Paphos is a fairly decent resort, apart from the dreaded Mac.....lds, Pizza Hut and pizza express. (As Austin {Powers might possibly say, who goes on holiday to Cyprus to eat big macs). Went on two boat trips, the glass bottom boats are not worth it as the sea is not very deep so you do not see anything, but the sunset cruise was enjoyable. Good bus service, buses run approx every 20mins and a flat fare of 50 cents but they finish at 11.00 p.m. so its either a long walk or a four pound taxi fare.

Paphos itself was actually OK in an ex-pat and Brits-abroad kind of way.

Bar Street was the home of the various British pubs and nightclubs and obviously has ambitions to being Playa Las Americas with its resident tat and all-day English breakfasts. Most of the shops around also sold fake designer t-shirts and all the usual holiday souvenir junk you’d expect, including a nice line in hardcore porn DVDs. Samurai swords also worryingly featured quite heavily.

Paphos Gardens was quite close to the beach and this was pleasant enough if a bit seaweed-infested. But buy mats and an umbrella as it works out about £5 per day if you want to use the sun-loungers and umbrellas already there. In fact everything seemed to be quite pricey and we live in London and are used to paying over the odds for most items so if we noticed it then it must be quite expensive.

The Archeological Park was pretty cheap and very good, although it gets very hot so head out there early if you plan to do the lot in one visit. The Tomb of Kings was similarly impressive and some of the mould in several of the tombs was in fact a distant cousin of what we saw in our apartment bathroom.

There were also plenty of other sites of interest dotted around Paphos and it’s worth getting a map or a guide book and locating them as it gives a flavour of what the place has gone through and reminds you there is more to the place than shops selling tat.
A trip to the old town is also worth a look. The market mainly sells tourist tat but the fresh fruit is very cheap and the Ethnographic Museum, the Paphos Archeological Museum and the Byzantium Museum are worth a look if you make the journey.

EATING OUT
We ate out most nights and tended to stick to the set menus as these were cheaper. Our advice would be:

The Mandarin sells largely tasteless and very expensive Chinese food. Avoid at all costs.

After our Mandarin experience we avoided Oriental food for a while and only ventured out to Asiana on our last night. But the food was very good, the service excellent and the set menus very reasonable. The buffet also looks like it’s good value.

Phivos was a Cypriot fish restaurant which was pretty good and pretty reasonably priced.

We ate at Brothers on several nights and on each one the food was excellent and the service very good. The lamb kleftico and beef stifado were excellent too.

Michaels was the eating highlight of the holiday. A family-run Cypriot restaurant where the food and service was excellent. Try the mezze as the food just keeps coming and it’s all wonderful.

TRIPS
We only ventured out of Paphos once on a jeep safari to Lara Bay to see the turtles, then up to the beach at Laatchi which was truly beautiful and to the Baths of Aphrodite. This was our best day of the holiday and we booked it much cheaper by checking out a few shops nearby rather than booking it through our travel company rep.

There were also trips to the Troodos Mountains and day trips and cruises to Egypt. If you do book any trips, though, shop around for prices as the reps charge way over the odds.

There is a wide selection of restaurants. Would like to make a special mention to:

Fat Mammas (Tomb of the Kings Road) - Although not Cypriot, the food is first class, the portions enormous and the price equivalent to everywhere else. It is very popular so if you don't want to queue for 40 mins or more, get there before 7pm.

Mothers - On the main road to the harbour from Paphos. It is tucked away on the left hand side, but it is a traditional cypriot restaurant with friendly staff and good food and very cheap.

Roof Top Restaurant on Tomb of the Kings Road (cannot remember name) - Really special and desserts to die for! Ask for the set menu as it is not offered to you unless you ask. A little more expensive than others, but worth it.

Jackie Ma (Chinese) on Tomb of the Kings Road - DO NOT GO THERE IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED. The hostess can be quite rude and is not very pleasant to the children. It was a shame because the food was not bad.

Would not visit resort again purely because once you have seen it, you've seen it.

The resort is very clean and the entertainment in Paphos is fantastic.

There are beaches close by but we didn't visit any.

