The full top20 list 1. Kefalonia 2. Crete 3. Samos 4. Hydra 5. Rhodes 6. Zakynthos 7. Mykonos 8. Lefkada 9. Corfu 10. Lesbos 11. Evia 12. Kos 13. Skiathos 14. Skopelos 15. Meganisi 16. Santorini 17. Patmos 18. Kythira 19. Chios 20. Karpathos

Ever wondered why there are so many ATMs on Zante these days? It's because the banks have discovered a trick of processing transactions in pounds instead of euros allowing them to use their own exchange rate, a process called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). The table below shows the comparative cost of obtaining €100 from the most common ATMs if you follow the default option of processing the transaction in GBP, and looking at the receipts left behind by other customers most people are still letting the ATMs steal up to 10% of their holiday money.

If you ignore all the inevitable warnings and choose the other option to do the exchange in Euros, you will find that they will cost significantly less as the bank have to the use the Visa Exchange Rate in the transaction. This should apply to any ATM that you use and you must be given the choice. It's also a trick being used by some retailers and restaurants. It is generally accepted that if you are ever given the choice to make a card payment in GBP always decline the option and pay in Euros as you would expect.

1. Get as many euros as you feel comfortable taking with you before leaving the UK
2. Not choosing the default DCC used by ATMs always gets a better exchange rate
3. Never use a card for transactions of less than 100 euros
4. Avoid Euronet ATMs like the plague!

Ktel Buses now operate a route from the airport to the main bus station in Zante Town where you can get connecting buses to all the major holiday resorts.

Zakynthos (Bus station) to Airport:

06:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 14:30 17:00 19:00 Except Sunday

Airport to Zakynthos (Bus station):

06:40 08:40 09:40 10:40 11:40 12:40 15:10 17:40 19:40 Except Sunday

We've been experimenting with landscape photography and the results are worth a look. The images are protected by Copyright, but you are free to use them for your own personal/non-commercial use. If you want to use one as your PC desktop, view the full size image and then right click on it

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Ever since Zante Airport opened in 1972 tourism has been increasing rapidly, but have you ever wondered what the place looked like back then? These postcards show that it was a very different place in those days.

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Many people believe that the ship was smuggling contraband cigarettes and ran aground after being pursued by the Greek navy. The truth is somewhat different. The ship was sailing from Kefalonia to Albania when it suffered a mechanical failure on the return journey. With no control and bad weather preventing any rescue the ship ran aground at Navagio on October 2, 1980.

MV "PANAGIOTIS" Captain Charalambos Kompothekras - Kotsoros has released the full story about what happened.

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The highest resolution picture ever taken of Zante Town. Use full screen and zoom right in to get the full effect. Checkout the rooftop pool on the Strada Marina Hotel or marvel at the complexity of the back roads in town. No wonder everybody gets lost when they venture in there. Look harder and you can even see the Kalamaki Water Park in the distance.

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Save time and money on airport transfers by picking up your hire car at the airport. The videos show the easiest route from the airport to your resort. Use the direct Vimeo link on the bottom right for more options including downloading the video to play on your smartphone or tablet on arrival.

Alykanas 1 Alykanas 2 Argassi Kalamaki

Although ancient writers attest that Zakynthos was only inhabited during the 15th and 16th centuries BC, Thucydides mentions that the first settlers were Achaians from the Peloponnese. We have only mythological sources to account for the island's prehistoric years, but these, however, may well contain grains of historical truth.

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We've resurrected some of the more popular bars and restaurants that have disappeared over the years so you can revive memories of your old holidays on Zante.

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