Наш лучший отдых Our best holiday

I put three fives because it was our best vacation! Almost 2 years have passed, and my friends and I still remember Zante Beach with warmth. Although, if you do not take into account the general impressions, you can, for example, rate 4 for the condition of the room or plumbing. But, first things first. We traveled in August 2010: my wife and I and a child of 4 years old, my brother with his wife and two children (4 and 6 years old). Since 2 years have passed, I don’t remember the details of the flight, transfer and accommodation. Although, probably, if there were unpleasant moments, they would be remembered. So everything was fine, without delays and other troubles. Arrived, settled down, went to lunch. Everyone at the table, except for me, agreed that the hotel only deserves a C grade. I didn't agree. After we got to the beach, everyone's opinion changed dramatically: the beach is just a fairy tale! Fine golden sand, fabulously clear and warm water, a smooth entry into the sea for 50 meters - ideal for children. But many adults also lay for a long time in shallow water, basking in warm water. In general, we have not seen such a beach and sea either before or after this trip. . By the way, the beach is so chic only at this hotel. We walked along the beach towards the main village, where shops, cafes, etc. are located. So, there the beach resembles Feodosia or Anapa (and even worse): garbage, dirt and cigarette butts not only on the beach, but also in the water. There are a lot of people - mostly foreigners, mostly young people. People on the beach are like herrings in a barrel. Seeing this horror, we realized how lucky we were with the hotel. Many write that the Russians do not know how to behave, litter, yell, get drunk, etc. Probably, they have not seen the hordes of screaming and drunk English and Germans. The hotel is located last on the coast, almost in a nature reserve (there are sea turtle nests on the beach). This is probably why our beach was very clean, calm and quiet. Local residents also came, but there were few of them, and they behaved very correctly. Hotel: the area is large, neat and clean. There is a children's playground in the form of a steamer. Every evening the animators entertain the children, but since. there are very few Russians and, accordingly, no one speaks Russian at all (except for two girls at registration), children's animation was also carried out in English and German. Our children, of course, did not understand anything and quickly became disillusioned with the performance. Although, even if the animation was conducted in Russian, it would still be hardly interesting for our children to participate in it, because most of the performance is dancing and round dance. Adult animation is another matter. The chief animator of "Daddy" is a talented and versatile person who gave 100% himself and made his whole team do the same. One minus - if you do not know a foreign language (English, German or French - Daddy knew all three), the performance will not be very interesting to watch, because all the jokes will remain behind the scenes. Daddy, on the other hand, organized volleyball on the beach every day (at 11:00) - they played enough from the heart. On the part of the animators, the attitude towards the Russians is very cordial, friendly. From the Russian-speaking girls at the front desk - the same. On the part of the rest of the staff - the usual, detached - and this made us very happy, because. we don't like it when we smile and greet us with or without reason. No rudeness, ignoring requests or rudeness was noticed. Number: standard four. Small, everything is there (except the minibar) and everything works. If you really find fault, you can probably find flaws and give a rating of 4 with a minus. Everything is average, not 4 plus - that's for sure. Room cleaning: the most ordinary. Tipping was left - nothing changed for the worse or for the better. Towels and linen were changed every other day, in my opinion. In general, on vacation, we never pay attention to dust under the bed or cobwebs in the air vent. We are only here for 2 weeks to relax. We perceive the room only as a place to sleep, and not a reason to quarrel or spoil our vacation. Food: we have not yet met a hotel where the buffet would not get bored by the end of the holiday at the most "I don't want to. " This hotel is no exception. For breakfast at the end of the second week, some of us went every other time. Apart from pancakes and scrambled eggs, there was nothing to eat. But in general, the food was tasty and varied: meat, poultry, fish - everything was enough. And everything was delicious. Yes, the children's table is mostly fast food, but the children liked it. Adults were always full and happy. I was very pleasantly surprised that there were no queues for food. Free tables were also always there and they did not need to be guarded (in 2011, on the island of Kos in Greece, this was annoying). The waiters were very fast and efficient. By the end of our vacation, there was a noticeable increase in tourists, including in the restaurant, but this circumstance did not add any queues or busy tables. Mayonnaise salads from what was not eaten for breakfast is the norm in all the hotels where we have been. Juices from a diluted Yuppie are the same. Separately, I want to say about the delicious cakes! It was something! Super! Restaurant on the beach is just a diner, where fast food is presented from the menu of the main restaurant. A good alternative for those who don't want to change clothes for the main restaurant. We