The Lovely Island of Cyprus

I recently visited Cyprus courtesy of the Cyprus Tourist Board. Our first stay was in the lovely Olympic Lagoon Resort in Ayia Napa. This is a fabulous hotel with several swimming pools and even a lazy river. There are many different types of accommodation at this resort hotel some with their own plunge pools and some great family rooms with small terraces and gardens. The hotel also organises weddings and has a number of areas where you can enjoy a private wedding away from other holidaymakers. My favourite was a sunken garden area with small pools and waterfalls – truly romantic.

The hotel is approximately 15 minutes by car from the resort of Ayia Napa, which isn’t just for the 18-30s who want to party all night. It is a lovely resort with an old 15th century monastery (which is worth a visit) and its own museum.

We next stayed in Paphos at the Athena Beach Hotel which is very popular with guests who return year on year. The food at this hotel is excellent, as are the cocktails! The hotel is very popular with Bowling Groups and has 18 rinks between the Athena Beach Hotel and its sister hotel the Athena Royal.

Whilst in Paphos we visited the amazing UNESCO Archaeological Park which is home to some truly amazing mosaic floors. They are still uncovering more on a daily basis. The restored roman villa – the House of Dionysos is really worth visiting, along with several other restored villas.

Just a little further down from the archaeological park is the famous Tomb of the Kings. This had been on my list of “must dos”. As a bit of an ancient history buff, I was really looking forward to visiting this site, and I wasn’t disappointed. It is spread over a vast area with impressive undergrounds tombs that date back to the 4th century BC. They are magnificent, made of solid rock and decorated with Doric pillars. Although called the Tomb of Kings, it is more likely they housed the bodies of high officials.

On our last day in Cyprus, we visited Aphrodite Hills Resort, which is approximately 20 minutes from Paphos town. The resort is home to a collection of individual villas and apartments. The apartments share a pool and the villas have either shared pools or large private pools. There is a year-round 18-hole championship golf course with an academy and club house, as well as world-class tennis facilities, a football academy and a Spa.

Cyprus really does have something for all ages and interests. If you would like more information please give me a call.