Where should we stay in Cyprus?

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

DH and I have sometimes been to Greece or Italy for a week of sea and sun with a bit of culture thrown in.

We're thinking of trying Cyprus this September, but don't know where to start. Ideally we'd like to be on the coast but I don't know which are the best beaches? We don't want nightlife but would quite like to be able to walk to bars and restaurants. We'd want to stay in a villa not a hotel or apartment. we'd hire a car so could drive to places to sightsee etc.

I've had a quick look and Paphos has cropped up a lot,but I have no idea if it's a nice town.

Any suggestions of which towns might be worth looking at?

anyone?

Paphos as a town is actually not particularly nice and its beaches aren't great either. The archaeological remains are great and there are some nice hotels (the Almyra and the Annabelle are both lovely), plus there's a very good ice-cream shop, but the town is rather tacky IMO. The best beach we found at the western end of the island was Latsi in the north.

I think the beaches in the east are better - Vrissiana Beach in Protaras is supposed to be nice - but I've never been to that area so I can't offer any personal recommendations.

Paphos has a lot to offer for sightseeing - the front and harbour can be a bit “brits abroad” in places but I personally love it there. If you go for a meal at night and walk back along the harbour you might see turtles in the harbour. There’s tons to do and see if you have a car. The other side around protaras is better for snorkelling but there’s not as much to do and it’s a LOT more touristy.

stuff to do around paphos includes the Tomb of the Kings, Aphrodites Rock, The Last Castle restaurant, Kourion amphitheatre (great beach under it), a trip up to Latchi and the blue Lagoon, Lara Beach, a protected beach where turtles lay their eggs. The babies are protected and then released when they hatch which you can go watch. A trip to Paphos forest to see some waterfalls and Kefelos bridge, an old Venetian bridge. Coral Bay is a popular beach and Geriskipou beach has some nice beach clubs where you can do water sports and have food and drink brought to your sunbed. Kourion is good for bodyboarding. There are no private beaches in Cyprus though so you can really just get in anywhere it’s safe.

you can also see and swim with turtles at agios Georgios beach - apparently if you get there early when the fishing boats come in you’ll see turtles following them.

i love paphos 😂

The pp is right there are nicer beaches in the east side of the island but I find everything else is lacking - I felt a bit corralled, like almost everyone you encounter is a tourist and it’s not as authentic. Good if you just want to lay on a sunbed but not if you want to get out and about exploring

Thank you. I like the sound of being able to visit ruins etc. DH has found a villa on the East Side of the island but it looks as though there's very little to do there apart from.swim.

Yeah that’s pretty much it. Swimming featured heavily in our Protaras holiday.

I’d recommend a little explore up into the troodos mountains - the scenery is gorgeous and the roads are very safe. There’s a beautiful village called Omodos which is about an hour from paphos but it’s worth the trek in my opinion

We go twice a year and stay in Tala hills.. a stunning little village with fabulous restaurants.. easy drive into Paphos.
We have stayed in some fabulous villas with own pool and visited many attractions.

www.cyprusisland.net/cyprus-villages/paphos/tala-village

Also Tala hills isn't far from coral Bay beaches.. they are wonderful.

We stayed in Polis on the western side, & enjoyed it.
Didn't like Paphos at all, very touristy.

Can confirm @Moier is right about Tala, I used to go there as a teen with family and it's lovely. Paphos town itself isn't hugely exciting but as pp have said there's lots to see if you have a car. Would definitely recommend a visit to the mountains.

@moier thank you, that sounds like somewhere we should look into

@EmmaGrundyForPM
I don't think you will regret it.
Easy to drive to loads of stunning places from there.
We loved the Monastery and Tomb of the Kings.
The Square has enough restaurants for each night.. but plenty of supermarkets near by .
We have had some lovely villas through booking . Com

We stayed in Paphos and hated the harbour, Aphrodite beach was nice but small and did a day to Limassol and really wished we'd based ourselves there.

We stayed in Paphos at the Avanti Village Resort. Met Stavros from Britain's got talent when jet-skiing! We hired a car and visited other parts of the island too. One of our best holidays imho.

We've holidayed in Cyprus about 8 times (since 1992). We prefer the Paphos side of the island but often hire a car to have days out to Nicosia, Polis and visits to the Troodos mountains.

One of our favourite spots to stay in is the Corallia Beach Hotel Apartments. The bay is quite sheltered with a rock formation that you can swim out to. Boat trips often like to stop near there because the swimming is good. There are good bus links too for trips into Paphos itself and you are close to lots of interesting sites (like the Tombs of the Kings).

Thanks for all the suggestions.

We have had some great holidays in Cyprus doing two centres east and west. East for the amazing beaches and West for sites, Limasool, Fossouri waterpark etc. I could easily have just an east side holiday though as the beaches are so amazing around Protaras and Aya Napa.

Hello, just dropping in as we are looking at heading there too.

Honestly? The one destination I would NOT consider at all at the moment. So so close to Syria, and the British military base there, allied to US forces, makes it a prime target. Sorry.

I'd rather head to Portugal, Spain, Canaries, Balearics, Madeira.

I'd go to Limassol personally. Hire a car and have a day out in the mountains. Lots to do and see - fancy marina for people watching, loads of shops, not too far from e.g Kolossi Castle and the Roman ruins. There's a really good Waterpark near there too (Fassouri?). And take a trip to Lydianas bakery for the baklava 😋

Cyprus is incredibly safe. There are several UK military bases there - and it’s always been close to Syria which has been in a state of unrest for quite some time now with no attacks on Cyprus.

As said before, I disagree and would not go there currently. Incredibly close to Syria and because of UK army bases there, and working with USA, a prime target.

We're not planning to go to any waterparks or to any military bases!

DH has seen a lovely looking villa on the coast near Latsi (not sure if that is the correct spelling). Walking distance to beaches, town etc Plus also near forest and mountains for walks. Private pool, private gardens. 3 beds so adult DC might come with us.

Anyone know the area? It's £100 a night which is cheaper than we budgeted so we might add on a couple of nights in Paphos before we fly home.

Do you mean latchi? Near Polis? I've been there a couple of times, so might be able to answer any questions.

Thank you @dreamingofsun (great user name!). Yes, Latchi near Polis.