Many people travel to the Greek Islands to study world history and see ruins, younger travelers may want to experience the night life, and others want to get away from tourists and find a beach hideaway in order to relax. Greece offers so many options and many of them are a green traveler’s dream. We visited an island that is off the tourist trail and on the list of Eco Tourism hot spots: Zakynthos.

Visitors can get a true experience of unspoiled Greece in Zakynthos or Zante as it is more commonly known. Located in the southern most regions of the Ionian Islands, Zante has a varied landscape and rich ecosystem.  You will find mountain wilderness scenery, flat plains, dense Fir forests and long sandy beaches. There are also many varieties of colorful flowers that seem to blossom all year round. It’s no wonder that the Venetians nicknamed this island “flower of the East”.

Recently, the locals have made conservation efforts to protect their island from mass tourism. They have been promoting Eco Tourism, which leaves the smallest possible impact on the environment.  Zante is home to endangered species such as the Caretta turtles and Monk seals. The Caretta turtles have existed for 175 million years, since dinosaur times, and have been nesting on the beaches of  Zante for many thousands of years. Visitors can take many different types of Eco tours on the island such as marine walks in the national park or adventure tours to the uninhabited part of the island which is only accessible by 4×4 vehicles.

Finding an Eco friendly accommodation on the island is no problem. We found our green holiday home on Gerakas beach, located near the village of Vissilikos on the southern tip of Zakynthos. There are several villas, cottages and studios to rent. Set in lush gardens and olive groves, this was the perfect place to unwind. You can book your accommodations via the green non-profit company called Earth, Sea and Sky. All of their accommodations meet the highest of green standards. In fact, this company won the 2009 conservation award for tourism. On Garakas beach there are no water sports allowed and the bay is off limits to anything but paddle boats.  So it’s very quiet with virtually no crowds. Of course where you find nature you may also find euro naturists (nudists) and this part of the beach, which is about 200m long, is sectioned off at the end of the beach area for the naturists. You may want to keep this in mind if you bring the kiddies on vacation. The Caretta turtle protection society is located here and is also worth a visit. And, the local tavernas in the nearby village of Vissilikos were all fantastic and you don’t have to worry about getting the “tourist” menu.

One of the must see spots on the island is well known, yet not a crowded tourist destination. Situated on the west coast of the island are the  Blue Caves, or “Blue Caves of Volimes Village”, as they are also called. Due to particular geologic formations, the Blue Caves owe their name to the striking blue color of the waters that is reflected on them. The area where the caves are located is considered rural and less traversed than the rest of the island. It is possible to reach them by car from a small mill situated between Agios Nikolaos and Skinari Cape. You approach by coming down a hundred steps to a spot used by scuba divers. However, if you want to admire this surreal environment on your own, you  have to visit them with your own boat or with one of the many organized tours.

You could probably spend your entire life vacationing only in the Greek Isles and never visit the same island twice. So it’s not unusual that we stumbled across this less visited gem. The locals as well as the visitors here seem to know they have something special and they work to keep it that way. One of my favorite quotes is “I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world”, Greek philosopher, Diogenes.