Zakynthos Airport, named after Dionysios Solomos, contemporary Greek poet author of the Greek national anthem, is in the South-East of the island, about 6 km from the capital Zakynthos: near the airport there are also some famous tourist destinations, such as Tsilivi and Laganas, where the plane seems to touch the water when it lands.
Moreover, because of the closeness of the protected areas of Laganas and Kalamaki, where the loggerhead turtles lay their eggs in summer nights, Zakynthos Airport is closed in that period from 10:00 p.m. to 5.00 a.m.
The airport manages flights coming not only from the Greek cities such as Crete, Athens and Thessaloniki, but also from the main European cities such as Moscow, Vienna, London, Geneve, Milan, Rome, Naples and Bari.
The structure offers every kind of facilities to the tourist, like free Wi-Fi, duty-free shops and refreshment areas.
The best way to discover in complete freedom and autonomy the beauties of the island is to take advantage of the car rental service at Zakynthos Airport: you can pick your rental car up, booked on RentalUp, directly at Dionysios Solomos Airport; you just have to drive along the road Eparchiaki Odos Zakinthou – Vasilikou to get to Zakynthos city centre.
Zakynthos: points of interest
The island of Zakynthos is in the Ionian Sea, between the coasts of Peloponnesus and Cephalonia, a little further north. Breath-taking beaches, crystal-clear sea, sea caves and picturesque towns make this island one of the most frequented tourist destinations.
Homeland of poets, which gave birth not only to Dionysios Solomos but also to Ugo Foscolo, who dedicated to the island one of his famous poems, Zakynthos boasts an important naturalistic and historic heritage surrounded by legends: it is said that it is the birthplace of Aphrodite and that its forests are frequented by Artemis and Apollo, used to chill out in the shadow of laurel trees playing the lyre.
The symbolic place of Zakynthos is NavagioBeach or Shipwreck Beach, on the Western coast of the island and considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It is a cove whose name is related to the wreck of a ship run aground on the white bay in the 1970s, nestled as a gem within the stony walls and lapped by clear turquoise waters.
Starting from the Monastery of St. George Kremnon, you can exploit the car rental service at Zakynthos Airport and drive along a coastal road above the cliff, which offers the most beautiful view over this spectacular beach. If you would like, you can continue along the same road until the hinterland and the towns of Anafonitria and Volimes, where you can find the most beautiful hand embroidery throughout the island.
Navagio is also reachable by boat from Porto Vromi: we suggest you to set off at sunrise to enjoy the beach in a quiet atmosphere.
Zakynthos boasts other naturalistic pearls such as the Blue Caves, natural arches over the sea, Porto Limnionas Beach and the islets of Mizithres, off which a stretch of clear sea, perfect to snorkel and dive, extends.
From Limni Keriou Beach you can reach, only by canoe, the islet of Marathonissi, where the loggerhead turtles lay their eggs. There are two beaches on the island, one sandy and the other pebbly, from where you can accede to a sea cave perfect to snorkel.
Zakynthos: art and culture
It is advisable to take advantage of the car rental service at Zakynthos Airport and reach the city centre to immerse yourself into the history and the millennial art of Zakynthos, reborn after the devastation caused by the terrible 1953 earthquake. It represents one of the most active centres from a cultural point of view thanks to the presence of the Municipal Library, the Dionysios Solomos Museum and the Byzantine Museum. This latter has its seat in an elegant palace and preserves within it pictorial works, XV-century findings and religious art objects recovered from all the churches of the island destroyed after the earthquake: in particular, the XVI-century faithful reproduction of the Monastery of Agios Andreas with the restored frescoes will catch your eye!
One of the most suggestive districts of the city is Bochali, a hamlet located upon a panoramic hill which offers the most beautiful view over Zakynthos and the harbour. Once, there was a medieval village, destroyed with their churches by the earthquake: just a few ruins of the Venetian Kastro, memory of the domination of the Serenissima over the city (as also the beautiful church of Dionissios dominating the sea with its picturesque Venetian tower bell witnesses) remain.
Sailing from the harbour of Zakynthos towards the coasts of the Western Peloponnesus, you can then visit the ruins of the ancient city of Olympia, where the Olympic Games were born in 776 B.C.
