Each person has their own experiences and viewpoint. Personally in the six years we have been going we have had an excellent holiday. We booked for October 2010 a week after we got back.

Like any country there are a large number of foreign nationals working in the service industries. Yes like any country there are those who hate the Brits - Germans - French - you name it.

Food is something that people love to hate when visiting another country - on the whole I have had little problem with it.

Roads in Cyprus are the same as here in the UK - some good - some bad.

Expensive - well I will not disagree with you, but Cyprus like any other country in The EU is catching up fast with their standard of living and we would be foolish if we thought the cheap holidays we enjoyed years ago were going to continue. You can get reasonably priced good quality food and drink if you look around, as I am sure others will tell you.

By the way, as for the shops all selling the same stuff that applies in every country I have visited - even see the same stuff on sale here in the UK.

fwh

Hi Chris
Firstly, I am really so to hear that you had a bad experience.

Much of Cyprus closes down for the winter. This is when repairs/refurbs are done to the hotels and bars, and (mainly, but not exclusively) when the roads are dug up. Up until recently, these hotel/bar closures were mainly confined to the eastern end of the island, with Paphos staying open all the way through. This year appears to be different, probably to do with the current economic situation and much of Paphos has also closed for the winter.

We too have noticed an influx of eastern european workers in the bars and restaurants in the tourist areas. This is because they will work for peanuts as there is no minimum wage (for the majority of jobs, before anyone corrects me ;)) This is a shame and we are agreed, when we go to Cyprus we too expect to meet Cypriots. This is one reason (the others being price and quality) that most of our meals out are out in the villages in traditional tavernas rather than in the tourist areas. It is accepted though that this is not a choice, or even practical for everyone on holiday.

We are next out to Cyprus in three weeks time - to the east of the island. Yes, we know it is out of season, but we know where and what will be open. It is certainly a very different experience to that which you would get in the summer. We enjoy both, but for different reasons.

If you gave it another go in the summer you would find a very different place. Nothing to do? We always come back promising that "we must do that next time"...and quite often find that we don't get around to it

I did put a post up back in October warning that over 60 hotels in the Pafos region which usually stay open 52 weeks were closing due to lack of bookings until 1st week may, this unfortunately has had a knock on effect with the bars/tavernas/shops etc

until the Cyprus tourist industry decides where it wants to position itself in the market place my own feelings are that things will get a lot worse before the show any signs of improvement, with airport and flight charges , excessive taxi cost and most hotels being over 20 yrs old [and in need of upgrading] along with the euro exchange rate making it even more expensive they struggled this year and bookings for next year are well down also..

Chris Karlman I know its a bit late for you and am sorry to here your bad experience, but do give it another go in season

yasus
wizard

We went to Cyprus for new year in Coral Bay and had a great time at the Ascos Hotel. Although we found bars and restaurants still open it is out of season and a lot of cypriots were on their holidays so it was very quiet. Can't wait to go back though in Sept/Oct to see what it's like then.
When we hired a car the shop owner told us of 'new rules' which came in last year - if you damage your car in a pot hole she told us to ring her - stay at the sight with the car and someone would come out to us and under new rules they had to repair the hole - she told us this was because hire companies had been complaining of the state of the roads and was doing too much damage to their cars! Fortunatley we did not have a problem even though we went 'rock dodging' over the mountains where there were plenty of rolling stones.
We hope too that you will give it another try when it isn't shut - I can't wait...

I went to Paphos 2 years ago - only because my friends family have a villa there, i thought it was an awful place (sorry I maybe going against the grain) but it was like a concrete jungle, loads of british people and the harbour area was awful, lots of cheap bars and restaurants.

Personally I would not go back to Cyprus - it takes 5 hours to get there, when you got to the airport there was not public bus so you were forced into taking a taxi (think this has changed now) and it is not particularly cheap - when you can goto Spain in 2 hours from the UK and it is far nicer.

Thats just my opinion, I am sure other people will have different opinions on it.

ive been to cyprus ten times and it has never taken 5 hours, you must of been unlucky

Four and a half there - Five back.
Each of us has our own tale of woe for whatever country/resort. I think Scarborough is a dump but I still go. If only because my wife loves the place.
We are off to Paphos again in October - prefer Ayia Napa end really but it is the hotel that draws us back. But then Paphos is just another resort. We are attracted because of the whole island - Some parts good and some not so but this will be our sixth year and third time to Paphos.

fwh

We always go to protaras

I visited Cyprus for holidays for over 15yrs from 1985 before eventually coming to a decision to move here on a permanent basis. We relocated in early 2004.