took there, mostly drinks and ice cream. So, the main and main advantage of the hotel (which, it seems to me, makes up most of the cost of the tour) is the beach and the sea. And, of course, cakes! Everything else is standard. The hotel is not for youth, outdoor activities. After reading the reviews of other tourists, I was once again convinced of the truth of folk wisdom: "There are no comrades for the taste and color" and "Everything is known in comparison. " We drove to the sea. Therefore, we were very satisfied with the trip. Excursions: did not buy anything. Rented a car twice. The island is small, but mountainous - a lot of serpentines. The views, of course, are gorgeous, but sometimes it becomes creepy, because very often there are no fences or signs at all over the cliffs. Europe, however. There were slopes so steep that our small cars, roaring terribly, climbed them only in first gear. We went to the zoo where we could feed the animals. Young deer walk right among people and ask for food. There are other animals, but they are very few. You can see it, the children liked it, but there is nothing for adults to do there. The heat was terrible (it is not felt by the sea, but in the center of the island you can die). On the same day, we went to Navagio Bay - this is the hallmark of Zakynthos. They looked at her from above - very beautiful, like on a postcard. It's really worth seeing once. . Then we talked with tourists who took an excursion to Navajo on a yacht - they didn’t like it. It is impossible to see all the beauty from the yacht. As for swimming in the bay, the weather was windy that day, and the yacht was only able to approach the shore by 100 meters. Then, tourists who wished to swim or wander along the shore were offered to swim to the shore on their own. Naturally, not everyone could do it. Our interlocutors failed. And on the same day we went to swim in the bay with hydrogen sulfide springs, which rejuvenate the skin and make swimmers 10-15 years younger (at least, it was stated in the advertisement of the excursion). Impressions: the bay is beautiful, the beach is small, there are a lot of people, the stench is terrible (it smells of sulfur), the ice cream is delicious. Have we become younger after bathing, I think it is not necessary to write. The second time we took a 7-seater car for 2 families. I do not recommend doing this, because it makes me sick in the back seats (as I already wrote, the roads are very winding). We went to see some fabulous beach - complete nonsense. We arrived, stood for 5 minutes and drove back. Our beach is a hundred times better. We rented a boat (I don’t remember how much it cost): we went to see the blue caves (the name was given not after our visit, but long before us). Good trip. We parked in the caves, ate, swam, took pictures. Plus, everyone, especially children, got an unforgettable experience of driving a boat. They wanted to see the turtles on the same day: they traveled along the coast for two hours - as luck would have it, they did not see a single turtle. And yet, we saw these turtles! First, on postcards. And secondly, live. I think that taking a boat trip in order to see turtles does not make any sense. A big boat (full of tourists) comes to the turtle. A crowd of people runs from one side to another, everyone is making noise, pointing fingers and taking pictures. This performance lasts for 5-10 minutes until the turtle gets bored and swims away. The boat also sails away (I don’t know where: either to the next victim, or to the port). The experience you get when you're next to a turtle in the water (more on that below) is never the same when you're on a boat. The only plus is that the captains track, apparently, the turtles with the help of echo sounders. We went in search of turtles, as they say, for good luck. The first time I saw her alone: ​ ​ I took a mask with a snorkel and swam. When I saw it, I couldn't express my impressions! There are very few fish. You swim, you swim, there is no one. And suddenly you see - a 1.5 - meter monster is crawling along the bottom! I will not describe the first desire, but when I realized that it was a turtle, a second desire arose - to swim closer. He swam up and waited for her to come up to get some air (she does this about every 5-7 minutes). When she pops up next to you (literally 1 meter) - it's great! The turtle does not stay in one place for a long time: after wandering for 15-20 minutes, it swims away. Chasing her is useless - she swims very fast. The second time we looked at the turtle with his wife. When the turtle once again surfaced to take a breath of air, one crazy girl (foreigner! ) tried to climb on it. The turtle did not appreciate such a noble impulse and swam away. The young lady was very cheerful, which cannot be said about the other tourists who sailed to watch the turtle. And for the third time we managed to show the turtle to the child: we are returning from lunch and suddenly we see that a boat with tourists is spinning right at the shore. We quickly rented a catamaran, loaded into it with the baby and rushed to see the turtle. Succeeded, looked. But the child did not dare to get off the catamaran into the water - he was afraid. And the last thing we can’t help but say: we bought these vouchers (14 days, all inclusive) for 66 thousand rubles, my brother’s family for 75 thousand. How we were so “successfully” we still cannot understand and believe that it was real. In 2011 we went to about. Kos (Greece) at 4 * for 110 thousand - in comparison with Zante Beach - it's just awful! We had such a wonderful vacation in 2010.