Holidays in Paphos, Cyprus
Cyprus, and Paphos in particular, is a lovely and safe place for a holiday. We get asked a lot of questions on our forums about where to stay and what to do in Paphos and Cyprus, so we thought we would put together this guide. In it we shall cover getting there, where to stay, what to do and places to eat. It is by no means definitive but will be a useful first place to look if you have any questions regarding your holiday.
Before You Arrive
A surprisingly large amount of people seem to book their holiday and then come and ask what the location is like. Who knows, perhaps you are reading this and this applies to you? If that is the case, the good news is that Paphos is a great place for a holiday and you are pretty much guaranteed a good experience wherever you go. That being said, it doesn't hurt to do a bit of forward planning...
Hiring A Car
The first thing you need to consider as a holiday maker, is whether or not you will be hiring a car. We certainly recommend it, and if you do then there a lot more options for everything. To find a company for car hire, take a look in our Car Hire Directory.
If you are from Britain, the good news is that Cyprus drives on the left hand side of the road too. Also, petrol is a bit cheaper. Speaking of petrol, if you visit a garage during the day, you will most likely be met by an attendant who will ask you how much you want, and take your money. You don't have to get out of the car. If you ask for it to be filled up, you may have to go to the shop to pay, otherwise, just stay seated. They may well clean your windows too. If they do this, you can decide whether or not to tip them a euro or two. That is entirely up to you.
If you are in a rental car, before you go to the garage for the first time, have a look at the petrol gauge. There will be an arrow on it which will tell you what side of the car the petrol cap is on. If you can't find the switch to open the cap, the attendant will probably be able to help.
Finally, if you go to a garage during the evening, you need to see what pump you are at, then go to the machine. It will accept notes and possibly a card too. They normally have an option for English instructions as well.
Public Transport
If you don’t drive, don't fret because there is a decent public transport system of buses that are cheap. So, for instance, you will have no trouble getting a bus from Kato Paphos to Coral Bay. And don't worry, the buses are nothing like this picture, I just happen to like it.
For more information on buses, check here.
Taxi Services
Another option for non-drivers is the taxi. Getting scalped at an airport is pretty much a global tradition. There is supposed to be an agreed tariff in Cyprus, but your best bet for getting a decent price is to use one of the companies in our directory. All the companies listed (there are four) get recommended time and again when people post asking about taxis on the forum. None of them have paid to appear in the directory, and certainly none of them have taken up any of our extremely reasonable banner advertisement packages. No, they are all there purely because everybody recommends them. So phone them up and get quotes. At least one of them also has a price list shown online.
Flights
If you are arranging your own flights, know that there are two airports in the Republic of Cyprus: Paphos and Larnaka. If you are renting a car you should be able to arrange to be at either airport on your arrival. Larnaka is about an hour and a half drive from Paphos.
The following links are useful for flights:
Skyscanner is great for finding good flight deals:
We also have a Flights Directory that lets you pick airlines by airport. However, that is in the process of being updated and some services may no longer be applicable.