Caretta Beach Holiday Village - (Accommodation in Kalamaki)

Paula H

Can anyone tell me to they have Safety Deposit Boxes in the Caretta Bay Studios? Or do they have them in the Caretta Beach and people in the Caretta Bay can use them?! Thanks!

Weekend trip to Athens by coach - (Zante Excursions)

Paula H           

Thanks John for your advice.  Might wait til we get der and see if I'm up to it then.  Mind you being lazy and lying on the beach sounds just as tempting!

Kalamaki Beach - (Beaches in Zante)

Paula H           

Hi. we're just back from Kalamaki & had a gr8 holiday. Unfortunately the beach was a bit of a hike from our apartments in the heat so we only went a couple of days.  The sea was so clear and lovely to swim in.  We hired a pedalo for an hr but unfortunately didn't see any turtles .   The girl who took the money for the sunbeds & parasol (€7) was very nice and there were guys selling doughnuts & fruit salads walking up & down the beach, so you didn't even have to move if you felt hungry!!  The sand was a bit dirty with a some cig buts & the likes but not as bad as I thought it would be.  We saw some dead jelly fish washed in on the bit of beach between kalamaki and Laganas and we heard other holidaymakers say they saw them in the sea, but they were far out.  We however didn't see any jellyfish and spent a huge amount of time in the water, so don't let it put you off!!

Caretta Beach Holiday Village - (Accommodation in Kalamaki)

Paula H           

Just back from two weeks in the Caretta Beach.  We'd booked through Panorama Dublin for the "Caretta Bay Studios" but discovered on arrival that it is one and the same as the Caretta Beach (brochure is a bit misleading!)  The complex consists of four/five blocks of apartments and separate studios.  All the studios seem to be around the "quiet pool" which is smaller then the main pool but just as nice.  Plenty of sunbeds & parasols & a nice relaxed atmosphere.  Plenty of lilos, rubber rings & balls etc to entertain yourself in the pool too!  The studios are pretty basic but very clean so what more do you really want?!  Kettle, toaster, 2 ring cooker etc are all provided free.  Air conditioning is payable locally but would recommend it as it was difficult some nights to sleep because of the heat & if you left the doors open, the flies always seemed to get in despite the fly screen!!  The floors are washed, beds made & bins emptied every day.  The towels & bed linen are changed every third day.  The whole complex was kept spotless and all the staff very friendly.  We didn't go to any of the evenings organised within the complex so don't know if they were any good.  The location is perfect, kind of rural with chickens & turkeys etc wandering around the roads and fields & you'd be woken up to Cockerels every morning (quaint!!) but still only about 3 mins walk from the main road with all the bars and restaurants but no noise from that area can be heard in the complex.  The runway for the airport looks about 3 fields away but the noise really isn't a problem.  Although we had no kids with us, it seemed to be a good place for families with two kids pools (main pool area) and pool table, table tennis, volleyball net, football nets, swings etc and they put on a kids movie a couple of times a week but I don't think there is a kids club as such there.  We really enjoyed staying there and would have no problem recommending it to anyone and will definitely go back!!

Cave Bar - (Bars in Kalamaki)

Paula H           

The Cave Bar is a lovely spot for chilling out.  It's down the far end of Kalamaki from the airport end. You can get a mini moke lift up or walk up if you're feeling energetic but it's only 2 mins in the free buggy!  Sunset is gorgeous up there with fab views from the turrett.  There is nothing more relaxing than sipping on a cocktail and watching the sun set and then the lights of kalamki & laganas twinkling away in the dark.  The music was good and alot of locals seem to go there at the weekends which is a good sign!  It made a pleasant change from the other bars down on the main strip.  The staff very nice, especially an english girl (not sure of her name but she hurt her foot and was limping!)  And the guy who drives the buggy was a nice friendly chap too!  Definitely worth a visit!

Cronulla Bar - (Bars in Kalamaki)

Paula H           

Do a great breakfast, toasted sandwiches and freshly squeezed orange juice!!  Staff very friendly especially "Mrs. Cronulla"!!   

Day trip to Kefalonia - (Zante Excursions)

Paula H           

Did our trip to Kefalonia through Smile Tours on the main street in Kalamaki.  The girl in the office was very good & told us all about the extra entrance fees & the steps to the caves before we even booked it!  It was advertised as €33 each we got it for €30 each and it was €40 each through the rep.  Was a long tiring day and an early start.  We have an overcast day so the heat wasn't uncomfortable.  Our guide (can't rem her name) was Greek with excellent English & very nice.  We didn't do the caves because of the amount of steps but the lake was good & the lunch stop in a beautiful little harbour.  We stopped in the capital Argostoli for nearly an hour to do some shopping but totally not worth it as there are no shops!!  There is a supermarket & one souvenir shop!  It absolutely poured down there and we shelted in little cafe on waters edge, killing time with a coffee as bus was locked.  Also toilets to this cafe were across the road, so you had to dodge puddles in the lashing rain to go to them!  Last stop was to the Monastery of St. Gerald.  Ladies will have to cover up bare shoulders in flowery smocks provided by the nuns!!  Driving away from the Monastery we noticed a winery and thought a trip there would have been much better than the hour in wet Argosoli with nothing to do!!  Maybe this is something the company could consider for the future!  Saying that Kefalonia is beautiful, not at all touristy or built up.  Very wild and rural with mountain goats everywhere.  Was nice to see another island though.

Village Inn - (Restaurants in Zante Town)

Paula H           

We ate in The Village Inn purely on reading the entries on this site!!  It is indeed a lovely place in beautiful surroundings.  The food was nice but not amazing but as someone else said the surroundings make up for it!  The three greek guys singing were good and added to the overall ambiance! However the ladies toilet was a big black mark against this place.  It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in about three days!!  It was quite early in the evening when we were there and it wasn't packed but the bin was over flowing ten-fold!! 

Zante Town - (Places to Visit in Zante)

Paula H           

We went into Zante town twice on our holiday.  We never saw any beggars or tramps of any kind and as regards watching your purse and wallet ... you have to everywhere these days so we didn't find that a problem either.  It is worth walking down the end of the pier near St. Solomos square and there there is a cafe/taverna with a covered seating area by the water.  It is lovely to sit there and have a cold beer and watch the beautiful sunset and all the boats coming in.  We thought  St. Solomos Square was lovely and there was a wedding on in the church there at the time so there was plenty of people buzzing around and locals so a great atmosphere.  We ate in Squeros Restaurant in St. Marcos Sq (I think) which was quite nice but the guys outside every rest do try and pull you in (which is a bit annoying!)  After our meal we sat at one of the cafes amongst locals just people watching and drinking cocktails and hot chocolate!  It was relaxing and a change from other bars in the resorts.  Only problem we had was local children on bikes and skateboards etc whizzing in and out of people up and down the streets, but we were all young once