We are due to visit Kalamaki, Zante for the first time on August 31st. Would like to try this restaurant, can anyone tell me how to find it when we get there?

Hi,
We will be staying in Kalamaki for the first time this year. Can anyone tell me if we can walk to this restaurant from the Bitzaro Grande hotel, or will we need to get a taxi?
Thanks

We are visiting Zante for the first time on August 31st. I love to shop and am looking forward to visiting Zakynthos Town! Can anyone help by letting me know where the best shopping places are? Also, are there any markets on the island that are worth visiting?
Thanks

Thanks Ken, much appreciated the responses to both questions. We are visiting Kalamki on August 31st for the first time and are staying at the Bitzaro Grande, do you know anything about the hotel?

We also found about this bar from the website. It is by far the best bar in Kalamaki, situated right at the end of the main road. Although the bar is quite small, the music is excellent and there is a good choice of reasonably priced cocktails. The free jeep ride to take you to and from the main road up to the bar entrance just makes your visit that little bit special! Beware though, the bar is only open after 8pm.

Can't understand what the fuss is about. This bar is in a poor location, overlooking the road with tacky furniture and an equally tacky clientele. Nothing special that you couldn't find in every bar in Blackpool. And the toilets were filthy.

Althugh this is just an average bar, it is a good place to visit if you want to watch the football or feel like watching a film while you are away on holiday - they show the latest film releases every day at 7pm on their big screens. The drinks are cheap and the staff very friendly. Nothing special though.

The sea here is very clean and clear with shallow water, ideal for swimming and for children. The water is also full of tiny silver fish which eat away at your ankles whilst you sit at the edge of the water! However, the sand is full of cigarette ends and the sun loungers are old, dirty and rusty. We much preferred our pool area to the beach, which is very unusual for us. There is also a lack of good places to eat on the beach front.

We visited Kalamaki, Zante in the first week in September. The climate was absolutely ideal and the resort was not too busy with hardly any children in sight! The nights were warm but cool enough to be comfortable and the sun shone all day, every day. The locals said the nights start to get cooler at the end of September but I would still recommend visiting Zante at this time of year.

We e-mailed Merlis in advance of our visit to Zante and were given good quotes by Julie for a Suzuki Samurai Jeep. The car was delivered on time with a useful map and guide to the island. Overall the service offered by Merlis was first rate, would definitely recommend them. I think it is essential to hire a car to see the real Zante, we travelled all over the island and saw the most beautiful sights, found some fantastic small beaches and ate in little mountain side restaurants we would never have found if we did not have a car. The island is small so two days is enough to see most areas but three days was just right.

We did not actually go on an organised trip to see the blue caves and ship wreck. We hired a car and drove along the mountain side in the direction of the main port near the blue caves at the northern end of the island. The drive itself was fantastic, you pass many excellent restaurants with breathtaking views as well as lots of tiny beaches which you can have all to yorself for a swim. Just before you come to the main port you see a wooden sign for a right turn advertising trips to the Blue Caves. This leads to a tiny fishing port where you can hire a private speedboat or a more traditional slowboat for your own private trip to see the caves. The cost was 15 euros for the whole boat and the trip lasted 2 hours. We were free to swim where ever we liked and didn't have to share te experience with anyone but our driver. Please try to avoid the large organised tours in favour of smaller ports like these. it is definitely worth it!

The Bitzaro Grande hotel is excellent! We booked direct with the hotel and found our own separate flights which made the holiday a lot cheaper! The hotel is just 5 minutes walk from the beach and you can easily reach both Kalamki and Laganas. The pool is especially nice; large and clean with a nice snack bar and large free sun loungers. The rooms are spacious, clean and have everythng ou could want. Although most brochures don't say, they do actually offer rooms on a B+B basis, HB and self catering studios and apartments. We had a studio but also had breakfast included so e had the best of both worlds! The breakfast is full English and is actually very good. Make sure you request a room overlooking the pool, as some rooms overlook the front road and the view is not too good. Overall, I would highly recommend this hotel as the best I have ever stayed in on any Greek island.

The viewing platform is visited by many of the coach tours but you can just as easily get there by car. The views are fantastic and well worth a look.

I have never visited an airport with faciltiies as poor as those at the tiny airport on Zante. When you arrive, be prepared to wait up to 2 hours to reclaim your luggage. As you leave you are made to queue outside for hours in chaos before moving through to the departure lounge which has practically no seating and is far too small. Please take your own food and drink with you, there is one kiosk but the prices are unbelievable - you could pay 8 euros per sandwich and 4 euros for a small bottle of water. You just have to switch off and not let it ruin your holiday, because Zante is worth it. However, if you are prone to stress at airports you may blow your top!!

Well, have now actually visited Zante town and it really is just okay. There are some shops along a pedastrianised road which runs parallel to the harbour just behind the main front, but they aren't really worth shopping in. Although the front does have some pretty churches and a few nice restaurants, it doesn't really have much to offer to the tourist, it really is just a greek working town (and not an interesing one at that!) If you hire a car, just drive along the front main road and you will have seen everything there is to see.

Kalamaki is very much a quiet families and couples type resort, with a good choice of restaurants and a few bars. Although we did like Kalamaki. it is essential to hire a car and get out and about to see the real Zante. The island is beautiful, you wouldn't get the real effect if you only stayed in Kalamaki. However, if you just want a resort based holiday where you relax by the pool all day and have a meal and a few drinks at night, Kalamaki will be your perfect choice!

We only visited Laganas at night but the choice of bars, shop and restaurants was excellent! If you are after a peaceful or typically Greek holiday, then Laganas is not for you. However, if you are a family with teenagers or a couple after a good time - Laganas has everything you could want!

I know everyone else seems to love this restaurant but we thought it was distinctly average. The location leaves a lot to be desired, it is above a car rental shop and overlooks the main road and some poor Greek persons house! The service was good and the prices the same as everywhere else but the food was just okay. The lasagne was certainly not homemade and the lamb was the same dish offered in any of the other restaurants along the road. If you come from an Italian family (as we do) or like real Italian food, give this one a miss.

Although the location of this restaurant is not brilliant, it is overlooking the main road, both the food and service were fantastic! They have a large and varied manu and everything we ordered was tasty and cooked well. The staff were also the friendliest we came across during our visit.

Lambros is in an ideal location, right next door to the Cave bar. You can go for a few drinks and then eat a lovely meal at Lambros! We found the atmosphere in the restaurant to be extremely relaxed, Lambros is one of the more typically Greek places to eat in Kalamaki. Both the food and service were good.

Judging from the queues outside every time we walked past Mermaids, it is the most popular places to eat in Kalamaki. This is a shame because it is one of the most commercial and non-typical Greek restaurants in the resort. We decided to give it a go and ate there on one night. I have to admit that the atmosphere was good and the waiters were friendly but extremely busy. The menu choice is enormous, if you prefer to eat English food whilst you are away,then this is the place for you, but they did also do Greek dishes as well. This is also a good choice for families with small children, their children's menu was good. Overall, I would say that Mermaid's does the job if you want to feel like you are still at home in England but ith a slightly Greek twist.

Definitely the best restaurant in Kalamaki. The location is excellent, you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere! The service was good and the food excellent! Zepos was hard to find, you may need to get a taxi if you are staying at the Laganas end of the Kalamaki road but it is worth it!

Best bar in Laganas!