Greece for grown-ups
ou’re going to Zante??” gasped our student son, eyebrows steepling into a triangle of incredulity. “But that’s a party place… it’s for, er, young people.”
Well, Max was right on one point. Zante — or as the Greeks call it, Zakynthos — does have a reputation as a magnet for wannabe Love Islanders. But to dismiss this idyllic place in the Ionian cluster of islands off the west coast of Greece as nothing more than that, would be to miss a trick.
What’s more, thanks to the presence of some choice adult-only accommodation it is — ironically — a perfect place to go without children.
So since our brood were otherwise engaged thanks to summer camps, youth leadership or trekking around the likes of Vietnam, Zakynthos exerted an irresistible pull.
It’s not merely the child-free hotels which determined our choice though. For Zakynthos is a lovely island to explore, rich in culture and history, with pristine white beaches, translucent seas and exceptionally pretty villages. In some ways, it would be almost too much for youngsters who want simply to shlof and sunbathe by day and then party by night.
Indeed, there were many moments when my husband Martin and I would chuckle at how the kids might find our holiday as far from partying as a geography field trip.
Like the time we sweated on bikes around the hills encircling Zakynthos town (the island’s capital) determined to find the Jewish cemetery — Jews have been present in Greece since at least the fourth century BCE.
Or when we spent a leisurely afternoon touring the delightful Therianos organic farm in the centre of the island, which cultivates and creates gorgeous local products such as raisins, olive oil and honey.
More glamorous was our hotel, the uber luxurious Lesante Blu in the picturesque village of Tragaki. Lolling by the infinity pool or lounging on the hotel’s beach, the attention to detail is wonderful, the quiet disturbed only by a helpful member of staff proffering a glass of iced water.
For Jews, Zakynthos places itself on the map