13 Zante – my Greek island holiday – podcast

Podcast 13 in my travel podcast series - I’m taking you on holiday with me to the Greek island of Zakynthos or Zante as it’s popularly known. You’ll hear about how we explored the island, enjoying Greek mezze in Zante town, watched some traditional Greek dancing, visiting ancient monasteries, wine tasting with our friends at Oenolpi winery and a boat trip around Laganas bay that’s known as a protected nesting site of the Caretta Caretta turtles. As my sister lives on Zakynthos, where she runs the Windmill Studios and Windmill Bay Hotel with her Greek husband, we visit her every year and this year we were there in May, which is an ideal time to visit.

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Shownotes

• You’ll hear the sounds of the birds chirping in the background as I describe the view from our room above Windmill Hotel owned by my sister and her husband, with the olive groves and fruit trees and view over the teracotta roofs and across the bay to Zante town.

• In Zante town I describe our lunch of typical Greek mezze, in a restaurant by the harbourside. We tried miniature sardines in batter, creamy tsatziki with herbs and spring onions, giant broad beans in fresh tomato sauce, courgettes baked in the oven with oil, stuffed vine leaf dolmades with rice and mint stuffing . After a walk to the end of the harbour to watch the boats coming and going we sat in a trendy cafe, sitting on rattan sofas for our frappé chilled coffee.

• You’ll hear the evening of Greek dancing at my sister’s  Windmill Hotel, where the traditional Greek dancers do their floor show and then get all the audience dancing around the swimming pool and my nephews and the barman did a show of their own.

Monastery near Volimes, Zante, Greece

Mezze lunch in Zante town

• I walked around the vegetable garden that my sister’s Greek mother-in-law maintains with fruit trees, especially oranges and lemons, a poly tunnel with tomatoes, as well as courgettes, onions, beans and garlic as well as keeping chickens and rabbits for eating and eggs. She makes delicious traditional dishes from the produce such as these Greek stuffed tomatoes.

• We visited Oenolpi winery to meet up with Christina-Maria and Timothy who we met last year and made a video of our wine tasting – Christina tells us why, although she grew up in Athens, she finds she’s even busier running a business on Zante, but why she feels she has a better quality of life surrounded by nature in the vineyards.

With Christina-Maria and Timothy at Oenolpi winery, Zante

With Yannis from Nature World Travel, Zante

• We spent a day on a catmaran trip faround Laganas bay, from Porto Roma booked with Nature World Travel who organise turtle-friendly trips to see the marine park in Laganas Bay. I talk to Yannis Vardakastanis about his work to conserve the turtles and other wildlife in Laganas bay and to Cathal, who works at the Earth Sea, Sky centre that Yannis runs at Gerakas, who tells us about the survey trips that he and the other the volunteers do every day to check on the turtle nests, and monitor their numbers which are sadly in decline.

• We drove to the rocky northern end of the island to see the old monastery of St Denis, the patron saint of the island and drove on to the outlook over the much photographed Navagio bay or Smuggler’s cove which features on many a postcard before finishing with a late lunch in a local taverna at Alykes

I hope you enjoy the slide show below that is designed to accompany the podcast

If you enjoyed this travel podcast please check out my other podcasts in my Travel Podcast Archive

Things that you might enjoy on Zante or Zakynthos

Stay at one of my sister’s hotels at Windmill Studios or Windmill Bay Hotel – don’t miss the BBQ and Greek night that’s held once a week, open to non-residents too.

Learn what to look for in a traditional Greek taverna

Take coffee and glika (sweet cakes) in the backstreets of Zante town, or on the main square.

