Renting a quad on Zakynthos: is it doable? 5 tips for the coming summer

Renting a quad during your beach holiday to see a little more of Zakynthos. Is it doable? At the airport the vehicle is already advised against. Read about our experience with quads.

Summer on Zakynthos, a beach holiday

You may be thinking of going to Zakynthos this coming summer, and we quite understand. It is a wonderful destination for a lovely beach holiday. It often reaches 30 degrees or more. Bring it on.

At Argassi the swimmingis wonderful, Xigia Sulfur Beach looks more spectacular and above all offers relief from the heat. The glorious beach of Navagio – Shipwreck Beach – is world famous by now.

Renting a quad on Zakynthos

How else are you going to explore the island? Renting a quad sounds suitably adventurous. Touring about in the open air. Not in a car that is baking hot to start with, where the air conditioning has to work overtime.

But do we recommend it? There is a reason you come across warnings everywhere. Because one thing is certain: there are quite a few accidents with quads on Zakynthos. Serious accidents, too.

A holiday in Greece with action and adventure

A holiday in Greece is associated with nothing but lazing on the beach. At the same time we want some action in between. And adventure. Which is why we rented a quad on Zante.

In fact we ended up doing everything on the quad. From the airport to the Dion Suite by Dionusia, for dionvacation®. Then on to the various beaches and sights.

What an ultimate sense of freedom not to have to get into a car at all. Riding out to the taverna and then on to the Keri “Lighthouse” Restaurant. Renting a quad on Zakynthos was a very good idea indeed.

5 tips for renting a quad on Zakynthos

There are serious tips all the same, because it could have gone wrong for us too. How so? There are small, ‘gentle’ quads and there are sizeable beasts. We let ourselves be tempted by the ‘beasts’.

• The quads in the latter category look almost like monster trucks. Great fun, only sometimes heavy to handle. A misjudgement is easily made. And how easy they are differs from quad to quad. Start calmly. 
• Many rental firms give little explanation beforehand. The basics are explained at pace and then you are on your own. Filling in the paperwork regularly takes longer than the vehicle instruction. Ask questions. 
• Without knowing Zakynthos you can be surprised by the bends in the mountains. Sticking to the speed limit is not always a good idea. On the bends it can be slower. You are on holiday. Relax.
• The handling can also be disappointing. Is this your first time on a quad? Then beware of overestimating yourself. A modest colleague with no fuss about him still nearly flew off a bend. Oops… Behave yourself. 
• Finally, think about staying sober. As in: no drink. Oh, how annoying. Well, anyone who wants to drink had better take a taxi. Renting a quad has led to misery too often. Take responsibility.

What renting a quad costs

Rental firms can deliver quads to the airport. Per quad we paid a few tens of euros a day. For a midweek break or a week's holiday that can add up to a few hundred euros.

What you get in return is a wonderful sense of freedom. And a thinly disguised monster truck stays great fun.