When you had enough of the beach, you should definitely jump in your car to discover more of the island. We started by exploring the North during a day road-trip to the Shipwreck viewpoint. This was the longest trip as we almost crossed the entire island. Even so, we still managed to squeeze a bit of beach time in the late afternoon. Other activities can be done on less than a half day as the distances are relatively short and many points of interest, including Zante town, are located in the Southern part of the island. Here is a list with fun family activities in Zakynthos:

1. A road rip to the Shipwreck viewpoint. If you decided to skip the boat tour but still want to catch a view of this famous beach, you need to drive about 1h30 to the North West, beyond the village of Anafonitria. The view point is marked on all tourist maps. In the same fashion as the beach itself expect hoards of tourists. Only here you will also have to negotiate the narrow road with some hundreds other cars. Pack your patience and water as traffic jams are common. We found the site a bit less busy at lunchtime, many of the big tourbus companies having already completed the journey. Still, expect to leave your car on the side of the road (the is usually full) and walk to the viewpoint.

The viewpoint is nothing too impressive. Just a narrow balcony overlooking the Navagio beach. A queue to take a photo is likely. You might see tourist trying to climb further up the hill to get s better shot or selfie. This is quite dangerous (there were some warnings in English but to little effect) and it will not get you a better shot than the viewpoint. We took turns waiting ( there is no shade) and took a few photos once we reached the small balcony. Of course, our toddler refused to look at the camera for any of the photos.

On the way to the viewpoint, the road is mostly following the coast. Almost at the top of the mountain, there is an Orange juice bar on the right side of the road. If you stop, you will have a beautiful panorama of Zakynthos coast.

On the way back from the viewpoint adventure drive you can choose from a number of activities. One that is popular with kids, and some adults too, is a visit to the Therianos family farm. You will see a sign on the side of the road after entering the village of Kallithea. They have a few animals, a vegetable farm and produce their own olive oil. There is a small shop too but the visit of the farm is free.

After the farm animals, it was direction Tsilivi resort village on the coast for us. The main reason for this stop was a restaurant recommended by friends that we absolutely wanted to try. As we had missed lunch opening hours, we went to spend some time at the Tisivili beach until the place opened for dinner guests (5 PM).

The name of the place is Botanic Garden and is almost at the entrance of the resort town of Tisivili. The dinner we had there was one of the two best we had on the island. Organic Greek food reinterpreted in a modern way. The perfect spot for a break from the tasty but a bit repetitive taverna fare. The waiters were all very nice and ready to help with getting the LO settled in and bringing a high chair. They also have a short children menu.

2. A interesting trip in the South included a stop at the Aristeon oil press museum (http://www.aristeon.gr/) followed by the family run Grampsas Winery. We took the opportunity to buy delicious olive oil and wine that we offered as a gift to friends and family. We expected the olive oil to be quite good but the wine came as a surprise. A wine tasting of 5 wines was 5 Euro and you get a few snacks as well. A beautiful off the beaten track destination with warm Greek hospitality to match.

3. Maybe our favourite activity on Zakynthos was chartering a boat and spending a few hours at sea and on Turtle island. We rented via Big Blue, a company offering several individual as well as group tours from Keri Beach. The cost of a 3 hours trip with skipper was 200 Euro. This included a pick up and drop off by car from and to our accommodation in Vasilikos. They also provided a swim vest for the toddler. Please call at least a day before if you want to charter a boat

The boat trip included several stops and visits in the Keri caves and the Marathonisi island. We spent more time on the island as the beach and water were perfect. You can see in my post on beaches here, how this compares with the beaches on Zakynthos.

Upon return from the boat tour, we spent the rest of the day bathing at Keri beach before jumping in the shuttle taking us home.

3. In our penultimate day we visited Zante town. Is a laid back Greek town that resisted well to the pressure of mass tourism. The small streets and tree bordered pedestrian area are very charming. The centre is marked by the Solomos square, bordered by the town hall, library and a church. For the little ones, the Tourist train going through Zante would be a big hit. It’s departure station is just in front of Solomos square.

After the train ride, you should also stop A great playground, 100 after the ferry terminal, on the other side of the street. Perfect for watching the ships!

During our half a day trip to Gerakas, we visited the Turtle sanctuary. That was a big hit with our little dude. You could watch baby turtles feeding and some larger fish in a water tank. The whole visit was about 30 minutes. The centre is supported by donations only.

Onto the restaurants, we tried quite a number of them but really enjoyed about 4. One I already mentioned above, the Botanic Garden in Tsilivili. There were 2 in Vasilikos that also deserve a shout out: Mesala and Babis Taverna. We ate there a few times and food was consistently fresh and tasty. Babis’ place had a nicer atmosphere, in an interior garden and away from the street. They all had high chairs and a children menu. The tavern we liked the most was Agnadi on Vasilikos road. It tops our list for their great food but also super nice attitude towards the toddler: offering not only a high chair but also plastic cutlery and cup as well as a ‘natural’ final treat after each meal. The view from their terrace was just the cherry in the cake. The perfect place for our final dinner on the island.

Leave us a comment if you know other nice places to visit in Zakynthos. Thanks for reading.

Happy tavels!