Renting a car in Zakynthos will give you the greatest freedom and opportunities to discover the secluded coves, pristine beaches and mountain towns. Even in Zakynthos, the general guidelines for renting a car apply and if you are new to this segment, read our article How to rent a car abroad for the first time.

Car rental in Zakynthos - compare offers

We recommend renting a car even if you're heading to Zakynthos with a tour operator. It would be a shame to spend a whole week in just one resort, when the island offers so many beautiful places, which, apart from the optional organised tours through a travel agency, can be reached only by car.

Where and when to book a car in Zakynthos

For the best price, always book your car online in advance and pick it up at the airport as soon as you arrive.

Reputable rental companies such as Avis, Sixt, Budget and many others have their offices in the airport lobby and offer better rates than smaller rental companies in the tourist areas and towns.

However, if you will be spending time in a resort town further away from Zakynthos Town, where the airport is located, there is no problem renting a car directly there.

How and where to book a car in Zakynthos? To compare all car rental companies, use one of the search engines that compare all available offers, such as booking.com.

Generally, rental companies have the highest prices in August, when crowds of individual tourists from Italy or France head to Zakynthos. Expect the lowest prices during September and October and, of course, in winter, when there is virtually no travel to Zakynthos.

Similarly, the price drops for longer-term rentals. If you rent a car for a day, the average daily price will be much higher than if you rent for a week.

You can usually expect lower prices at smaller rental companies in the city, and prices at the airport tend to be about 15% higher; on the other hand, you can rely on the larger, more reputable rental companies.

Zakynthos car rental prices

• A week during the summer holidays - from 0 eur 18 eur
• 24 hours during summer holidays - from 0 eur 0 eur
• A week in low season (June, September) - from 0 eur 29 eur
• 24 hours low season (June, September) - from 0 eur 0 eur

Compare the prices of all car rental companies in the main locations:

• choose a car at Zakynthos airport - all rental companies
• pick up a car in Zakynthos - all rental companies
• Alykanas: Giant Rentals, Marinos Rentals
• Tsilivi: Giant Rentals, Imperial Car Rental
• Kalamaki and Laganas: Giant Rentals, Imperial Car Rental

Rent a scooter and prices

The freedom of movement plus the breeze in your hair is highly contagious and once you get on a scooter, you won't want to get off. Scooter rentals can be found in every major resort. However, the prices are not particularly different from renting a car, so if you're going in more than one, the cost of renting a scooter is not worth it.

You'll pay around 35 eur for one, there's usually no need to book a scooter in advance, you can find rentals literally on every corner.

To rent a scooter over 50cc in Greece you need a driving licence of at least group A1.

International driving licence and other documents

Zakynthos is part of the European Union, so there's no need for an international driving licence. The car rental company will also accept a national driving licence from any EU country.

In case you hold a driving licence from a non-EU country, Norway, Switzerland or Iceland, get an international driving licence with your driving licence.

Car rental companies usually require a credit card to rent a car, and will often lend on a debit card, but either on less favourable terms or with a very high deposit often exceeding even 1 000 eur.

Operation and regulations of Zakynthos

You won't find any main roads in the true sense of the word on the island, and certainly not motorways. There are no large towns here, and so higher capacity roads would be pointless.

Traffic is very heavy in the summer on the eastern and southern coasts in the resort belt, where, especially in the towns, you'll often find yourself plodding along.

Outside of this area cars are noticeably fewer, the roads are narrow and quite winding as Zakynthos is a relatively hilly island, though the altitudes are not dizzying.

When driving, it's a good idea to bear in mind that compliance with regulations in Greece in general - and Zakynthos not excluded - is considerably lower than in other European countries.

Locals often don't bother with the right of way, and the use of turn signals is quite exceptional. What is probably most surprising is the wild overtaking even in the most unlikely places. In these cases, pull over to the side of the road, slow down and carry on without stress.

Petrol prices in Zakynthos

In Zante, petrol is practically the most expensive in Greece and prices are among the highest in Europe. For 1 litre of petrol you will pay on average 1,95 eur.

The network of petrol stations in Zakynthos is sufficient and you can find them in every major town.

Parking

The biggest problem with parking is in the capital of Zakynthos, where there is not much space to build large parking lots in the narrow streets.

However, even here you will find a few parking areas, usually near supermarkets or beaches. The vast majority of public parking in Zakynthos is free.