Cyprus - any recommendations?

[jarviscockatiel]

DP and I are thinking of having a fly-drive holiday to Cyprus this summer. We've no children and aren't keen on spending lots of time at the hotel pool or on the beach. We'd prefer to see sights/ruins/climb/trek etc.

We're also not sure what would be the best area to stay as we'd considered Nicosia but reviews don't seem particularly positive.

So lovely Mumsnetters, what would you recommend?

Bumping - in hope ....

Go to the North it's much nicer than the south and great for exploring. Car hire is really cheap and they drive on the same side as us. Stay in Kyrenia and take days out - Bellapais Abbey, Famagusta, ancient city of Salamis, crusader castles. There's loads to see. Or you could spend a few nights in different places - Kyrenia, Famagusta, Karpaz Peninsula, even Nicosia if you want. Also, foothills of Five Finger Mountains good for rambling.
The only thing is that summer is really hot for walking and exploring - could you wait until September/ October?

No one stays in Nicosia in the summer. It's vile, hot & humid. I've known it to be 45 degrees at 10.30pm. Limassol is also very humid. Perhaps look to see if there is anywhere to stay in the Troodos mountains, which will be cooler. Sorry I can't be more help.

Troodps mountains are really lovely especially if you like hiking.

You will boil alive.
We got back from Pafos last week and it was very hot all week.

Lots of sites/ruins around Limassol, and it's easy to get from Limassol to Paphos or Limassol to Troodos. It's only really an hour from Limassol to Nicosia, but tbh I don't think there's much there to be excited about.

I'm going in early August. I'm planning on staying indoors mostly. I think the kids will get a shock when they encounter the heat. You can also take boat trips out.

I'm going at the end of July - I'm dreading it already. Every year I say never again & every year I get persuaded that the heat is never that bad. It always is :)

Bendicks - is it family? :) We'll have air conditioning but I'm dreading just going 100m up the road to the shop or taking the DCs to the park. OTOH who needs heat yoga for a slimmer waist?

Thanks for all the replies. I'm a teacher so it's got to be in the summer holidays but we're fine with heat as we've spent a few summers in the Middle East and other very hot climates. I like the sound of the sites near Kyrenia, thank you Soso. If you hire a car in the north of the island, are you insured to drive it in the south and vice versa?

Can you get from the North to the South now? I went in my teens and you couldn't then but that was 18 years ago.

I'm going in August with my 3 DDs. They have never left the country so will have a massive shock. The place we are staying in has air conditioning and a pool right on the door step so hopefully it won't be too bad!

You can hire a car in the south and drive to the north but not the other way round. There is more info here if you are interested.
You could fly into the south, hire a car there and then drive over and stay in the north.
As long as you have an EU passport you can now travel freely between the two sides.

Thank you for your comments. We're hoping to book it this weekend and are thinking more about Kyrenia now.