Zakynthos (Greek: Ζάκυνθος), the third largest of the Ionian Islands, covers an area of 410 square kilometers and its coastline is roughly 123 kilometers in length. The island is named after Zacynthus, son of a legendary Arcadian chief Dardanus. The name, like all similar names ending in -nthos, is pre-Mycenaean or Pelasgian in origin. Zakynthos has a thriving tourism industry and is one of the top tourist destinations in Greece.

Zakynthos has a varied terrain, with fertile plains in the southeastern part and mountainous terrain with steep cliffs along the coasts on the west. Zakynthos town coordinates are: Latitude 37.79139/37°47'29 N, Longitude: 20.89528/20'53'43 E.

The mild, Mediterranean climate and the plentiful winter rainfall endow the island with dense vegetation. The principal products are olive oil, currants, grapes and citrus fruit.

The capital, which has the same name as the prefecture, is the town of Zakynthos; apart from the official name, it is also called Chora (i.e. the Town, a common denomination in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal town). According to the 2001 census, the island has a population of 38,957.

The most famous Zakynthian is the 19th century poet Dionysios Solomos, the principal modern Greek poet and author of the national anthem of Greece. His statue adorns the main town square. Also Juan de Fuca (Ioannis Focas) was born here.

The island has one airport, the Dionysos Solomos Airport (on former GR-35) in its southwest which connects flights with other Greek airports. Further southwest is the National Marine Park of Zakynthos where loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are found in the bay of Laganas. Caretta caretta is an endangered species - especially by the deck chairs laid out on their breeding grounds and the inevitable pollution. Every year at the beginning of June, the female turtles come to the southern beaches in order to bury their eggs in the sand. The incubation period for the nest is approximately fifty five days, after which time hatchlings emerge from the nest and make their way to the sea. The survival rate for hatchlings is very small, and it is estimated that only one in one thousand hatchlings that enter the sea live to adulthood. Each nest contains around one hundred to one hundred and twenty eggs, each of which are around the size and shape of a ping-pong ball. Female turtles begin to lay nests at around twenty to thirty years of age.

The port of Zakynthos has a ferry connecting to the port of Kyllini on the mainland. Another ferry connects the village of Skinari to Argostoli on the island of Kefalonia.

The Zante currant, a small sweet seedless grape is native to the island.

Zakynthos was inhabited from the Neolithic Age, as some archaeological excavations have proved.

The famous ancient Greek poet and writer, Homer, first mentioned the island in his masterpieces, the Iliad and the Odyssey, stating that the first inhabitants of it were the son of King Dardanos of Troy called Zakynthos and his men and that they first came on the island around 1500-1600 BC.

The island was then conquered by the Great Imperial King Arkeisios of Kefalonia. The famous Ulysses (Odysseus in Greek) from Ithaca was the next King to conquer the island.

Later on, a treaty was signed that made Zakynthos an independent democracy, the first established in the Hellenic area, and that lasted more than 650 years.

Zakynthos, along with the rest of the Ionian islands, spent centuries as a subject of La Serenissima Reppublica (Venice) and other Italian principalities. Italian rule protected the island from Ottoman domination but in its place it put a feudal oligarchy. The cultural influence of Italy (and of Italian on local dialect) was considerable. The wealthy made a habit of sending their sons to Italy to be educated. A good example is Dionysios Solomos, a native of Zakynthos and Greece's national poet. However, both the Greek language and Orthodox faith survived intact. During the Napoleonic wars the islands were occupied at different times by France (which induced the peasants to revolt), Russia, Turkey and finally Britain, which held on to them until 1864, when they were ceded to Greece to stabilize the rule of the newly crowned Danish-born King of Greece, Georgios I.

Greece Interstate 35, a road linking Zante and Porto Roma and another road linking Zante and Volimes.

Flights
The island is served by Zakynthos International Airport. Olympic Airways flies 2-3 times daily to Zakynthos from Athens even in the winter. The flight time is about 60 minutes. There are also flights from Kefalonia on Monday and Wednesday. Approximate airport transfer times to the major resorts are: Alikes Seventy five minutes, Argassi Thirty minutes, Kalamaki Fifteen minutes, Laganas Twenty five minutes, Tsilivi Forty five minutes, Vassilikos Ninety minutes.

Ferries
Hellenic Ferries run regular services from Brindisi, Italy, while Superfast Ferries sail from Ancona, Brindisi and Venice to Patras, Igoumenitsa and Corfu where travellers can catch connecting ferries to Zakynthos. Blue Star Ferries also operate similar routes. Regular daily ferry services run from Kilini (Kyllini) on the Greek mainland to Zakynthos with around seven ferries Monday to Saturday and three services on Sunday. The crossing takes around 90mins. Buses go from Athens to Kyllini and the journey takes around four hours. A daily car ferry goes from Agios Nikolaos to Pessada on Kefalonia in the summer season.

Driving
Roads on Zakynthos are generally good where they serve the main resorts. Off the main roads they can quickly deteriorate into rough tracks. Buses are cheap and efficient with regular daily services from Zante Town to all the main resorts. Detailed timetables are posted in the bus station in Zante Town and passengers pay the driver. The number of daily services to the major resorts are detailed here but are approximate and subject to change: Alikes - 4, Argassi - 9, Kalamaki - 7, Laganas - 13, Vasilikos - 3, Volimes - 2.