Choosing where to stay in Zakynthos isn’t simply a matter of picking the nicest beach. You are choosing how the day will work: breakfast on foot or after a drive, a sandy bay or a rocky swimming place, a quiet dinner or music long after midnight.
The place name on an accommodation page can also cover quite a wide area. ‘Keri’ may mean a little port by the water or the village uphill. ‘Vasilikos’ can place you near Gerakas at the end of the peninsula or several beaches farther north. Keep the map open while you read, and check our Zakynthos collection when an area sounds right — the exact pin and the final road to a property will tell you more than the resort name alone.
Which area of Zakynthos should you choose?
For a first family holiday, central Tsilivi or Planos is the easy answer. If you want the same part of the island with quieter evenings, look towards Akrotiri, Tragaki or Psarou. Vasilikos suits beach-focused families and couples who don’t mind driving, while Limni Keriou is better for small-boat mornings and a slower south-west coast.
- Vasilikos and Gerakas — quiet couples and beach-focused families; the compromise is that it is a peninsula, not one walkable resort.
- Tsilivi, Planos and the quieter coast nearby — first-time families and mixed groups; choose between central convenience and a car-dependent edge.
- Alykes, Alykanas and Ammoudi — families wanting a lower-key beach base; the far south is less convenient.
- Zakynthos Town and Bohali — couples, short stays and culture-led travellers; choose them for town life, not a doorstep beach.
- Limni Keriou, Keri and Marathias — couples and quieter groups; the waterfront and the hill village are different bases.
- Kalamaki, Agios Sostis and Laganas — families or nightlife groups depending on the exact resort; one bay, three very different evenings.
- Agios Nikolaos, Skinari and Xigia — repeat visitors and self-contained groups; a car and longer drives are part of the choice.
Vasilikos is a peninsula, not one resort
Vasilikos suits quiet beach days, but don’t expect one centre where every villa, shop and taverna sits within the same ten-minute walk. It runs along the green south-eastern peninsula and contains a string of different beaches.
At the far end, Gerakas is a broad, protected nesting beach with a quieter atmosphere. Elsewhere on the peninsula, the beach setup changes from organised stretches to smaller coves. That variety is Vasilikos’s strength: you don’t have to repeat the same day all week.
It works well for couples and families who are content to drive for dinner or stop at a mini-market on the way home. It works less well for a family imagining that ‘700 metres from the beach’ also means ‘700 metres from everything else’.
If you have young children, check which beach is actually nearest. A sandy shore reached by a level lane is a different proposition from a rocky path down a cliff, however good the sea looks in photographs.
Choose Vasilikos if the beaches are the point of the holiday. If everybody expects a nightly choice of restaurants without taking the car, Tsilivi, Alykes or Town will be easier.
Tsilivi or the quieter coast around it?
Tsilivi and Planos are the simplest all-round choice for a first visit. The sandy, organised beach, shops, tavernas and family activities make it possible to have an easy day without much planning.
That ease comes with people. In July and August, central Tsilivi feels like a proper resort because it is one. Anyone looking for an untouched village will be disappointed; a family wanting ice cream, a pharmacy and dinner close by may be very relieved.
The better question is often not ‘Tsilivi or somewhere else?’, but ‘how close to Tsilivi?’
Akrotiri sits between Tsilivi and Zakynthos Town. Tragaki and the coast towards Psarou give families and groups more space and calmer nights while keeping the resort within reach. They suit travellers who want a quieter home base, but the exact walk still matters.
There is no point booking the quiet edge and then resenting every drive. Ask whether dinner is genuinely walkable and whether that walk has a pavement. A kilometre beside a flat promenade is easy; a shorter stretch on a dark road with a tired child is not.
Alykes, Alykanas and Ammoudi for a lower-key family base
Alykes and neighbouring Alykanas suit families who want a sandy shore and a simple rhythm: beach, lunch, pool, dinner, repeat. Alykes takes its name from the old salt flats beside the settlement, but it is now an established resort with the everyday shops and places to eat a family needs.
Farther along, Ammoudi and Psarou feel smaller and quieter. That is pleasant when you want a low-key beach day and less useful when five people want five different dinners.
This north-east stretch is well placed for Xigia and the northern coast. It is less sensible if Gerakas, Keri and the south will occupy most of the week. Zakynthos is not vast, but crossing it every other day becomes part of the holiday.
Zakynthos Town and Bohali are choices for the evening
Zakynthos Town is the right base when you want a place that is still alive after the beach bags have been put away. Around Agios Markos and Solomos squares there are cafés, shops, churches and museums; along the harbour there is the daily movement of the island’s capital.
It suits a couple on a shorter stay, travellers who prefer a different beach each day, or anyone who feels hemmed in by resort life. You can have coffee in a working town and decide about the coast afterwards.
Bohali is the hill above Town, known for its view over the harbour and rooftops. It is quieter than the centre but it is also a hill, so don’t translate ‘above Town’ into an effortless walk home.
