Into the blue: The Greek island of Zakynthos

WE TRAVEL everywhere with teddy, our three-year-old son's favourite friend. But he wasn't the only bear on our flight to the Greek island of Zakynthos, as a fellow teddy was being clutched for comfort just up the aisle.

While our teddy was looking forward to a wholesome week of sunshine and paddling, the other one was about to take a walk on the wild side with its fresh-faced teenage owner, on her first holiday abroad without any parents to spoil the party.

We knew Zakynthos, one of Greece's most popular holiday islands, was a hot-spot for youngsters, with the party resort of Laganas a few miles away from our own quiet village destination. But when you remember the fantastic, lurid details of your own coming-of-age holiday abroad, you hope that whatever Scotland's youth are going to get up to on this holiday, you won't have to see or hear any of it.

We chose Zakynthos, also known as Zante, in the Ionian islands, because it promised sunshine, white sandy beaches, delicious food and a direct, short daytime flight. With an easily bored toddler in tow, we wanted a hassle-free holiday in the sun.

We were hoping to see some wildlife too – the island is a nesting ground for endangered loggerhead turtles, which lay their eggs on a stretch of the beach every year. Glimpses of the rare reptiles can be caught on organised boat trips.

As we boarded the flight, however, and realised we were among hordes of excitable teens, we did wonder how such a tiny island could be a peaceful haven while simultaneously playing host to its other lively guests. So it was with a sense of relief, just a few hours later, that we arrived at the Tower House, a quaint one-bedroom villa set among a handful of picturesque holiday homes in the sleepy peninsula of Vasilikos. It was a world away from party meccas.

Surrounded by olive groves and hillside farms on a winding cliff-side road, Vasilikos is old-fashioned Greece, with just enough shops and tavernas to make life interesting. Locals take pride in their floral gardens, cats sleep on walls and the croak of frogs is the only sound to disturb the silence in the evening. This is what we had come for, and had hoped lay behind the rat-run to tacky nightclubs that the island has become better known for.

With not much to do locally, apart from visit the village and lounge at nearby hotel and apartment pools, we hired a car to explore the island. Argassi, the nearest town, has a huge selection of restaurants and the usual tourist shops, while Zakynthos town is a busy port with a high street full of designer boutiques and snack bars. We ventured as far as Navagio, a two-hour drive to the west side of the island.

Here we visited several beaches, including St Nicholas, which offers watersports and great sunbathing as well as plenty of bucket-and-spade action for children.

We also took a day-long boat trip from Zante harbour to the island's stunning Blue Caves. Four hours on a crowded passenger ferry was really a bit too much, but it is the best way to see the island's dramatic coastal scenery. Not only that, but the swimming stops in the cool blue sea were unforgettable, as was that much-anticipated sighting of a loggerhead paddling under the waves.

A minor problem with Greek holidays can be that the food gets repetitive, generally the same choice of chicken, shrimp or beef kebabs, or a rich casserole – not to mention the staple British favourites of chips and full breakfasts. But we found delicious stuffed peppers at Saffran Restaurant, on the harbour in Zakynthos town, and our favourite for cheese pies, calamari and beef stifado was Piccadilly, in Argassi.

Zakynthos delivered all the elements on our 'travelling-with-toddler' list. The journey was easy, the weather was warm and the beach and swimming pool days were good old-fashioned, messy fun. The Avis hire car also proved invaluable, giving us freedom to see much of what the island had to offer and travel off the beaten track.

But self-catering in Greece with a three-year-old also gave us some problems. Our toddler turned his nose up at just about every meal offered, the restaurants aren't cheap, and it was a perpetual round of factor 30, sun hats and after-sun. But maybe that's our problem, not Greece's. Maybe we just wanted to be drinking the teenagers under the table down the road in Laganas.

At Zakynthos airport on the return trip, we paid the price for our easy, direct flights with a truly horrible two-hour queue for tickets and some unhelpful airport staff, who declined our pre-arranged request for extra legroom with a shrug.

The other teddy was not on our flight home, probably lying discarded as his owner downed cocktails. Instead, we sat behind a gaggle of hungover teenage boys and eavesdropped for lurid tales. But they were as tame as a couple of henna tattoos, some sunburn and a few broken hearts. Somehow the partygoers, young families and loggerhead turtles had all enjoyed the week on the island together, without disturbing each other at all.

Fact File Zakynthos

Seven nights at the self-catering Tower House in Vasilikos, on the island of Zakynthos, costs from £345 per person through Direct Holidays (0844 800 7030, www.directgreece.co.uk). The price is based on three adults sharing, with return flights departing from Glasgow.

Car hire is available through the holiday firm and can be pre-booked or arranged at the resort.