Visit a beautifully furnished 18th century Greek mansion at Romas Mansion in Zante town

Admire the fishing boats, yachts of all sizes and cargo ships in Zante harbour and walk right along to the end of the sea wall

Visit the Venetian fort or castle overlooking Zante town

See the sun set with a drink on the terrace at Bohali by the Venetian fort, with a view over Zante town

Visit the winery and do some wine tasting at Oenolpi winery at Machairado

See pottery being made and hand painted at the Sigouros workshop at Machairado or browse in the shop in Zante town

Take a boat trip around Laganas bay with Nature World Travel and spot some turtles if you’re lucky

Visit the Earth, Sea, Sky wildlife conservation centre at Gerakas beach, have lunch in the taverna next door and relax for the afternoon on the unspoilt Gerakas beach

Spend a few hours at the waterpark at Sarakinado – great for older children and teenagers

Sun yourself on one of the many beautiful beaches on Zakynthos

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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Beware of hidden charges at Hertz car hire

If you’re thinking of hiring a car through Hertz, then you might like to know about the hidden charges  I encountered when I hired a car from Hertz on my recent holiday in Budapest. If you’re a regular reader you’ll know I’m not normally one to winge, but spending half an hour arguing with Hertz staff over an additional charge of €54 above the price I thought I had booked on the internet, left me with steam coming out of my ears.

The additional charges were hidden in a way that even the most internet savvy consumer would have been unlikely to pick up. Here’s the sorry tale. After doing a fair amount of price checking on the internet I prebooked a car for 5 days to be picked up in Budapest for use on our holiday in Hungary. On arrival I was told by the office staff that there was an additional €9 + local 25% tax per day to pay for ‘high season charges’ levied in the month of August.

I remonstrated and insisted that the price I had booked at was the price I should pay, but the staff were sorry, it was the fault of Hertz ‘head office’ who had made the mistake and we would have to pay up and then make our claim through them. We were not the only unhappy customers, they said, who had booked at a price that did not include this ‘high season charge’ and wished that we would make a fuss so that Hertz ‘head office’ would sort out this problem that left them having to deal with unhappy customers like ourselves.

So on my return I duly made my formal complaint to be told that the ‘high season charge’ was apparently made clear on my booking. Looking at the example below, you might be forgiven for thinking that the price published top right, was the price you would pay, unless you wished to book any of the additional services such as child seats or snow tyres. WRONG – dear readers, hadn’t you noticed the small link at the bottom that says Rental Qualifications and requirements?

If you click on that small link, you’ll be taken to a drop-down box with no less than 34 options on which you could click that may or may not tell you about additional charges. Most of these are for additional charges for additional services, which you would expect, but if you had clicked on the one for High Season Fee, you would have been told about this additional charge for bookings between 20 July and 31 August.

Now is it unreasonable to expect that if you are levying an higher price in peak season, you could programme your booking engine to show this in the original price calculation – after all, isn’t this why you enter your booking dates on the quotation? I’d also argue that the wording is not entirely clear – has the high season fee been already included in the quotation or is at an extra that you’ll need to pay locally? – it’s not obvious to me.

Had I realised that the price I was going to pay was €54 higher than the price that appeared on my booking quotation for exactly the same car and time period, I would probably have booked with another car hire provider with a cheaper quotation.

I’ve also noted that Hertz is the official car hire partner for Ryanair and therefore plenty of unknowing Ryanair customers are probably booking with them thinking they’re getting the best deal.

But I for one will be avoiding Hertz in future – I don’t want to deal with a company where I can’t be confident that the price I’m quoted on the internet is the one I will pay on the day and I don’t want to feel I have to scour their website, just to be sure there is no other hidden charge.

If you’ve had any experience of hidden charges with Hertz or any other car hire company, please do let me know through the comments. I may have had to pay these hidden charges from Hertz, but at least I’d like to warn other travellers so they can avoid doing the same.

Update

Soon after I published this article and also linked to it on Twitter I was contacted by a member of the Hertz Europe Social Media team who said that they wished to investigate my complaint further, giving me a contact number. A few days after that I received an e-mail from Hertz Customer Services apologising for the fact that the High Season fee was not included in my quotation and that they would be refunding me that charge.

Full marks to Hertz for their use of Social Media like Twitter and Facebook to respond to customer feedback and also to their Customer Service team who eventually refunded me the charge, after initially saying it would have to stand. I do hope that they’ll also make these charges much more transparent on their booking site, and let’s hope that any other unhappy customers will receive the same service and not just bloggers like myself who have a public voice via the internet.

