Where to stay in Zakynthos

How to choose the best hotel on Zakynthos and where would we recommend staying from our own experience? Read in this chapter.

The main resorts are concentrated on the south and east coasts, as the north and west are dominated by mountains and cliffs. For tips on specific hotels or apartments in each location, see the What to See chapter.

For example, you can compare all the hotel, guesthouse or apartment offers on booking.com.

Find hotel prices on Booking.com

Larger lively resorts

In Zakynthos, you won't find real resort towns like in Spain, Croatia or Italy, but rather large, lively villages with plenty of hotels, tavernas and bars.

If you love nightlife and a wide range of daytime activities, whether by sea or land, choose from these resorts:

Laganas

Laganas, in the south of the island, is the place to go for entertainment. The town is infamous for its nightlife, wild parties and dance clubs and is becoming an increasingly popular destination for young people, especially Brits.

But apart from that, it's a great base for boat trips and also boasts the longest and definitely one of the nicest beaches in Zakynthos.

Tsilivi

The ideal resort for families is Tsilivi on the east coast. As in any town, you'll come across bars and discos, but overall it's a family-friendly place with hotel complexes, restaurants, shops and a long sandy beach with a range of water activities.

However, it's the second busiest resort on Zakynthos after Laganas, with a pretty nice beach, but more urban than natural, and the largest waterpark on the island.

Cities

There's only one real full-service town on the island.

Zakynthos Town

The capital of Zakynthos faces the biggest influx of tourists, but it mostly accommodates travellers who venture out on their own. You won't find many nice beaches right in Zakynthos Town, so it stays out of the way of travel companies.

For individual travellers, however, Zakynthos Town is an ideal choice if you want to go on day trips around the island and also like to have everything important close at hand.

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Smaller quiet resorts

Zakynthos is a great place to spend your holidays in small resorts, with apartments, hotels and smaller resorts somewhat haphazardly dotted along the flat eastern and southern coastlines. However, even these resorts offer a wide selection of tavernas and basic grocery stores or beach amenities.

The small resorts may not be the most chic places in the Mediterranean at first glance, but peace and quiet are certainly to be found here.

Vasilikos

A small town with the prettiest densely wooded surroundings and a beautiful long beach, Banana is one of the best Zakynthos has to offer. Accommodation and tour prices are a bit higher here than in the rest of the island, but it's still not a "high-end" resort that only the wealthiest classes can afford.

It is located in the southeast of the island with good accessibility from the airport (about 20 minutes drive). Nearby are the turtle beaches of Gerakas and Dafnia.

Alykes, Alikanas

Other family-friendly locations include Alykes and Alikanas north of Tsilivi, and you'll often see names spelled with opposite i/s such as Alikes or Alykanas. These places provide a really long flat beach which is very well organised at first, then towards the north it becomes a natural beach with no facilities and plenty of privacy.

In the centre of the resorts there are basic amenities in the form of tavernas and shops, and from late afternoon onwards there is an unspoilt peace and quiet. Even the prices of accommodation and tours are relaxed: the resorts are among the cheapest on Zakynthos.

Kalamaki

A quieter resort adjacent to the lively Laganas, this is a good alternative for those who want to enjoy themselves to their heart's content, but still enjoy some peace and quiet during the night. Also, the beaches in Kalamaki are not nearly as crowded as those in Laganas, 2km away.

Here you will find mainly smaller apartment houses and boutique resorts.

Argassi

A relatively large number of tours and individual travellers head to this small resort near the capital, mainly because of the low accommodation prices. However, Argassi has no real beach, just small private beaches belonging to accommodations that are not among the most beautiful in Zakynthos.

Hotel prices in Zakynthos

As in any holiday destination, prices rise in the summer season. For individual travellers, however, Zakynthos is a cheap destination if you don't need to stay in traditional hotels, but make do with fully furnished apartments or studios.

A week in a resort with a walking distance to the sea of up to 15 minutes can be purchased in an apartment for 2 in summer from 293 eur.

Classic hotels by the sea then start at prices from 513 eur for a week for 2 people.

The booking.com offer consists mostly of apartments. This is different from destinations like Bulgaria or Egypt, where one hotel resort stands next to another.

Where to stay in Zakynthos