Compare Zante Airport car hire

If you’re flying into Zakynthos Airport (ZTH), you’ll have a good range of car hire brands to choose from, including Hertz, Budget, Avis and Thrifty. You’ll find them all at the arrivals hall. The airport is just 10 minutes from Laganas and Zante Town, and even more northerly resorts such as Alikanas are within 30 minutes' drive.

There is also a range of smaller, domestic car hire companies sometimes offer cheap deals – if they’re not based at the airport, you can often arrange to have your rental car waiting there for you.

Car hire companies that have desks at Zante airport include:

• Avis (Tel: +30 2695 033209)
• Hertz (Tel: +30 2695 024287)
• Budget (Tel: +30 2695 033209)
• Thrifty (Tel: +30 2695 024287)

It’s possible to pick up cheap rental cars at some of the main beach resorts in Zante, including Laganas, Tsilivi, Kalamaki and Argassi. The big international brands are not always present – the airport is your best bet for those – but you'll find Sixt in Kalamaki and Avis in Zante Town.

Zante's compact size makes journey times relatively short, but the standard of the roads often lets you down – some are unpaved entirely, and others are quite badly potholed. The main road running east-west from Zante Town to Apelati (via the airport) is the best of the bunch. Elsewhere, take care, particularly in the hills and when driving at night.

While you won't encounter huge amounts of traffic away from the resort areas, Greek drivers can be quite fast and erratic – when they want to overtake, they tend to just go ahead and do it, with no warning and little regard for the road conditions. Stay alert and don't get sucked into competitive or aggressive driving.

Top your hire car up regularly, particularly if you're going out for a full day of exploring, as there won’t be many petrol stations to choose from beyond the main towns. On the plus side, parking is normally free and readily available throughout the island.

Zante Town to Katastari

If you want a slice of authentic rural Zante, head up the largely direct road from Zante Town to Katastari (Eparchiaki Odos Zakinthou - Volimon). It'll take you through quaint traditional villages such as Agios Dimitrios, and deposit you in one of the island's nicest towns, with a folklore museum and fantastic views out to sea.

Shipwreck Beach

This incredible cove on the western coast – also known as Navagio Beach – can only be visited by boat, but you get the best views of it from the cliffs above. It's one of those spots that only a hire car can do justice to – no buses run here and tours only come en masse and fleetingly. Looking down, you get a breathtaking view of a tiny patch of golden sand framed by sheer white cliffs and turquoise water. At the centre of it all is a wrecked freighter washed up here in the 1980s.

Kefalonia

For a longer day trip, take the car ferry across the crystal clear Ionian Sea to neighbouring Kefalonia. The ferry departs from the northern port of Agios Nikolaos and takes an hour to reach beachside Pessada on Kefalonia. From there you can drive around the sleepy south of this much larger island, visiting heavenly Lourdas Beach or the fabulous Archaeological Museum in Argostoli.

1. As with much of Greece, locals drive fast on Zante, and often perform hair-raising overtaking manoeuvres. If a queue builds up behind you, find somewhere to pull over and let them through.                                                                                                                                                              
   
2. If you struggle with heights, you might find some of Zante's hill country and coastal roads a struggle. The road to Dafni Beach can be particularly hairy.                                                                   
   
3. If you’re planning on taking the summer ferry from Agios Nikolaos to Pessada in Kefalonia, check in advance that your rental policy allows your hire car to be taken off-island.