Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Flip

Original poster

Come and give me the low down on Paphos please

16 replies

Fimbo · 10/07/2009 11:31

Is it nice? Are there places to go for a walk? It is full of lager louts?

Any info greatly appreciated.

OP posts:

rolledhedgehog · 10/07/2009 11:51

There are ruins you can walk to. I went out of season (full of old people) so there were no lager louts but there are lots of British style bars and places to eat so not the most upmarket place I have been but perfectly nice. Would go again...beach is really nice.

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/07/2009 11:59

Loads of British bars would put my dh off. Thanks for the info hedgehog.

OP posts:

Hotcrossbunny · 10/07/2009 12:05

We had a fab holiday in Paphos, but TBH we did avoid Paphos Town pretty much. We stayed on the outskirts, hired a car, and got off the beaten track. There are loads of very pretty, very un-touristy villages, where we were made very welcome and feel we experienced the 'real' Cyprus.

North Cyprus is worth a visit too!

Let me know if you'd like more info

hf128219 · 10/07/2009 12:06

Are you looking for posh?

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/07/2009 12:12

I have found a fab hotel - Hotel Elysium but if the surrounds are naff it will put dh off.

Any info you can give would be great Hotcrossbunny - although what you have already said has made me think that maybe I should consider it.

Hf - not necessarily posh just nice. Fed up of dumpy touristy resorts. Have decided to up the budget after a rather disappointing holiday in Menorca last year.

Basically I want a decent hotel or apartment at a push, with a separate room for the dc. Things to do all day (my dc don't do siesta!). Don't mind hiring a car and travelling round. A few nice shops for me and a bit of culture for dh. Dc will be happy if there is a playground and pool.

OP posts:

randomtask · 10/07/2009 12:21

We hired a villa for our honeymoon in Paphos. It was outside of the 'tourist town centre' and we only went into the tourist areas a couple of times.

If you don't like tourists, don't go to the main part of Limassol.

Head for the mountains for culture and there are a couple of lovely beaches if you travel up the coast from Paphos (they are quite quiet too). Oh and Paphos has a 'World Heritage Site' on the beach front (but in the tourist area) that has ruins and is lovely.

Can't recommend it enough, would love to go back soon. But then I'm half Cypriot so a little biased....

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/07/2009 12:24

Thanks RT. I guess if I can get the accommodation right and we hire a car then we are not stuck in tourist mode.

OP posts:

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/07/2009 12:25

Oh and the hotel I am looking at is set on a private sandy beach.

OP posts:

randomtask · 10/07/2009 12:30

Definitely. I hate tourists anywhere and I tend to take it more personally in Cyprus as my grandparents still live there!

We did St Paul's Pillar (and the church next to it), the World Heritage Centre and a few shops in Paphos. We then did a nice coastal drive (I recommend the AA's small book) and stopped at a quiet beach, went into the mountains and did a couple of monastries and generally only saw a few tourists.

Where we stayed was a 'tourist area' but apart from one restaurant we walked to in the evenings, it was really quiet. Suspect the rest went into town. Restaurant was nice mix of locals and tourists so it didn't get too much.

Hotcrossbunny · 10/07/2009 12:34

I don't know that hotel, but it looks fab!

If you're happy to travel around a bit, then Cyprus has got a lot to offer.There are loads of ruins, great beaches (Lara Beach is beautiful, there is a turtle hatchery there - we got to watch baby turtles being released back into the sea, which was wonderful) and everywhere/everyone seemed to be very child-friendly. Nicosia is worth a visit. We were fascinated to see the affluence of the Greek side of the Green line and then compare it with the relative poverty of the Turkish side.

If it's hot, the Troodos Mountains are blissfully cool. We visited all sorts of monasteries etc and had loads of delicious meals. We found that children seem to love Meze, lots of different dishes to pick at, so pretty stress-free.

Hope this helps!

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/07/2009 12:36

Well I am sold RT. Just need to work on dh now. The hotel is b & b but we can upgrade to half board for free for the dates I am thinking of, which would be brilliant. Also it is private car transfer to the hotel, which will be right up dh's street as he doesn't like the transfer coaches either! Honestly he is worse than a woman he sits and slags them all off especially those smoking before they get on, tattoos and loads of body piercings sends him into overdrive!

OP posts:

Original poster

Fimbo · 10/07/2009 12:38

Hotcrossbunny - that is very very helpful. Thank you.

Are there many childrens playgrounds around, do you know? Ds will do shops and culture for a little while and then needs to run off steam.

OP posts:

Laquitar · 10/07/2009 12:47

Tbh there are many british bars in town.

If you hire car, drive to the northest part of Pathos region there is village call 'Polis' or 'Polis Chrysohous' and next to it another village even better but i can't remember the name now.

And yes Troodos is fab!

hf128219 · 10/07/2009 12:55

Pissouri is lovely - Columbia Beach Hotel is very nice.

The Akamas Peninsula is beautiful.

Hotcrossbunny · 10/07/2009 12:56

There were playgrounds dotted about, but we spent most of the time on the beach really. Most of the big hotels seem to have play areas. You could probably use those if you bought some drinks there. Some of the out-of-town restaurants had play equipment too, sometimes not the newest, but it's something.

Polis is lovely, and there are great beaches all along the north coast AFAIR.

Thinking about it, Paphos harbour is OK. There are some bars and restaurants along the front, but I don't think any of them were 'British' pubs. You can do boat trips from there, and get ice creams etc.

mummylin2495 · 10/07/2009 13:07

we enjoyed paphos very much,there are loads of interesting things to go and look at,i was particularly interested in the rag trees which are to be found about the place.The cypriots hang bits of rag on a particular tree either for someone who is sick or passed on. There is aphrodites place to go and visit,valley of the tombs[ in pahpos] and of course the troodos mountains.You will need a car to travel.I will tell you that if you travel up troodos on the mountain roads its a very scary ride !!!There are a couple of monastries to visit but they expect everyone to be properly dressed ,so after the trip up the mountains we werent allowed in !The men were ok as they had full t-shirts on ,but strappy tops etc are frowned on.In saying this ,it was a great holiday and very much different to the type of holiday we have usually had.

Flip