First time in Cyprus, never mind Protaras, but would definitely go back. Beautiful beach (with plenty of activities). People very, very polite and helpful. We can't praise them enough. They certainly show up the people in Majorca.

A decent meal can be had at 'Oscars' (across from McDonalds).

The water and light show is a good way to pass an evening.

Water activities plentiful, and good fun.

Unless you want to spend your evenings in pubs, there isn't really an awful lot to do at night.

Penera is an excellent resort for those who don't want too much hustle and bustle. Good selection of shops, bars and resturants.

A lot of grassy areas with free sun lounges next to the beaches.

Excellent diving and watersports from the sandy beaches.

The busier resorts:- main centre of Protaras is 20 min walk away or 5 min taxi drive (4 cypriot pounds), and Ayia Napa 10 min taxi drive (9 cypriot pounds), if you want a livelier night or nightclub.

This was our second time here and would definitely go back

Protaras is a lovely resort - I did not see one bit of litter in all the time I was there.

Beaches beautiful.

So many places to eat, never had a bad meal in all the time. Try Perla Blu - their steaks are fantastic.

All in all we had a great time and would definitely go back to Protaras - beware though is pretty expensive.

These apartments are in the resort of Penera, couple of handfulls of resturants, beach is very small and for the few loungers actually on the sand you will pay for, how ever on the grass area there are loads of sun loubgers which are free!

The bus comes every half an hour or so to Protaras, which the beach there is lovely and Fig Tree Bay is fantasic! its a must go there place!

Loved the resort of Pernera its a beautiful area, entertainment was ok but very predictable. The beach is small but the water is so clear and it was lovely snorkelling and seeing all the beautiful fish. Would definately visit this resort again

As for the resort, we love it, and will definitely be going back. Papatonia hotel is in Parailimni, about 2 miles from Portaras main strip. We did visit there and as far as we are concerned, I’m glad we were away from there.

We had our own mini strip with our own assortment of music bars, restaurants, supermarkets etc. One thing I would say about this place is they provide very well for children, as in little play parks or entertainment (Cartoons, Movies, Pool and game machines) in most of the restaurants we visited.

One Bar to avoid on the strip is the Windmill Pub. Even though it has good entertainment on, be advised that I caught the barman (who did not look the most hygienic) picking up the ice cubes and slices of lemon with his bare hands (not using tongs) for the drinks, I challenged him about this and he looked at me in a menacing way. Just to say, we left straight after this and I left the drinks on the bar un-paid for.

We did find a restaurant called Aifalos(we think). It looks like is has just opened this season, it has outstanding food and is very good value for money.

Parailmni has a couple of small beaches (2x Sunbed 1x umbrella CYP£3.75), not to crowded but suitable for us. Take some snorkeling kit.

The big beach is in Portaras.

The resort was very clean however the general entertainment did not really appeal to us. Having said that we spent a few fantastic nights in the Square Bar, where the resident Elvis impersonator was very good and also funny.

There are plenty of good places to eat but our particular favourite was the Yianna Marie which is across the road from the hotel. We also liked a small taverna called the Super S. The owner could not do enough for customers and the prices were very reasonable. It is located close to the junction which leads to the Elias church (the one on the hilltop).

The nearest beach to the hotel is very busy but has fine sand and lovely clear water. There are also very good areas for snorkelling which we spent a lot of time doing.

Resort is a little outside of Protaras so you will have a 15 min walk or need to get a taxi ( costs about a fiver) to get into the main area. Still plenty of bars and restuarants, mini golf, amusements etc though to keep most occupied.

Must Do's
- Waterworld in Ayia Napa, biggest waterpark in Europe they say and you can see why, with some real white knuckle rides. Try the Heracles slide, it don't luck like much until you set off, I'm still looking for my speedos !
TIP ~ Its so close you dont need to use the reps trips for this one, use any taxi to get there and you will get a £2 discount on entry and a guarateed ride back without queing

- Catermeran. Brilliant day out, great crews, good food, great snorkelling, Strap everything down for the ride back into port and hold onto your hats !.

Resort entertainment is generally pretty good, mainly solo singers, and what must be the worlds biggest collection of Elvis impersonators. Beware, they range from the very good to the failed pub singer, and we got both!.

Beach is quite small, clean, great for snorkelling off, and only a stones throw back to the hotel pool and bars.

Have a great time, if you dont enjoy your holiday you must be in the wrong resort

Plenty of watersports on the beach if you like them. Beach is very clean. Plenty to do in the resort, bars, water show, childrens amusements only 5 mins away with mini train, crazy golf. Enough to keep everyone entertained.

Protaras is a purpose built tourist resort, so not much culture here, but a great time to be had. The beaches are lovely, and ours outside the Sunrise Beach was lovely sand, a gentle slope to clear warm water. Most of the main entertainment area is on the ‘strip’ although there are other bars/restaurants outside this area and also in Pernera. Pernera is more relaxed/quieter than Protaras.

Restaurants
We had several meals out, and would recommend Erato, Il Basilico (these are owned by the same people and sit together opposite the Sunrise Beach), Island Affair and Perla Blu to name a few. For the bad service, and the food was not that great, I wouldn’t recommend the China House or Nicolas Tavern. Ours may of course have been isolated incidents.

Bars
First on the list has to be Bells Bar. This is a great place to have fun, they have karaoke, an ‘Elvis’ and great cocktails. Elvis is there (I think) 5 nights a week so it can be a little repetitive, but he’s not on all night. The DJ there is great, really gets people going and can really sing too! The bar staff and waiters are the friendliest we came across in our stay. We love the place!

Across the road from Bells is the Zodiac bar (run by Panicos – lovely guy!) The bar is big but never seemed to be overcrwoded when we were in there. They also do karaoke all night. Some good cocktails in there as well! We tended to go in there after Bells to chill out a bit. One gripe about this bar – there is only 1 (yes 1!) ladies toilet… don’t know about the gents!

We went in the Greenery for a few nights, the first one was really good, a laugh but it went downhill from there! The DJ on the first night we were there was good, but on the other occasions it was a different one who was pretty bad! He did love the sound of his own voice and would sing away on the karaoke when there were people waiting to sing – bit unfair! We
were also short changed once, and we don’t think it was an accident…

Out & About
Ayia Napa is only a short drive away (bus or taxi), we had a couple of night there, and it was good. Sapporo Japanese restaurant in Napa is a good night out, nice food and they cook it all in front of you, very entertaining! A must is a visit to Waterworld in Ayia Napa, really great day out and great rides. If I had any gripe it was the fact you had to wait a pretty long time queing to get rings/inflatables for the rides, and no shade! Flip flops are also useful there as after mid-day the ground is red hot to walk on. Excellent day out though.

We did the Land Rover trip into Famagusta and then on to Salamis, which was good. Early start but then back in resort by approx. 1.30pm so didn’t take up the whole day.
We also did the trip on the ‘Cocoa-Cola’ boat. This was about 2½ hours and went up the coast towards Famagusta and then down the coast again along to Cape Greko. It was a nice trip (once in Cape Greko the boat stopped for about 45 minutes for swimming etc.) although you really don’t see too much of the Famagusta ‘ghost town’ – too far away. Just nice to be out on a boat and sunbathe and see the coast.

We also hired a car and got out and about a bit to see Limassol, Paphos, etc. Done all the other things before, so only needed a few days really. Air-con in the car was a godsend!

Cyprus is a beautiful island with great, friendly people.
All in all, Protaras is a great place for a fun, relaxed holiday and we can’t wait to go back.