Time to start planning your family autumn break in Paris

With the school holidays almost over, it’s time to start planning some autumn fun, and my sponsored post from discountvouchers.co.uk has excellent suggestions for a short autumn break for the family in Paris, France.

France is the most visited country in the world, with over 78 million tourists passing through per year, and for good reason. From east to west and north to south, family friendly France combines it all. Culture and castles; architecture and art; fashion and fabulous food, plus great skiing and hiking in the Alps.

France also has a charming and captivating riviera complete with Roman ruins in the south; beautiful cities, magnificent wine to drink, and impressive hills to the east; a rugged coastline, beautiful cities and Celtic remains in the west, and the flatlands along the English Channel in the north. Although it’s often considered to be an expensive country to visit,  the entire country including Paris, can be an affordable and fun trip for the family, especially when visited for a short break in spring or autumn.

Getting There and Around

UK tourists visiting France can arrive  by air via inexpensive UK-based carriers. There are also economical rail options if you plan ahead and taking a car is also possible via the Channel Tunnel or the ferry companies. Low-cost and no frill charters that fly to France from UK destinations include Ryanair, Easyjet and First Choice. First Choice offers low cost daily fares and a selection of First Choice discount codes can be found online for extra savings. Be sure to locate First Choice discount vouchers before booking a flight with this carrier.

Saving money on Parisian attractions

Visiting breathtaking sites does not have to break the bank. Free and low cost attractions to visit in Paris include the River Seine, the spectacular Notre Dame de Paris basilica, the Arc de Triomphe, weekly fashion shows in front of Lafayette department store on Fridays, and the Fragonard Perfume Museum. Get around by cruising along the Seine, or let the water sightseeing Batobus take the family to eight different stops along the bank. Ascending the Eiffel Tower will come at a cost, but admiring the architectural masterpiece from below is free.

The best of Parisian art and rich history is housed in the city’s many museums and galleries that are a top destination for tourists. Anyone interested in visiting galleries and museums should purchase a Paris Museum Pass, which covers more than 60 museums, including the world-renowned Louvre, Napoleon’s Tomb and Sainte-Chapelle. Be sure to verify which museums are covered and purchase a pass prior to your arrival in Paris.

Family Friendly Museums

Paris is often thought of as a romantic break destinations, but there are many attractions, some lesser known, that cater for families and which younger children will especially enjoy. The Musée de la Poupée, or Doll Museum, is a site of wonder and features an antique doll collection of over 400 dolls that were made in the last 200 years. The Musée de la Magie is another site to consider visiting, which offers exciting magical antiques. The live magic show and illusions in this subterranean museum are sure to impress both adults and children alike.

Family friendly activities

An afternoon of autumn sunshine is the perfect setting for a traditional Parisian style picnic in Luxembourg Park, the country’s largest park. Alternatively, any time of year is ideal to visit Aquaboulevard, the largest indoor European water park that is maintained at a comfortable temperature of 29 degrees Celsius year-round. And of course, if you are visiting Paris, no family should miss out on a day spent at Disneyland Paris, a mere 30 km away from the capital.

Visitor resources

To keep down the cost of your family autumn break, do check out the travel discount vouchers available at discountvouchers.co.uk
Notre Dame de Paris cathedral website – see the historic cathedral in the heart of Paris
Fragonard Perfume Museum – in a beautiful townhouse, a collection of perfumery objects to take you through the ages
Batobus – for your river tour of the Paris sights on the River Seine
Louvre - the must see art gallery of Paris
The Paris Museum Pass – visit over 60 museums and monuments in and around Paris with one ticket
Musée de la Poupée – discover an enchanting childhood world of collectable dolls
Musée de la Magie – A glimpse into the magical world of illusions
Aquaboulevard – huge family water park for making a splash
Disneyland Resort Paris – become a child again where dreams come true

Photo Credits: River sightseeing in Paris on the Batobus by Hello Paris ,The Louvre in Paris by Al lanni , Musée de la Poupée in Paris by spiritsdancing , Disneyland resort, Paris by webast

Other city breaks you may enjoy

Our 36 hours in Berlin
05 An autumn weekend in Lisbon – Podcast Episode 5
08 Valencia in the Springtime – podcast

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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