Jeep Safari

We've been going to Zante for the last five years and haven't really bothered with any of the trips. This year however we were part of a group of five and decided to do a few trips. We booked the Jeep Safari through Pelargos Tours at the top end of the strip in Kalamaki, we paid 35 Euros each excluding lunch. The trip was from 9.00 till 17.00. the itinerary was for a wine tasting visit, a monastery visit, highest point of island for photos, drink stops, lunch stop, ship wreck, market, blue caves and a one hour beach swim. What we actually got was the wine tasting (very basic),no monastery visit just a drive past when we informed it was a monastery for women, going to the highest point for photos one of the guides was asked about an island across from us to which he said " i cant remember what its called", we had lunch at an extra cost to us bearing in mind that we had already paid 35 euros each for the trip, we went to the ship wreck passing the market which got no mention at all except from my wife who said "i think we should have stopped there", upon arrival at the ship wreck viewing platform, we were told the queue was far to big and it would take us two hours to get to the platform, so instead Yannis the trip leader told us to climb over a crumbling wall and stand near the edge edge of the cliff for photos. My wife refused to do this as it was extremely dangerous but was still coaxed by all the drivers to attempt it. This is the most famous photo shoot of Zante. We then went to a jetty for the Blue Caves trip which again was an extra 8 euros each. After this we had a twenty minute stop for drinks and ice cream at another village. From here our driver dropped us off at our apartments to which we were very grateful thinking that they were running late. Imagine our surprise we we saw that the time was only 15.50 and that we were back over one hour earlier than we should have been.I gave him a ten euro tip thinking he was running late I was fuming when I found out that he had actually shaved over one hour off the trip time (monastery tour, market tour and beach swim stop). In the evening we went to complain at Pelargos Tours were we told he couldn't do anything about it but if we took another trip he would give us a big discount.......Who in their right minds would buy another trip off a bandit. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY as he was not interested in our complaint at all. DO NOT BOOK THE JEEP SAFARI AS ALL THE TRIP SELLERS USE THIS MAN YANNIS. HE IS A COWBOY. HIRE A CAR AND DRIVE THE ISLAND YOURSELF IT WILL BE CHEAPER AND BETTER.

Very enjoyable day out.  Much preferred this trip to a coach trip.  Got to see the mountain villages and had some great stops for sightseeing, lunch, swimming and shopping.  Would recommend this trip, the whole family enjoyed it very much.

   Great Idea for day out; But yes remember Zante is Easy to cover in a Day, as a Tourist;

We did the Jeep Safari in August of this year.  I booked the trip from a bucket shop and it was about 65euros for myself and 11 year old daughter.

On the day of the trip we were to be picked up from Drunk Corner.  I was really worried as Alan was 20 mins late and I thought we may have made a huge mistake.

 

I needn't have worried about anything that day.  We picked up a dutch couple in Lags and off we went.  It was a fantastic trip and Alan is full of local knowledge.  He kept stopping to pick plants from the roadside to show us.

 

He included Annie all through the day, and kept up the banter. 

 

I would definatly recommend this trip to anybody

Not as good as other jeeps trips we have been on but not a bad day out.  As Zakynthos is quite a small island there is a limited range of places to go.  Obligatory visits to cafes and souvenir shop but you can see why they do it and I am sure the honey will be very nice.  Booked through a bucket shop which is far cheaper than tour operator. 

Is the jeep safari suitable for a 6 and 4 year old? We are going to Tsilivi at the end of May..

thanks very much Ian for the great and sometimes scarey jeep sapari  shhhhh, when 1st week of september and it was the best day out we had,  hope ian found the dog, he knows what we mean and if you want to see the real zante please use this service, you wont regret it. thanks Ian, Karl and Tasha Goldsworthy

Thanks a lot for a great trip at Tuesday 15/09/09 around Zante Island from a Polish team. "Japanese" thaks a lot a driver for a great places to make a picture. Wielkie dzieki .

We went on the Jeep Safari on 17/09/09 as well (I was the woman who was terrified of heights and couldn't go anywhere near the edge of that cliff!). The jeep safari was one of the highlights of our holiday, it was a brilliant day and we felt that we got to see all the main bits of the island that you wouldn't normally get to see. The off road bits were a laugh and Ian the guide knew so much about the island. We would definitely recommend booking an Insight Zante jeep (we booked through TEZ) as the yellow ones you also see around seemed a bit dodgy.

