Returning to Zakynthos – Greek Island Adventures, Family Memories & New Discoveries

Although I absolutely love travelling further afield and exploring new destinations around the world, somewhere that has always held a very special place in my heart is Cyprus and the Greek Islands.

Over the years, particularly in my younger years, I spent so much time holidaying there and visiting family, and whenever the opportunity comes up to return, I jump at it… well, kind of!!

This trip actually came about because Craig had promised his eldest daughter a holiday after passing her GCSEs.

Her wish list was pretty simple:

Try authentic Greek food

See turtles

Visit the famous Shipwreck Beach she’d seen all over social media (Navagio)

At that point, we knew there was only really one option — Zakynthos, or Zante as many people know it.

Zakynthos is one of the Greek Ionian Islands and somewhere I’ve actually visited around five times before.

Every visit reminds me why it remains one of my favourite Greek islands.

The combination of dramatic scenery, crystal clear turquoise water, incredible food and laid-back island life is honestly hard to beat.

Because of college timetables and schedules, we only had 4 nights and 5 days for this trip, but sometimes shorter breaks can be just enough to completely switch off, reset and soak up another culture.

We wanted enough time for the girls to truly experience the Greek way of life and hopefully fall in love with the island the same way I did years ago. It was also Craig’s very first time visiting Zakynthos too, so I was excited to show him around.

Naturally, the planning, researching and booking all landed with me!

After lots of searching, I decided to book a villa through Hotels.com (Expedia Group) and found what looked like an absolute hidden gem — Villa Mazzetto Casa Alonia.

The villa is tucked away from the busy main resorts and offered exactly what we wanted:

peace, privacy and authentic island surroundings yet still easy to get to the beaches and tavernas etc.

It’s a two-bedroom villa and honestly, the price for four nights almost seemed too good to be true considering how stunning the photos looked online.

But arriving yesterday completely exceeded every expectation.

The villa is absolutely beautiful.

From the décor and layout to the facilities and peaceful location, everything feels luxurious yet homely at the same time. It instantly gave us that relaxed Greek island feeling we’d been craving. I’ll definitely be doing a full review and video vlog on the villa because it genuinely deserves it.

Over the next few days we’ll be exploring as much of Zakynthos as possible — from hidden beaches and traditional tavernas to turtle spotting, local culture and of course plenty of incredible Greek food.

And if I’m honest… we’re already planning the next trip before this one has even finished!

This area of Greece has so much to offer and I can’t wait to share more from Zakynthos and future adventures across the Greek Islands — and of course Cyprus too, because I simply can’t leave that out when my Dad lives there.

This time it’s just the two girls travelling with us, but we’d love recommendations for future trips too — whether that’s places for adults, teenagers, boys and girls.

So if you’ve visited Zakynthos or any of the Greek Islands and have hidden gems, travel tips, beaches, tavernas or must-see spots we should add to our list, send them our way.

Stay tuned for more from our Greek Island travel series here on Eat Clean, Health and Dream.