We married in Paphos during 1999 and initially, we were gearing up to moving there - but one bad experience on an extended few days following a weeks cruise from Limassol really put us off. We went in one of the bars on Tombs of the Kings road as there was a quiz taking place. The place was packed with expats so we shared a table with another couple and eventually got chatting about our plans.

All they did was slag off the UK. It was not our intention to "escape" from the UK, merely make a change to our lifestyle for a more relaxed living. We knew we would never get rich living in Cyprus as were aware salaries were much lower for a comparable position in UK. But we wanted to give it a go....

It totally put us off Paphos as we did not wish to be in what was considered by us at that particular point as little Britain. We changed tack and started to look back at Limassol. During the next 2yrs we took all our holidays in Limassol (2 - 3 times a year) and started to look within a 15km radius of the tourist area.

We moved to the outskirts of Limassol in March 2004 and have not looked back since. We both work in completely different positions to what we had in UK and thoroughly enjoy our new life. We have not yet been back to the UK in all that time but we do take the odd holiday off the island.

We have some friends in Paphos and when we do go there - we liken it to going visiting my parents when we lived in UK. They live on the North West coast so we used to meet up with them the odd Saturday morning in Cleveleys. Always a nice day to go to the seaside, mooch around the shops, stop off for a cup of tea somewhere - then go back home again. Paphos to us feels like a British holiday resort. Universal area is a concrete jungle and feels much like driving through Moss Side in Manchester but with prettier coloured houses & apartment blocks - but it's not attractive. But, get into a car and head off for the hills and within 20 minutes you will be in a completely different world. Paphos is an all year round resort and has to make the time for repairs etc. Winter months are the best time to do this and it's usually between New Year and Easter.

Unfortunately, planning for building in Cyprus is not the best thought out. They seem to allow building to take place pretty much everywhere without giving thought that Cyprus makes its' living mostly from tourism. We don't do much export of goods from Cyprus (maybe the odd potato or 2) and everything has to be imported, which makes some things more expensive.

If you are in one of the hotels on the outskirts of Paphos you would hardly notice any of these things unless you always went to bar street and the harbour. Limassol too has its' bad points but doesn't have so many expats congregated in one small location. Limassol is more cosmopolitan as it's still a working town combined with a holiday resort so you get a bit of a mixture. The eastern side of the island will always be more attractive to us and if we didn't have to work, it would be that side that we would choose to live. However, it does all but close down over winter.

As you can see from my post - there are good and bad points to be had for each of the main resorts in Cyprus. You have to take the rough with the smooth but at the end of the day, a holiday is what you make it. Nobody is going to hold your hand and show you a good time.

We see the good and the bad living here. It may not be the place we will end our days either. We are considering moving elsewhere when the time comes that we are no longer working and have no 4 legged friends to consider.....

Come and visit Cyprus, experience all it has to offer and remember - do your homework and read the reviews before you book.

CwB

noted all the comments, and for what it is worth I spent one year in paphos so I saw it from winter through to winter, re the roads being like Britain, wrong. There are terrible and when I was there many were closed as a result of roadworks, yes I know one has to keep up with the time and repairs have to be made but even the people whom had lived there for some time had complaints, businesses were actually being forced to move or close.

Concrete jungle hell yes,

Look, some of you may well enjoy the place I posted a comment as a direct result of my own experiences and those whom I met there. Having moved now to another european country we feel a lot better and more relaxed and the cost of living is far better. No attitude from Cypriots because there are none.

We still stay in contact with people that live there, and they have said things have not gotten much better.

Yes it was out of season for some of the time, but talk to anyone who has lived there for some time and the recession has hit hard, airport taxes were not reduced, deals from the operators did not come down in price, break ins had risen when we left on many of the complexes and I am sorry the food was terrible and I ate in nearly every restaurant whilst there.

Bar street had fallen into serious dilapidation and every bar for sale, well nearly

And the ticket touts are a pain, abusive and will not take no for an answer even the CTO was aware of the problem.

Loutish behaviour in the summer was awful with some of the internet booking agents not even vetting the people that were coming and I might add when problems accured on complex did nothing about it, like everything some of the booking agents were brilliant and responded very quickly. Even a few weeks ago I heard of a stag party that had been booked into one complex and created merry hell.

Like I said it is down to every ones personal feelings I just would recommend that anyone planning to move out there especially to Paphos, consider it and do your research.

Re coral bay that is not Kato Paphos and is almost a village on its own, some good hotels including the Coral Beach Hotel, where it is self sufficient and I dare say a good place for a holiday, especially as you do not have to got to the harbour to eat as there are many restaurants up the road.

