Discover Cyprus
The best way to get around Cyprus is by car, so rent a car and get ready for the adventure.
To truly discover the warm Cypriot hospitality venture away from the tourist areas and head inland to the old villages. Sit amongst the locals in the welcoming tavernas and coffee shops (kafeneons). Kakopetria is in the foothills of the stunning Troodos Mountains a short drive away from Nicosia. Omodos village is situated in the wine district of the Limassol region. With a stunning backdrop of the mountains the villagers here are renowned for the warm and inviting hospitality. Venture deep within the mountains to Platres. Here you will find hiking and biking trails which will lead you to the tallest waterfall in Cyprus.
Paphos Mosaics
Pride and joy of Paphos are these extensive late Roman mosaics, the first one accidentally uncovered by a ploughing farmer in 1962. Dating from the second to the fifth centuries AD, these floor decorations of long-vanished villas vividly show more (or less) obscure episodes from ancient mythology: Dionysos riding a leopard-propelled chariot, Dionysos wooing Ariadne and then the nymph Akme, personifications of the four seasons, Apollo sentencing Marsyas to be flayed, and a late, rather Christianised first bath of infant Achilles, like church frescoes of baby Jesus' first immersion. Many are housed in shelters, which can make them slightly indistinct on cloudy days.
To truly discover the warm Cypriot hospitality venture away from the tourist areas and head inland to the old villages. Sit amongst the locals in the welcoming tavernas and coffee shops (kafeneons). Kakopetria is in the foothills of the stunning Troodos Mountains a short drive away from Nicosia. Omodos village is situated in the wine district of the Limassol region. With a stunning backdrop of the mountains the villagers here are renowned for the warm and inviting hospitality. Venture deep within the mountains to Platres. Here you will find hiking and biking trails which will lead you to the tallest waterfall in Cyprus.
Paphos Mosaics
Pride and joy of Paphos are these extensive late Roman mosaics, the first one accidentally uncovered by a ploughing farmer in 1962. Dating from the second to the fifth centuries AD, these floor decorations of long-vanished villas vividly show more (or less) obscure episodes from ancient mythology: Dionysos riding a leopard-propelled chariot, Dionysos wooing Ariadne and then the nymph Akme, personifications of the four seasons, Apollo sentencing Marsyas to be flayed, and a late, rather Christianised first bath of infant Achilles, like church frescoes of baby Jesus' first immersion. Many are housed in shelters, which can make them slightly indistinct on cloudy days.
Ancient Kourion (Curium)
Situated 11 miles west of Limassol, ancient Kourion is superbly perched on a sheer bluff overlooking the sea. A cataclysmic earthquake in AD 365 pretty much levelled the city, so excavation/restoration has been focused at ground level – specifically Kourion’s floor mosaics, the finest on the island after those at Paphos.
Akamas
The Akamas is an area of 230 sq. kms located on the western tip of Cyprus. The Akamas peninsula is the last large unspoiled coastal area remaining in Cyprus. It is here that you can find both the Loggerhead Turtle and the rare Green Turtle nesting.
Scuba diving at Larnaca
One of the Mediterranean’s premier wreck dives is the Zenobia, which foundered in Larnaca harbor on its 1980 maiden voyage owing to an electronic glitch. Towed away and scuttled at its present location 1,500 yards offshore, it still has 100-plus lorries chained precariously to the decks and a profusion of resident sea life.With a maximum depth of 140ft, the Zenobia is for beginners; to round out a diving day there are other, shallower shipwrecks, plus reefs and caves, nearby.
Waterparks
Fasouri Watermania in Limassol is the ideal place for families, friends and children to spend a one-day outing.
Paphos Waterpark – is in Geroskipou in Paphos and features slides, a wave pool, lazy river and children’s area.
Ayia Napa - Water World themed park is the biggest water park in Europe with an Ancient Greek theme.
