Hi Dwarfer
I will answer you last two questions as we don't do much in the way of excursions, although Waterworld Waterpark in Ayia Napa is great

Not seen any Timeshare Touts for a bit in Protaras.

You are safer at night in Cyprus than practically anywhere I can think of, including and especially, the UK

Ady

hi Dwarfer,like pubdog i'm not much for excursions either however the waterpark in ayia napa is superb. i stayed with my wife and two young children in the lantiana in 2005 and we found it a great place to stay. in fact we're trying to find a way of returning this year but the flight times from manchester are pants when going with a tour operator.
after going to tenerife for years we found protaras absolutely devoid of any sort of touts, flower sellers,lucky lucky men etc.
there did appear to be a few trips to choose from, boat trips, troodos mountains etc but i don't think they had anything resembling eating half a chicken off a breadboard and downing bottles of horrendous cheap wine on a medieval night (did that a few times in the nineties!)

Click Here For our reviews of this hotel.

Also Click Here for our many resort reports for this area - you may find some helpful tips in there.

Thanks for the replys all, im sure we'll have a good time (especially since there are no TS touts,(thinks of Tenerife and shudders!!!))

Just to say its not a complete clean slate re. time share touts in Protaras, although you do get a better class of tout there!. We met one (and only one) on the main strip last October and after we said "no thanks" she was fine about it, and actually thanked us for being polite. So just to say that you may come across one, but they won't hassle you.

Richie

There's usually 3 or 4 of them sitting around the fountain area heading up towards McDonalds.I usually just cross the road but to be honest they don't seem aggressive at all.Bumped into some in Napa on day and they were a bit more "insistant",following you along the road and jumping in front of you but they soon got the message

hi dont be afraid of protaras, ive been twice now and going again this year. Being a young girl i have always felt very safe in the area, so safe i dare walk to the shops on my own or the beach which in some resorts i wouldnt like to do.

Ive never experienced any timeshare people, only a few girls at night trying to get you to go in the two clubs but a simple friendly 'no thanks' and they dont bother you...to be honest they were quite friendly and not pushy at all...same as the restaurants...sometimes theres waiters on the entrance entising you in but they are very friendly and do not beg!

We went to one restaurant on the first night (oscars) and the man remembered us for the rest of the holiday...every time we walked by he would ask us if we were joining them tonight but we said we'd already ate and he was very polite and told us to enjoy our night...when we did decide to return to the restaurant later in the week he was really nice to us and made polite conversation.

All the local people i met in cyprus were very friendly and polite...they loved it when you asked them about the island and their way of life.

if you go on any trips dont book through the tour op - they'll rip you off. if you go to the travel agents accross from promises restaurant there prices are very cheap and an english lady works in there who is extremely helpful. boat trips and watersports are on the beach - prices vary so look round.

if you want to know anything else please ask and ill be happy to help!

oooh just thought of something you might like to do...hire a speedboat....we did it and it was the most fun hour we'd had in a long time! It didnt cost loads and you could go as fast or slow as you wanted...life jackets are provided and they are really simple to drive so the kids would love having a go too!...cheaper than four lots of paragliding, jet skis etc...!!!

Also car hire is pretty cheap...nice to go to ayia napa and get the glass bottom boat for CYP2 each, or go the other way and youll find a big supermarket and little old villages. road signs are in english too and they drive on the left same as us!

hope this helps a little, after benidorm tenerife etc you may find this resort small so make use of the things and places around you.

the beach is lovely....very clear blue warm water. im sure youll have a fab time!