Zákynthos (Zante) with walks

ZAKYNTHOS, 5th edition (2019), updated 13/11/2023

Updates for walks and all general information given below supplement those provided in the guidebook. It is vital that this Update is read in conjunction with the text of the book, but note that the Update applies only to the edition stated and not to any earlier editions. (If you have an older edition of this book you can “upgrade” to the latest edition at half price.)

Information has been forwarded to us by users of the book, and Sunflower Books offers the data in good faith but cannot be held responsible for any misleading or inaccurate content in the Update. Unless indicated otherwise, what appears here has not been verified by the author or publisher, so please allow due caution when new or amended routes are suggested. Each piece of information is dated; bear in mind that some of the older observations may have since been overtaken by events or further changes. If, during your holiday, you are using the current edition of the guide and are able to provide any additional updating to add to this page, we will be pleased to hear from you. Please send information, preferably by e-mail, to info@sunflowerbooks.co.uk.

Fire is a serious problem on Zakynthos and across the Mediterranean. Statistics indicate only 1% of fires in the Mediterranean are due to natural causes each summer. The Forestry Departments throughout Greece have not documented all forests, and as a result some local people burn wooded areas so that they cannot be claimed as forests and subject to different agricultural or development regulations. This means that large tracts of land burn each summer. Almost every walk in the book is at a different stage of regeneration following fires within the last 20 years. Maquis habitats usually regenerate within 3-5 years, however traditional plant species such as carob are usually lost forever. In theory the coastline between Gerakas-Daphni should be protected carob-olive maquis vegetation, however it is seriously degraded due to it being subject to fire almost every 5 years. The area between Marathia and Keri was burnt in 2007, but it will take many years for the pines to regenerate. In fact, towering oak trees were the original species of this headland, and only a few stands remain. In 2008 vast tracks of mountains between Keri and Kiliomenos were burnt. Until all land is properly documented (i.e. ordinance survey maps; detailed habitat maps do not exist in Greece, only for some existing Natura 2000 habitats), fire will continue to be a problem. There is a fantastic wealth of orchids and flowers in the spring following the fires.] (Author)

There are two omnibus reports on this book, so we’ve not split the update into the usual format. (Sunflower)

Omnibus report 1: Just returned from a 2 week walking holiday on Zakynthos using your 2019 5th edition guide for inspiration. Extremely useful and I was able to incorporate 19 out of your suggested 22 routes into what turned into an 135 mile itinerary. The following comments might be useful for your Updates section. For those who would like a good map to accompany your excellent book I recommend the Discovery Walking Guides ‘Tour & Trail’ 1:35000 which includes your routes. For those who like the electronic toys and who know Google Maps isn’t accurate I use the App ‘Routes’ with the relevant country loaded into it so you can run it off-line. (User, 5/23. whose comments are numbered from 3 & 4 to 20 below)

Walks 3 & 4 refer to parking at the ‘Sea Turtle Thematic Exhibition’. There are now no signs and the second left turning has a set of single-storey rental accommodation units facing you. If you drive to the right of the right-hand unit along a narrow concrete track you find a parking area just past a swimming pool. The old-style exhibition building is in this site and had a ‘temporarily closed’ sign on it that didn’t seem recent.

Walk 3: the path from 10 to 14 is blocked by padlocked gates just past 10 so the route has to be down to Daphne/Mella beach and up the track from there. At 14 the old route was blocked with piled branches and undergrowth.

Walk 5/6: variant: We parked at Kalamaki and walked up Skopos using the Vrondonero trail, down to Argassi then used back lanes to get to the ruined church at F and then down to Vrondenero again to make a 10.7 mile circuit.

Walk 7: The ‘gated entrances’ for the start and finish are non-existent. The concrete path is now under a layer of pine needles and the tracks in poor definition. We made it down to the beach where some people were walking along. Perhaps the correct route will be better defined once the turtle season starts but certainly in early May there was no guidance. We ended up walking past the Zante Beach Hotel before cutting inland back to the road to the Ileara.

Walk 8: The shingle coastline between 2 and 3 was impassable so a detour was needed but it is possible to cut west on a tarmac road earlier than suggested and still get a good walk through the old olive groves. The headland at 17 is also impassable so to get down to the coast we turned west at 16 and used a track to a Taverna which had a set of steps down to the beach after the headland.

