Language: Greek    |    Currency: Euros (€)    |    Local time: CEST   |    Avg. Flight time: 3.5 hrs

Car hire locations 

Many of the main international car hire companies have booths in or just beside Zante’s airport terminal, including Hertz, Budget, Avis and Europcar.

You can also pick up rental cars at the main east coast beach resorts: Laganas, Tsilivi (aka Planos), Kalamaki and Argassi. This is a canny way to minimise costs: spend a few days slumbering on the beach, then drive around and pay rental costs for only a portion of your trip.

There’s also a range of smaller, domestic car hire companies which may be cheaper – if they’re not based at the airport, you can usually arrange in advance to have your rental car waiting there for you.

Secret wonders

While Shipwreck Beach can only be visited by boat, this incredible cove is actually most gobsmacking when observed from above. But getting to the relevant, remote clifftop perch on the western coast is tough: no buses run here, and tours only come en-masse and fleetingly. Hire a car, however, and the viewing platform may be yours and yours alone.

Holidaymakers renting a car can also easily visit beautiful mountain villages like Agios Dimitrios, stopping to peer into pretty churches or pause on quiet plazas. There are family-friendly attractions nearby too, such as the Helmi’s Natural History Museum in Agia Marina and Zante Water Village near Sarakinado. 

Venturing further afield

Spend lazy, exploratory days driving alongside Zante’s citrus orchards and highly-rated olive oil and wine-making estates, perhaps stopping to pick up some low-cost, authentic products. Eventually, arrive at the west coast, where secluded and secret beaches provide an antidote to the other side’s crowds.

For those not based in Zante Town, hiring a car also allows quicker access to the car-ferry to Kefalonia, and thus raises the possibility of longer day-trips on this neighbouring Ionian island.

The ferry departs from the northern port of Agios Nikolaos and takes an hour to reach beachside Pessada on Kefalonia, from which you can drive around the sleepy south of this much larger island – perhaps visiting heavenly Lourdas Beach or the fabulous Archaeological Museum in Argostoli. Mount Aenos, the Ionians’ highest peak, provides a constant backdrop.

Looking to visit Zante? Make sure to check out our Tips and Advice first.