Cyprus-a guide to a peaceful taste of the lesser known delights. (Cyprus)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	Cyprus
Date:	18/11/08 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good place to visit for walking and for enjoying nature and beauty

Disadvantages: Unless you like to party avoid the built up areas.

A reflection of Cyprus

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and it has a population of 800,000 and over 2 million tourists flock there every year. It was an island retreat of the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, and steeped in history, culture, and tradition it remains a wonderful place to spend time enjoying the simple pleasures of life. It is also a party place and in summer the main beaches are tighly packed rows of sardine sunbathers and for me these are to be avoided.

If you are thinking of going on holiday to Cyprus and maybe only have an idea of what might be waiting for you I want to let you know a little of what it is like and what you might expect.

So much depends on your personality and for the purposes of this review I will tell you a little about mine. I enjoy everything which is natural, unspoilt, and not man made and I do not enjoy built up areas or crowds.

For this reason I did a lot of research before I booked because not all of Cyprus is about peace and tranquillity, you have to look inland. For the purposes of this review I will concentrate on the Greek part to the south as the north is the Turkish side of which so far I have limited knowledge.

Please also bear in mind the difference in the seasons as summer brings crowds to the beaches, where in the winter they may provide quiet places to walk and relax. The wettest month is January. The season is longer than other Mediterranean destinations because of its proximity to Israel summer can go on well into November and by February the climate is recovering from the brief winter chills.

In my opinion by far the best way to visit the island if you are looking to experience the real Cyprus is to book a villa with a company who specialize in renting out Cypriot owned properties. There are many on the internet and I shall be writing about one such company www.getaway-villas.co.uk in another review shortly. The benefit of this is that many of these are in villages and locations where the natural beauty is still unchanged. Book your flights early -a year in advance if you can to get the best prices. If you do this you can go for half the cost of booking with a villa company who offer total packages. We went in summer 2007 and the total cost of a luxury villa with pool and 5 bedrooms totally secluded in a rural setting was £1800 in the height of the summer including flights and car hire.

The coastline in Cyprus is gradually being enveloped in a building programme and everywhere along the roads there are signs advertising developers. As you drive along the road these signs are everywhere as are half built apartments and dusty trails to new and proposed sites.

Driving on Cypriot roads is not difficult as they drive on the same side as the UK. This is helpful as you can be tired when you arrive after the flight which is about four and a half hours. You do have to be careful as there are a lot of motorbikes and local traffic tends to go quite fast, but if you are careful it is a pleasant experience.

It is also possible to hire a jeep as there are many roads in Cyprus which are only accessible by 4 by 4 vehicles. If you do this make sure it has air conditioning! The advantage of doing this even if only for a day is that it gives you a chance to explore the more remote beaches such as the one at Lara bay. This is on one of the last remaining wildernesses in Cyprus- the Akamas peninsula.
Here green turtles breed and the beach is shaped like a horseshoe. Lara bay sits on the Paphos end of the peninsula and is an 8km drive from Ayios Georgios. The ride is very very bumpy! My advice is to go soon because the scale of the development of the coastline is frightening and limited development has already begun to spoil the Latchi/Polis side of the Peninsula


Having booked yourself a local villa it is a good idea to spend the day resting and stocking up with essentials. The company we used supplied a wonderful welcome pack which had everything you could wish for and more, and we really didn't need to shop at all the first day.

Check to make sure the villa has air conditioning and what the cost is if it is an extra. It is vital in the summer as the bedrooms will get really hot and if you go in the winter make sure it is heated as it will get cold at night. Expect to pay £4 a night per bedroom for the air conditioning.

When you do go shopping you will find the prices in the supermarkets are roughly the same as the UK and recently they changed to using Euros instead of Cypriot pounds which was their previous currency. Look out for the fruit and vegetables which are often locally grown and come in daily from the hills and villages. The fresh food is superb and the other items we really enjoyed were local Halloumi which is a wonderful cheese. The local one is less squeaky than the one sold mostly in the UK and it is beautiful when grilled. Local wine is really lovely and is grown on the hills. The vineyards of Cyprus are mostly on the southern slopes of the Troodos mountain range near Limassol. The second area is in the south-western part of the island near Paphos.

If you want to keep in contact with home when you are away it is good idea to buy a Cypriot sim card which is so much cheaper than using your own mobile.

The way we enjoyed our holiday was in many ways to avoid the tourism and head inland to see the local villages and we were rewarded many times over.

Go to www.cyprus-maps.com and you will be rewarded with great maps to see the routes you might plan. The road from Polis to Drouseia and onto Kathikas and through the tiny roads to Pano Akourdaleia and onto Miliou takes you through some of the most beautiful wine regions of Cyprus. We loved the tiny village of Akourdaleia where there is a herb garden. Here amidst the smell of oregano, thyme, and under the shade of olive tress you can sit in utter peace even in mid August.
Walking from here amidst groves of peach and lemon trees is out of this world and there are a sprinkling of local tavernas.

Another beautiful drive takes you towards the Troodos Mountains. The drive here is amazing. The roads are a hairpin bend series of trails which snake through wooded mountain slopes through quiet villages where figs and dried fruit lie basking in the sun to dry. When the fruit trees start to blossom from February onwards, starting with the almond, in the fertile valleys the views are breathtaking.

So for me this is the real Cyprus and I hope you can see that a holiday is possible here away from the tourist areas.

Summary: Cyprus is an island changing - visit soon to see a place steeped in history and bathed in sunshine