Cyprus – my honeymoon island...

Many years ago when my husband and I got married, the travel world seemed a much smaller place than it is now. We were already fairly well travelled for our age and wanted somewhere special for our honeymoon. We chose Cyprus - dubbed the “island of love” as it is the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite.

Since then I have organised several weddings and numerous honeymoons to the island and felt that it was time we went back ourselves. This time we went to celebrate my husband’s birthday and spent time in both Limassol and Paphos.

Limassol is the second largest city on the island and also one of the island’s largest seaside resorts. As it’s a business centre and the home of the international port, you have to be very selective where you stay and we chose the Meridien. This hotel reminded us a bit of Thunderbirds’ Tracey Island but was an oasis of calm with great service, a small but immaculate blue flag beach and beautiful gardens. They have an amazing spa offering over 120 treatments, a seven pool thalassotherapy circuit and manage to offer both adult only areas and the great Penguin Club kid’s facility which is almost a resort in itself.

We had a car for the duration of our trip and set about exploring the island after a couple of days. Without exception everyone was very friendly and eager to please us. It was comparatively cheap to eat out and although it was early in the season, there was plenty of choice on the menus. We visited friends who took us out to dine in a non-tourist mountain village and the cost was even cheaper still!

We explored Limassol old town and walked the boardwalk for miles. It’s a city by the sea so it’s not the prettiest place for a stroll, but staying there would give you access to more shops and restaurants than we had on the outskirts. Troodos doesn’t seem to have changed very much and is still a lovely drive. I had expected Aphrodite’s Rock to have become quite commercialised and was pleased to find it hasn’t. With a 6000 year history of winemaking we decided that we would spend an afternoon in the wine villages. My husband enjoyed the nuts, olives and cheeses whilst I enjoyed the wines – a perfect end to the day!

Paphos had changed the most and what we remembered to be a local unmarked road is now a well paved street lined with hotels, shops and restaurants. There is now a go kart track and a waterpark in town and the beach beyond is being developed with Caribbean style ‘pop up’ bars and restaurants so you can party on the beach until the early hours without disturbing anyone.

Our honeymoon hotel has now become the upmarket adult only Asimina Suites and we couldn’t resist a peek inside. As expected, the grounds are immaculate and the hotel has two inter-connecting pools in the centre. Several of the suites have their own pools and if you tire of these then you can move to your private cabana near the beach! The Constantinou Brothers have several 4 and 5* hotels in Paphos and it’s great to see that they have evolved and prospered bringing back many repeat guests to resort year after year. After seeing what our honeymoon hotel has become – we may well be joining them!