Why this infamous Greek party island is shedding its reputation and going upmarket
We're whizzing towards the shore on a speedboat tour of the southernmost of the Ionian islands, to which Corfu and Kefalonia also belong.
It's a beautiful location surrounded by high limestone cliffs that attracts thousands of holidaymakers, many taking day trips from the resort of Laganas with its bars and cheap hotels popular with young Britons.
Yet there's another side to Zante that remains virtually untouched by tourism: a patchwork of olive groves and farms covering large parts of the island linked by quiet lanes and one-track roads.
Devastated by an earthquake in 1953, many islanders left Zante - and much of the landscape has remained undiscovered ever since.
But not Shipwreck Beach. It's become such a popular attraction you're no longer allowed to swim off the sands due to restrictions to control overtourism.
Instead, on our early morning visit we escape before the main daily crowds arrive and head to a nearby beach for a dip in the aquamarine waters, and then cruise into the Blue Caves.
Here we leap into the vivid, teal-coloured water, created by sunlight reflecting off the limestone walls, giggling at the sight of our legs and arms glowing Smurf-blue beneath the surface. Our watery tour is part of discovering the other side of Zante including a new wave of luxury hotels whose owners hope to change the island's reputation and encourage visitors to explore beyond the southern coast resorts.
Our first base is the recently opened King Jason Zante, an adults-only, all-inclusive resort where the big draw is the Maldivian-style rooms, many with terraces that open straight onto the patchwork of pools that form a lattice down a hillside.
It's blisteringly hot when we arrive, touching 40C, so the cool, modernist design - lots of pale grey concrete and glass walls - is welcome.
The suites continue the Maldivian ethos, with the king-sized bed in the centre of the room, a retractable screen separating the open plan bathroom behind.
It's a world away from the simplicity that lies outside. The next day we hire a car and follow the winding lanes into the island's quiet hinterland, stopping to drink thimbles of thick, bitter coffee on the ramshackle square in the quiet village of Keri.
THE sun beats down as we wander along silent alleyways leading between one-storey whitewashed houses with faded blue doors and window shutters. Muted conversations float out from the darkness inside.
'This is what makes Zante special,' says Venia Xenou, whose family owns the Olea All Suite Hotel, which re-set the bar for luxury accommodation when it opened in 2018.
'Farming is still the most important economy here. Tourism is growing but the trick is to do it without disturbing the traditional way of life. We look at other islands, where overtourism is a problem, and think no, we don't want that here.'
The Olea All Suite could have been the template for the King Jason, with the same arrangement of swimming pools and rooms opening directly onto the water.
The vibe is slightly different, though. Guests are a little younger and there's more of a club, Ibiza-style feel, although the sandy-floored, open-sided Cocoon bar and restaurant (shoes definitely optional) is straight out of an Indian Ocean resort.
The vibe is slightly different at the Olea All Suite, where guests are a little younger and there's more of a club feel
The biggest treat is the Flow restaurant, set high on the hillside, where tables and a clutch of spherical basket chairs are positioned to make the most of the gorgeous view across the valley below. Dinner at Flow - succulent seabass fresh off the boat and flamegrilled lamb - is so lovely it seems impossible to better. Yet our final night at the Lesante Blu - a waterfront resort with a stretch of private beach - proves to be the most memorable of all.
As the sun dips, a violinist steps on to the square of lawn between the restaurant tables and begins to play, accompanied by a background DJ.
The sound is exquisite, the whole elegant experience the polar opposite of the hectic streets of Laganas.
As the music emanates, I think of all the post A-level students on our flight, giddy with excitement for their first trip away. It makes me hope that rather than simply turning into a fully-blown 'party island' - or becoming a luxury retreat - Zante will adapt to accommodate both.
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