Walks 10/11/12: can be combined to give a longer circuit – excellent views across Laganas Bay and all round.

Walks 13/14: can be easily combined. The loop from 7 [Walk 14] is worth doing for the coastal views as is the detour at 9 to the cliff edge.

Walk 17: The ‘extra’ to the Schiza cross was a let-down because the Taverna completely blocks the view unless you choose to go into it.

Walk 18: The suggested parking place is very restricted and could only accommodate one vehicle. We parked at the small chapel where there is ample space and walked the extra 550m at each end of the walk. The cliff edge views [2] give you an excellent look across to the Schiza cross and down into the bay. The extra to the Lakkos watchtower is certainly worth it for more coastal views.

Walk 19: The suggested parking place is on an awkward junction. We parked on the edge of a wide track between 7 and C and included the BC loop in our circuit of Vrachionas.

Walk 20: The return route from 11 to 7 is impassable; there are a lot of fallen trees near the monastery ruins. It is heavily overgrown at the 7 entrance and it looks as if it has been left to re-wild.

Walk 22: Due to the frequency of fires in this area, it is difficult to provide a set GPS path; if you wish to walk above point D, please contact Spyros Vertzagias to guide you up to the caves; he operates the Vertzagias Museum and Taverna Kaki Rachi in Pigadakia; see page 67. (Author)

Omnibus report 2: We recently had a walking holiday on Zakynthos and used your walks guide 5th edition 2019. We did ten of your walks in a ten day period 10^th – 19^th October 2023. Thank you for a wonderful guide book. I loved the format of the guide with all the extra information about geology, habitats, plants, wildlife, agriculture & culture along with the additional suggestions section. I also liked the 3D detailed sketch maps and all the beautiful photographs. It was such a pleasure using the guide & we really enjoyed all the walks we did. Here are a few comments on the text for some of the walks: (User, 10/23)

Walk 1: In your ‘Additional suggestions’ section, I suggest that you mention that the Wildlife Information Centre is well worth a visit and link the text here back to what you write on page 56.

Walk 3: Regarding how to get to the walk starting point you state “turn right at the sign for Daphne”. The sign actually says “Dafni Beach”. This confused us. We did walk 1 first, then drove to walk 3. Driving north you take the second sign for Dafni Beach.… Your Update feedback on 22/5/23 states that there are padlocked gates just past point 10. We found the gates wide open but had difficulty route finding beyond this point and we didn’t want to find the route blocked later on, so we turned back & retraced our steps.

Walk 7: You state that point 1 is opposite the bus stop sign. It appeared to me that the bus stop sign & bus shelter are actually at point 11. I did your walk more or less, but because there are so many paths it is easy to accidentally do a variation, but continue roughly in the correct direction. When approaching waypoint 9, there are the ends of two concrete paths still visible inland. The second concrete path is at point 10, however much of it is covered in sand. Ignore the first concrete path seen prior to waypoint 9.

Walk 8: We found the tide was too high to reach waypoint 3, but we did manage to get halfway along between points 2 & 3 and then climbed steps to reach Porto Koukla. From there we were able to walk along the tarmac road to waypoint 7. When we got to waypoint 17 the tide was still too high to walk along the beach, so we walked inland and then illegally through some private property to reach the beach further along. It would be very helpful if your walking notes could be updated to describe what to do at Porto Koukla and at waypoint 17, when the tide is high.

Walk 12: At waypoint 6 the fine views mentioned are on the left, not the right as stated eg see the view indicator on the 3D sketch map at waypoint 6. The views to the right start to appear at waypoint 7.

Walk 15: In the section on Grade it states that there is an ascent between points 2 & 5/6,  but this part of the route was mainly a descent. The main ascent was from waypoint 12 back to waypoint 1.

Walk 18: There is very limited parking at waypoint 1. There is better parking further along the road towards waypoint 10 and also at waypoint 10 itself. We started the walk at waypoint 10, which maybe a preferable start point. At waypoint 3 the text states “Bear right down a track …”. The track actually goes uphill initially before going downhill. This confused us initially.

Texts for walks 9, 11 & 13 were all fine.