This green and fertile island, also known as Zante, is the southernmost in the Ionian chain, enjoying a contrasting landscape of dramatic mountains in the northwest and gentle hills and plains to the south.Visitors to this island can enjoy some of the finest beaches to be found in Greece and inland the rural lifestyle has remained unchanged for years with the majority of the land under cultivation.

The capital of the island called Zakynthos Town (Zante) was rebuilt in 1953 after being destroyed following an earthquake, and despite the somewhat uninspiring new architecture, there are several churches and monuments worth visiting and a pleasant town square where one can relax with a cool drink. The town also provides a regular ferry link with the mainland, opening up opportunities to venture further afield and explore many historical sites on the Peloponese.

There are extensive sand beaches on the southern end of the island, Gerakas, Porto Roma and Mavrantzis to name just a few, and even in the height of the summer they are relatively peaceful. A quite different visitor invades some of these beaches at night, the loggerhead sea turtles come ashore to nest during early summer, these creatures have adopted this stretch of Zakynthos coastline as their major nesting area. Zakynthos is an island where nature and tourism happily co-exist and it is easy to understand the old Venetian description of this land as the ‘Flower of the Levant’.

BOUKA
We have known and visited this area of Zakynthos for many years and what surprises us in all this time is that the complexion of this peaceful resort has remained virtually unchanged. One fears the temptation to turn it into a major resort for it has all the right ingredients. However, building and other restrictions have left the place virtually untouched. Bouka at the northern end of its popular neighbour Tsilivi still retains much of its agricultural heritage with vast areas still covered with olive trees. We are glad that it can still claim to be scenic and peaceful. Peaceful it may be, but it is not so cut off that one would need transport. Bouka has a good selection of tavernas dotted here and there and also a couple of mini markets that stock most of the necessary provisions.