Helen and Mark

Just returned from yet another great hol in Argassi.  Last day decided to finally do jeep safari, 17.9.09 .Well what a fun day.  Thanks Ian for the perfect end to a perfect holiday.  I actually learnt something and had fun at the same time. 

greatday ian knows his stuff and made the day very interesting , going off road and seeing the real greece was great, thank you ian for a great day

  would like to thank ian for giving us a lovely day on the jeep safari, wat a friendly and knowledgable guy he knew everything about the island and took us on a beautiful tour would recommend to everyone thanks again

Fab,Fab,Fab what a fab day out, we went on this trip via TEZ trips ( far cheaper than booking with the rep)  for my moms birthday,our driver was Ray and we followed Ian OMG, they are good drivers, you start with a coffee in a little bar by turtle island, if your bladder is in the slightest bit weak, do not have a drink because once the off roading starts you will be needing incontinence pads, its excellent and the views from the aerials are fab, great lunch, and great info on the island, 2 great blokes, realy worth doing but do be careful what you buy at the wine tasting event, mom bought some cream he let her off with 1 euro because it was her birthday she paid 9 euro, in the shop back at the resort it was only 6! so be warned.

Just back from a fantastic trip to Zante - the Jeep Safari is an absolute must for anyone going. 

We ( myself and my girlfriend) were with Ian for the day, and two other girls. The trip is great, you really do see so much that you otherwise won't get near. 

The off-roading was probably the best,  would have happily done that all day. 

Ian is exceptionally nice, and loves his job, very friendly and knows his history of the island.

The lunch was great, wish that place had been nearer our hotel for a second trip.

The only thing was the wine tasting part, and the little shop. The produce is lovely and tasty, but overpriced - which was a bit annoying because we bought most of our presents for friends there, it was only later on during the holiday, seeing the same stuff in the towns ( and airport ) we realised it was cheaper. That was a bit annoying, but hopefully people reading will know now in advance.

We couldn't recommend the trip more highly. 

Top marks for the trip and for Ian.

Brian  & Alex

   The jeep safari is a great day out. We went and had off road driving, views to die for and lots of interesting information about parts of the island you probably would nt usually see. Ian our driver was good company and very efficient. The swim stop was good too. Only down side was 'wine tasting' which was a stop at a road side family shop where the stuff was well over priced and the family very very pushy to get you to buy something. Apart from that a great day out, thanks.   Rose,Jim Susan and Jacky

hi ian, remember us, we were in zante there for two weeks, you took us on the jeep safari... and had a great time, plus a great greek dinner. thought i would leave you a comment saying thanks for a fab day, and hopefully we`ll be back in zante next year, to do it again..

oh and thanks for your jacket that day, looks nice on me

We booked the Jeep safari with Zante insight (tsilivi) and everyone had a great time!! Ian makes sure everyone has a great time!! Watch your head if your in the back when your off road hahahaha!

Hi Ian,

you're the best of the world . We liked the offroad

pictures of a great time!

Zante, was brilliant! I got back last week Thursday with my daughter we had a wonderful time, thanks to the lovely Anastasios, Demetrius, Ian, Emilio and Alketa they made our trip!  Ian the driver was very knowledgeable and you got a full understanding and appreciation of the Island.

 I am 38 and I was treated very well as a first time driver! These guys really care! My 14 year old found the whole Island wonderful-she wasn't bored she loved it! We are looking forward to returning to Tslilvi next year!

I must go back!

Hi there wonder if anyone can help me. Me, my husband & 5 year old son are travelling to Kalamaki later this month and wondered if the jeep safari is suitable for kids that age, the reviews sound brill and would really love to go. Also does anyone know the best place to book in Kalamaki?

Jeep safari is really good fun and interesting . We booked with Zante Insight and our driver was Ian . We had a unexpectedly personal tour which was excellent and we saw loads of the island . Would recommend this trip to all of you fit enough to travel in a landrover off road . You won't get better.

We went to Argassi last September for 2 weeks for the 3rd time and we had read on here that the jeep safari was worth a trip...boy you were not wrong there.  We got a fab driver Ian.

The views of the island are spectacular.