Thinking about CYPRUS - recommendations please.....

[sweetheart]

Dh and I are thinking of going to Cyprus for our summer holiday this year and I'd like your recommendations for hotels / apartments.

We're going with our 2dc's (10 and 4) so we need things to keep them amused and I'd like tthem to have their own bedroom - I can't think of anything worse than us all squeezing into 1 room for 2 weeks!

Any recommendations would be great.

st george at paphos

bump, can anyone recommend there - or is it just a rubbsih place no one goes to.......

i have been to the St george in paphos and it was gorgeous.
Fantastic food, fantastic service, lovely relaxed atmosphere, something for everyone.
If the flight wasnt so long Id go every year, it was one of my best holidays

ohh mosschops is it child/family friendly? Is there a playpark or other activities for kids? What was food like?

I read some of the reviwes and they were mixed - some of the bad ones were really bad. How close is it to the beach? How long ago did you go? Could you also tell me what there is to do that will entertain the kids?

Hi, I have a house in Cyprus (not touting for business, am nearly full!)
I am near Protaras, and I obviously love it. Beaches are great for kids. Have you thought of looking for an apartment on a compex with a communal pool so kids can make friends?
Trip Adviser has holiday rentals now,with reviews, and also hotels.Or holidaylettings.co.uk
Have fun!

Have had a look on tripadvisor and most of the reports are good.
As Michael Macintyre would say, you could look at the best hotel in the world with a unicorn that collects you from the airport and someone somwhere would moan about it. Think you have to take some comfort in that the majority are good.

I went at Easter in 2008, it had just been refurbished and re-opened the day we arrived.
I didnt go with the children so cant comment on suitability and entertainment, but there were families there with young children.

sky, some friends of ours have a cilla in Cyprus and originally we were going to stay there with friends but they are now unable to come and the villa is too big for us on our own. We'd ideally like a apartment or something so the kids can have their own room rather than staying in one small hotel room (which we have done before and was NO fun!) but we also like all that hotels have to offer for the children to keep them amused.

I'd quite like to be close to the beach too - at least walking ditance. We went to Grand Canaria before and I hated it - we stayed in a hotel where you had to get a taxi or bus to EVERYTHING and it didn't feel like much of a holiday. I like to be able to take evening strolls along the beach to restaurants and stuff.......

sky, any chance you could tell mw about the area, what there is to do etc

My folks have an apartment at Aphrodite Hills that has a pool if you are interested.

It isnt walking distance of the beach though.

And do remember that beaches in Cyprus are pebble. Not exactly family friendly for a whole day of sitting, or sand castle building.

oh BBM - I didn't know that - just shows how much I've looked into this!

Is there pool communial? I think the kids would be bored if it was private to the villa.

Hi Sweetheart, the beaches on the Eastern side are lovely sand, and honestly are some of the nicest beaches in the world (said to me by a friend who has been everywhere)
Very clean, little fishes on the shore line, golden fine sand, and very safe for children. Have a look at Cavo Grekko, Makronissos, and Fig Tree Bay beaches.
I would look at apartments with communal pools on Holidaylettings, look at Pernera, that is lovely, lots of stuff to do, cafes bars, etc and a fab new walkway like a boardwalk along the coast all the way to Protaras.
Let me know anything else you want to know!

sky - you are fast turning into my Cyprus travel guru!

Are there any day trips we can take or water parks? My friend mentioned camel rides I think.....

I've only been to Cyprus once. Stayed at Coral Bay near Pathos. Was a lovely little resort with a sandy beach.

We went on an organised day trip to a lovely waterpark.

Enjoyed the food in Cyprus to. Have a great holiday. Quite fancy going back, typing this.

Cyprus, is quite frankly, heaven.

I worked there for 4 years, in Protaras, (lovely beaches, fab for kids and family friendly hotels) Ayia Napa (stunning beaches and hotels, shopping amazingly brilliant waterpark and nightlife), Limassol (dark sand, shipping, cruising and shopping)and Paphos (shingle beaches unless you catch the bus to Coral bay and lots and lots of history)

Love it. My family has been going on holiday there for 25 years now, have tried other places and nothing else matches up to how friendly the people are, the food is delicious and the history is amazing.

If you want family friendly hotels the Brilliant in Protaras is quite nice. The Malama is amazing but just a bit too far out.

You can book a donkey safari in Protaras (evening donkey rides into the sunset followed by sangria style drinks and BBQ) and camel rides in Limassol and Paphos. Jeep safari into the mountains is very good fun, but a long day. You could even go on a mini cruise to Egypt to see the pyramids or the Holy Land and Israel too (if they are still running)

Have booked my hols through holidaylettings too, the villa we've plumped for is v family friendly and is in Pernera, right beside Protaras.

wow that all sounds great! We did look at a day trip to the pyramids by plane which I really really wanted to do - untill I priced it up at £800 for a day trip! I'll deffo look into doing a cruise or something as I think that would be an amazing day out.

I'm stearing away from Aya Napa because the last thing I want on holiday with 2 kids is hords of drunken teenagers who just want to get drunk and have sex! Any other experiences would be grately appreciated, I'll be looking up all these places.

Do we need a car do you think? I rather like being without one on holiday to be honest!

