| Cyprus Travel Guide: Cyprus Overview
| | Written by Chris Fell 1 on 07 Jul 2006 about a trip in Dec 2004.
Trip was for a family on holiday. Chris Fell 1 would definitely visit again.
| Cyprus shopping |   8.0 | Lots of shops which are open most of the time until late evening selling pottery,leather goods,lace. There are lots of British High street names too. But the prices are somewhat higher than home. There are handmade souvenirs, picture frames, wooden and metal ornaments. Loom embroidery making such items as table cloths,cushion covers etc. You can buy DVD but these are most likely to be copies so should be avoided. If you do buy any in Cyprus and they are found in random luggage searches they will be confiscated.
Cypriots like to playfully haggle a bit with the english in markets etc, so you could bag a bargain or two.
Leather goods are a particularly good buy, Handbags,Wallets and even Hand Luggage for holiday trips. All are very well made and have an opulent smell to them. |
Cyprus nightlife | 9.0 | By far the most active place for nightlife is the eastern end of the island. Places such as Ayia Napa, Protaras, Paralimni. Seferi Square in Ayia Napa is the hub of all activity. What goes on here, just goes on>>>>>until whenever really!
If you want some peace and quite, go to Limassol or Paphos. It is a bit quieter there. There is a small amount of crime here, but can be put down to laddish activities fueled by alchohol. The Cypriots are lovely people and treat the british as a race to be respected. |
Cyprus restaurants | 9.0 | Culinary delights are plentiful. Meat and fish dishes,Meze ( corn) dips, richly flavoured sauces, vegetables, haloumi ( cheese made from goats milk )dolmades ( vine leaves stuffed with meat and rice) Pork dishes marinaded in red wine, steak garnished with garlic and herbs. Restaurants serving British, Indian, Russian, Scandinavian national cuisine. Lots of fresh salad and vegetable dishes, pasta and local favourites such as Afelia, chunks of pork stewed in a red wine sauce sprinkled with coriander. Layered aubergines in potato with minced meat and bechemel sauce. The earth here is red and from it come the famous Cyprus red potatoes.
There are also the usual british eateries such as Burger King and Pizza Hut., except the portions are twice the size for half the money! Local wine is wicked and the local Carlsberg brewery produces the renamed version called KEO which is every bit as tasty as the Carlsberg lager itself. |
Cyprus attractions | 10.0 | | Boat trips around parts of the island are worthwhile. There are plenty of museums to see the artefacts of earlier centuries and cultures. Stavrovouni Monestry is perched high on the hills over Lefkara. From here you can see all the way to Nicosia in one direction and to the sea in the other. You can visit monastries,The Santuary of Apollo,Troodos Wine Villages, The Akrotiri Peninsula, and Pahos, the ancient Greek & roman Capital. And for some "useless information too" did you know that you can ski down the side of a mountain, then drive 30 miles to sea, swim in it and then sunbathe all in the same day, and all year round too even in winter. |
Cyprus events | | | watch this space 7/07/06 |
Cyprus day trips | | Plenty of places to go to. If you go on any tours to the area near the green line, be careful as the Cyprus National Guard will stop you and turn you back. The line is still heavily fortified by concrete barriers and fences and the buildings bear the scars of the war. The former airport of Nicosia also still has the rusting hulks of bombed & burned out aircraft on the former perforated runway.If you go to RNC it must be in a reconized tour at the prescribed/allowed times only.
Another good trip is to Egypt on a cruise. These are highly organised trips and take in a three day period to go to the tombs of Tutankhamun and museums of ancient egyptian artifacts. You cannot take photographs in the tombs or museum, instead you must buy the souveniers on sale. More to follow 07/07/06 |
Cyprus History and Culture | | Aphrodites Island, so called because Greek Mithology says Aphrodite the Godess of love was born here. The island of love.
Cyprus is situated at the far eastern end of the mediterrannean. It boasts a climate which is temperate all year round. It rarely rains, if it does it dries within minutes of stopping. The sun shines all year round and the the photos taken on Boxing Day 2004 and 21/12/2004 show that the weather was not just a fluke. It is like it all year round. Cyprus has a history going back centuries where invading forces and subsequent inhabitants and cultures have left their mark on the country. There is a strong architectural evidence of the stone age, romans,the byzantine era,gothic abbeys,turkish baths and arab mosques.
Nicosia is the capital city and currently stands as the only divided city in europe. Divided by the results of the 1974 Greek/Turkish/Cyprus war. The war ended with the northern part of the island known as the Republic of Northen Cyprus and the capital Nicosia being divided by "the green line" so called as the pen used to sign the treaty at the end of the conflict was green. The green line stretches from just south of Famagusta (which is where the fiercest part of the war took place) in a criss-cross line to the northern coast west of Lefka.
The situation in the RNC bears no significance on any visit you make to Cyprus as a holiday island. You can only go to the RNC by prior permission and only in an organised but very restricted visit. |
Getting to Cyprus | 10.0 | | Cyprus Airways website, their rates are very competitive in comparison to the well known british airlines. You also get inflight food free and a complimentary drink. Flight time are also very good as you can arrive and depart at sensible times of the day! |
Getting around Cyprus | Very easy to get around. good bus services to most big towns, car rental quite cheap but check out the car properly first for tyres,lights etc All hire cars on the island are clearly identified by the black on red number plates.
Be carefull when driving.They drive on the left as we do. they also have traffic lights and zebra crossings like we do. The trouble is the locals only seem to stop at red lights if they feel like it. Roundabouts can also be a problem too so be very aware and think and anticipate for others too.
Plenty of taxis but agree a price before you get in a taxi, there is a thing called CTI ( Cyprus Trip Inflation) when the taxi drivers get time to assess your nationality and charge your fare accordingly!! They also have an annoying habit of parking on the pavement so that you have to walk in the road to get past them. at this point they offer to take you to your destination. |
When to visit Cyprus | Cyprus is warm all year round. In the high summer months temperatures will soar to 35d/c + so take a good factor sun cream especially for children and apply it every 15-20 minutes. In the winter temperatures will be very pleasant at around 22d/c.We have been at both summer and winter so have experienced both. It is particulary hot in the late August & through September, peaking at around 38d/c.
On our most recent trip in December 2004, we spent two weeks there at Christmas. This was great fun, very different and highly recommended.
More to follow 07/07/06 |
|
| 21 of 21 users found this travel guide helpful. Did it help you? |   |
|
Need more Cyprus information? Try all Cyprus travel guides. If have already been to this part of the world, add your own guide and photos...
Cyprus Hotel Reviews
Chris Fell 1 reviewed these Cyprus hotels...
| Mediterranean Beach review |  | | Med'Beach Hotel Limassol | | Where shall we start?
We have been to Cyprus a number of times so we know the country quite well. We found this hotel in the high street tour operator books and liked what we saw. We then decided... |
| |
Chris Fell 1 has visited... | |
|
To contact Chris Fell 1, please login.