Summer hasn’t even properly started yet and we are already buying tickets to Cyprus. At 50€ from Budapest, it’s probably an unbeatable price. There’s just one catch – you’ll arrive in Paphos and Ayia Napa is at the other end of the island. If you don’t rent a car, I would focus the program only on the surroundings of Paphos because it’s quite a distance by bus. On the other hand, when moving from west to east, you’ll see the sun-drenched landscape in its full glory. In the Ayia Napa area, you’ll find the most beautiful beaches on the island with crystal clear water. Just mention the gorgeous Nissi Beach or Fig Tree Bay. Cape Greco will enchant you with its natural caves and cliffs. We only visited the Greek part of Cyprus; border crossings to the Turkish part are only at designated points.
Contents
Day 1 – Aphrodite’s Rock, Pissouri Bay, and Kourion
Day 2 – Protaras, Fig Tree Bay, and Cape Greco
Day 3 – Nissi Beach, Macronissos Beach, and Sea Caves
Day 4 – Farewell to Cyprus
Day 1 – Aphrodite’s Rock, Pissouri Bay, and Kourion
We depart from Budapest early in the morning at 6:30, so we arrived a day earlier and found accommodation near the airport. We land in Paphos in just under 3.5 hours, with a time difference of +1 hour. At the airport, we are greeted by a courier holding a sign from Auto Direct, even though we booked through the website vipcars.com. Driving is on the left side, so you need to mentally prepare for that in advance, but it’s nothing too difficult.
TIP: Most GPS systems do not have Cyprus, so we found openstreetmaps on Android quite useful.
From Paphos airport, we head to the eastern side of the island, as we chose our accommodation in the area of Ayia Napa. Along the way, we have a rich program planned. Our first stop is Aphrodite’s Rock, believed to be the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite according to mythology. Here, you can take postcard-perfect pictures with this rock. We take a stroll along the coast to another rock. On the way back, the heat becomes unbearable, so we plunge into the water. The weather forecast predicted 36°C, and I think they were right. The water is very pleasant and crystal clear. The beach is stony, so you also get a nice foot peeling.
Let’s swim a little and move a bit further into Pissouri Bay. Some will taste local specialties like moussaka, while others will jump straight into the water. The sun is really scorching, so eventually, we all meet at a terrace restaurant. The program continues with the archaeological site of Kourion, which has been preserved since ancient times. The most interesting part is the stone amphitheater in a semicircular shape, where you can see mosaics, ruins, columns, and other ancient remains of the city of Kourion. There is quite a bit of walking here, so plan for at least an hour.
We get into the car and continue along the highway to the east of the island. We had planned to visit the Choirokoitia Neolithic site, which is also along the way, but due to lack of time, we skip it. Before dusk, we stop in Larnaca. A short distance from the airport is the Salt Lake and right next to it is a Muslim shrine.Hala Sultan Tekke. We arrived just after closing time, so we walked around the site. I must say, there were a lot of cats wandering around. Now it’s time to head back to our Senator Hotel Apartments in Ayia Napa. The hotel had already charged the full amount for our stay on our card a few days before we arrived, so we were a bit worried, but everything went smoothly as expected. The accommodation was really good, a three-star hotel with three pools. The only issue was that the price included air conditioning in the bedroom only; we had to pay extra for the one in the living room.
Day 2 – Protaras, Fig Tree Bay, and Cape Greco
We wake up to a beautiful Cypriot morning. We pack our essentials and we’re ready to go. Today, we plan to visit Protaras and the caves of Cape Greco. On the way, we stop by LIDL for breakfast in the parking lot. A short distance away is the most beautiful beach in the area, Fig Tree Bay. We park the car near the hotels and head to the beach. Sunbeds and umbrellas are a must, so we buy them upon arrival. Fig Tree Bay is a beautiful cove with crystal clear water and an island where you can also swim to. You could easily spend the whole day here, but we want to see more today.
In the afternoon, we are moving to the southern tip of the island Cape Greco. At the end of the main road, turn left, and you will come across the natural stone bridge Kamara Toy Koraka Natural Bridge. Although it is fenced off, as soon as we jumped over it, we triggered a wave of group photography.
TIP: For adventurers, we recommend climbing down to the bay and taking a swim
It is definitely worth continuing along this road. There is a small church and a bay with a cave where we jumped into the water without hesitation. Excursion boats stop here so people can jump from heights of 6 to 8 meters or swim around. We head back the same way to go see the tip of the headland. The road is quite bumpy, so watch out for the suspension. At the very end is a fenced British radar station, so let’s go take a look at the cliffs around it.
We return back along the left coast of the headland directly to Ayia Napa. We leave the rest of the caves for another day. The nightlife is a chapter in itself. The nightclubs are one after the other, and promoters will try to lure you in everywhere, so the best approach is to ignore them or simply say “just walking”. If there weren’t at least 50 of them behind you, then not even one.
TIP: If you don’t want to pay 5 euros for a beer, you should first ask how much this and that cost and not let yourself be tricked by free shots.
By two o’clock, the blaring from outdoor nightclubs ends, and the party continues only in underground nightclubs, where there’s an entrance fee everywhere. We grab a kebab and slowly head to bed so that we can function normally tomorrow.
Day 3 – Nissi Beach, Macronissos Beach, and Sea Caves
We start the day at one of the most beautiful beaches in Cyprus, Nissi Beach. We rent sunbeds, a parasol, and make sure to apply enough sunscreen. It’s time to enter the crystal-clear water. We chose the right side of the beach where the water reaches our knees. Afterwards, you can wade to the little island from where you have a panoramic view of the entire beach. The more adventurous ones can even jump into the water from the top. You will take tons of photos at this beach 🙂 The water is as transparent as if you were filling a tub. On the left side of the beach, there’s a water scooter rental. I was slightly put off by the seaweed near the shore, but it was easily avoidable.
In the afternoon, we move on to another beach.Macronissos Beach. Right next to the parking lot, we were captivated by the Asterias Beach Hotel, where we’ll have a late lunch. The seating here is really comfortable and you have a view of the sea. In addition to the beach, we also wanted to visit the Makronissos Tombs. It is publicly accessible and you can walk around in just a few minutes.
TIP: On the way back from the tombs, turn right and you’ll find a small hidden cove separated from the main beach
And now, the much-awaited swimming and relaxation in the water. There are so many Czechs and Slovaks in Cyprus, and we meet more here as well. Let’s frolic in the water one last time before moving on. We get in the car and head towards the caves. We arrive at a place calledSea Caves, where water has carved underground caves. Each side offers a different view, and the eye in the rock is also interesting. The evening is filled with shopping, and when we get tired of it, we anchor at the pub.
Day 4 – Farewell to Cyprus
Our flight from Paphos is at 10:45, and as we estimated a 3-hour journey to the airport, we set off early in the morning. We were supposed to return the car with a 3/4 full tank, but if you are counting on a gas station at the airport, you’ll end up like us. In practice, they were supposed to charge us for the missing gas on the card, but since it was more than half a tank, they didn’t pursue it. The road to Budapest was quick, and from Nepliget, we continue by bus with Student Agency to Bratislava.
