avoid Pafos,Corral Bay [hardly traditional] Agia Napa [in the peak season] the party capital, Polis&Lakki on the west coast are a bit more traditional, as are Protaras/Pernera on the east coast [although quite touristy] Larnaca and Lemesos are working towns, you may need to look at a diy to one of the smaller coastal villages if its traditional you want...

where have you been in Greece??

yasus
wizard

I have just booked my first trip to Cyprus (Protaras) for October this year- usually more of a Turkey or Canaries gal!

Bit worried about creepy-crawlies- my only other greek island adventure was Rhodes and there was quite a few cockroaches of which I am pretty scared!


Any Cyprus tips will be gratefully appreciated!

a good start is the what to do and see thread

Cyprus like most med countries has its fair share of roaches,and also things like snakes [you are not likely to see them unless to go onto scrub land] spiders and Gecko's and lots of SHARKS running the bars and restaurant's in the main tourist areas, and around Pafos in particular swarms of bugs called time share [holiday club] touts

yasus
wizard

Ah, yes all touts are a particularly nasty pest arent they!

Looking forward to Cyprus anyway but got the nasty cockroaches in Tenerife to get past first!

Still excited though- I have been pondering whether to go to Cyprus for a while and glad I have finally decided to put the creepy-crawly fears to one side!


I shall make sure that I visit the what to see and do thread- sounds good.

I have been a regular visitor to the site for a few years and it has never let me down so thanks to all- though have managed one or two reviews in my time

Pernera is where the locals holiday in August, so that tells you something

Lizards will run away from you.
Mozzies don't visit Pernera/Protaras too much.. we've never used any spray in all the time we have been and only suffered a couple of bites in umpteen trips.
I've seen one roach in all the time we've been.. maybe they don't like me ? (it didnt like me after..thats for sure)
Spiders... seen one of any interest, far less than we see at home...
Snakes.. seen one tiny little one that had accidently wandered onto a road.. which is the same amount as I've seen in the UK in all my years
Cats.. lovely soft things... you will see quite a few of those...
Dogs.. other than an occasional one in a yard or on a lead.. you won't see them roaming about (well I never have)
Birds ... about 5am and 5pm you will see them swarm to/from trees if you are lucky and the odd things like kingfishers swooping into quiet spots in the sea.
Rabbit... I've seen one of those...
Cicada.. its either them or some odd leak on a water pipe... you'll hear them about...

Thanks for that AskCy

Sounds like my sorta place- love kitties

Hopefully the cockroaches will give me a wide berth too

I'm not sure why you should be advised to avoid Paphos.Most of the beachfront hotels are equal to,some better than, the best ones in the other main resorts.You can be in a 4 or 5 star hotel about half an hours walk away from the main tourist area and harbour but still have many very good restaurants and friendly bars on your doorstep.Also to say Protaras and Pernera are more traditional is nonsense.They are both good,safe and family friendly resorts but at the end of the day they are purpose built purely for the tourist trade.Paphos may be bigger,brasher and more cosmopolitan but it still has it's areas of Cypriot history to see,should you be into this.Coral Bay,much the same Protaras as being a purpose built resort,is small and compact with some very good restaurants and a few bars all on the same street.Even if you don't drive it can be a decent place to base yourself and use the local,regular bus service to venture in to Paphos and the Old Town.As for Ayia Napa,again don't discount it.There are some very good hotels on the outskirts in the Nissi area,far enough away from the main nightclub scene but close enough to wander in at night before the mayhem starts.I would trawl through the holiday brochures first,make a list of hotels and resorts you fancy then ask for advice once you've narrowed your choices down.

I stayed in villa with the family just outside Corral Bay. While it was very touristy, there were some nice taverns up in the hills. Cyprus is a great place to holiday!

Jambo_Karen wrote:

Bit worried about creepy-crawlies

Nobody's mentioned ants.
Millions of the damned things.
We've had them in Omodos, Pissouri and Larnaca.
..

i would go to nissi bay.got married at the hotel nissi beach last year and the place is stunning.right on nissi bay.i dont know why people run ayia napa down.it is a lovely place with a beautiful harbour and beach.you dont have to go to the clubbing part of it.nissi beach is stunning and would highly recommend nissi beach hotel.another hotel that is right on nissi beach is the adams beach hotel.that looked lovely also.nissi beach is about a 20 minute walk from ayia napa but there are lovely restaurants and bars at nissi bay.the restaurants are very classy. kelly

Ants ? not noticed any (in great numbers) to be honest, (we saw a line of them in Portugal once, all heading into a bin as they go where there is food) If you leave food about, crumbs, boxes they can get into etc then they will find it... Remove the sources of food (ie use plastic tubs to store things, make sure nothing is left hanging around, clean up crumbs and such) and they should clear off (unless of course they have made a nest somewhere nearby, then you might need to call someone in)

We get a run of ants every year in June, always in the same place.

We rarely see them in groups again until the next year although we do see the really big ones traipsing up and down the back yard on a regular basis until the cold weather sets in. They've disappeared for the time being now!

Cockroaches, we see them usually towards end of June and to mid July then when it gets really hot we think they must stay below ground more. They pop up again when it starts to cool a bit and very rarely see them in winter.

As for where to go.... We live in Limassol and find that our neighbours go to either Ayia Napa or Protaras in the East or to Paphos in the West for their summer holidays. Remember, a good number are refugees from Famagusta side of the island so the desire is to go back to a part of the island that is familiar and where they probably went with family before the occupation in 1974....

Hi I would highly recommend Pissouri. Fantastic village, very nice Tavernas, friendly people and a preaceful place. I am planning my 3rd trip back there. You will need a car.

About creepy crawleys you will get them whatever hot country you go to!

hope enjoy Cyprus.

Louise

briggsy2007 wrote:

Hi I would highly recommend Pissouri

Oooh, me too!!
We usually have a week in cosmopolitan Larnaca, then a week in (fairly) traditional Pissouri.

Mark