Zacinto, commonly called Zakynthos by the past poets, is the southern and third biggest island belonging to the Ionie's group of islands.It covers an area of 405 squaredkilometres where a bit more than 35.000 inhabitants live and is located 300 km west from Athens and 9,5 marine miles from the Peloponneso coast from where it is reachable by a regular ferry service.
Zakynthos, island of big contrasts for the presence of golden beaches and massive rocky coasts, benefits from a Mediterranean temperate climate with mild winters and cool summers; the generous winter rains favour the growth of thick vegetation and assure a remarkable water reserve. That is why the island is very "green" and in the past both Homer and the Venetian rulers used to call it "wooded" and "Levant flower". One of the popular attractions of the Island are the Blue Caves.
The Blue Caves consist of particular geologic formations giving life to a succession of caves along the North-West coast of the island; they start soon after AgiosNikolaos to end near Skinari Cape.
Their name is due to the particular reflections of the water in the caves and you can visit many of them with a small- medium boat whereas the others are to be visited only by expert swimmers and divers.
Between AgiosNikolaos and Skinari Cape it is possible to reach by car a small mill and from there coming down a hundred steps, to reach the piece of coast where the caves are. At the bottom of the steps there are some polish rocks, not very comfortable to lie down to sunbathe, that are a good base to start visiting the caves by swimming and to dive.
Zakynthos is very easily reachable from Athens with daily flights of 45 minutes. .
Zakynthos' airport "Solomos" is 3 km from the city and it is reachable by taxi or private means of transportation. The best time to come here is from May to September.
In the last years the island has undergone a progressive development to offer tourists modern infrastructures keeping its traditional aspect still visible both in the restaurants along the seashore and the small villages in the outback; this traditional aspect of the past together with the joy of life and hospitality of its inhabitants will touch you from the very first day.
