I cannot speak for Paphos but we find Protaras great, it has everything you ask for, as for your accomodation needs, sorry but cannot help you there, but I am sure some of the good people on here will. We used to stop at the Capo Bay but we now find it cheaper to hire a villa.

Pafos.. big noisy and brash [depending where you stay] plenty of nightlife, lots of historic places to visit, nice harbour to walk along and have a drink [bit pricey in that area] beaches poor unless you go to corral bay but then your not really in Pafos

AMMOCHOSTOS [Protaras/Permera] nice beaches several good restaurants/bars better for chilling, bus ride from Agia Napa [worth a visit to the harbour] kids will love the AGIA Napa aqua park, bus into Paralimni for a bit of shopping, or terminus to change for Larnika or Lefkosia [unless you intend to hire a car]

wizard

My vote is for Protaras, plenty of bars with themed TV (like Friends and Fools and Horses), karaoke, loud bars, quiet bars.. motorbike buggies to hire (presume you need to be qualified and have a license), lovely beaches, fantastic retaurants and many specialise in Traditional Cypriot food and the "kids" (at 15 I was working... by eck..) have MacDonalds and such.... again not sure about which hotels have big proper beds (I've not seen a double bed on any holiday in any country so far) and then lots of organised trips and such to other areas (jeep safari in the Troodos mountains is a must)

Steve

We have been to both resorts. For us we like paphos best.
Liked bar street lots of great places to eat and drink for all. I thought paphos was cleaner than protaras. We went as a family with 3 children between the ages of 12 to 15 they all liked paphos the most. If you are beach people then protaras would be better for you.

This year we stayed at The Andreotis Apartments in protaras. They have a two bedroom apartment which has a double bed in there. The only thing i will say is it is above the bar/resturant, and that apartment is a bit shabby. We moved into one of the villas which are lovely.

Hope this is of some help.

We have stayed at both as well as Larnaca and much prefer Paphos. I felt that when we were in Protaras, we could have been in any resort in Europe. Paphos for us seemed to have much more character.

luci

I have holidayed at both Protaras and Paphos.

Paphos for me is the favourite. excellent hotels, bundles of restaurants and plenty of variety. Very cultural, very relaxing.
Kath HT Admin

(captains log supplementry)...

We stayed in Pernera which is quieter than Protaras but hired a car to go and explore the Tombs of the kings etc, booked Jeep Safari's to see Troodos and have meze lunches in the mountains.... so we got plenty of culture as well as good eating ... I'm sure Pafos is just as nice but it just seemed a bit more busy and commercial to me ?

Steve

Kato Pafos is busy but not this year Steve, it usually is popular, but you do not have to go far to get away from the crowds, just a few short miles west!!! and it is far better scenery than the east of the island, it at least has a few hills..

Have been to Protaras and Penera..... and LOVED it! Booked for next year for our 4th time, infact... never stayed in Paphos before, so cant comment........

If we hired a car, how long would it take approx to drive between protaras and paphos?

Thanks

Two hours 30 minutes, maybe a little longer if you stop to see the sites, go on the old road from Limassol far nicer than the motorway, this will take about an hour longer but worth it!

Thanks Jim, much appreciated

Im still undecided as to protaras or Paphos. Everyone I speak to has thier own opinion.

My understanding is that Paphos is much bigger, there is more to see, more bars restuarants and shops to browse through but the beach isnt as nice so I may look at hotels in the paphos area.

Does everyone agree?

