I visited the most crowded island in Greece — it wasn't what I was expecting

When you hear ‘Zante,’ you might think of wild parties with young, drunk Brits stumbling up and down the strip while dance music blasts. The Greek island of Zakynthos, frequently shortened to ‘Zante,’ has a reputation for being a party island overrun with tourists, but this isn't necessarily the case.

While Zakynthos definitely has a wild side, it’s not compulsory to participate. This is what I learnt when I took a trip to the island for a friend’s 30th last week. Originally, I was apprehensive about the chosen location because of the stories I had heard, but as it turned out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The main party zone of Zakynthos is Laganas Strip, where thousands of hedonistic tourists flock to get drunk, dance and eventually be peeled off the floor and out of their own vomit by long-suffering bouncers.

We decided to avoid this section of the island and opted for a villa in Vasilikos, a more traditional town at the easternmost point of the island.

Here, the winding roads are hemmed by olive trees shining silver from the dust kicked up from the few cars that drive past, and the sound of cicadas is almost deafening. Mountains rise above the ocean with villas and traditional stone cottages dotted across them, and bell-wearing goats wander between the groves.

From our peach-coloured villa atop the mountain, we could see straight down to the shining sea, which beckoned us to escape the 35C temperatures.

Although the house was far removed from the chaos of the strip, that didn’t mean there was nothing to do.

We whiled away the hours at Amigo Beach Club, which was a 20-minute walk from our accommodation and offered sunbeds, a pool, and, of course, beach access. The staff there were also lovely and more than happy to accommodate all 22 of us.

Just a 10-minute drive from Vasilikos is the famous Gerakas Beach, which was well worth a visit. A protected marine reserve, this long stretch of pure white sand is a turtle nesting area and strictly protected, but still open during the day for people who want to soak up some rays.

There is free parking just a short walk from the beach, and sunbeds are available to rent; however, there is no bar on the beach itself.

We packed our umbrellas and towels and spent a very pleasant (albeit scorching) few hours on this sandy shore, dipping in and out of the crystal clear sea before heading back up the hill.

There were free showers on offer to wash the salt off, and they were very clean and easy to use—a godsend after a long day of sweating and swimming.

Once showered, we popped to one of the many tavernas that line the hillside for a late lunch.

Nicos Taverna was our port of call, and again, they were more than accommodating of our gigantic group. Here, we ate and drank to our hearts' content for a very reasonable price (€4 Gyros, anyone?).

After four days in this paradise, I can comfortably say that I was wrong about Zakynthos. It may have a bad reputation, but my time spent there was utterly relaxing, filled with delicious food, great hospitality, and gorgeous scenery.

Zakynthos truly is what you make of it.