Postcards from the 70s and 80s

Articles about Zante

Ever since Zante Airport opened in 1972 tourism has been increasing rapidly, but have you ever wondered what the place looked like back then? These postcards show that it was a very different place in those days.

Clockwise: Tsilivi, Alykes, Argassi, Laganas 1980s

Argassi 1970s

Argassi 1970s

Laganas and Argassi were the first resorts on Zante to become popular with tourists, probably because they were the only places with decent road access to and from the new Airport.

Argassi 1987

Argassi 1988

Kalamaki 1980s

Kalamaki 1980s

The main road between Kalamaki and Laganas didn't exist until the mid eighties. The only tourist development in Kalamaki was on the old road leading down to the Crystal Beach hotel. As you can see there is virtually nothing else.

Laganas 1985

Laganas 1985

In the early days Laganas was a very laid back resort and was considered to be quite fashionable with the rich and famous. Until fairly recently the beach was also used as part of the road network which probably explains the lack of sea turtles in this area who would have dug into the previously soft sand to lay their eggs.

Laganas 1989

Laganas 1989

Back in the eighties Laganas had nightclubs, but without quad bikes tearing up and down the main strip all day and night it was a much more civilised experience.

Tsilivi 1987

Tsilivi 1988

Tsilivi 1992

Tsilivi 1992

Even as recently as 1992 there are virtually no big hotels in Tsilivi. There are plenty of people on the beach but back then they would have been staying in little blocks of studios dotted around the resort.

Porto Zoro Beach 1978

Porto Zoro Beach 1978

Porto Zoro is still a beautiful place, but I'm sure a lot of people would like to go back to the seventies and see it in a much less commercialised state.

St Nicholas Beach 1987

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