It is a bit of a tricky one.To be honest i think that any resort will more or less suit your criteria and you won't be disappointed by either.We first started going to Pernera several years ago and immediately fell in love with Cyprus.Went back to Pernera for the next 3 years but started to get a bit bored with it so went to Protaras for the next couple of years.Loved it there being in hotels right on the beach was perfect during the day and right on the strip for night times.
We then decided to try somewhere else so tried Paphos the year after.Apart from having very poor beaches I loved the place,much more going on than Protaras,so many more places to eat and drink,places to visit etc.Many of the hotels on the sea front do have beach areas although they are not great but adequate for a dip to cool down and they are all minimum 4 star.
This year we went to Coral Bay and I found this perfect.A main drag of around 200 yards with numerous good restaurants and a few decent bars,a great beach at Coral Bay if you fancy a few hours away from the hotel(a short walk from most hotels) and a great regular bus service into Paphos if you want a change of scenery at night.
The same can be said for Protaras,if you fancy a change at night there is a regular bus into Ayia Napa.
A difficult choice for you but I'm sure you'll enjoy either resort.

I have been to Paphos twice & Protaras once my view is if you are going to hire a car there is plenty within the Paphos area including quiet little beaches ( Turtle Beach , Pissouri & Avdimore) well worth a visit among many others but if not driving , Protaras has the beach on your doorstep as for food in Cyprus you wont go far wrong .

I Correct myself the correct name for Turtle Bay is Lara Bay but there is a Turtle Sanctuary based there

Beaches
Paphos beaches are non in the same league as Protaras. They are small, pebbly and you need transport to get to most of them. coral Bay is nice but well away from Paphos - don't be thinking it's the same resort, it's not. It's miles away. Wheels are needed. If I had to go back to Paphos I'd go to Coral Bay. some of the hotels advertise they are On the Beach. No they have a small strip of sand allocated to them which the public can walk through - and do walk through - all day long. Alexander the Great and Annabelle are included in these. The beach is pathetic.
We ended up using a beach just across from the Aloe hotel which was the best we could find (with a motorbike)
Protaras beaches are fab. Right on hand is fig tree bay busy but gorgeous. Walk up a bit and you come to quieter but just as nice beaches. You want a hotel on the beach you can get no better than the Silver Sands/Iliada/Vrissiana/Constantinos. All right on the beach. If you want apartments then the Vrissi apartments are between the Vrissiana and Constantinos and since they all belong to Tsokkos you can stay in any and use all the facilities of the other.

Night Life and Food
Food is cheaper in Protaras but you will find the same kind of restaurants in both. Nothing to seperate them really. Again pubs are similar - Protaras doesn't just consist of the strip - plenty happening in the back streets. Paphos is spread out. Your night life will depend on where you stay. We were stupid enough to stay in Kato Paphos in a private villa - never again, residential area advertised as 10 minutes walk away from night life - yeah 10 minutes running!!

Shopping
both the same. bigger shops in Paphos such as Debenhams but if you want Debenhams then we have plenty in UK. Tried for days to find a supermarket selling fruit and veg etc in Paphos - had to go to the market. Not good in our book. NO supermarket in the part of Kato Paphos we were in. One shop and one pub. All frequented by ex pats which was an eye opener.
Although we normally stay in a hotel in Protaras the self caterer does seem better taken care of in Protaras.

things to see
If you are in to historical sites etc then Paphos wins hands down. Harbour lovely, lots of dead old things etc etc. Not interested in those so there is simply no competition in our book.

WINNER
Protaras wins hands down.
Paphos is too spread out, beaches are rubbish, building everywhere for us British to buy, time share touts, overpriced(protaras isn't cheap), too many ex pats. We have been to Protaras and Ayia Napa lots and lots of times and this year first time to Paphos now that we are older! didn't help that we didn't enjoy being in a residential area even though the villa was superb with it's own pool etc. Back to Protaras next week to beach front hotel - bliss.

Has to be the Pafos area and beyond, it has scenery, good beaches, mountains, open all year, more nightlife, good eating places, no more expensive than any other part of Cyprus, cheaper when you know where to eat, car advised of course but I would say that about any part of Cyprus, why miss out on areas such as Polis, Latchi, Pissouri, must see while you are in this area, I can get to any part of the island on any day of the year, but never found any place better than Pafos, but to be honest I would enjoy a holiday in any part of CY it's just Pafos has it all for me, enough in fact for me to decide to spend the rest of my life here...