The drawback is simple: this is not where we would stay for the island’s best beach outside the door. Choose Town for culture, restaurants and centrality. Choose a beach area if the morning swim matters more than the evening stroll.
Limni Keriou, Keri village and Marathias are not the same base
When a listing says ‘Keri’, look at the pin before the photographs.
Limni Keriou is the coastal settlement, with a small port, fishing boats and tavernas. It is the practical base for a slow waterfront morning or a boat towards the Keri coast.
Keri village is uphill and inland. Its stone houses and narrow streets give it a more traditional feel, but it is not the same as stepping out beside the water. The distinction is small on an island map and large when somebody has promised the children a walk to the beach.
Marathias lies on the greener, quieter coast nearby, with pebble and rocky swimming places and views across the bay. It suits couples and groups who want privacy and scenery rather than a resort outside the gate.
The wider Keri area is one of the better choices for a slower holiday. It is not ideal for a group that expects to split up every night. A car is useful once you leave the compact waterfront.
Kalamaki, Agios Sostis or Laganas?
These areas share Laganas Bay, but they do not share the same evening.
Kalamaki is the straightforward family choice: an established holiday centre beside a broad sandy beach, with a calmer night-time atmosphere than central Laganas. Agios Sostis is the quieter edge of the bay, better for travellers who want coastal cafés and tavernas without having the main nightlife strip outside.
Laganas is for groups who actually want nightlife. The long beach and concentrated strip make going out easy. That is an advantage for the right holiday and normally the wrong answer for a quiet family that found a lower price and hoped the noise would be elsewhere. Noise is not an accidental drawback in central Laganas.
The bay is also protected loggerhead turtle habitat. On designated nesting beaches, official Marine Park guidance permits access from 7 am until sunset, and ARCHELON, the Greek sea-turtle protection society, keeps current conduct advice for Laganas Bay. Follow the signs and rangers, remain close to the waterline and give turtles or hatchlings space. A nesting beach is not an attraction with a guaranteed sighting.
Agios Nikolaos, Skinari and Xigia suit the car-happy north
The north is often reduced to a Blue Caves excursion, but Agios Nikolaos is a small working port with tavernas, cafés and basic shops. Skinari and the limestone coast sit farther north, while Volimes is inland and more village-like.
Xigia, farther down the north-east coast, is a cove area rather than a resort. Small beaches sit below green slopes and pale rock. It suits somebody who wants the sea and a quiet house; it does not suit somebody expecting a promenade and a different bar every night.
The north is a good answer for repeat visitors, couples and self-contained groups happy to spend time at the property and plan their shopping. It is also remote from Town, Vasilikos and Keri. A car is normally essential, and ‘near Agios Nikolaos’ still deserves an exact pin.
Do you need a car in Zakynthos?
For most villa holidays, a car is useful, and in the far north, scattered Vasilikos and the quieter Keri or north-east coast it is close to essential.
You can manage without one in a genuinely central part of Tsilivi, Alykes, Kalamaki or Zakynthos Town if the beach, food shops and restaurants are truly close and you are content to use organised trips.
Before booking, ask:
- Is the walk to dinner on a pavement or along the edge of a road?
- Is the final approach narrow, steep or unmade?
- Does ‘near the beach’ mean a level walk, steps down a cliff or a short drive?
- Where is the food shop you will actually use?
- If the group separates at night, who keeps the car?
These are not glamorous questions. They are often the difference between loving a quiet villa and feeling trapped in it.
Which Zakynthos area would we choose?
For a family with small children, we would begin with central Tsilivi, Alykes or Kalamaki. The beach matters, but so does finding water or an early dinner without turning it into an expedition.
For older children or a mixed group, look just outside Tsilivi towards Tragaki or Psarou. There is more room and less evening noise, while the resort remains useful rather than compulsory.
For a couple, choose Vasilikos for quiet beach days, Limni Keriou or Marathias for the south-west coast, and Zakynthos Town or Akrotiri when good evenings matter as much as the beach.
For a group coming to go out, choose Laganas honestly. For repeat visitors who want seclusion, the far north may be the more interesting answer.
There is no single best part of Zakynthos. There is a best part for the way your family or group actually behaves on holiday. Browse our places to stay in Zakynthos, or ask the team to narrow the collection by area, group size and the kind of evenings you want.
FAQs
Are Zakynthos and Zante the same island?
Yes. Zakynthos is the Greek name; Zante is the name many British travellers know. Both refer to the same Ionian island.
Where should I stay in Zakynthos without a car?
Choose a genuinely central address in Tsilivi, Alykes, Kalamaki or Zakynthos Town. Confirm the walking route to the beach, restaurants and a mini-market before booking.
Is Laganas suitable for families?
The wider bay includes family-friendly Kalamaki and quieter Agios Sostis, but central Laganas is built around nightlife. It would not be our first choice for a family hoping for early, quiet evenings.
