Drachmas come January.

The beach is at the far end of the main street and not worth the effort.The locals use it as a car park and the sand is compressed and dirty.It is always packed and vendors hassle you constantly with their vile do-nuts or fruit salads.

We found three internet cafes but at £4 an hour not the cheap way to keep in touch – the postcard will be here soon I bet!


 Eating Out

Liking my grub a lot I found Laganas to be poor nosh territory .The first night we ate at ‘The Butterfly’ which is about half way along the main street.Despite it offering both Indian and Chinese the food was great.The chichen saag and the bombay aloo were devine.The bill at £40 was expensive by local standards but did include two bottles of wine and a pudding.

Tightening our wallets if not our belts we tried some more basic places and found the grub lacking.It was all OK but bland.I had the thinnest T-bone steak on earth as well as meatballs thoughtfully served with chips – as a starter!.Always h
eavy on plate fillers expect chips,rice peas and carrots with almost any choice!.On average a dinner bill should be about £20-25 which is not bad.

Some of the places we tried had slow service with glaciers racing past one waiter as two hours passed during our meal.Seafront places were more expensive but no better fayre.I had a meal of a pizza with a 2” doughy base although the Greek salad was a meal in itself.

 Nightlife

No idea!.Previous reviews have said it didn’t liven up ‘til midnight and that’s the latest we stayed up!.The bars are pretty good with all night happy hours and free shots on arrival.Most has widescreen TV’s which were a god send given the American crisis but surreally they had pop hits and karaoke playing over the top of harrowing images.

Most showed free movies with ‘Planet of the Apes’ and ‘Scary Movie 2’ on frequently .Poser barmen rule the roost in most places with cocktail shakers flying along with the ice cubes.Better bars include ‘Bad boys’ on the front and ‘Cocktails and Dreams’ on the main street offering less than deafening music even if it is Geri Halliwell singing.

MEN!beware the packs of flower sellers who plague you with £4 roses for your loved one – pick posies in the street it shows more love anyway!.The atmosphere seems good with no coppers round.All night boozin appears to be the norm with the multiplicity of kebab shops matching them – poor gyros though – too greasy!.

Packs of 18-30 revellers wander the streets later on so rich pickin’s for those still standing and that‘s not me!.The climate is not too humid and it’s easy to drift off although the massive storm we got soaked in is the price you pay!.

 Excursions
There are loads of these on offer with two days in Athens for £70 at one end and a two hour boat trip for £7 at the other - gu
ess which one I splashed out on?.The boat trip was pretty good and took us 'turtle spotting'.

Turtles are big business here with cuddly ones and fridge magnets jostling for space amongst the saucy playing card on the souvenir stands.The time to see them is supposedly May but our guy promised a reund if we didn't see one.

Well true to his word we did see one,a single one.I think it was his pet , tied to the boat but hey it looked real!.A good afternoon away and you get an hour at turtle (free) beach too!

Conclusion
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A decent resort but the infastructure of airport and roads needs a lot of attention.No doubt it's expanded too fast but if they want the punters they need to supply the service.I was undecided wether to recommend the resort or not but then the flight home movie started 'Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles' enough said....

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