Marooned at the cross-roads of Europe and Asia, with one foot firmly planted in the west, and the other pointing towards Syria, Turkey and Lebanon, Cyprus is a curious – and utterly captivating – mix of the ancient and the new. In Agia Napa, it has one of the brashest resorts in the Med, the price Cyprus pays for its fabulous climate, yet away from the sunburn and sangria honeypots, Aphrodite’s fabled birthplace offers ample reward for the adventurous. Washed by the tide of history, and a strategic outpost for civilizations from across the European map, Cyprus has Neolithic, Greek, Roman and Byzantine ruins in abundance. Along with these, and some stunning beaches, particularly along the Akamas and Karpas Peninsula, Cyprus has Byzantine churches, Ottoman mosques, ancient villages with fabulous tavernas serving superb seafood lunches in the sun, and medieval castles standing sentinel over wildflower-carpeted hills. A beautiful island with a wonderful sun-kissed climate, Cyprus is a super holiday destination only four and a half hours from home.
Facts
Capital
Lefkosia/North Nikosia
Airport
Larnaca and Paphos are the two main international airports, both about 4 hours 40 minutes flight from the UK
Currency
Euro (£1=1.17 Euros)
Size140 miles long and 60 miles wide
Population800,000
Average temperature
16 degrees in winter, 24 in summer; summers are hot and rainless, winters are mild with cool breezes on the coast.
Local highlights
Get-away-from-it-all beaches of Mansoura and Pomos; Lara Bay and Chrysochous Bay, both with beautiful beaches on the Akamas Peninsula; cycle the flat coastal road between Polis and Pomos; the Troodos Mountains, the spiky heart of Cyprus, with a good range of waymarked trails, mountain refuges and UNESCO-protected Byzantine monasteries with superb frescoes; the Gothic castles of Buffavento and Kantara; Karpas peninsula, the island’s last real wilderness, with beautiful, abandoned beaches; the 2nd century BC Greek ruins of Salamis; the fascinating walled city of Lefkosia/N Nicosia, the only divided capital in the world; the superb Greco-Roman amphitheatre at Kourion; the quite stunning 11th century Kykkos monastery, a Byzantine gem; the Tombs of the Kings mosaics at Paphos; the ruined castle of St Hilarion, perched high in the hills of Kyrenia; Bellapais, an panoramic Augustinian monastery and one-time home of Lawrence Durrell; numerous Greek Orthodox festivals going back thousands of years;
Getting out and about
Cyprus is small enough for you to get around easily. Roads are good and well signposted, and traffic moves smoothly and without the excesses and unpredictability sometimes found in other countries in Mediterranean Europe. Buses provide the only public transport on the island, and the service is pretty efficient and widespread, although no buses run on Sundays; there is no train network and no domestic air services in either the North or the South. Four-lane motorways link Lefkosia with Lemesos and Larnaka, and this network has now been expanded west to Pafos and east to Agia Napa. In Northern Cyprus, there is only one motorway, which runs between North Nicosia and Famagusta. Hiring a car will really help if you are keen to explore the best of the country. It is feasible to ride around Cyprus by bicycle along ordinary roads, which generally parallel the motorways, where cycling is not allowed. Travelling between the South and North is easy nowadays, since the restrictions on crossing the border have been eased. However, you are only allowed to cross at designated checkpoints.
Travel arrangements
We include a scheduled flight with our holidays to Cyprus from London Gatwick to Paphos Airport with British Airways (operated by GB Airways). Flight time from the UK is 4 hours and 40 minutes