If you go enjoy, I personally wish never to return but have learned I may have to return for business reasons, and I might add not looking forward to it.

hi,me and the wife have been to cyprus about 12 times,we alway go to ayia napa ,cos there is more do do for you and the kids,the first three years we hired a car checked the whole island apart from the north side,we had a look at paphos and did not like it ,what you do when you go to cyprus is book a one way flight out to cyprus whitch this year from newcastle we have getting a flight in aug for £75 each and that is with thomas cook then you hang on as late as possible before you book the return flight as its cheaper this way,the apts we go to are just outside of ayia napa town centre three to four min ,the apts are on nissi avenue whitch are called kaos hotel apts ,they are on the web sight and they cost us about 50euros a night and thats for three people,the only thing with the place is there is no bar or pool but there is plenty next to them,we hire a scooter for the two weeks that we are there for and thats about £80 as the taxi is costly we drive about two miles out of town to a beech called macronissos beech as its golden sandy beech and great for the kids. hope this helps

thats my favourite beach, will be there in september

hi,heading there on the 25-08-2010 to the 08-09-2010. we are there every morning about 9oclock on the front next to the water,straight down from the hut where the beech lads sit

I will be in protaras from 12th september for two weeks, tenth time cant wait, we always hire a car to get to that beach, we like it better than nissi or fig tree

Doesn't look like I will be going this year - first time in 16 years

I too went to Paphos in December/ January and didn't enjoy it at all. We rented a private villa which was lovely itself but looked to be in a rough area of town. We usually go to Protaras in the summer time and absolutely love it there, even got married there 5 years ago obviously Protaras isn't open in the winter time but I would never go back to Paphos. The people were rude and looked at us like thieves when we went into the local supermarkets even making sure that they placed your change on the counter and not in your hand (thats not me being paranoid) and none of my family look like thugs I hasten to add. Something I have never once experienced in Protaras the people are lovely there, I have also stayed at limasol and found the people to be friendly there too.

The bars and restaurants were empty except for New Years Eve which was a great night although we did go to the wrong place for the fireworks but thats another story .

This year for the first time we are trying Turkey and then back to Protaras next year

I've lived in Cyprus for the past 4 years, I was originally station at Akrotiri for 2 years, so I've a fair idea on what the island is like all over, having spend the first 3 years in Paphos, I'm sorry to say that its on a downward trend & falling further away from a tourist holiday destination to more of a little Britain, as previously mentioned.

There are still some beautiful places to visit but the majority of them are being found by the Brits & taken over, places like Tala, Chloraka etc, once quaint Cypriot villages are now turning into Brits enclaves which is imo ruining the Cypriot way of life.

The roads are the worst I've ever seen but this is due to the new sewer system they've got to put in since joining the EU, it's one of the major requirements & seems to be taking way to long to complete & from what I've heard, it's only going to get worse!!

But Paphos isn't the only place in Cyprus to holiday in, yes its the best known but looks what that's done, personally having moved out of Paphos in Larnaca, it's a 100 times better in every area, beaches, restaurants, prices, shops, places of interest, locality to the North, Napa, etc etc, I could go on but you get the idea.

So anyone wanting to take a holiday in Cyprus, may I suggest you fly to Larnaca airport instead & see this side of the island before you disregard Cyprus completely from your holiday destinations

We alternate between Paphos and Nissi beach. As others have said there is plenty to see and do. Each time we go we seem to find yet another place we did not know existed even though we try to do our homework.

As for the "Brit Settlements" I am afraid that is something that is becoming harder to avoid just like Spain.

Paphos this year (October)and we are already doing our research.

fwh

I have been going to Paphos every year since 2005 and have seen some areas improve and some areas decline. Two of note are the harbour area; and Bar Street. Since they pedestrianised and paved part the harbour area it has become a much nicer place to stroll along and some of the restaurants have lovely views of the harbour. Yes, many of the shops sell the same items and many of the restaurants serve similar food, but I guess that is the same as any holiday resort.

Bar street has declined a lot over the last 5 years. Each year it gets quieter & quieter. Many of the bars are now closed (including Woody's). In Woody's a few years ago I couldn't even make it across the dance floor to the back stairs to get to the loo as it was so packed! I was down Bar Street last Tuesday (20/07/10) and it was nowhere close to as busy as it used to be. However I was also there on Friday and it was much much busier (still not like a few years ago though). I did notice a couple of new bars have opened this summer, and if memory serves, Hollywood was closed last year but is now reopen... But it is still nothing like it used to be. I'd say more than half of the ones on this map from about 4 years ago have gone...
kypros-cyprus.com/maps/barStcopy.gif