The cruise isn't a day out, it's overnight there, a day in Egypt and overnight back on a cruise ship....sails from Limassol.

If you want a day cruise there are cruises departing from Ayia Napa harbour which are gorgeous. They sail around the east coast all the way up to the occupied part, you can just view the deserted beaches.

You can manage in Protaras or Pernera, or Ayia Napa if you avoid the centre! you don't need a car, there are local buses that go between the above places and the local town of Paralimni which is really cute.

thanks HP I'll have a look into that it sounds like fun but I wouldn't want to be paying for a hotel room if we were away for the night.

Hi Sweetheart and Hinnypet, well now you have 2 gurus! Looks like Hinnypet knows it even better than me!
You must go to the waterpark at Ayia Napa, very good, think your DCs are just the right ages.
I would disagree with her about the Malama though, I have heard it is great, and think that it would not be too far out for you.
The thing is that you don't want to be in the thick of it all I imagine?
Ayia Napa is really not as bad as the reputation, it only really gets going after 10-11 at night anyway! During the day it is fine if you stay away from the very touristy
bits. (Unless you want MacDonalds!)
The harbour is quite nice, although I prefer the little harbour at Ayia Triada,
(very near Pernera)
You can take lovely boat trips there, look at
www.facebook.com/?filter=app_2305272732#/album.php?aid=152750&id=285281281952 this page
Don't know if that will work, have not done it before!

Is there any waterparks away from Aya Napa? Isn't that on the west coast too - it sounds like the east coast is nicer / better. Although I haven't looked where all these lovely recommendations are on a map yet!

Thanks so much for all your help...... Could you possibly post links to your accomodations so I can have a look? I understand if you don't want to on MN!

Hi Sweetheart, Ayia Napa is on the East coast, very near Protaras, Pernera Paralimni. If you stay in Protaras or Pernera, it would only be a 10-15 minute taxi to Ayia Napa.
That was my FB page of area pics near to my house, but my link didnt work, will try again!
www.facebook.com/?filter=app_2305272732#/album.php?aid=152750&id=285281281952

There's a waterpark in Protaras/Pernera too, not as big as the one in Ayia Napa and certainly nowhere near as good!

Have to disagree with you skyblue! sorry! I really was going to stay at the Malama myself this year, without hiring a car, and as it's quite near Kapparis I looked on a map and saw it's too far out to walk to Pernera on a night time. I didn't work in that hotel though I worked in 80% of the others.. but I agree with you about Ayia Tria harbour, very nice.

However!! Local bus could be used (1.5 euros I think) and that should take you to Pernera / Protaras / Ayia Napa / Paralimni and the fabulous WaterPark.

The Ayia Napa Waterpark has a Grecian Theme, and has to be seen to be believed! plan here

Thanks so much for all your help, dh and I marked all these places on a map tonight and decided to look at the east coast (nissi bay, fig tree bay, protaras, paralimni etc) (I can't find Pernera on the map which someone mentioned, is that on the east coast?) we have decided we deffo don't want to be in central Ayia Napa because of the club / teen thing so my question to you wise ladies is......which resort is best? How big are these places and how far apart, could we walk along the beach from one to another?

Ideally we'd like a lovely sandy beachfront which we can stroll along to cafes/bars etc. somewehre lovely for the children and where we can wonder around. We can get busses to the water park and other days out but I'm looking for the best place to base ourselves. I'm not really into boat harbours if that helps.

On the map it says hala sultan, tekke shrine and salt lake - are any of these worth a visit?

My main concern is caused by a horrible holiday to Gran Canaria. We picked what seemed like a suitable hotel but it was a 10min taxi ride from the town and beach so although the hotel had nice pools etc we were very stuck for other things to do unless we got in a car. That is not my idea of a nice, relaxing holdiay!
Thanks so much you guys!

Hi Sweetheart,
Pernera is right beside Protaras, it's kind of a suburb of it. I'd say Protaras or Pernera would be best for you.
Sandy beachfront on both resorts (the two are connected by a boardwalk which is lit up at night)
Here's a map of Protaras and Pernera just click on it to enlarge it.

Nissi Bay is central Ayia Napa, it's the beach road area, it would be quiet enough for you and the hotels are lovely. It's a good 20 mins to the noise and action.

Fig Tree Bay is Protaras' main beach.

The Hala Sultan Tekke Shrine/Mosque is in Larnaca, near the salt lake beside the airport, I never went there. You can't consume the salt on the saltlake as it's polluted by the airport, though flocks of flamingos do visit there in March and April.

If you want a day out, hire a car and drive to the mountains. (there would be bus trips too, but as Cyprus drives on the same side of the road as we do, so it's very easy to drive there)
The village of Lefkara is in the foothills of the Troodos mountains, worth having a look at the Cypriot ladies making lace. There's also fabulous fish restaurants and water mill at Kakopetria on the way up to the mountain summi, the top is called Mount Olympus, and a lovely village called Omodhos on the way down to visit if you do hire a car, just for one day.

You could also drive along the "green line" which divides Northern (Turkish occupied) and Southern Cyprus (Greek Cypriot) this is VERY interesting.

What board basis are you after? I could reccommend a hotel / apartment if you like? Tell me what dates too, and I'll tell you where will be busy / where will be cheaper.

This is where we're staying BTW villa