As our yacht zips around the southern side of stingray-shaped Zakynthos, each bend holds a new surprise: a series of caves carved into the sheer coastal cliffs, low limestone arches stretching over the sea, an olive and oak tree-covered islet whose golden beaches draw nesting sea turtles. Our captain anchors in one of the many secluded coves, where the sandy shore is ringed by jade-colored water so clear, you can make out the schools of fish swimming below.
Sipping a glass of Zakynthian rosé on the bow, I glance up at the pockets of pines filling the cracks of the cliffs spilling down like dunes into the sea. A dolphin veers toward our boat as the sun dips below the mountains, painting the sky in blush-colored shades more vibrant than anything I’ve seen in Santorini the many times I’ve huddled with hordes of tourists vying for a sunset view in Oia.
The green island of Zakynthos, or Zante in Italian, is the third-largest in the Ionian off mainland Greece’s western coast. Santorini’s whitewashed buildings and blue-domed churches may be the postcard vision of the Greek islands, but Zakynthos embodies an identity all its own. The island’s colorful past of rulers—including the Byzantines, Ottomans, French, English, and Venetians—left their mark in the form of neoclassical and pastel-hued buildings, as well as the landmark hilltop Venetian castle, where the old acropolis, Psofis, once stood.
“The Ionian Islands offer a different experience compared to other Greek islands—the vibe often feels like a blend of Greece and southern Italy,” says my friend Fotis Vallatos, a Greek travel writer and restaurateur behind natural wine-focused Pharaoh in Athens.
Neighboring Kefalonia may be the darling of the Ionians with its cenote-like cave lakes and semi-wild horses grazing the slopes of Mount Ainos—the sole national park in the Greek islands—but Zakynthos is slowly emerging from the shadow of its sister island. “In the past, it mostly attracted a young British crowd partying in the south, leaving the rest of the island relatively unspoiled and less touristy,” says Vallatos, adding that the destination is now evolving into a more upscale one thanks to a handful of high-end hotels, a growing gastronomic scene, and wineries producing excellent natural wines from indigenous varietals that are little known even to Greeks.
With water so turquoise it could rival Tahiti or the Maldives, plus some of the most beautiful beaches in Greece accessible only by boat, Zakynthos won’t remain a secret much longer. Below, a guide to Zakynthos—and why it deserves a place on your Greek isles bucket list.
Where to Stay
Family-owned Lesante Collection is spearheading Zakynthos’s Pamela Anderson-like rebrand as a luxury locale, complete with private villas and yachting. A 15-minute drive from capital Zante Town and the main port, Lesante Cape sprawls across the Akrotiri peninsula, where noble manor homes once sat, and is designed to feel like a traditional Greek village. Hammocks sway over the cliffside, three-tiered infinity pool, where views of Kefalonia s staggering Mount Ainos are silhouetted against the sky. The private beach—a smattering of stones and pebbles—requires a slight trek down steps carved into the rugged cliffside, which adds to the hotel’s remote appeal—especially when you reach the duo of sunbed-clad wooden piers extending over the sea.
Rooms and villas embrace traditional Zakynthian design (exposed stone, pastoral tapestries) infusing natural, minimalist decor like live edge coffee tables and woven rope furniture. The best rooms in the house (apart from the villas, of course) are the sea view pool suites, where you can bask on your private terrace soaking up vistas of the Ionian in the distance. Nearby, adults-only, all-suite sister spot Lesante Blu, in the village of Tragaki, is a modernist glass marvel that’s a vision at sunset—especially from fine dining restaurant Melia’s cliffside tables hovering on platforms over the infinity pool.
Hillside Olea All Suite Hotel, a member of Design Hotels, sits on an old olive grove and features cube-shaped swim-up suites linked by a lagoon and minimalist-chic rooms with private pools swathed in rattan and brushed concrete. At the recently renovated Contessina Hotel, a short drive from Zante Town, 160 rooms face (or open up to) the centerpiece pool, while some suites sport their own private pool shielded by gardens.
The Peligoni Club, on the northern stretch of the island, meanwhile, takes a cue from Capri’s cliffside hotels with its mix of Mediterranean-style stone villas and seafront cottages that spill down the hillside. Charter the club’s wooden, 1970s-era kaiki-style yacht to explore the nearby Blue Caves, or take part in Peligoni’s wellness series biking alongside six-time Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy or practicing your strokes with Olympic silver medalist and English Channel swimmer Dan Wallace.
Where to Eat and Drink
Start your morning in Zante Town at the newly opened Venier, a boulangerie and patisserie whose chocolate- and pistachio-striped croissants could rival some of Paris’s finest. Owner Yfantidis Stavros is among the chefs driving Zakynthos’s gastronomic boom through Greek-influenced cuisine that blends the best of the island’s local ingredients and Venetian heritage with more modern touches. One of the best examples is at Lesante Cape’s Fiore Fine Dining, where Stavros’s tasting menu includes dishes like nerokremmydopita, an elevated take on a Zakynthian water onion pie. For cuisine as creative but with a more casual air, take a seat at the chef’s sky bar Movida, overlooking Zante Town—the closest thing you’ll get to a rooftop restaurant on Zakynthos—where you can sip wines from lauded Grampsas Winery and natural winemaker Dimitris Kefallinos.
Near Zante Town’s main Solomos Square, Prosilio serves up reimagined spins on Greek and Ionian cuisine with plates like octopus terrine with red prawns, taramosalata, and grape leaf and rooster ragù pastitsada. On the northeastern coast near the Blue Caves, Nobelos Seaside Lodge is modeled after the island’s traditional stone mansions and features one of the island’s most breathtaking beachfront restaurants. Admire the view from an antique table perched on the terrace along the cliffs while indulging in hyperlocal ingredients sourced from nearby organic farms and fishers cooked in a traditional wood-fired oven.
When you’re ready for simple, authentic cuisine, try Selene Taverna or seaside Nikos Beach Bar Restaurant on Porto Roma beach, on the southeastern side of the island. For something more rustic, bohemian Dionysos on Heaven on Dafni Beach is a makeshift restaurant and beach club crafted out of driftwood, thatched palms, and blanket-draped hay bales that feels as natural an addition to the legendary Hippie Trail as anywhere in Ibiza—especially with the DIY ribbon dreamcatchers.
What to Do
Carve out a full boat day to zip around the coast to some of the island’s most photogenic bays and beaches that are reachable solely by sea. Lesante Collection’s fleet ranges from compact speedboats to 52-foot yachts that can whisk you around the southern side of the island toward the loggerhead Caretta sea turtles nesting on Marathonisi Island and into the limestone Keri Caves to snorkel in the glowing, cobalt-colored water.
The northern part of Zakynthos is where you’ll find the famed “Shipwreck Beach” Navagio, where a rusted freighter believed to have been a smuggler ship has been marooned on shore for nearly 40 years. From the port of Agios Nikolaos, hop in a kayak and paddle past endangered monk seals to another itinerary highlight: the Blue Caves, Zakynthos’s version of Capri’s wildly popular Blue Grotto.
From the sleepy seaside town of Kalamaki on the southern coast, hike to the centuries-old, fresco-filled Panagia Skopiotissa monastery crowning Skopos mountain, or trot along forest trails on horseback around family-run Ampelostrates in the mountains near Koiliomenos. At the Greek take on an agriturismo, dine on Ionian staples crafted from the farm’s own ingredients, like skordostoumbi (garlicky baked eggplant) and cheese pies, while sipping Ampelostrates’s housemade natural wine at the stone taverna surrounded by olive groves and vines.