We stayed in the Phaethon Beach hotel about 20 minutes walk outside of the harbour but we certainly didn't feel apart from the resort.

The bus service is superb and is only 50 cent for any journey anywhere the bus goes. On our journey into the harbour we passed a couple of areas with restaurants and bars so it isn't a derelict road in by any means.

The harbour is a lot smaller than I expected but nice all the same. The main road only goes so far towards the main part of the harbour before turning off away leaving the harbour untouched by regular traffic.

Across the sea front and harbour there are masses of restaurants and bars all trying to entice you in. Despite this and the amount of folk about it is a very well kept area and the Castle is easily accessible.

Staying on the main road takes you out of the harbour and towards Paphos town or Coral Bay depending on which way you go. We walked to Tomb of Kings one day which took us a leisurely half hour and that was in the midday heat that suprisingly didn't bother us as much as I thought. It was 75 cents each to get in to the Tomb of Kings and certainly is on for you archealogical buffs.

If you want bars and nightlife then head for Bar Street. You can either access it from the top side using the entrance near the Alexander The Great hotel or from the bottom side which we chose to do as they were a couple of bars on the way up. From the harbour walk up the right hand side of McDonalds and a few yeards up you will see Players bar. I must admit this is my ideal front room as it is an open air bar with big screens either side and around 7 smaller tv's around the bar area all showing different sports. On both Saturday afternoons me and the brother in law spend a few hours there watching 4 different English matches as well as Soccer Saturday at the same time while polishing off numerous £1.50cyp Keo's.

Just up from Players is The Rose, another British style pub. If you head past that and take the second right you will see a church in front of you and a restaurant on the left. It is very quiet so you may think you are on the wrong route for Bar Street but just walk down the left hand side of the church and low behold Bar Street opens out in front of you.

One road is mainly restaurants but the main strip is just bars. Definitely go in Robin Hood, quality cocktails and service.

A few of the bars are average and entice you in with 2 for 1 offers then move the goalposts when you're there, me being the sort of bloke to open my mouth I always got what had been offered but had to fight(not literally) for it.

The karaoke bar there next to Bubbles is a small poky place and doesn't look much but it is a great laugh and the DJ is a funny guy and gets you all up singing if you like it all not. I don't think I've ever sung Billy Ocean-Love Really Hurts Without You or Sweet-Wig Wam Bam so many times in one night.

We went over there to get married and have to admit that the wedding day was the only day we made it into Paphos Town. The town hall was superb and a fantastic setting, the weather was beautiful as expected and the whole day was just a wonderous experience. If anyone is condsidering getting married aborad I would highly recommend doing it in Paphos.

All in all a fantastic place and we'll definitely be going back in future years. In fact the house prices are so reasonable we may even move out there.

The resort was great! When 16 I'm going to live over there.

Paphos is a lovely place plenty of shops (although most only sold tat!) Loads of eating places - especially the Rib Shack - best fahitas in town! and a bar just near the shop 10 minutes away called THE BEER GARDEN best Tequila sunrises and sex on the beach cocktails at a fraction on the price of the Paphian Bay.

Would I return to Cyprus? Definatly
Would I return to the Paphian Bay? No. I would pay that little bit extra and stay in the Riu Cypria Bay or even the Athena Beach.

A short walk from the hotel is Artemis for good food and a lovely atmosphere we all loved it.

Also see Tomb of the kings.

If you go out at night you'll need to take a torch and a good pair of shoes, the streets are badly lit and the pavements are in a terrible state of disrepair!

If you want a good beach you'll have to go to coral bay which was lovely. Buses are very cheep only 50p any journey. Eating out is expensive a coffee costs about £1.80p and the same for a glass of coke.

If you visit Cyprus don't go in august it's to hot for sight seeing.

The harbour is very clean with plenty of bars and different types of restaurants- Pizza Hut and Mcdonalds for the kids, as well as the traditional restaurants. Waterpark just a short bus ride away. Lots of rides at the waterpark. Had a really good time there.

Closest beach we found is Coral Beach, which is quite nice and plenty of watersports.