Cheap Cyprus Holidays - Incredible Beaches
A low cost holiday to Cyprus offers everything a holiday-maker could want. From the magnificent nightlife synonymous with holidays in Ayia Napa in the east, to the cultural and natural treasure that’s Paphos in the west, Cyprus has top class beach resorts alternating with settings untouched for 10,000 years. Cyprus is an island of legends that whenever you visit is likely to be cooking, in more ways than one, but mostly under the Mediterranean sun, which shines on the island 300 days out of every 365. Like Turkey, there’re over 10,000 years of civilization that’s left a mark on the Cyprus you see today. A cheap holiday to Cyprus offers history, fun, and relaxation.
Cheap Holidays in Cyprus - Plenty of History
That cheeky Alexander the Great pops up, as does the beautiful Cleopatra. Then there’s Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of love, beauty, and, errr… some other things. Yes, Aphrodite was indeed a local, or so rumour has it (‘rumour’ is the same as ‘legend’ isn’t it?) The story is that another Greek God-type called Cronus threw ‘something’ into the sea, and this sort-of turned into Aphrodite, who was then carried by the waves to Cyprus. We’re not going into exactly what Cronus threw into the sea at this point, it makes our eyes water. Either way, many visitors to Cyprus over the years have come specifically to pay their respects to Aphrodite.
Although now relatively modern, Cyprus remains a world of attractive beaches, sweet-smelling mountain peaks, olive trees, citrus groves and ancient ruins. That’s not a description that could be applied to Manchester now is it? What about Ayia Napa though? (also sometimes spelled: Aya Napa, or even – for some reason – Agia Napa) Form the BedRock Inn, to Castle Club, Hollywood Boulevard, and Club Abyss, there’s a nightlife that that defies description, certainly one Manchester should be envious of. Manchester used to have a nightlife of its own course, but they knocked it down and built luxury flats on it. Not so in Cyprus, although Ayia Napa has cleaned up that ‘alternative Ibiza’ reputation it was nurturing at the turn of the century, and is much more family orientated these days.
Cheap Cyprus Holidays – Many Great Resorts
Paphos is the capital of the western region of Cyprus. There’s the coastal resort area of Kato Paphos and the town of Pano Paphos, which is just inland.
It’s partly the beautiful old harbour that makes Paphos holidays so popular. There’s a lovely seaside promenade too, where restaurants and hotels abound, and there’s an archaeological museum, the Byzantine castle of Paphos (Byzantine: the art and style of the Eastern Roman Empire from about AD 330 to about 1450), the Tombs of the Kings, St Paul’s Pillar and the Temple of Aphrodite, that saucy goddess of love, beauty, and naughtiness.
It’s usually about 30 degrees everyday in the summer (so some kind of hat might be in order) and there are generally over 300 sunny days per year don’t forget. The cooler winter months make walking and cycling in the mountains a good idea. The main shopping street runs parallel to the beach promenade in Paphos, and there’s Coral Bay, which is the Paphos beach with soft sand, deep blue water, and an abundance of water sports.
There are old wine-producing villages with winding streets and terraced vineyards to explore. Feeling ethical and environmentally friendly? You could participate in the exciting Cyprus Agrotourism Programme. Agrotourism was developed in about 1991 in Cyprus to encourage a more ecological way of enjoying Cyprus. You can learn more about the tradition of the different culture and history. Be there first hand to witness a different Easter, Christmas, or other local celebrations, even participate in traditional village events, such as weddings and festivals. Then you could follow a nature trail and discover the wildlife of Cyprus. Lots of unique choices. Agro-visiting offers a whole new range of options.
Along the route that leads from the port city Lemesos (Limassol) to Paphos there’s a magnificent stretch of coastline where white cliffs stand over the sea. Stop off for a swim at Petra tou Romiou, a boulder marks the spot where Aphrodite emerged from the sea here. There’s a local legend about swimming round the boulder several times. Ask when you get there. Be careful though, apparently you have to be naked – it sounds very dangerous and smacks of trickery to us.
The definitively Mediterranean landscape of Cyprus is peppered with crusader fortresses surrounded by tall cypress trees, Greco-Roman theatres carved out of cliffs and Byzantine monasteries perched on mountaintops. The capital, Lefkosia (Nicosia), is surrounded by Venetian walls with heart-shaped bastions. Larnaca, where the airport is, is home to St Lazarus Church, named after the chap that was dead, but was made better by Jesus. The Paphos Mosaics depict scenes from Greek mythology and are dated from the 2nd to the 5th century AD. Spent some time on your holidays in Larnacca, a alluring destination with great restaurants, great beaches, and intriguing history.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and an ideal jumping off point to discover other exotic locales. How about extending your holidays to Greece, Egypt, or the Middle East. There are short cruises setting off from Cyprus on most days.
Greeks settled on Cyprus in the late Bronze Age and set up trade links with Egypt. Over the next several hundred years Cyprus came under Persian, Assyrian, Egyptian, and then Roman rule, among others. It was under Roman rule that Marc Antony gave Cyprus as a gift to Cleopatra, who was quite a catch apparently. Cyprus became part of the British Empire in 1878. We were reasonably well behaved throughout, being there mainly to protect the Ottoman Sultan against Russia, but - just between you and me - it was also a handy spot to defend the Suez Canal from. There was a bit of Greek-Cypriot rebellion, but no massive, horrendous massacres for us to be particularly ashamed of encountering on our travels, which makes a pleasant change.
Talking of conflict (we’ll get to North Cyprus in a minute) Cyprus has always been a strategic location as its position represents a handy crossroads for the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. These days it’s the might of P&O and many other cruise lines stopping off here to exploit its position. Cyprus is a great Mediterranean cruising location. Holidays to Limassol (Lemesos) offer one of the great Mediterranean cruising ports. Cheap all inclusive deals to Cyprus can be found throughout the year.