Hello there,
I was hoping that some people out there would be able to provide me with some information regarding disabled access in Cyprus
I am 25 years old and suffer from Brittle Bones so I am a wheelchair user and the due the nature of my disability I can not get out of my chair although I can manage to do side transfer i.e. in and out of taxis or onto sun loungers etc. I'm thinking of coming on holiday to Cyprus next year Are there any other resorts that would be suitable for me to come to? I was particularly thinking of the following resorts:-Limassol, Ayia Napa, Paphos and Coral Bay. Although any info on any resort will be most helpful. My idea of a holiday is spending the days on the beach or going on a boat trip and nights would be going to bars to have a few drinks and watch some good entertainment. Not one for spending all night clubbing!!! Are there any beaches that are accessible for me i.e to transfer onto a sun lounger or is there anyway I could get in to the sea (in Palma Nova and Los Cristanos they had 3 wheeled chairs that could be wheeled into the sea). Would I be able to get into the bars/restaurants? Is the public transport accessible? Are there any boats trips that I would be able to go on. Also are there any public disabled toilets or would I have to use the facilities in the hotels.
I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but as you can imagine it can be tricky planning a holiday when you are in a wheelchair, but any information that you can give me would be great.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Kind Regards,
Princess Amy
I can't comment on Paphos or Coral Bay but I certainly can on Limassol and Ayia Napa....just back from my 33rd trip to Napa last week
Limassol is quite a spaced out resort I found and I don't think the beach is as good as the East beaches, plus there's a main road runs through the resort which is all worth bearing in mind, having said that there's plenty to do and good nightlife.
With regards to Ayia Napa, your spoilt for choices on beaches, the main beach of Napa is very accesible and depending on where you stayed it's all on the flat down that end of the resort. There are 3 great beaches along Nissi Avenue, Nissi Beach, Landa and Macronissos. The latter 2 have Plastic sturdy pathways across the sand making access to the sunbeds very easy and comfortable, again both of these are easily reached via small roads just off Nissi Avenue. Nissi beach is VERY popular and get crowded but again a lovely beach.
I think the most important thing would be to chose your hotel/apartments carefully given that Napa is a large resort and can involve a trek to the centre, which can involve some inclines to some large hills. However the bulk of the resort is on the flat. You could stay outside Napa in the Macronissos area although this would involve a taxi ride every evening in and out of the centre as would anywhere near Nissi Beach.
There are several very good hotels near the harbour and the main beach all of which have lifts and good wheelchair access, also if you stay around this area there are a lot of good choices of bars with entertainment without having to go into the famous "square".
You'll find 99% of the taxi drivers are really helpful and can't do enough to assist you, we found this the case when we took my nephew a few years ago who has Cerebal Palsy and is also in a wheelchair. The staff at the hotels, bars, restuarants were fabulous for our whole fortnight and we couldn't fault a thing.
If your interested I can let you know the best hotels IMO in most of the locations mentioned if you decided to research where you fancied staying in the resort.
Hope that helps some
My husband is a wheelchair user and we visit Cyprus 3 times a year. We always stay at Grecian Park, Cape Greko between Ayia Napa and Protaras. Grecian Park is reasonably accessible but the lifts are quite small and my husband , who can use crutches, needs to get up out of his chair so we can fold it up - to be fair his wheelchair is particulalry wide. Cape Greko is far enough away from the resorts so taxi/car hire is necessary.
We do go to both Ayia Napa and Protaras but Protaras is most accessible - footpaths have been brick paved in the last few years and it is possible to go the whole stretch of the resort centre with little trouble. There are no public toilets that I know of and most restaurants have toilets that are either up or down stairs - one restaurant (Diva) has the best disabled toilet in Protaras - oh and McDonalds have one too! When we go to Ayia Napa we tend to stick to Nissi Avenue which is flat for miles. The harbour isn't too bad but it does require assistance.
We have visited Larnaca - seafront is great and does have public toilets, the rest is not great. Nicosia is OK but requires a little assistance - again there are public toilets.
We do go back every year but Cyprus has a long way to go in terms of disabled access.
Any questions and I can help then please shout
Ann
I personally would rule out Coral Bay.The hotels themselves would be ok but moving about the resort would be very difficult indeed.The main road between Coral Bay main resort towards the Coral Beach Resort/Corallia Beach area has probably the highest kerbs I've ever had to jump from/onto in my life.It's also a fair climb from the beach at Coral Bay into the main street(although it's not far but quite unpleasant if it's a particularly humid evening which it generally is).If I were you I'd consider Protaras,everything on one main street,flat and beachside but direct wheelchair access into the sea would probably be a problem and something you'd need to look into.
the
Thank you all for the info. At the minute Ayia Napa is looking a distinct possibility. Relatives went to Napa for a family wedding in June and said it was the best holiday they've been on and they've been on a lot of holidays!!! This is why I was asking for some information regarding access. If we did book for next year, it would probably be around late May/early June time, is it busy at this time of year and how warm would it be? Also are there any boats trips that I would be able to go on? Sorry to keep pestering you with all these questions, but as you can imagine the more info I can have before booking a holiday the better.
The weather is excellent at that time of year IMO, my favourite time of the year is the back end of May. I was there this year in May and the average temp was 34d with a pleasant breeze on the beach most days. Plus you don't get the high humidity in the evenings unlike July and August. Having said they did have a freak heatwave in June this year where the temps reached 44-46d & the humidity was 85% + in the evenings
The resort will be busy but not overly and certainly nothing like the crowds in July and August.
With regards to Boat Trips you best bet is to email some of the companies directly and ask the question......however on past experience some of them are very poor at replying Another option is to get a TO here in the UK to check for you as they all are affiliated with the boat tours as the reps in resort sell these trips.
Have to say Cyprus in general is not wheelchair friendly, many tiolets are up stairs, getting around any town will also be difficult in a wheelchair bad footpaths and very high kerbs when they have kerbs, the Cypriots do not seem to be interested in any form of help for the disabled, the odd ranp maybe, you will see nothing like the US where they go out of your way to help, ''Bluebabe'' managed well in Pafos but I have talked to others here on the Island about this problem and again I have to say Cyprus is not wheelchair friendly in any way, sad but true..
Try contacting these :
Email: dolphinboatsafari@yahoo.co.uk
Website: http://www.dolphinboatsafari.com
jimbox wrote:Have to say Cyprus in general is not wheelchair friendly,
snipped
again I have to say Cyprus is not wheelchair friendly in any way, sad but true..
This though depends on how mad you are Whilst we were there only last week (wish we were STILL there) We buddied with a Paraplegic diver his fierce independence made the shops and restaurants actually help him. Most shops have a ramp to get goods in but they can be ****** steep but make enough noise the owner is out helping you so fast it's amazing. Even me with my stick and daft dead leg at the start of the holiday meant I got really good treatment.
I do feel that if the Cypriot government said these people HAD to do and make every where wheelchair friendly it would be done yesterday -- Also I did note in Protaras and Pernera there are powered wheelchair hire shops
being fairly new resort areas, Protaras/Pernera are more friendly for disabled holiday makers, the road kerbs have many more crossing points than the older resorts [Pafos/Larnaca for example] also Cypriot drivers are renowned for illegally parking in disabled bays and on what crossing points are available, as for general treatment you will usually find you are as welcome as any one else [especially if spending money] i would suggest you consider Protaras and a hotel just of the strip [the Kapitanas is a good example] with built in ramps to the reception/bar area and lifts to floors, but should you need disabled bathroom facilities then you will need to do a lot of research
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